A Full Belly

Still here

chicagostyle
Originally uploaded by andrewc.

I'm still here and thinking, watching, reading, and eating food. And running.

I'm glad that Michael Ruhlman has found a blog home of his own. And yes, fat pigs taste gooood. I've checked. Praise the lard, indeed.

I finally ate at Zuni Cafe. I will not soon forget this beautiful plate of fries.

Tastes like bacon!

Wine-tasting robot finds that humans taste like bacon. The AP reports:

When a reporter's hand was placed against the robot's taste sensor, it was identified as prosciutto. A cameraman was mistaken for bacon.

[via Collision Detection]

Whole Foods listens

Great article in the SF Chronicle today on how Whole Foods is responding to criticisms raised in the Omnivore's Dilemma and the correspondence between the book's author, Michael Pollan, and Whole Foods' CEO, John Mackey. In addition to buying more from local farmers, the article cites several other initiatives underway at Whole Foods:

--  Give $10 million a year in low-interest loans to help small, local farmers and producers of grass-fed and humanely raised meat, poultry and dairy animals.

--  Raise its standards of humane care for the animals who supply meat, eggs and dairy to the stores. Whole Foods has hired an "animal compassionate field buyer" to work with producers to ensure that they meet the standards.

--  Set up Sunday farmers' markets in the parking lots of some Whole Foods stores, including about 10 in Northern California.

I have a lot of respect for John Mackey and I'm glad to see these changes coming about as Whole Foods is uniquely positioned to positively influence the growing market and demand for organic, locally-grown, and humane food. This is definitely a good thing.

Obscure Kitchen Gadget: The Egg Cuber

The Egg Cuber is one of those kitchen gadgets that clearly, you do not need but once you've seen the result of its handiwork captured in your Flickr photostream, you MUST have one especially after you've done a quick search and found that it's available online for $2.99.

Sweet Meats: meats that never go bad

Sweet Meats Plush Toys = cutest meat plush toys ever and who doesn't need meat plush toys? These three will be adorning my couch. Not pictured here: the "Racka Ribs" and "Hot Links." [via Cute Overload].

lia vs frozen soup dumplings

Look, ma—now we do videos too! Hope you all like this one, there should be more coming soon. We hope to put two or so up every week.

Thanks so much to Mo SantRam for the great editing advice!

It'll make your mouth water

I love good food and I love to eat, and I sure do appreciate someone who can conjure up words that do justice to either and that's why I look forward to Fatted Calf's weekly email newsletter. An excerpt from this week's:

The drama continues this weekend when notoriously good Knoll Farm Figs are carefully encased in a petite boule of our sausage and then gingerly stuffed up the rump of a plump, brined Hoffman Farm Quail. These lusty concoctions are gorgeous when roasted and positively sing when grilled. Plunge in your fork and witness the hot figgy lava flow onto your plate beckoning you with its honeyed perfume to take a bite.

Bravo, little Fig!

See what I'm talking about?

Selecting the best produce

Augieland has some good tips for selecting the best produce at the Greenmarket that'll serve you well shopping at any farmers market.

The economics of fine dining

NYTimes on the economics of fine dining in Paris:

In a paper called “Stardust Over Paris,” two economists, Olivier Gergaud from the University of Reims and Vincenzo Verardi at the Free University of Brussels, and a mathematician, Linett Montaño Guzmán, looked at how much a Michelin star — a special designation of dining quality — is worth.

Receiving a Michelin star increases prices in a Parisian restaurant by 20 percent, controlling for measures of quality, décor and location. Michelin-starred restaurants in fancy hotels, or in areas with other Michelin-starred restaurants, also have higher prices, again adjusting for quality. Diners are paying more to eat in fine or prestigious surroundings, whether or not the food is better. One gastronomy expert, speaking in Le Nouvel Observateur, noted, “Gaining a Michelin star ensures that your banker will be kind to you.”

For those who hold the food as their main concern, the researchers offer a way forward. Dr. Verardi and Dr. Gergaud have built an index for overpriced and underpriced restaurants, relative to their food. They use the Zagat Survey to Parisian restaurants — whose popularity rankings are generated by diners’ reports, not critics — to provide an independent measure of customer satisfaction, which is then compared with price.

Michelin Guide goes mobile

If you live in the U.K., good news! Nokia is bundling the Michelin Guide and ViaMichelin (digital maps) with the new Nokia E-series mobile phones. [via dj]