Tom McMahon

Baskin-Robbins' 31 Original Flavors

The list:

1. Banana Nut Fudge
2. Black Walnut
3. Burgundy Cherry
4. Butterscotch Ribbon
5. Cherry Macaroon
6. Chocolate
7. Chocolate Almond
8. Chocolate Chip
9. Chocolate Fudge
10. Chocolate Mint
11. Chocolate Ribbon
12. Coffee
13. Coffee Candy
14. Date Nut
15. Egg Nog
16. French Vanilla
17. Green Mint Stick
18. Lemon Crisp
19. Lemon Custard
20. Lemon Sherbet
21. Maple Nut
22. Orange Sherbet
23. Peach
24. Peppermint Fudge Ribbon
25. Peppermint Stick
26. Pineapple Sherbet
27. Raspberry Sherbet
28. Rocky Road
29. Strawberry
30. Vanilla
31. Vanilla Burnt Almond

And from the obituary of founder Irvine Robbins:

With his brother-in-law and partner, Burton Baskin, Robbins displayed a keen sense of fun and a flair for marketing that helped turn some of their frozen treats into cultural touchstones.

When the Dodgers came to Los Angeles in 1958, they were greeted with Baseball Nut, complete with raspberries for the umpires. Lunar Cheesecake was launched the day after man landed on the moon in 1969. At the height of Beatlemania in 1964, a reporter asked Robbins what flavor would salute the Fab Four; Baskin-Robbins had yet to invent one, but Robbins replied, "Uh, Beatle Nut, of course" and had it in stores in five days.

He delighted in inventing new flavors and naming them, including Plum Nuts (plums, vanilla and walnuts), ChaChaCha (cherry chocolate chip), or his personal favorite, Jamoca Almond Fudge. By the time he retired in 1978, the company was selling some 20 million gallons of ice cream a year in more than 2,000 stores around the world.

Miller Genuine Draft Flunks Beer Marketing 101

Excerpts from Advertising Age:

Beer marketing 101: The most consistent brands fare best. Bud Light got to No. 1 by providing three decades of nearly uninterrupted chucklehead, frat-boy humor; Corona became the top import by never straying from the beach; and Coors Light surged in recent years by obsessing about its Rocky Mountain roots.

Then there's Miller Genuine Draft.

Since 1991, the long-declining brand has burned through four agencies and is about to break at least its eighth tagline in almost as many years. During that time, it has centered its pitch on both juvenile sexual humor and the maturity of the people who drink it; cited both its lack of pretense and its inherent sophistication; and touted its cold-filtration brewing as superior while being marketed in tandem with its heat-pasteurized siblings.

Given those dizzying contradictions, it's perhaps not surprising that shipments have dropped about 41% during that period to roughly half its early-'90s peak, a trend Miller hopes it can snap with a new campaign -- once it settles on one, that is. ...

Some who've worked on MGD -- such as Joe Sciarrotta, the Ogilvy Chicago creative chief who handled the account in 2003, during Ogilvy's stint as agency of record -- say the problem is that MGD is a full-calorie domestic macro-brew, a category that has long declined. "It's not a marketing problem; it's a product problem," he said.

In A Truly Absolut World There Would Be No Borders

In A Truly Absolut World There Would Be No Borders

Is This Any Way To Sell Beer?

Is This Any Way To Sell Beer? (Click to Biggify)

From here (PDF)

Let's Dip Dracula!

Let's Dip Dracula!

An excerpt from Anne Quimby Mathias over at Summary Judgments:

My very cool friend Gina brought me this gift from her adventures in one of the “ania” countries of Central Europe. She knew I would appreciate nothing better than a powdered dip mix bearing the excellent name “Let’s dip Dracula.” It’s the best gift I’ve ever received.

This review will be somewhat incomplete, since I haven’t the heart to open the package and actually prepare the dip. And since I don’t read Romanian (I think it’s Romanian) I probably shouldn’t prepare the dip anyway. If I ever do prepare it, I probably shouldn’t eat it, or feed it to anyone else, especially our small children.

Q: What Is A Sugarplum? A: A Great Christmas Gift!

Sugarplums

The sales blurb:

Visions of those darned sugarplums kept us up the whole night before Christmas year after year-wondering what the heck sugarplums were and why on earth they were dancing. Now we know: a blend of sweet plum compote and rich dark chocolate, formed into a truffle-like chocolate-coated candy that will have you dancing all night long.

A Recipe Tester For The Food Network, Sarah Copeland Boasts One Of The Best Jobs On Earth

An excerpt from Elizabeth Davies:

You might like your job. Your boss might not even be particularly annoying. But you don’t hold a candle to job satisfaction compared with Sarah Copeland. The 30-year-old Rockford native actually — get this — is paid to eat.

A recipe tester with the Food Network, Copeland spends her days cooking, dreaming up recipes and of course, eating.

“I’m always amazed by what a strong reaction people have to food, and to my job,” she said in an e-mail interview from her home in New York City. “When they find out I get paid to play with food all day, most people say I have their dream job.”

So much so that Copeland was recently featured on the television show “I Want Your Job,” produced by the Fine Living Network. Host Michelle Beadle followed Copeland through her day developing recipes in the Food Network’s New York kitchen.

The Milwaukee Lefty Blogs Drinking Game

A little game to make your surveillance of the liberal side of the Cheddarsphere a little more palatable. Each of the following gets you one swig of any Wisconsin beer of your choice, unless otherwise noted:

• Wingnut (Double Swig on Plaisted Writes)
• Racist (Light Beer only)
• The tyranny of talk radio or equivalent
• Charlie Sykes
• Mark Belling
• Jay Weber (Double Swig)
• Jeff Wagner (Triple Swig)
• Rush Limbaugh
• Bill O'Reilly
• Fox News
• Faux News (Double Swig)
• A truly funny joke or story (One Entire 12-oz. Can)
• A failed attempt at humor (Light Beer only)
• Any sort of angry white male reference
• A low IQ reference to Republicans or conservatives
• Quoting a failed Democrat (Jimmy Carter, John Norquist, etc)
• Creepy John Hinckley-like obsession with Jessica McBride (Light Beer only)
• Any pointless Tom Tomorrow cartoon
• Homophobic, etc
• You're full of crap! (Triple Swig on Folkbum)
• Impeach Bush! in any of the Google ads
• Any over-hyped story from Media Matters
• Any ad for a 01-20-2009 countdown timer or merchandise
• Any reference to the Founding Fathers
• George W. Bush photoshopped to look stupid (Light Beer only)
• McCarthyism
• Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11
• Glowing references to Keith Olbermann
• Republican hypocrisy or conservative hypocrisy
• Cute baby pictures (One 12-oz. can - not everything is politics, you know)
• Any decent recipe
• Any decent non-vegetarian recipe (One 12-oz. can)
• Bob (if you are watching The Bob Newhart Show while surfing)

On the more frequent items I had to specify Light Beer in order combat The National Epidemic of Obesity. As for The National Epidemic of Drunkenness, you're on your own . . .

The Pride of Pennsylvania Pretzels: Snyder's of Hanover vs Snyder of Berlin

   
The Pride of Pennsylvania Pretzels: Snyder's of Hanover vs Snyder of Berlin

Now separate companies, you can read about their common early history here.   Each company puts a disclaimer on its packages stating it is not connected with the other Snyder. Back when there was a General Electric  plc in the UK, the US GE had to put a similar disclaimer whenever it advertised in the UK.

Illustrated Coffee Drinks

Illustrated Coffee Drinks

(via the Presurfer)

Ray Kroc's First McDonald's In Des Plaines, Illinois: Over 1 Million Served!

Ray Kroc's First McDonald's In Des Plaines, Illinois: Over 1 Million Served!

I used to work in nearby Elk Grove Village and one of my then co-workers remembered old Ray Kroc himself taking out the garbage at this very McDonalds.

The original photo from which this Intocartoon rendering was made was actually taken August 17, 2007. ("Awesome shot! The classic Detroit iron in front really set the picture up nicely!") You see, that's not really the McDonalds my co-workers spoke of:

The Des Plaines restaurant was demolished in 1984. McDonald's realized they had a history to preserve, so they constructed a complete replica of the first store on the same spot. With golden arches soaring over a glass and metal, red-and-white tiled exterior, the building largely follows the McDonald brothers' original blueprints, which they had introduced when they began franchising in 1953; a Phoenix, Arizona restaurant was the first built in this manner.

Georgia Peanut Salsa

• 3  plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 (8  ounce) jar picante sauce
• 1 (11  ounce) can corn, drained (white or shoepeg)
• 1/3  cup Italian salad dressing
• 1  medium green pepper, chopped 
• 1  medium sweet red pepper, chopped 
• 4  green onions, thinly sliced 
• 1/2  cup fresh cilantro, minced 
• 2  garlic cloves, minced 
• 2 1/2  cups dry roasted salted peanuts 
• hot pepper sauce (optional)

1. In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients.
2. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
3. Just before serving, stir in peanuts and pepper sauce, if desired.
4. Serve with tortilla chips.

From Recipezaar, originally from the Plains Peanut Festival.

Long Before Joe Camel There Was The Hamm's Beer Bear

The Paws of Refreshment: The Story of Hamm's Beer Advertising

An excerpt from Wikipedia:

Its name (never mentioned in the commercials) is Sascha, after the wife of the founder of the company. Theodore Hamm's wife was named Louise. The Hamm's Beer bear was created by Patrick DesJarlait, an Ojibwa, in 1952 for an advertising campaign produced by the Campbell-Mithun advertising agency. For a period, a real bear named Sascha trained by Earl Hammond appeared in commercials as well. The Hamm's Beer bear was featured on endless array of signs, glassware, and tchotchkes such as clocks, ceramic miniatures, and ashtrays. It was so well-known and identified with Minnesota that the St. Paul Pioneer Press named the bear as a runner-up on its list of "150 Influential Minnesotans of the Past 150 Years" in 2000.

There's also the YouTube videos and the Onion Radio News: Hamm's Beer Bear Found Dead In Flop Zoo. I used to see the Hamm's bear all the time when I was a kid watching the Chicago Cubs on WGN-TV.

The Recipe For Genuine Wisconsin Fried Cheese Curds

• 2/3 cup milk
• ½ cup flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 pound cheese curds

In bowl, combine milk, flour, baking powder and salt. Coat curds in mixture and drop into 375-degree oil. Brown in batches in oil until they float, 35 to 45 seconds.

More great info on cheese curds here.

Melinda Lou Thomas, The Original Wendy of Wendy's Restaurants

Melinda Lou Thomas, The Original Wendy of Wendy's Restaurants

From capitalistchicks.com:

In the case of Wendy’s restaurant, business and family seem to be inevitably linked. When Dave Thomas opened his first Wendy’s in Columbus, Ohio, he named the hamburger restaurant in honor of his eight-year old daughter Melinda Lou “Wendy” Thomas. Wendy was a nickname given to Melinda Lou by her four siblings, and came to be the name that she preferred for herself. Within a few years, Wendy’s restaurants, and the image of eight-year old Wendy herself, became synonymous with fresh made-to-order food. ...

While her father may have become the heart of the company, Wendy Thomas continued to live up to her role as the franchise’s “daddy’s girl” and remained rather active in her father’s business. She owned several Wendy’s restaurants in the Dallas area until 1999. Following her father’s death in 2002, Wendy chose to reenter the business side of her father’s company. She and her siblings ultimately decided that it was only appropriate to carry on their father’s legacy through Wendy’s restaurants.

The Best Way To Kill A Lobster

The Best Way To Kill A Lobster

(via Found In Mom's Basement )

Could You Survive On British Wartime Rations?

Could You Survive On British Wartime Rations?

Note that those are weekly allowances, not daily. Click on the link to read how one modern family gave it a try.

Full-Bloom Tea: Hand-Tied Artisan Teas Bloom Into Drinkable Floral Bouquets

Full-Bloom Tea: Hand-Tied Artisan Teas Bloom Into Drinkable Floral Bouquets

And yes, they also sell glass teapots and teacups.

Beer: Is There Anything It Can't Do?

Beer: Is There Anything It Can't Do?

(via PCL Linkdump)

Panko-Crusted Scallops With Parmesan-Roasted Asparagus

Panko-Crusted Scallops With Parmesan-Roasted Asparagus

Bratwurst Haiku

That first juicy bite
Is nirvana on a bun,
O sweet sizzling brat!
- Jean Ross, Milwaukee

A blossom of fire
Sweet juices fall on hot coals
As the bratwurst sings
- Linda Hassel, Oshkosh

More here and here.

Warren Buffets

Warren Buffets

A map to all the buffet restaurants in Warren, Michigan.

Fast Food: Ads vs Reality

    
Fast Food: Ads vs Reality

That's the KFC Famous Bowl above, via the wonderful Advertising Is Good For You. And since I'm on a roll with it, here's the Intocartoon version of the ad photo:

Why Mindy Ephron Likes Rachel Ray

Here's what she says:

I happen to like Rachael Ray. She's kind of chirpy and chubby and I identify with her. Almost everyone I know loathes her at first, but is eventually charmed by her down-to-earth personality, and the easy-to-makeness of her recipes. Plus I find her genuinely cute. With some "upbeat" television personalities, you can see the thinly disguised weariness in their eyes and it's scary, like say, Megan Mullaly on her short-lived show. But Ms. Ray seems to suppress this exhaustion and sadness better than others, so I can at least pretend she is indeed overjoyed to be teaching me how to make risotto or whatever.

The Baker Who Took His Secret With Him To The Grave. Literally.

The Baker Who Took His Secret With Him To The Grave. Literally.

From grow-a-brain:

An Israeli baker who vowed to take the recipe for his cinnamon cake to the grave kept his promise by having it etched onto his gravestone. Mourners at the funeral of Jaakov Topor, 93, from Kibbutz Na'an turned up for the funeral to find all the details for his cinnamon cake recipe etched in stone.

And from Ananova:

A baker who vowed to take the recipe for his cinnamon cake to the grave kept his promise by having it etched onto his gravestone.

Mourners at the funeral of Jaakov Topor, 93, from Kibbutz Naan in Israel turned up for the funeral to find all the details for his cinnamon cake recipe etched in stone.

"Everyone in the community had tried at one time or another to get the recipe out of him as it was a best seller, but he vowed he would never tell anyone while there was still breath in his body," said his grandson.

Topor had kept the recipe secret for more than 75 years.

It included a kilo of flour, 50 grams of yeast, a pinch of salt, three eggs, seven spoons of sugar, 200 grams of margarine, one and a half glasses of milk and cinnamon to taste.

Muskrat Dinner

Michigan Catholics get a special Lenten dispensation to turn this:

Muskrat

Into this:

Muskrat Dinner

This goes back to the 1800's, to the fur trapper days. One bishop wrote that "anyone who could eat muskrat was doing penance worthy of the greatest of the saints."

Improving The World, One Olive At A Time

While Englishman Ben Hammersley is quite liberal in his politics, he is decidedly conservative in his temperment:

My wish is to see the reintroduction of cocktail hour. As a civilising force, a meditation on the day and a reinvigoration of the soul, the loss of the golden time before dinner has been a tragedy for all. It is time to bring it back. The children need it.

Last Friday, I sat contemplating my Churchill-tini (eight parts gin, open the vermouth, wave the glass in the direction of France, close the vermouth, two olives), when some young lads sullied the quiet demanding to buy bottles of Bacardi Breezer. Warm ones, it bothered them not, and - hold me - pineapple flavour. They are a lost generation.

Farming was invented for the grain for beer. The correct and judicious use of alcohol has been driving force behind humanity since pre-history. But the sight of the next generation preferring alcopops over Perfect Manhattans has been lost to our politicians, and the country is all the poorer for it. A generation has been betrayed.

You'd not drink absinthe on the beach, or a pina colada at a wake. But match the time and place to the drink, and you have the height of civilisation. And so, this evening, when work is done, find a hoodie, retire to a proper bar, order something in a stem glass, and improve the world, one olive at a time.

Cupcake Courier

Cupcake Courier

For transporting up to 36 cupcakes to school events, parties, etc. (via Pam Beesley)

The Real Pepsi Challenge: The Inspirational Story of Breaking the Color Barrier in American Business

The Real Pepsi Challenge: The Inspirational Story of Breaking the Color Barrier in American Business

The Booklist review on Amazon:

Imagine the state of race relations in segregated America in 1946. Capparell, a journalist, describes the remarkable decision by the Pepsi Company to hire 12 black persons as upper-level salespeople to develop the black market. The team operated for more than four years, and in soliciting blacks everywhere, they surpassed their profit goals. Generating profits was their sole purpose. However, this is also a story of unintended consequences, including introducing diversity into corporate America, revolutionizing the strategies of niche marketing, featuring black actors in ads, and identifying blacks as an important consumer segment. Capparell extensively interviewed the six living members of that team formed 60 years ago who were genuine pioneers in overcoming prejudice within a large corporation and dealing with Jim Crow laws of segregation while traveling. This is a snapshot in time, with its profit successes but also its failures. Although it did not change the business world, it set the stage for ambitious black executives who followed them.

Austrian Chocolate Balls With A Rum And Vodka Liquid Center

Austrian Chocolate Balls With A Rum And Vodka Liquid Center

One or two is all it takes to put a smile on your face!

Ten Things You Can Learn From The Man On The Quaker Oats Box

Ten Things You Can Learn From The Man On The Quaker Oats Box

1. Smile!
   Nobody likes a Grump. If you can smile and get people to smile back, you're halfway there already.
2. If you're clean and neat, it's OK if you're a bit out of date.
   But sloppy and disheveled will never get you anywhere.
3. Simple, classic design never really goes out of style.
   Try this experiment: Turn on your TV, but turn off the sound. Then tune it to Andy Griffith or Dick Van Dyke. You can probably fill in the dialogue yourself. Now try it with Laugh-In or Mod Squad. Even without the stupid jokes and dialogue, can you stand to watch all that garish polyester?
4. A good name is worth its weight in gold.
   There's probably a reason there are Quaker Oats but not Roman Catholic Spaghetti or Scientology Soda Crackers.
5. Provide a good, wholesome product that's a great value and you'll do just fine.
   Quaker Oats have been around forever. How many flash-in-the-pan products have come and gone in the past 100 years?
6. But a great tagline helps too.
   "Nothing is Better for Thee than Me." Can't you just hear the gentle old voice in your head. Don't you suddenly miss your sweet, long-dead Grandpa? Me too.
7. Branch out, but stay close to your roots.
   Instant oatmeal, fine. Granola bars, OK. But when the Quaker Oats Man owned Fisher-Price toys for a while, well that didn't work out so great.
8. Keep it simple.
   Haddon Sundblom first drew this rendition of the Quaker Oats Man in 1957. 50 years. Stay with what works.
9. Science can be your friend.
   You know, that whole cholesterol-lowering thing. It's OK to go hi-tech even if you are a simple man of the soil.
10. Simple, Plain Living is more difficult than it looks.
    300 years ago the Quaker Oat Man's outfit was a testimony to simple living. But if you wore it today, you'd be ostentatious, not simple. So what's more of a testimony to Plain Living: Buying a new Prius, or keeping that nice-running K-Car that you inherited from your Grandma going for a couple more years? The answers are not always obvious, and it's easy to go off track.
11. Always do your best, and you'll have a reason to smile.
    He already knows this. Do you?

Cross-Shaped Breath Mints In A Bible Tin

Cross-Shaped Breath Mints In A Bible Tin

The only product on the market today that will make your breath minty fresh and keep the vampires away.

Chicken Feet: Great To Eat!

Chicken Feet: Great To Eat!

A terrific mid-morning snack brought in by one of my co-workers at UltraGlobalMegaCorp, Sam Lee. Unfortunately I wasn't able to have any because I'm diabetic, you know. I hear chicken feet raise your blood sugar real bad. Real, real bad. Or so I'm told. Better safe than sorry. You know what a Health Nut I am. I'm a Feet-and-Hoofs Vegan, so to speak. My co-workers who tried them said they taste just like candy. Sorta like VitaMeataVegaMin. (photo by Mike McOlash)

Phil Connors? Watch Out For That First Step, It's A Doozey!

Phil Connors? Watch Out For That First Step, It's A Doozey!

This plaque is in Woodstock, Illinois, where the movie was filmed.

Nutri-Fruit Freeze Dried Fruit Powders: Cranberry, Blackberry, Blueberry, Raspberry, Strawberry, And Banana

Nutri-Fruit Freeze Dried Fruit Powders:
Cranberry, Blackberry, Blueberry, Raspberry, Strawberry, And Banana

The blurb:

Nutri-Fruit™ products are made by taking advantage of the proven attributes of berries. While it is best to eat fresh fruit, that is not always convenient nor practical because of seasonal variability or ease of handling. In order to ‘capture’ the full nutritional value of fresh fruit, it is best to allow natural maturity to take place, and then promptly freeze the berries at the peak of ripeness. Freezing virtually stops natural degradation and preserves the beneficial nutrients and nutraceutical compounds present in ripe fruit.

These fresh frozen berries can then be ‘freeze dried’ – a process that removes ONLY the water from the fruit by using low temperatures and pressure. This process concentrates the full nutritional value of fresh berries into a small volume that does not require refrigeration, while preserving nature’s premium flavor without additives.

Cheddar Cheese Powder

Cheddar Cheese Powder

Sprinkle it on popcorn, or make you own Cheetos (dangerously cheesy!). From the Back to the Country Store of Rudolph, Wisconsin. Lots of other hard-to-find fun food, like dehydrated marshmallows. Browse around, I'm sure you'll find something you need.

Other than tommcmahon.net, where else can you get cutting-edge political commentary along with useful tips on food additives and condiments (NOT preservatives!) ?

Your Right To Be A Barbarian

An excerpt from one of Mike Royko's old columns:

This simple little quiz is directed at those who love hot dogs. Not any hot dog, but the true, classic Chicago hot dog. The finest hot dog known to man. Look at the following recipe and see if something is wrong. If so, what?

Chicago hot dog: Vienna beef hot dog, poppy seed bun, dill pickle, jalapeños, relish, mustard, ketchup. Place dog in bun. Cover with jalapeños, relish, mustard, and ketchup. Serve with dill pickle.

The flaws are so obvious that by now those with civilized, discriminating Chicago taste buds are snorting and sneering and flinging this shameful recipe to the floor and spitting on it. It deserves nothing less.

But not merely because it includes ketchup and omits sliced tomatoes, chopped onions, and that miraculous dash of celery salt.

No, I won't condemn anyone for putting ketchup on a hot dog. This is the land of the free. And if someone wants to put ketchup on a hot dog and actually eat the awful thing, that is their right. It is also their right to put mayo or chocolate syrup or toenail clippings or cat hair on a hot dog.

Sure, it would be disgusting and perverted, and they would be shaming themselves and their loved ones. But under our system of government, it is their right to be barbarians.

Recipezaar: My Favorite Recipe Site

For example, Recipezaar has 61 recipes for Spinach Quiche.

Splenda Pumpkin Pie: The Sneaky Way To Get Your Kids To Eat Their Vegetables

Pumpkin Pie made with Splenda contains eggs, milk, and pumpkin, one of the world's healthiest foods. Easy to make, bakes in one hour. Just don't tell them that pumpkin is a vegetable!

Deep-Fried Bananas In Coconut Batter

Deep-Fried Bananas In Coconut Batter

It's a Thai recipe, but wouldn't it make a great dessert for a Wisconsin Fish Fry?

The Tumbling Vacuum Meat Marinator

The Tumbling Vacuum Meat Marinator

The blurb:

This marinator creates a vacuum inside the barrel that causes the food's fibers to stretch and become porous, while paddles inside of the rotating barrel flip and coat the food with marinade. Unlike conventional techniques that only flavor the surface and require 24 hours of marinating for thick cuts of meat, the automated marinator infuses restaurant-quality flavor and succulence into a 5-lb. brisket in less than 20 minutes, while using half the amount of marinade required for pan or bag soaking. Using the same technology to facilitate tenderization that the food industry has applied for 30 years, the marinator allows meat, fish or vegetables to absorb up to 20% of their weight in marinade without extended preparation.

Only $200. Kind of like one of those rock tumblers you had as a kid, but for food.

Why America Is The Greatest Country On Earth

Why America Is The Greatest Country On Earth

Only in America would a man feel free to think the thought: New Flavor: Same Big Bold Taste! Only in America would a man feel free to speak this thought out loud, at work, in front of his boss. Only in America would his Boss think it's a Great Idea, and print it out on thousands and thousands of bottles. And see that little dot right by the exclamation mark? Yes, only in America would we be confident enough, nay proud enough (and being a product of Kraft, lawsuit-wary enough) to make New Flavor: Same Big Bold Taste! a Registered Trademark. Until the Chinese get the knack for this, they'll always be second rate.

What Part Of The Chicken Do They Use To Make Deep-Fried Chicken Rings?

Deep-Fried Chicken Rings

The Golden Age of Snacks

Elyse Sewell reports from Hong Kong:

We are truly lucky to live in this century, my friends. In the past, our ancestors had to scrabble to bung together four crappy kernels of teosinte, and in the future, there will be no culinary variety beyond Regular or Cool Ranch Soylent Green. As a celebration of having been born into the Golden Age of Snacks, waiter, I shall have the Assorted Stuff.

Really Fresh Salad

Really Fresh Salad

Ice Cream Ball

Ice Cream Ball

Add the ice and rock salt in one chamber, the ice cream mix in the separate inner chamber, roll it around for a while and bingo!: You have ice cream.

Midprice Restaurants Take A Hit

An exerpt from the Startup Journal:

For years, investors who own restaurant stocks have tended to feed on midtier names, knowing that moderately priced chains tend to draw steady customers regardless of broader economic conditions.

That conventional wisdom has been pulled from the menu.

While business remained brisk at both high-end dinner houses and inexpensive fast-food outlets in the just-completed second quarter, restaurants with midprice menus suffered sales slumps.

People who tended to frequent such places instead stayed home or downgraded their dining options to the burgers-and-fries joints, thanks to higher gas prices and other costs, according to Wall Street research.

Wisconsin: A Blue (Cheese) State

Excerpts from a terrific Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article by Karen Herzog:

Montfort - Wisconsin is staking claim to one of the world's oldest, most distinctive styles of cheese, and this town - barely big enough to be on the map - is home to a world champion.

Wisconsin dominates domestic production of blue-veined cheeses, which get their character and flavor from mold cultures intentionally coaxed during aging. No other state comes close to either producing the same amount, or having the same number of blue cheese plants, according to John Umhoefer, executive director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association. ...

Accolades for Wisconsin's blue-veined cheeses are pouring in as baby boomers eagerly snap up more of the tangy cheese to add bold flavor to steaks, chicken and pasta. Restaurant chains are embracing blue cheeses, as well. And low-carb dieters crumble blue-veined cheeses over bitter salad greens - at times pushing demand beyond domestic supply. ...

Twenty years ago, four cheese plants in Wisconsin produced blue-veined cheeses. Ten years later, that number had doubled; those eight plants produced 30 million pounds of blue, or 82% of the total U.S. blue-veined cheese production, according to the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association.

Today, a dozen Wisconsin plants produce blue-veined cheeses, including both creamy (Italian style) and crumbly (American style) Gorgonzola, and Danish-style blue. Several of those plants opened within the last five or six years. ...

"If a cheese plant makes blue, that's about all they can make," noted Dave Leonhardi, director of cheese education and events for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. That's because the liquid mold that is imported from France and stirred into blue-veined cheeses as they are being made in vats is volatile, and could spread to other types of cheeses being made in the same plant. One reason Wisconsin has so many blue-veined cheese plants is because many of the state's plants are smaller and can more easily specialize in one cheese style, Leonhardi said.

The article goes on to include a number of blue cheese recipes, including one for Wisconsin Blue Cheese Muffins. Yum!

Lawry's Pasty Shop

Lawry's Pasty Shop

For all you folks in the Yooper Diaspora out there . . .

Argentina On Two Steaks A Day

Here's an excerpt in case you missed it when it was making the rounds a while back:

All you need to know about the quality of pasture in the pampas is that cows went feral in Argentina. You can still see them grazing pretty much anywhere there is a horizontal patch of grass, all now firmly back in the hand of man, but still with a happy grassy glint in their eye. This most docile, placid, and passive of large herbivores stepped off the boat, took one nibble at the pampas and made a run for it. It knew that it wanted to spend the rest of its life eating the pampas grass, without outside interference. And the settlers, once they caught some of the early escapees, began to feel the same way about the beef.

Eating steaks in Argentina feels like joining a cult. You find yourself leaning on friends to come visit, and writing YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND in all caps more often than feels comfortable. Argentine beef really is extraordinary. Almost all of this has to do with how the cows are raised. There are no factory feedlots in Argentina; the animals still eat pampas grass their whole lives, in open pasture, and not the chicken droppings and feathers mixed with corn that pass for animal feed in the United States. Since this is the way of life a cow was designed for, it is not necessary to pump the animal full of antibiotics. The meat is leaner, healthier and more flavorful than that of corn-fed cattle. It has fewer calories, contains less cholesterol, and tastes less mushy and waterlogged than American meat. And the cows spend their lives out grazing in the field, not locked into some small pen. You can taste the joy.