Erin Zimmer's Profile
The Ten Most Recent Posts By Erin Zimmer
From Required Eating
Posted by Erin Zimmer, May 11, 2008 at 1:00 PM

Chicken fights usually involve a swimming pool, two teams, sitting on shoulders and slipping. Pretty harmless. But what happens when an actual chicken gets hold of a razor-sharp knife and wants to start something? All those times we stuffed him (and his kind), basted them, sizzled them, drowned them in herbal marinades. Nightmarish poultry revenge! [Via SwissMiss]
From Required Eating
Posted by Erin Zimmer, May 9, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Chef Gordon Ramsay is pushing for a law that would require restaurants to serve only in-season fruits and veggies, or be subject to fines. In an interview broadcast with BBC's Radio 5 Live today, he said he wants chefs to use home-grown produce only, not Kenyan strawberries in March for example. While demanding better ingredients may be a positive concept, how could you police this? What about products that just aren't available naturally in the UK, like chocolate or pistachios?
On the Guardian's food blog "Word of Mouth" readers fired back, "what a chump," and pointed out that Ramsay's restaurants don't even serve local, seasonal food all the time. As if landing in Heathrow wasn't already expensive, Ramsay wants to fine you for eating a tomato in January. Shoot, is it really a crime to eat spaghetti outside of August?
We'll see if Gordon can get the other Gordon to make sense of his rant.
From Required Eating
Posted by Erin Zimmer, May 8, 2008 at 2:00 PM
A recent study at McGill University in Montreal, Canada proved that ghrelin, a hunger-inducing hormone in our gut, enhances the image of junk food's yumminess. The stimulant is naturally activated when hungry, causing quarter pounders and greasy pizza to look overwhelmingly tasty and unavoidable, as if we're junkies looking at crack.
Coverage of this study at science fiction blog io9 was assigned the following headline: Fast Food Joints Add Hormone to Food That Makes You Want to Eat More. Despite this insinuation of food tampering, the McGill study never said that. Or aimed to prove that.
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From Required Eating
Posted by Erin Zimmer, May 7, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Ringlets, satin dresses, that guy in the white tux: your average prom fashion. But what about a dress crafted from 101 candy wrappers? Yeah, Jessica McClintock doesn't sell that. Craftster member Theperilouspopsicle skipped the average poofy or sequinsy dress to instead spend 15 hours on this adorable halter number with Skittle wrapper fringe and matching shoes. We can only hope the deejay played The Strangeloves' hit "I Want Candy." [via CandyAddict]
From Required Eating
Posted by Erin Zimmer, May 7, 2008 at 10:30 AM

Is your office building made of a steel pot? Apartment tower, actually a cheese grater? Beijing-based sculptor Zhan Wang engineered this San Francisco cityscape out of kitchenware tools you're used to finding at William Sonoma. Stainless steel pots, pans, silverware, plates, graters. San Francisco's Asian Art Museum will run the exhibit until May 25. [via BoingBoing]
From Ed Levine Eats
In a Q and A with New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni, Jean-Georges pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini admits that he has a "hard time with male animal reproductive organs." That is, a hard time eating them. Some of us won't eat licorice or mayo, others male reproductive organs. He probably wouldn't appreciate this place.
From Eating Out
Posted by Erin Zimmer, May 6, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Or, 'Bringin' the Kimchi to the D.C.'

In October of 2006, the District reversed a moratorium on sidewalk vendors in an attempt to diversify the downtown culinary landscape. Under this new legislation, half-smoke carts can share the roads with trucks vending chicken and waffles, tacos, falafel or anything the heart desires. Sadly, just a few new entrepreneurial minds have stepped forward, and the most consistent (in terms of showing up and actual flavor) is a Korean cart known as L Street Vending on the southeast corner of 14th and L Street.
A tub of homemade kimchi welcomes you with big silver tongs hanging out, ready to scoop. The big, leafy cabbage hunks aren't spicy, as in they'll activate the tear ducts spicy, but it should get your attention. Behind the counter, the son and mom chef-cum-cashiers are Korean and make it fresh at home.
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From Required Eating
If you see pale blue ribbons around today, they could be honoring INDD or International No Diet Day, celebrated every May 6. Recovering anorexic Mary Evans Young founded the holiday in 1992 as a response to a thin-obsessed, thigh-hating culture. About $40 billion is spent each year on weight loss tactics, but today we are supposed to love our bodies, no matter what size or shape.
From Required Eating
Posted by Erin Zimmer, May 5, 2008 at 3:15 PM
No need to lift a finger for the spoon drawer anymore when Cool Whip cravings hit. Kraft will soon package the puffy white garnish in an aerosol can, much like other air-infused whipped cream cousins. Just squeeze and shoot. This is part of Kraft's new line of eighty re-packaged products, specifically catering to the most sloth-like of eaters. Yes, Uncrustables were just the beginning.
We recently told you about the Bagel-ful, which eliminates the hassle of cream cheese spreading, but there's more. Goldfish Mac N' Cheese crackers are shaped like macaroni noodles. Chew them up and it's as if you spent a few minutes boiling water and stirring in powdered cheese to make one of the already-easiest-to-make foods.
Pudding doesn't even need to congeal overnight anymore. Just add cold milk to Jell-O Singles packets and watch the powder thicken. There's no telling what chemicals are in there, but more importantly, do we deserve instant pudding gratification? Isn't waiting part of the joy? Granola in 100-calorie pack form is another reality, which speaks to a greater 100-cal-packification movement.
Will these goods require a separate aisle? Or maybe an entire grocery market, much like the reverse of Costco? [via AdAge]
From Required Eating
Posted by Erin Zimmer, May 5, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Aha! It was Colonel Mustard with the revolver in the kitchen. We all saw it coming. Ketchup has long been the all-American condiment poster child, as the default french fries dipping sauce and popular accessory to breakfast eggs and hash browns. One night, enough was enough and mustard couldn't take it anymore.
The crime scene is the artistic brainchild of two bloggers, Skull-A-Day and Bent Objects. Relish was apparently too nervous to get involved.
The Ten Most Recent Comments By Erin Zimmer
Responses to Comments by Erin Zimmer
Website: http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/bestbites/index.html
Location: Washington, DC
About: The District's "Bureau Chief" for Serious Eats
Favorite foods: Oatmeal, Figs, Pickles, Smoked Cheeses, Animal Crackers, Country Fair Pies, Avocados.
Last bite on earth: Wahoos Fish Tacos in my home sweet hometown