fast food

Faves No. 199

favorite finds from the front lines of food

Smooth, creamy and totally worth the hype. No, I’m not talking about Mr. Hollywood.

Yes, I’m talking about the pastel de nata.

Pastel de Nata performed by Blue Dot Sessions in their album Orange Cat. Please support the artist by listening and sharing their songs. Thanks!

Bloomberg takes a look at why this simple yet amazing pastry is getting so much attention. It has become so popular that it has earned a spot on the Great British Bake Off contest, can cost as much as $4 in fancy cafes all while Lidl reported selling 2,000 nata an hour (in the UK) in 2018. (Bloomberg)


And while we are on the subject, this little jazz piece is just a smooth as nata from Belem.

What crop will be likely to do well in the face of climate change? The humble hazelnut, of course. In short - ‘Their deep roots search out nutrients and water, making them less susceptible to drought. Orchards hold dirt in place and keep fertilizers from washing off and fouling waterways. Nuts are also slow to spoil — which means they could be a year-round staple, rather than a seasonal treat.’ (Grist)

Impossible….Beyond….the fast food nation finally got the memo! A slough of burger brands, like Burger King, have embraced the Impossible Burger and later this week Del Taco will be launching a meatless “meat” taco line. (Vox)

Friday Faves No. 171

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

From the You Can't Make this Stuff Up files, Joan Crawford goes to the supermarket, in white gloves, in a 1969 Pepsi promo (video above). You can read here about where this wacky three and a half minutes of TV came from. (Stargayzing)

The Next Hot Trends in Food as identified by the Wall Street Journal. Not a lot of surprises here for those who keep up with the food scene and sustainability discussions, but concepts like "regenerative agriculture" might get more mainstream. (Wall Street Journal)

Is Dry Farming the Next Wave in a Drought-Plagued World? Some fruit growers in California eschew irrigation and have escaped the financial fallout experienced by fellow farmers in recent years. “There’s all this talk about watering the almonds...When you set up almonds to receive water every few days and the roots don’t go deep, then yeah, they will die if we don’t water them. But almonds were once dry farmed in many parts of California, including San Luis Obispo County, southern Monterey County, and the Sierra foothills.” (Food & Environment Reporting Network)

As with our politics, fast food keeps getting weirder and more over the top. Why fast-food chains are making ‘increasingly outrageous’ creations to get you through the door. (Washington Post)

Entrepreneurs getting creative with seafood byproducts “If all fish were processed and all the byproduct collected, it is estimated that globally there would be around 36 million tons of raw material available, producing about 9.5 million tons of fishmeal and 1.5 million tons of fish oil,” according to the University of Stirling/IFFO report. (Seafood Source)

Meat packers add plants to plate as consumers, competition shift. "We are going to see the meat industry recognize that it needs to diversify." (Reuters)

The Real Soylent Sickness "Silicon Valley’s failure to capture our appetites lies at the heart of what the technology industry misses about so many other things in this world. Though it may be possible to create technically feasible products for any aspect of our lives, those only succeed if they improve—rather than seek to replace—the human, highly tactile, and pleasurable world we want to live in." (New Yorker)

Friday Faves No. 140

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

In summer everything slows down, including our blog posting. This Friday Faves is a smattering of some of our favorite stories from the past few weeks. 

A team at MIT has devised away for you to get the last of the sauce out of the jar. LiquiGlide, A New Surface Coating Developed to Let Food and Other Products Slide Easily Out of Their Container  (Laughing Squid)

When Will Native American Food Finally Get Its Due? Most people don't know what plants are native to the Americas, much less what Native American cuisine consists of. (Eater)

Is It Time to Table Farm-to-Table? Sure, this one is full of snark, but also some very good points. (Vanity Fair)

In fast food news, Amy's Kitchen is opening its first all-vegetarian drive-thru restaurant in Sonoma County, California, this month, and McDonald's tries to reach out to a new bike-riding market with new take-away tote. "The packaging then unfolds, revealing two little pockets where the fries and burger have been gently cocooned during the commute. It’s like a little fat- and sugar-filled purse, and it’s great." Well, great except for the actual food. (Well and Good / Wired)

Sweden's wine industry? There is a whole world of wine coming out way. Says one winemaker: “I like to compare Sweden to Central Otago on South Island in New Zealand – the world’s most southerly wine region. It now has some of the best pinot noirs, but for years they said it was impossible because it was too cold.” (Guardian)

Back here at home, new hybrid grapes help grow wine industry. Did you know Indiana even had a signature wine grape? "Across the country we've seen a huge expansion in wine and grape production and wine-related tourism," said Bruce Reisch, who leads Cornell University's wine and grape research and development program in New York's Finger Lakes. (Press Connects via Specialty Food News)

Google Street View Goes Inside California Wine Country The map tool's panoramic views expand to include vineyards, tasting rooms and barrel cellars. (Wine Spectator)

Brew Dog is coming to America — to make beer here. Columbus, Ohio is the lucky destination. (FoodBev Media)

Will we ever be rid of the great Pacific Garbage Patch? Hopefully, yes. The world's first ocean cleaning system will be deployed in 2016. (Minds)

Amazon Plans to Add Its Own Line of Food — Milk, baby food and household products would carry Elements label. "Private labels have become a vital business for mass-market retailers, generating stronger margins and building loyalty with consumers who no longer view generic products as lower quality." (WSJ)

 

Sing Along Snacks: Are You Loving It?

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

Since it's 'back to school' time, here's one from the kids.

Oakland, California teens working with the local organization Muse Video created the music video Are You Loving It? that address the fast food oppression they feel in their neighborhoods.

Read more about the project and its creators.

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. 103

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

Literature for lunch: Chipotle Cups Will Now Feature Stories by Jonathan Safran Foer, Toni Morrison, and other Authors. Literati are in a bunge, but who says art can't be accessible? The Poetry in Motion subway series delighted commuters for years.(Vanity Fair)

Webster added 3 new food words to the dictionary. New culinary terms include pho ("a soup made of beef or chicken broth and rice noodles"), turducken ("a boneless chicken stuffed into a boneless duck stuffed into a boneless turkey"), and the Canadian favorite poutine ("a dish of French fries covered with brown gravy and cheese curds").

Chef Dan Barber covers What Farm to Table Got Wrong: eat your beans and grains. "In celebrating the All-Stars of the farmers’ market — asparagus, heirloom tomatoes, emmer wheat — farm-to-table advocates are often guilty of ignoring a whole class of humbler crops that are required to produce the most delicious food." (New York Times)

You can get this message, plus a longer conversation with Dan Barber in this radio interview. (WNYC/ Leonard Lopate Show)

The terrifying new McDonald's mascot – and other creepy corporate monsters (Guardian)

Again, science proves what we all know is true: ‘beer goggles’ exist. (Drinks Business)

Help Wanted: S.F. Restaurants Using New Incentives to Attract Kitchen Talent "Simply put: Fewer people want to start at the bottom, so they're getting into the business with a food truck or pop-up and bypassing the restaurant hierarchy." (SF Weekly)

A portrait of the rare and dangerous in Spain: Scraping for Sea Delicacy, and a Meager Living  (New York Times)

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 83

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

 

  • What if sausages grew on trees? One upon a time (above), in a 1970's German food fair, they did. (Retronaut)
  • Fast casual chain Chipotle sponsors a short movie and game targeting Big Ag: "According to Chipotle, the game encourages players to 'tilt and tap your way through four unique worlds to protect vulnerable veggies, rescue caged animals, and bring fresh food to the citizens of Plenty, all while dodging the menacing Crowbots.'" (NPR)
  • Offshore wind farms and shellfish could be a good economic match. "A small trial using seabed cultivation has already been carried out within the North Hoyle array by Welsh mussel company Deepdock Ltd, who showed that such an operation is both practical and viable, with no negative impacts on the wind farming operation." (Seafood Source)
  • Latino winemakers are a growing group in California, making the generational transition from pickers to winemakers. “'All of us have come from the ground up,' said Rafael Rios, 46, the group’s president, whose father came to the Napa Valley under the bracero program, a series of guest-worker agreements between the United States and Mexico. 'We know how it feels to be in the fields in 90 degrees.'” (New York Times)
  • First there was the Cronut, and then the world went food mash-up crazy. A Cheetos macaron? Oh, my. (LA Times)
  • In a new world of armchair farming, we found ourselves watching GoatCam, a livestream of adorable baby goats. (Modern Farmer)

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 52

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

 

  • Do we really even need to explain what's wrong with the packaging above? Let's just say that a trip to the store this week pushed us a purse too far, and pulling together these examples was way too easy.
  • Whisky makers are taking notice of their largest untapped market, even in Scotland: women. Glasgow women say whisky is no drink for old men. "Long typecast as the definitive male tipple, whisky has a growing appeal for women enthusiasts and in Glasgow a new women's whisky club has been set up, to the delight of distillers." A message to distillers from a couple of whisky-loving women: don't get cute with us. Shoes and purses are lovely, but they do not belong in packaging for grownups. (For what not to do, see above.)

 

 

 

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