Other happenings

Odds ‘n ends posts about things happening in NYC area , plus leftover posts from original BIte of the Best site

New Haven’s Restaurant Week Just Commenced

It's back!  New Haven Restaurant week is a sure-fire way to make everyone happy: Restaurants are filled to capacity and diners get an economical chance to sample a taste of the city. Once announced, the popular restaurant were filled almost immediately. But there's always cancelations -- so do call ahead to see if you can get in. The celebration runs through April 24. The week-long epicurean celebration began yesterday. It  features about 25 of New Haven's restaurants, each serving prix fixe menus for lunch ($16.38 - the year New Haven was founded) and dinner ($29). Tax and gratuity not included. For a listing of the restaurants, their cuisines and the [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:45-04:00April 20th, 2009|Other happenings, USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments
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Kevorkian Burger

Susan Levin, a staff dietitian for the Washington-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, recently sent a letter to The West Michigan Whitecaps, a minor-league baseball team in Grand Rapids. This is not just an odd pen pal relationship; Ms. Levin is asking that the organization put a warning label on their new 4,800-calorie burger. Ms.Levin finds their creation to be a "dietary disaster" that increases the risk of cancer and heart disease.... The Whitecaps say they have no plans to put a label on the enormous new hamburger they're selling this season, noting it's just a publicity stunt, that has clearly worked.... Good grief... -bryan btw - The 4-pound, $20 [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:45-04:00April 14th, 2009|Other happenings, USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments
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Planters Harvest Items Containing Pistachio Nuts Recalled

Kraft Foods announced a voluntary recall Planters products containing pistachio nuts that have the potential to be contaminated with the Salmonella organism as the pistachios may have been supplied by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc, one of their suppliers. This recall includes two Planters Harvest items that we featured. The affected items include: PLANTERS HARVEST Almond Orchard Blend  9.75 oz (SKU 2900001322; Code dates 05 29 09 to 12 20 09) and PLANTERS HARVEST Roasted Pistachio Grove  10 oz  (SKU: 2900001321; Code dates 08 27 09 to 03 20 10) According to Kraft, consumers should not eat these products and can call the company at 1-800-310-3704 with any questions [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:45-04:00April 10th, 2009|Other happenings, xyz misc|3 Comments
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COOL – Country of Origin Labeling

Ever wonder where the food in the supermarket cases came from? It's gotten simpler to find out. COOL, a government Country of Origin Labeling legislation, requires country-of-origin labeling on many fresh foods, including cuts of meat, poultry, lamb and pork, fruits and vegetables, and some nuts. Meaning now you'll know whether the food you're buying was imported or was grown/raised in the US. COOL labeling is not required on processed foods. To learn more about this program visit: www.countryoforiginlabel.org

By |2017-08-31T16:20:45-04:00April 9th, 2009|Other happenings, xyz misc|0 Comments
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Iron Chef Atlanta

Battle Rhubarb... Allez Cuisine!!! A recent fundraiser for the Atlanta Dogwood Festival took on an interesting dimension when it adopted the 'Iron Chef' format. Guests to the event were privy to a selection of silent auction items, passed appetizers (a pimento cheese 'slider' impressing most) and wine... all while taking in the competitive 'battle' between two local chefs. The secret ingredient was rhubarb (oddly, a rather Northeastern ingredient by my account). Shaun Doty represented his restaurant (aptly named Shaun's) while Chip Ulbrich showed what South City Kitchen was all about. The pair produced a dinner for the judges; Chip offering an entree of seared pork belly atop a sweet potato, [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:46-04:00April 7th, 2009|Foodie Interviews, Other happenings, USA Restaurants, USA Travel, xyz misc|2 Comments
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Stonyfield Farm Nationwide Recall of Fat Free Plain Yogurt

Yes, another recall! This time for Stonyfield Farm's Fat Free Plain Quarts limited to specific dates because they may contain a presence of food grade sanitizer. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the products affected are the 32 ounce Fat Free Plain yogurt UPC # 52159 00006 with the date codes: * May 06 09 Time stamped 22:17 thru 23:59 (limited to these specific time stamps only). * May 07 09 All time stamps. Approximately 44,000 quarts were distributed to retail accounts nationally. The product has an off-taste. To date, there's been no report of illness after consuming the product. The issue was a result of human error [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:46-04:00April 6th, 2009|Other happenings, xyz misc|0 Comments
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New Haven: From “The Under-400-Mile Escape”

As a current New Haven area resident, I couldn't resist telling you about the article New York Magazine published on March 29, 2009, written by Adam Graham that mentioned how New Haven (CT) is for foodies! This is one of seven "cheap, exciting, nearby spring trips. For those times when Tahiti really is just a dream." Just click here to read about the six other mentions in "The Under-400-Mile Escape" FOR FOODIES: New Haven, Connecticut 95 Minutes by Car The college town’s burgers and pizza are justifiably famous (just check out the customer logjams at Louis’ Lunch and Pepe’s Pizza). Less known are its bounty of locavore restaurants, which have [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:46-04:00April 1st, 2009|Other happenings, USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments
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TwistAssist Jar Opener

When I first saw this tool, I thought it would be a great replacement for my countertop Black & Decker Lids Off Jar Opener, giving me additional counter space. I was partially correct. TwistAssist is a simple suction tool that helps open tight lids ($9.99). I tried and found it easy to use when attending a housewares show earlier this year. But once I got the lid opener home, it did work — but not as easily as my electric jar opener. If you have no counter space for an electric tool to assist you in opening tight jar lids, then I'd recommend this to you. (It's available at amazon) [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:46-04:00March 30th, 2009|Food & Drinks, Other happenings, xyz misc|0 Comments
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Win $1 Million Bucks for Your Original Recipe

Calling all creative cooks. The 44th Pillsbury Bake-off is open for entries in four contest categories: Breakfast & Brunches, Entertaining Appetizers, Dinner Made Easy and Sweet Treats. The winning recipe will walk off with more than $1 million in cash and prizes. Entered recipes must use two or more different eligible products in their recipes, one primary and one secondary. I was going to list all these here for you, but it's quite a detailed list so instead click here to go to www.BakeOff.com for all the sundry details and entry form. Pillsbury selects 100 finalists, which entitles them to a trip April 11 - 13, 2010 — including airfare [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:47-04:00March 23rd, 2009|Other happenings, xyz misc|2 Comments
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Lindt Gold Bunny Giveback Program

From today through April 12th, Lindt & Sprüngli — a leading producer of premium chocolate — will be donating 10 cents to Autism Speaks for every 3.5-ounce size ($4.50) to 35.2-ounce ($50) Lindt Gold Bunny purchased and will donate 5 percent of the proceeds for each set of Gold Bunny Ears ($3)— up to $100,000. You can purchase the bunny ears can at Lindt Chocolate Shops or online at LindtGoldBunny.com. The ears will also be provided at select Walk Now for Autism event. The partnership hopes to raise awareness for autism during the month of April, which is Autism Awareness Month. “One in every 150 children is diagnosed with autism, [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:47-04:00March 13th, 2009|Other happenings, xyz misc|1 Comment
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Beverage Brands Drop High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Companies do listen to consumers' complaints. A few of them are replacing High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in some of their beverages with — low and behold — sugar.  HFCS is currently controversial. It's a cheaper source of sugar for manufacturers to use than sugar. Seriously. That's due to corn subsidies and sugar tariffs. Recently the FDA recently gave the go-ahead to call products containing HFCS natural. To me that is a bit of a stretch. Sugar comes from sugar cane or beets, HFCS comes from the processing of corn into corn starch, which is converted into corn syrup using enzymes and then with the help of additional enzymes (and [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:47-04:00March 10th, 2009|Other happenings, xyz misc|4 Comments
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Win a Dream Basketball Package

Calling all college basketball fans.  If you're dreaming of being court side at the championship game, head to www.SnackAlmonds.com and cast your vote for your favorite almond snack. The Almond Board of California asked four chefs from around the country to develop new almond snacks for this contest - you just select the one you like the best. It's that easy to enter this dream College Basketball Package (valued at $8,500). The choices are: (1) Grilled Skirt Steak Sliders with Smoked Almond Romesco, Maytag Blue Cheese, and Smoked Almond Butter (2) Beer and Bacon Glazed All-Mans (3) Almond Beer-Battered Catfish (4) Three Chili Honey Almond Fried Chicken You'll need to [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:47-04:00March 4th, 2009|Other happenings, xyz misc|10 Comments
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Tropicana Returns To Original Juice Packaging

Earlier this month while out doing errands, I ran into a discount grocery store that was convenient to pick up Tropicana orange juice. I was hoping to find Pure Valencia, but was in a rush so would take whichever variety they had. I needed it for the mimosas I was planning to serve at brunch. When I got to the dairy case I stared at it, not recognizing any of the packaging. Then I noticed "Tropicana" printed on one of the cartons in a non-traditional Tropicana juice carton. I thought perhaps Tropicana had packaged it in this generic looking container for this discount store. I thought nothing more of it [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:47-04:00February 25th, 2009|Other happenings, xyz misc|3 Comments
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“Good” Peanut List

To date, I've given you info about the peanut products recalled for possible salmonella contamination and have provided websites and a widget to help you find the products that you should not eat. I just learned from Susan H. Reef, a member of the Bite of the Best community — who's the President of the US Food Safety Corporation — that there's now a list of the "good" peanut products by brand. Meaning there's now a listing of those peanut products not recalled. I must also share that the US Food Safety Corporation has not independently verified this list; it is based solely on reports from manufacturers. To see whether [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:47-04:00February 24th, 2009|Other happenings, xyz misc|1 Comment
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Black Sapote – Casa del Agua

Riviera Maya Foodie News Part III: I wanted to mention one final foodie find from my recent long weekend in the Riviera Maya. While traveling, we got to enjoy two villas.;the first in Playa del Carmen was Villa Aqua. The second, in Puerto Aventuras (about 15 minutes South of Playa) was Casa del Agua. Casa del Agua is a fantastic home, with the cool blue waters of the Caribbean gently lapping against the white, sandy beach it calls a front yard. Hammocks swing between palm trees and margaritas flow freely... this is truly paradise. The best part of staying at Casa del Agua are the creations of the head chef, [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:48-04:00February 19th, 2009|Bites from the Road, Food & Drinks, Foodie Interviews, Other happenings, USA Restaurants, xyz misc|2 Comments
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Widmer Brothers Drifter Pale Ale

Widmer Brothers Brewing started as a dream for two brothers who just loved beer.  In 1984, Kurt and Rob Widmer helped lead the Pacific Northwest craft beer movement. In 1986, Widmer Brothers Brewing introduced the first American-style Hefeweizen; today, this unfiltered cloudy beer is the company’s signature brew and one of the best selling wheat beers in the country! The newest beer, Drifter, is Widmer’s first true foray into the pale ale category. This is a truly amazing first attempt, with a flavor that’s unlike any I’ve tried before. The ale is very different from its pale cousins with strong citrus notes of grapefruit and tangerine well balanced against a [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:48-04:00February 12th, 2009|Food & Drinks, Other happenings, xyz misc|0 Comments
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New Haven Restaurant Tour: Scoozi’s Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Mustard Greens

Last week during one of  the Sneak Peak Week  for New Haven's International Festival of Arts & Ideas to be held June 13 to 27 this year, I conducted two restaurant tours to six of New Haven's top restaurants. On our "Slow Food" tour, participants discovered organic, local and sustainable flavors of the three visited restaurants:   Zinc (964 Chapel Street), Scoozi (1104 Chapel Street) and Heirloom (1157 Chapel Street), who each did a cooking demonstration as part of the tour. I promised participants that I would post as many recipes as possible. This recipe is the first of those postings. Housemade Sweet Potato gnocchi, Pan-seared Franklin Farms Organic Mushrooms and [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:49-04:00February 5th, 2009|Entrees, Other happenings, Recipes, USA Restaurants, xyz misc|1 Comment
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The Wine Press: Racking

Our third visit to The Wine Press was for racking our wine. Our new pals Ray and Frank were — of course — there to assist using every step of the racking. But before we began that process, we sampled some of their Wine Press wines,  nibbled Italian table cheese, olives and stuffed cherry peppers  and tried to catch up with each other -- as many of our wine-making team hadn't seen each other since before the new year. Racking:   Diane held the hose, while Ray commenced the process of draining the wine from our barrel so we could remove and discard the sediment that had precipitated from the liquid. [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:20:49-04:00February 3rd, 2009|Other happenings, USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments
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