302-Pound South Carolina Man Busted For Clobbering Burger King Worker With Food Tray In Dispute Over Cold Onion Rings
February 19, 2013 | www.thesmokinggun.com
A South Carolina man has been arrested and charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly striking a Burger King employee in the head with a food tray during a dispute over cold onion rings.
Kristopher Wiggins, 32, was collared last week in connection with the January 29 confrontation at the fast food restaurant in the town of Santee (pop. 955). Free on a $5000 personal recognizance bond, Wiggins is set for a March 20 trial on the misdemeanor charge.
People either love or hate TV Food personality Guy Fieri. When the diner and dive food king recently opened a restaurant in New York City the venerable food critics of the New York Times pretty much wiped their dog’s bum with paper and published the results as a restaurant review.
Was the food at Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar really THAT bad? Was Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar menu tailored to the cheddar cheese tastes of the average American (blue collar) and not to the goat cheese tastes of the New York Times (white collar)? Perhaps.
When Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar opened they for some reason didn’t purchase the domain name http://guysamericankitchenandbar.com. Since the domain was available a prankster purchased it and posted the parody menu below.
This is truly one of the funniest things I have ever read.
January 16, 2013 6:57 PM | www.baltimore.cbslocal.com
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A new government report is raising more concern over energy drinks. It shows more people are heading to the emergency room after drinking them.
Energy drinks and the rush they offer are super popular, especially with young adults.
“It kinda gives me a boost,” said Allen Abrishame.
Abrishame, a college junior, works late nights at a restaurant so he uses them to stay awake.
TEDxManhattan obviously wasn’t ready for a talk about “feeding a family with food stamps” and similar topics until the woman they invited then dis-invited went public and inspired mea culpa’s from the lofty inspiration mongers.
Foodies who pay $135 a ticket don’t want to hear about poor American people. This is TedXMANHATTAN which means they want more content like “edible food walls,” “the difference in treatment between pets and farm animals,” “growing food on top of supermarkets,” “the importance of taste,” “how to cultivate a logo,” “a vision for sustainable restaurants,” ya know, rich white people stuff. Those were titles of 2012 talks. See, they aren’t racist they talk about immigrants!
Thanks you Miss Fields for pointing out the class-ism inherent in our contemporary culture. After all poor Americans can only be poor because they are lazy and poor lazy Americans are soooo boring.
Federal programs like Food Stamps, and WIC combined with farming subsidies can literally change for the better what the majority of Americans actually eat. But who cares about that. Did you see the one on “Soba?” Inspiring.
Tanya Fields
Bronx Woman Booted from TEDx Conference Creates Her Own Event
January 25, 2013 | dnainfo.com
HUNTS POINT — Last August, the organizer of TEDxManhattan, a conference about the food movement that draws top thinkers and thousands of viewers, called Tanya Fields and invited her to speak.
She was elated.
An urban farmer and a single mother of four living in the South Bronx, Fields was eager to discuss food-access issues — like unhealthy options that lead to weight gain and illness, or feeding a family with food stamps — that she had personally experienced.
But four months later, after she had shared the news with friends and colleagues and started to prepare her multimedia talk, she received an email informing her that she was disinvited.
The organizer, Diane Hatz of the Glynwood Institute, said she decided Fields “wasn’t quite ready” for the event.
As one might expect in an old immigrant city in the Northeast of the US, South Philadelphia has excellent Italian restaurants. Less expected is the excellent Barbeque that can also be found in South Philadelphia. Recently the venerable Italian and BBQ restaurant Bomb Bomb published their sauce and rub recipes in a local paper.
The sauce and rub recipes are for a red sauce and are quite tasty. The magic ingredient is smoked paprika, a versatile and addictive spice that is also delicious on deviled eggs and broiled seafood.
Deb and Frank Barbato, owners of Bomb Bomb BBQ Grill and Italian Restaurant. Image South Philadelphia Review
Bomb Bomb’s Barbecue Sauce and Rub
www.southphillyreview.com | Jan. 17, 2013
When Frank and Deb Barbato took over Bomb Bomb BBQ Grill and Italian Restaurant, 1026 Wolf St., in the 1990s, they decided to add a southern twist to couple with their Italian cuisine. Instead of being just another run-of-the-mill Philly barbecue spot, the pair wanted to take an award-winning approach to their dishes, so they packed their bags and headed south to the Williamsburg, Va. area.
I always assume the worst will happen when companies solicit ideas from the Internet. For the latest evidence of this, look no further than this Mountain Dew “Dub the Dew” fiasco. An effort by a restaurant to crowdsource a name for an upcoming homemade green-apple-flavored Mountain Dew concoction has been hijacked, Pitbull style. Suddenly, its gallery of suggestions featured such winners as “Gushing Granny,” “Diabeetus,” and my personal favorite, “Fapple.” As of Tuesday morning, dubthedew.com is no longer bringing up any content whatsoever—we’re told it is down for good. While this comes on the heels of Something Awful’s successful online vote-rigging operation for Walmart’s Energy Sheets promotion with Pitbull, it seems a different set of neckbeards was responsible for hacking the Dew campaign. Online communities 4chan and Reddit are hurling blame at each other as we speak, which is fitting, because both websites are basically elephant graveyards for jokes that Something Awful has outgrown.
I love things that fill me with wonder and awe. This is one of those things. How odd, too that police divers are the ones working on this wreck.
Image discovery.com
Near-Intact Roman Ship Holds Jars of Food
Analysis by Rossella Lorenzi | Wed Aug 8, 2012 | http://news.discovery.com
An almost intact Roman ship has been found in the sea off the town on Varazze, some 18 miles from Genova, Italy.
The ship, a navis oneraria, or merchant vessel, was located at a depth of about 200 feet thanks to a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) following tips from fishermen who had caught some jars in their nets.
The ship sank about 2,000 years ago on her trade route between Spain and central Italy with a full cargo of more than 200 amphorae.
Test on some of the recovered jars revealed they contained pickled fish, grain, wine and oil. The foodstuffs were traded in Spain for other goods.
“There are some broken jars around the wreck, but we believe that most of the amphorae inside the ship are still sealed and food filled,” Lt. Col. Francesco Schilardi, who led the Carabinieri Subacquei (police divers), said.
There’s an old saying that goes “it takes an evil nose to smell the devil.” If that is true I imagine the villagers who found this item and the Chinese media are pretty sheltered. Listening to the reporter talk about the wonders of this “mushroom” is astounding. Watch the video.
Still from a video showing the “meaty” mystery “mushroom.” Scroll down and follow the jump watch the video for giggles.
Chinese villagers discover ‘rare mushroom’ but it turns out to be a rubber vagina
www.dangerousminds.net | 06.20.2012
This bust-gut-funny story with video is making the rounds on the Internet today, and deservedly so.
Xi’an Up Close is an investigative journalism program which airs on China’s Xi’an TV. On June 17 they aired an exclusive on a “mystery mushroom” discovered by villagers in a small farming area from the city.
One villager who was apart of the “discovery” said, “When we dug down to about 80m deep, we fished out this long, fleshy object. It’s got a nose and an eye, but we have no idea what it is! Even our 80-year-old neighbour here says he has never seen anything like this before.”
The sincere review Ms. Hagerty did for her local Olive Garden is a huge hit on the internet, getting more than 1 million clicks. In the article below Ad age points out one of the ironies of contemporary media-the paper that published the review didn’t necessarily profit from the publicity.
Marilyn Hagerty’s Olive Garden Review Breaks Million-Click Barrier (and Google Analytics) But the Paper She Writes for Isn’t Necessarily Getting Rich Off the Craze
Matthew Creamer Published | http://adage.com |  March 16, 2012
Folks at the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald are certain that Marilyn Hagerty’s gone-viral review of the local Olive Garden has now received more than a million page views.
That’s what the paper’s internal article counter says, at least. They’d likely have corroboration from Google Analytics — but it broke amid the deluge of traffic to the 85-year-old food writer’s masterpiece of polite restaurant criticism.
As of Wednesday, the article had received over 850,000 clicks, with 183,000 of them coming on Tuesday alone, according to Google Analytics. But yesterday the number went to zero, a clear indication that something went haywire in the analytics tool. After all, interest has far from abated as Ms. Hagerty becomes a multimedia star. With appearances on “Piers Morgan,” “Today” and “The Early Show” to keep the momentum strong, it’s safe to say that by now, the “Eatbeat” column is easily in seven-figure territory.
Much contemporary food writing borders on science fiction with lemon grass infusions, plenty of pork belly, breakfast radishes, and deconstructed dishes. I feel that is the reason Ms. Hagerty’s sincere review of a local Olive Garden is popular. It is also a reminder that while urban food writers are sipping small batch bourbons and nibbling on head cheese tapas the vast majority of American’s have far fewer dining choices.
Marilyn Hagerty writes for the Grand Forks Herald
THE EATBEAT: Long-awaited Olive Garden receives warm welcome
Marilyn Hagerty |  www.grandforksherald.com |  March 07, 2012
After a lengthy wait for Olive Garden to open in Grand Forks, the lines were long in February. The novelty is slowly wearing off, but the steady following attests the warm welcome.
My first visit to Olive Garden was during midafternoon, so I could be sure to get in. After a late breakfast, I figured a late lunch would be fashionable.
The place is impressive. It’s fashioned in Tuscan farmhouse style with a welcoming entryway. There is seating for those who are waiting.
My booth was near the kitchen, and I watched the waiters in white shirts, ties, black trousers and aprons adorned with gold-colored towels. They were busy at midday, punching in orders and carrying out bread and pasta.
It had been a few years since I ate at the older Olive Garden in Fargo, so I studied the two manageable menus offering appetizers, soups and salads, grilled sandwiches, pizza, classic dishes, chicken and seafood and filled pastas.
Not playing with food until you pay for it and get it out of the store can be a hard lessons for some people to learn.
Blake Oren Robinson, 28, of Coralville
Coralville Man Arrested at Grocery Store for “Criminal Mischief With The Cheese” The man stands accused of committing criminal mischief with cheese.
By Stephen Schmidt | iowacity.patch.com | March 6, 2012
An allegedly intoxicated Coralville man has been accused of stealing items from the First Avenue Hy-Vee Friday afternoon, including a jar of cheese that he allegedly proceeded to use to smear all over the men’s restroom.
According to a criminal complaint from the Iowa City police department, Blake Oren Robinson, 28, of Coralville was seen loitering in the store, and then was shown on security video stealing a jar of Tostitos Salsa Con Queso Medium Cheese, chips and beer. He then allegedly began consuming them in the men’s restroom, “committing criminal mischief with the cheese,” according to the criminal complaint. This criminal mischief included opening the jar and spreading the cheese all over the floor and walls.
Nello Ferrara, 93, invented Lemonheads, saw MacArthur in occupied Japan, sang with Sinatra
BY MAUREEN O’DONNELL Staff Reporter modonnell@suntimes.com | www.suntimes.com | February 7, 2012
Nello Ferrara was a singer who liked to serenade people.
But to snackers with a sweet tooth, he was better known as the inventor of spicy-hot Atomic FireBalls and lip-puckering Lemonheads.
Mr. Ferrara, the chairman of Chicago’s Ferrara Pan Candy Co., died Friday at his home in River Forest at age 93.
The company produces treats including Red Hots, Black Forest Gummy Bears, Boston Baked Beans and Jawbusters.
Mr. Ferrara came up with the idea of spicy-hot Atomic FireBalls in 1954, after serving in Occupied Japan in the post-atom bomb era, according to his son, company CEO Salvatore Ferrara II.
Nello Ferrara was a young attorney when he worked on a U.S. Army war crimes tribunal in Tokyo. He often saw the jut-jawed, hard-charging General Douglas MacArthur.
