Friday Faves No. 136

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

This Brilliant Instagram Chef Is Making Junk Food Look Like Fine Dining. Above, one of the creations of “Chef Jacques Lamerde.” (via Buzz Feed)

If you have a food business you want to take bigger, Steve Case wants to hear your restaurant pitch. The deep-pocketed AOL founder is going on the road again to search for new investment vehicles, including restaurants, in off-the-beaten-path locations. (Restaurant Hospitality)

Out With The Caraway, In With The Ginger: 50 Years Of American Spice Consumption Why are people crazy for turmeric but dissing allspice? (FiveThirtyEight)

Wanted: chefs to cook for boatloads of seasick migrants. "The Migrant Offshore Aid Station, set up last year by Italian-American philanthropists, aims to rescue some of the record numbers of migrants capsizing while trying to reach Europe by sea. In an advertisement that riffs on the call-to-arms supposedly made 101 years ago by Ernest Shackleton as the explorer sought a team to reach the South Pole, MOAS is on the lookout for people to keep them all fed: 'Wanted: great chefs to brave the Mediterranean in exchange for an extraordinary adventure,” the advert reads. “Position is voluntary. Honour and recognition will follow in the event of success.'” (Guardian)

In the world of culinary letters and photography, the Saveur blog awards and James Beard Foundation book nominees are out.

In one more way to suck the fun out of life, menus will now have to list calorie counts for alcohol. At least the ruling will apply only to chain restaurants. (Wine Spectator)

Forget emoji — show someone you're thinking of them by sending a (real & drinkable) glass of Champagne. Moët & Chandon partners with new app Skosh to do just that during the Miami Open. “If you see a friend just received a new job in New York via LinkedIn, you can send a drink. If you want to send a glass of Champagne to your newly married friend on their honeymoon in Hawaii, you can send a drink. (Luxury Daily)

Sing Along Snacks: Champagne Charlie

It's never too early or too late for a snack, so crank up that volume on your computer.

Champagne, swells & London — a winning combination that's been on our minds as the film A Year in Champagne gets ready for its iTunes UK debut next week.

The song, above, is from the 1944 British film Champagne Charlie which takes us to the 19th century English music hall. 

Friday Faves No. 134

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

The house that Champagne built: a Russian man has built a house made almost entirely of Champagne bottles in the city of Chelyabinsk, where it is known as the “Palace of Oz.” It took 12,000 bottles, so you'd better start drinking if you want one of your own.(Drinks Business)

In hard new this week, the seafood world has been called out in an new AP Investigation: Are slaves catching the fish you buy? (AP)

Is the Strawberry Field The Next Farmworkers’ Rights Battleground? It's not just hard work, it's literaly poison: "Roman Pinal, the Southern California regional director for the United Farm Workers (UFW), says strawberry pickers are more susceptible to pesticide exposure than the average farmworker because the fields are more densely planted than other crops, meaning chemicals are being sprayed or are drifting closer to farmworkers. What’s more, compared to crops that are harvested once a season, strawberry plants produce fruit every two days—creating a situation where chemical management and harvesting occur “right on top” of each other, he says." (Civil Eats)

New waves of distilling have been a boost for rural areas, and that was the case in the 1920s and 30s too. Old Time Farm Crime: The Hooch Farmers of Templeton "Templeton Rye, “the good stuff,” was a hot commodity in Prohibition era Chicago, Kansas City and New York and its popularity helped save many a family farm in rural Northwest Iowa where the booze was illegally distilled by desperate farmers during the lean years of the 1920s and early-30s." (Modern Farmer)

'New Nordic' goes to the bar with Icelandic Birch Cocktails. (Huffington Post)

A Belgian chef Is making summer in a bottle with gin flavored with lobster. (Munchies)

Now Marriott has a magazine. You could too. Don't worry about all this new lingo. "Content" = stuff worth looking at that makes people like you. “Content marketing is a marathon; it’s not a sprint, said Lisa LaCour, vp of global marketing at content-recommendation platform Outbrain." (Digiday)

'A Year in Champagne' — Coming Soon

First posted January 16, 2015; updated March 6, 2015.

Polished has been working on publicity and promotions with Samuel Goldwyn Films and InCA Productions to launch the new documentary film, A YEAR IN CHAMPAGNE, into the world.  

A YEAR IN CHAMPAGNE was released in select theaters and on iTunes on Friday, March 6th.

"Gorgeous new film...Open a bottle and watch the whole thing this weekend." — Food & Wine

"the movie is as sumptuous as vintage Champagne, and offers a nice insight into the land and the people behind the wines" — Wine Searcher

Great reviews have appeared in Food & Wine magazine, Wine Searcher, and in a host of wine blogs from all over the US and Europe.

Written and directed by David Kennard, A YEAR IN CHAMPAGNE is the follow-up to A YEAR IN BURGUNDY and boasts many revelations about France’s most famous beverage. And just as in A YEAR IN BURGUNDY, legendary wine importer Martine Saunier is our guide as we get a rare glimpse behind the scenes into the real Champagne through six houses — from small independent makers like Champagne Saint-Chamant, where each and every bottle is still turned by hand in the cellars, to the illustrious houses of Gosset and Bollinger, which have been instrumental in shaping the image of Champagne around the world.  

This is the first feature-length film for US audiences exploring and celebrating the world of Champagne — people, culture, terroir, and wine.

Running time: 82 minutes

Not rated

www.ayearinchampagne.com

Friday Faves No. 133

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

From Lucky Peach

We try not to rant on fad diets, so we're always delighted when someone else does it for us. You'd be hard pressed to find anything with a more convoluted rationale than Paleo. Food & Consequences: The Real Paleo Diet "In the end, what’s really interesting to me is that diet fads exist at all, since they presuppose a level of food security and consumer choice that are unprecedented in human history. The Paleo diet as a cultural phenomenon is inconceivable outside the context of the development of agricultural societies." (Lucky Peach)

The Real Problem With Bread (It's Probably Not Gluten) Is there no problem that industrial food can't both cause and "fix" for a price? "In commercial bakeries, rising time has been winnowed from hours or even days down to mere minutes, thanks to fast-acting yeasts and additives. By contrast, the team in Jones' laboratory, located in a rural stretch along Puget Sound, lets dough rise for as long as 12 hours—and they've found that the longer it rises, the less potent the gluten that remains in the finished bread." (Mother Jones)

If Wines Had Online Dating Profiles Wine needs love too. See which type is your perfect match, then grab a bottle. (Buzzfeed)

The latest installment in the "eat it to save it" files: Pacific groundfish. "Unless fishermen can collect a price that reflects the expense of the new sustainable methods of catching groundfish, we won't be able to maintain the fishery's revived state. The challenge is to reintroduce these species to consumers, build demand and help secure
a strong market that can support the fishermen and fishery in the long term." (LA Times)

Veuve Clicquot will be the first company to produce packaging using grapes when the Champagne house launches its newest “Naturally Clicquot” next month. (Drinks Business)

Only the good die out. Super-delicious and eco heroes, oysters, clams and scallops face high risk from ocean acidification, new study finds. (Guardian)

Friday Faves No. 132

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

Angst muffins (above). Life is short. Read the full comic here, while you can. (Existential comics)

The furry face of California salmon conservation: beavers. "Wild salmon are adept at crossing the beavers’ blockages. In addition, the dams often reduce the downstream transport of egg-suffocating silt to the gravel where salmon spawn, and create deeper, cooler water for juvenile fish and adult salmon and steelhead. The resulting wetlands also attract more insects for salmon to eat. In ongoing research that covered six years, Pollock and his colleagues showed that river restoration projects that featured beaver dams more than doubled their production of salmon." (On Earth)

Pancake day and Semla — the quieter culinary pursuits of Shrove Tuesday. "But the Protestant Reformation, which swept across Northern Europe some 500 years ago, killed off most of the traditions that made Catholic Mardi Gras so much fun. As they stripped the church of ornate decoration, reformers railed against the feast-and-famine cycle of extremes." At least they still had sugar. (NPR)

Bittman Does Berkeley: Talking Food Politics With Mark Bittman On how the food conversation is evolving: "Labor has really stuck out for me. The fact that people who cared about food did not talk about labor five years ago and now they do talk about labor, that’s a big deal." And to the inseparable issues of food and economic justice: "People are suffering. we need to fix that. but that’s not a cooking problem. if there’s a cooking problem, I can solve it. Cooking is easy. Social justice problems are not so easy." (KQED)

From Cup to Coupe: A History of Our Favorite Champagne Glass With the release of A Year in Champagne in select theaters and on iTunes March 6, we've had Champagne on the brain. (Food52)

With emerging markets such as Russia and China facing disruption, Rabobank has highlighted a shift in exporters’ focus towards the US. (Drinks Business)

Friday Faves No. 127

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

A brief history of how the rich and poor eat in an excellent photo essay (image above). Be sure to use the center tab that drags left and right for the full picture. (Independent) 

Hardship on Mexico's farms, a bounty for U.S. tables: A new four-part series exploring how thousands of laborers at Mexico's mega-farms endure harsh conditions and exploitation while supplying produce for American consumers. "They want us to take such great care of the tomatoes, but they don't take care of us." (LATimes)

Taking the message to the people, ‘Black Brunch’ organizers put protest on the menu at restaurants in Oakland, California. (KQED)

I like pig butts and I cannot lie: 16 of the best food T-shirts you need to own  (Food & Wine)

Futuristic Fungi: Austria-based Livin Studio has created a process to cultivate edible fungi that digests plastic as it grows in photos and a video. (Dezeen)

Women's work on US farms remains under counted. "Women have always worked in agriculture, historically. I think a key issue is whether or not it's counted," says Julie Zimmerman, a rural sociologist at the University of Kentucky who studies how women's roles on the farm have changed over time. "If you see working on your farm as being part of your role as the spouse or the wife, as helping out, then you might not even recognize it as being 'working on the farm,' even if you're doing it all the time." (NPR)

Gilbert & Sullivan lives! A Champagne kerfuffle has arisen in Britain's Parliament. "During budget negotiations meant to impose some belt-tightening measures, the House of Lords refused to merge their catering services with their lowly counterparts in the House of Commons because 'the Lords feared that the quality of Champagne would not be as good if they chose a joint service.'" The Lords bought 17,000 bottles of Champagne since 2010 at a cost of $417,000. (via Wine Spectator)

Friday Faves No. 121

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

Bug Power: Cricket Flour and power bars (above): "With Millennials particularly adventurous when it comes to food and the protein trend still on the upswing, these products have a decent chance of gaining traction." (JW Intelligence)

I'm not a chef, but I play one on TV: why stars are lining up to play chefs? Bradley Cooper is in London playing a chef in a movie that follows a spate of documentaries starring some of gastronomy’s most esteemed avatars  (Guardian) 

Go ahead and blame your parents: Scientists say DNA determines coffee consumption.  (PBS Newshour)

A new restaurant concept allows New Yorkers to sample the fare of talented chefs from all over the country. (New York Times)

Jancis Robinson Swears by Milk Thistle Supplements, Says Mexican Wine Is the Future (Food & Wine)

Is Scotch Whisky the new liquid gold? A rare whisky index is compiling data.  (Telgraph)

If you're trying to be the happiest place on Earth, a little bubbly never hurts. Disney get's its own branded Champagne. (Drinks Business)

Friday Faves No. 117

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

Plop, plop, Fizz, fizz — Champagne house Veuve Clicquot is investigating a hoax by a Russian marketing agency about the supposed release of Veuve-branded tablets.  (Drinks Business)

Russians React To Western Food Ban With Pride, Resignation "Take the Soviet times: Everything was Soviet, everyone ate Soviet, Russia didn't depend on the West — so there's nothing to worry about." No Champagne for them. (NPR)

We can now raise a lot of food, but how we consume it and continue to grow is critical: How Humans Deal With A Changing Natural Environment MacArthur “genius” Ruth DeFries looks at humanity’s long, deep integration with nature – and what comes next. (On Point)

For those who love a graphic, check out 40 maps that explain food in America from farming politics to plain goofy stuff.  (Vox)

Last week all the super cool kids were in Copenhagen for MAD4 Cool bit of news: Chefs Roy Choi of the L.A.-based Kogi and San Francisco-based chef Daniel Patterson of Coi to "supplant the fast-food chains and convenience stores that separate out youth from the taste of real food." The pair plan to open Loco’l — a high-quality, affordably priced fast-food chain — in the spring of 2015 on the West Coast, with the rest of the country to follow. We can't wait to check it out. (New York Times)

Friday Faves No. 116

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

Not just for extreme sports anymore, a GoPro camera films the poaching of an egg, above. (via Food Politic)

Five Ripple Effects from Russia's food ban. In Finland "Putin cheese" is flying off the shelves. (Modern Farmer)

Food politics go micro as Brittan rages over the Bakes Alaska Incident. Really, the only thing better than a baking smackdown is one that's televised, and then narrated by social media.  #GBBO (BuzzFeed)

Are Broccoli Stalks the Next Kale? If you're looking for tomorrow's hot ingredients—and today's top values—start with the compost bin. How different foods go from trash to treat to trite. On whether trends can have lasting impact: Of course, there is a limit to how long any ingredient can command the full glare of the spotlight. "Look at olive oil," Mr. Sax offered. "It probably peaked as a trend sometime in the late '90s, but extra-virgin olive oil is now the oil everyone has in the cupboard. The novelty has worn off, and it has become part of the culture." (Wall Street Journal)

Our default image of the new farmer should probably be a woman. The article 'Mother Nature’s Daughters' explores why almost everyone working in urban agriculture is female. (Seriously, almost everyone.) Some theorize that it's the lack of cash: “People don’t expect to be paid very much doing this work...It’s a labor of love to a certain extent. I don’t think we’ve come up with a hard and fast model to pay people exceedingly well for doing nonprofit urban-farming work.” (New York Times)

Glad someone is thinking seriously about how we're going to live in space: Ardbeg distillery anticipates zero gravity single malt's return to Earth to study the aging process. "This is one small step for man but one giant leap for whisky, and the team hope to uncover how flavours develop in different gravitational conditions - findings which could revolutionize the whisky-making process." (Guardian)

Back on Earth, diner chain Denny’s, staple of the American road trip, is opening its first restaurant in Manhattan, an "upscale" location featuring a $300 Champagne ‘Grand Slam’ (Laughing Squid)

Friday Faves No. 113

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

Fast Love: You wanna super-size that? In Hong Kong, McDonald's is now a wedding venue. They will even make you a dress out of either red or white balloons. Other optional swag includes a crystal McDonald's replica. A quick Google search reveals that this is actually a thing that goes beyond Hong Kong.

In a major quality of life step, a French Hospital Opens a Wine Bar for Dying Patients (Jezebel)

Beyond basic wine pairing, Krug Champagne called on artists to pair songs with their wines.  (Luxury Daily)

Please don't market your food products like this China, peaches and underwear go horribly wrong... (Jezebel)

In other fast food news, McDonald’s Canada expands seafood offerings to include an Asian Crispy Shrimp Signature McWrap. Why not an Asian Carp McWrap that would help clean out our Midwestern waterways? The chain is legend for getting people to eat "underutilized protein sources." Just look inside a chicken nugget if you doubt that. (Seafood Source)

From Boulder, Colorado to Ho Chi Minh city, the revolution will be brewed “There’s the potential in that part of the world to introduce them to craft beer. We go over there and we’re not just selling our brand, we have to sell an entire style of beer. There will be a lot of focus on education, promoting craft beer in general, the use of higher-quality ingredients and traditional processes.” (Drinks Business)

Raising Sustainable, Grass-Fed Beef? There Is, Of Course, Even An App For That (Fast Company)

All parents want to instill good values in their children. Some are even concerned about their future lives as gourmandes. Writes Maurice Dimarino on his wine blog: "I don’t want them to make the same mistakes I did, getting drunk from Coors and Mickey’s Big Mouth. I want them to have class and drink something they will enjoy and not get wasted. Parenting is difficult and I must commend myself for being forward thinking and watching out for the things most parents don’t think about or try to ignore." It's never too early to start talking to your kids about Riesling.
 

Friday Faves No. 112

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

We don't need much of an excuse to see a movie about food, but Helen Mirren certainly seals the deal. She's staring in the upcoming feature (trailer above) The Hundred-Foot Journey, about a young Indian chef in the south of France and his neighbor/rival French restaurateur. (Tasting Table)

Poland takes the bite out of Russian apple ban Prominent Poles post tongue-in-cheek photos on social media to endorse campaign against Russian ban on fruit imports (Guardian)

Another item in the category "Food is Politics" — South Korean activists launch 'Choco Pie' balloons Choco Pies – banned as a capitalist symbol by North Korea after being traded at inflated prices – carried in balloons across border  (Guardian)

Chefs Move Beyond New York The phrase "only in New York" may no longer apply for many great culinary experiences. A new awareness and engagement with food in cities across the country has given chefs more options — and the rest of the country better food. "What has changed significantly is the audience that greets chefs elsewhere.” (New York Times)

Finding the difference that a grain makes to whisky: A project to determine the perfect grain of barley for distilling whisky could pave the way for barley ‘vineyards’, viewed in much the same way as the world’s wine regions. "This project will analyse which compounds in barley contribute to desirable flavours in whisky, many of which come from the grain." (Drinks Business)

Agriculture is always at the mercy of the elements, sometimes to the point of complete destruction. After years of horrible storms, Burgundy winemakers trial anti-hail nets (Decanter)

If you can't grow bigger, grow better and smarter. What's a producer to do with global competition when their traditional grounds are hitting their max, Champagne makers are wondering. ''We have to increase the quality and increase the technical gap between Champagne and other regions.''  (Good Food)

Friday Faves No. 108

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

Since we're all a-buzz with competition and national pride, why not delve in to the World Cup of Food "In the spirit of the World Cup, we offer you a lively and completely subjective global conversation about the merits of the national cuisine of each of the 32 countries competing in Brazil. Can England’s Yorkshire pudding stay the course against pasta al pomodoro? Will Red Red from Ghana emerge victorious over America’s barbeque (North Carolina division)?"
 (AlJazeera America)

National Geographic explores the "Blue Revolution" of progressive aquaculture. Congratulations to Gustavo Valdez on being included — and with some great photos of his shrimp pods. (National Geographic)

Fun with tools: custom carved rolling pins that decorate whole sheets of dough at once (Laughing Squid)

The 'Tastemakers' Who Shape Our Food Trends: From cronuts to kale chips to gluten-free, a look at food crazes and the people who create them. A radio discussion featuring guest (and cronut creator) Dominique Ansel.  (On Point)

Looks like leatherback turtles have favorite hang-out spots to eat. NOAA Scientists recently discovered that most adult leatherback sea turtles in the Pacific Ocean return to the same feeding areas between nesting seasons. (NOAA)

Yuck: Australian Honey "Sting" busts importers for passing off sugar syrup as real honey. (The Courier)

Champagne that was salvaged from a shipwreck in the Baltic prompted Veuve Clicquot to create  a "Cellar in the Sea" to monitor aging. (Wine Searcher)

Friday Faves No. 104

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

Kitchen table social history in old USSR: "This is how this subversive thought grew and expanded in the Soviet Union, beginning with free discussions at the kitchens."  (NPR)

France’s legendary House of Moët & Chandon has made its initial foray into India with the premiere release of Chandon India "Nashik’s diurnal temperature creates an ideal growing condition for Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc — wines perfectly suited for India’s hot weather and spicy foods." (Zester Daily)

We were particularly struck by this radio interview with James Beard Award winning chef Daniel Patterson. His thoughts on why food commands such dedication for those who work with it (despite how difficult it can be) spoke to us, as well as his thoughts on finding your voice in the kitchen. (Forum)

This week the world lost a remarkable voice as poet Maya Angelou dies at age 86. Many of us know her poetry on the page, but she was also a poet in the kitchen, as this tribute explores. "She took as much care with her cooking as with her writing. And to her they were similar exercises. You have to know the way a red pepper will act in hot oil, she said, as clearly as you know how a particular verb will behave in a sentence." (American Food Roots)

Weird Britain: Brave Daredevils Roll With the Cheese in Annual Cheese Rolling Race – Video (Anglotopia)

Coupe d’État: The Rise & Fall of the Champagne Flute What the evolution of Champagne's drinking vessel—from coupe to flute to wine glass—says, not only about how the wine has changed, but how we, the drinkers, have changed. (Punch)

Sorry guys, you can't have all the whisky. The Top 10 Women in Whisky (Drinks Business)

Friday Faves No. 89

weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

• Moët & Chandon focuses on novelty with a Champagne vending machine. But when they fall through the machine does it make the champagne foam up?

• Take that Yeo Valley — UK young farmer pics that are NSFW. It's for charity, of course.

• The new anthology The Hungry Ear, food and poetry is out. As the blurb copy points out: "Food and poetry: in so many ways, a natural pairing, from prayers over bread to street vendor songs....And we all know food is more than food: it's identity and culture. Our days are marked by meals; our seasons are marked by celebrations. We plant in spring; harvest in fall. We labor over hot stoves; we treat ourselves to special meals out. Food is nurture; it's comfort; it's reward."  Poets featured in the anthology include: Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Frost, Allen Ginsberg, Langston Hughes, Frank O'Hara, Sharon Olds, Mary Oliver, Adrienne Rich, and Gertrude Stein

• Drinks to Get You Through a Marathon Meal — and that work all season long.

• Alas, it's not all cocktails, poetry and naked farmers. The sad news: Canada approves production of GM salmon eggs on commercial scale

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 33

 weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

 

• We thought the bacon sundae was weird, but in the Netherlands, there's hamburger eye shadow.

• Urban cleanup that earns farmer's market vouchers with a new "trash for food" exchange in Mexico City sounds like a win-win.

• A vertical urban farm in an old meatpacking plant that's also a food business incubator, The Plant in Chicago has lots of space and big plans.

• Another idea that we're excited about: Local Food Lab, a California based incubator and collaborative workspace for early stage sustainable food and farm startups.

• Farming indoors starts to sound like a pretty good idea with crazy weather events like the hailstorm that wiped out Champagne's southern Côte des Bar region. "The damage is estimated at 130% because at least 30% of the 2013 crop will also be affected."

• There's a lovely series from the site Wine Searcher called When We First Met with personal stories of wine and how people have interacted with it. The profile with English writer Matt Walls caught our eye: "Sometimes, particularly with pinot noir, the wine just goes into a bit of a sulk. Nobody knows why. If you open it when it’s in a mood, there’s nothing you can do. It won’t play. You just have to give up. That’s what we had to do with that bottle, and it’s the most expensive bottle of wine I ever bought."

• By helping to spread the message that farming can make for a fulfilling and meaningful life in the 21st century, the Greenhorns and NYFC are hoping to attract a few more new recruits: "It's one of those jobs that provides endless opportunity to create positive change while making a living. As farmers, we're tasked every day with environmental stewardship, sustainable business development, preserving culture, and providing nutrient rich food for our families, friends, and neighbors. Although it can be fraught with stress and exhaustion just like any job, it's an incredibly rewarding way of life," says 32-year-old Brad Halm of the Seattle Urban Farm Company in Washington State. 

• Hands Off our Special Regions, says the European Commission to an American initiative calling for the unfettered use of what are currently protected food and drink monikers, such as Parmesan and port. How 'bout we put some creativity into creating new names. One of our favorites: Quady Winery's Starboard, a port-style wine made in California.

• Some feel that an old name is what's holding back a good fish. In the U.K., Sainsbury is trying to boost pollack's popularity through a new name artsy packaging.

• The best packaging innovation might be edible. "WikiCells is rooted in the way nature has always delivered nutrients: in a digestible skin."

• And from the wild world of innovation, Air Canada Flew Plane Using 50% Cooking Oil Biofuel for First Time

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 28

a weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

• Thank you Maurice Sendak for childhood treasures and inspirations like In The Night Kitchen (above).

• "Imagine you are in a bar or at a friend's place, and you want to sabre a bottle of champagne but, tragically, there is no sabre at hand. Fear not..." So reads The Art of Champagne, Artfully Illustrated, in a style that put us in the mind of What do You Say Dear?, the volume of manners (illustrated by Maurice Sendak) which tackles such social conundrums as "You are downtown and there is a gentleman giving baby elephants to people. You want to take one home because you have always wanted a baby elephant, but firs the gentleman introduces you to each other. What do you say, dear?"

• And now for something completely different, Crazy Orange Camo Lobster Caught Off the Coast of Maine. His crazy looked earned him a place at the New England Aquarium instead of in a Pepperidge Farm roll with a touch of mayo.

• In a New York Times OpED Pitting Child Safety Against the Family Farm, Marjorie Elizabeth Wood takes on the red herring that legislation intended to protect farmworkers will really destroy the family farm."The same commercial forces that thwarted the Child Labor Amendment in the 1920s continue to stymie reform today. In an age when Big Agriculture still benefits from the laxity of our child labor laws, the reformers’ legacy is one we would do well to reclaim."

Sing Along Snacks: The Night They Invented Champagne

It's never too early or too late for a snack, so crank up that volume on your computer.

This week's Sing Along Snack is dedicated to our friends from A Year in Burgundy who are off filming in Champagne right now. From the musical Gigi, Leslie Caron sings this version herself as she asks with excitement:

"Is everybody celebrated, full of sin and dissipated?"

"The night they invented champagne, it's plain as it can be, they thought of you and me."

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 18

a weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

• Where product creativity goes bad, from bacon mints (above) to pickle juice pops and "perky jerky."

• Fashion, food and entertainment continue to cross-pollinate as legendary Parisian patisserie Ladurée starts a cosmetics line and the legendary and the until now fictional Duff beer of The Simpsons becomes a reality. 

• If you thought bacon and mint sounded weird, how about champagne and graffiti for a real high-low mash up. Moët & Chandon has teamed up with graffiti artist André for a limited edition "Tag your love" packaging for its Rosé Impérial champagne. (video at bottom of the page is priceless)

• Kids playing with their food is getting more sophisticated with an animated introduction to Michael Pollan's Food Rules.

• The latest farmer-chef collaboration getting some buzz — bespoke syrups.

• Food trucks are for retailers too. The San Francisco craft butcher shop Avendano's has started Avendano's Meat Wagon: "The truck project was really so we could reach a larger audience and meet people who are new to the concept of getting whole animals and breaking them down."

• Offal poetry: Who knew that Robert Frost put his interactions with sweetbreads into verse:

"You drive me to confess in ink:
Once I was fool enough to think
That brains and sweetbreads were the same,
Till I was caught and put to shame,
First by a butcher, then a cook,
Then by a scientific book.
But 'twas by making sweetbreads do
I passed with such a high I.Q."