20 hamburgers you must eat before you die
20 hamburgers you must eat before you die. That In-N-Out isn’t on here almost got this link disqualified from posting, but since they don’t seem to have any other chains on here, I’ll let it slide.
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The economics of movie popcorn pricing
In the past 5 years, I’ve probably been to a theater an average of once every two weeks to see a movie. Even though it costs a small fortune, I almost always get a soda and popcorn (topped with “butter”[1]) to go with the show. Many of the larger chains offer a deal if you purchase a large popcorn and a large drink together. This “Super Combo” costs a lot less than ordering a L popcorn and a L soda separately from the menu but often it will actually cost you less than a L popcorn/M soda, M popcorn/L soda, or even a M popcorn/M soda (?!??). Why such a steep discount when the theaters make so much of their money on concessions? I’ve developed a few theories over the years but would like to hear your thoughts before sharing them.
[1] The proper way to butter movie popcorn is to fill the bag half full, apply butter, fill the rest of the bag and apply more butter. This results in fairly even application of butter to kernel throughout the bag. Due to a lack of focus on service and an increasing number of theaters moving to DIY butter application, it’s getting more and more difficult to buy a good bag of buttered popcorn at the movies.
Eater is a new NYC food/restaurant blog
Eater is a new NYC food/restaurant blog. Looks a bit too gossipy for my taste, but that’s me.
The shitty Shitty Tipper database
Does the Shitty Tipper Database seem wrong to anyone else? I’m all for underpaid service staff venting and attempting to raise public awareness about bad tipping (which, in the absence of poor service, amounts to an unjust pay-cut determined completely by some random idiot customer). But since when is anything under 17% considered shitty? $0 on a $125 bill, that’s shitty. 15% (on the pre-tax amount, I might add) is still the industry standard, no matter how much it sucks to get exactly the minimum for adequate service.
More importantly, what gives these people the right to take someone’s full name off of a credit card (procured on the job, BTW) and put it up on the web because of some completely subjective gauge of service provided? If I’m eating somewhere, my expectation is that my credit card is being used only for payment and not for any personal use by the employees of the restaurant. If I don’t leave someone what they think was deserved, they should catch me on the way out and ask me about it. Perhaps I forgot or miscalculated. Or maybe the service was a bit off in my mind. If I left no tip, I probably talked to the manager about why I did so and they’ll be hearing about it from them. But to be all passive aggressive and get my name from my CC and post it on some internet message board…that suggests to me that maybe they didn’t deserve a good tip in the first place.
The folks at Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack
The folks at Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack go above and beyond the call of duty. When a birthday party shows up after an erroneously posted closing time, the manager has food sent over for them from the kitchen at Eleven Madison Park. Amazing service.
Molecular gastronomist Ferran Adria of El Bulli
Molecular gastronomist Ferran Adria of El Bulli has his own Lay’s potato chips in Spain. “Having eaten the entire bag, we can now report that they were noticably better than your average potato chips; the crispiness was just a little grainier than usual, if that makes sense, and the flavor more pleasant.”
More than 100 quick and easy healthy foods
More than 100 quick and easy healthy foods. “An excellent list of healthy foods which need less than 30 minutes of preparation and cooking times”.
Good review (with photos) of Thomas Keller’s Per Se
Good review (with photos) of Thomas Keller’s Per Se.
Advice on paying the check at the
Advice on paying the check at the end of the meal from Waiter Rant.
Greg Allen keeps winning free Diet Coke
Greg Allen keeps winning free Diet Coke but is having trouble redeeming the prizes. “Coke put me in this situation where I feel like a wronged, government-cheese-stealing welfare queen, whose resentment builds with the fresh taunt of each unredeemable winning lid I find”.
How to find your dream job
How to find your dream job. Advice from four people, including chef Tom Colicchio, on finding that once-in-a-lifetime job.
“Lord of the Bings” cherry advertisement in supermarket
“Lord of the Bings” cherry advertisement in supermarket. “One bing to rule them all” and in the parfait bind them?
Kobayashi wins 5th straight Nathan’s hot dog eating contest
Kobayashi wins 5th straight Nathan’s hot dog eating contest. Sonya “Black Widow” Thomas placed second with 37 dogs, setting an American record.
The Scoville Scale measures the spicyness of peppers
The Scoville Scale measures the spicyness of peppers. The hottest pepper ever recorded was a Habenero at 577,000 Scoville units, over a hundred times hotter than a jalapeno.
Fictional Iron Chef match-up between Thomas Keller
Fictional Iron Chef match-up between Thomas Keller and Heston Blumenthal of Fat Duck. Arguing over food science has never been so interesting.
With higher rents (and other factors), good
With higher rents (and other factors), good cheap food is getting hard to find in Manhattan.
Slide show depicting a collection of New
Slide show depicting a collection of New York City coffee cups.
Food and Wine magazine’s list of the
Food and Wine magazine’s list of the ten best new chefs in America.
Coffee in Paris sucks?
Coffee in Paris sucks?. I don’t drink coffee myself (vile, vile stuff), but I’ve never heard anything bad about the coffee in Paris, aside from the complaint of some Americans that you can rarely get it to go.
Panel on food and weblogs tonight
Panel on food and weblogs tonight. “Panelists include Adam Kuban of SliceNY, Alaina Browne of A Full Belly and Josh Friedland of The Food Section. Andrea Strong of The Strong Buzz moderates.”
Whole Foods’ stock is on the rise,
Whole Foods’ stock is on the rise, but how are they doing consumer-wise?.
Profile of Alice Waters, best known for
Profile of Alice Waters, best known for her Bay Area restaurant, Chez Panisse.
eGullet thread and roundup of the 2005 Big
eGullet thread and roundup of the 2005 Big Apple BBQ Block Park.
This review of Per Se mentions their non-alcoholic wine pairings
This review of Per Se mentions their non-alcoholic wine pairings. “With each course, we were given a beverage - ranging from grape juice to steamed milk - which complimented the tastes in the dish. Libby’s ‘Red Rice and Beans’ was completed by a lime margarita. My foie gras with a gossamer grape juice that was finer than most wines.”
Cory Doctorow discovers bliss in Mexican drinking chocolate
Cory Doctorow discovers bliss in Mexican drinking chocolate. Having had food experiences like this, I can relate to the feeling.
What the heck happened to Krispy Kreme?
What the heck happened to Krispy Kreme?. “How could a company in business for nearly 70 years, with an almost legendary product and a loyal customer base, fall from grace so quickly?”
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