Slashfood http://www.slashfood.com Slashfood http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.slashfood.com/media/feedlogo.gif Slashfood http://www.slashfood.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/The Bad Tip Follow-Up - What Can I Get You Folks?http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/25/the-bad-tip-follow-up-what-can-i-get-you-folks/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/25/the-bad-tip-follow-up-what-can-i-get-you-folks/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/25/the-bad-tip-follow-up-what-can-i-get-you-folks/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Getty Images


Good servers are constantly questioning their guests: Would you like a cocktail before dinner? Is your steak cooked correctly? Are you considering dessert this evening?

But restaurant etiquette dictates that the questions stop as soon as the check's dropped. No matter how lousy the tip, servers aren't supposed to ask their guests whether they could have done anything to make their experience better - even if the phrasing's exceedingly polite.

Staying mum isn't easy, especially since servers are trained to make sure their guests are happy. A poor tip doesn't seem too different from a restaurant goer yelping, "I'm having a terrible time!", a cry no capable server would ignore.

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]]>bad tipperrestaurant etiquettetippingwaitress storieswaitressingHanna RaskinTue, 25 May 2010 14:00:00 ESTWhy Pitmasters Are Putting Eggs on the Barbecuehttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/21/why-pitmasters-are-putting-eggs-on-the-barbecue/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/21/why-pitmasters-are-putting-eggs-on-the-barbecue/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/21/why-pitmasters-are-putting-eggs-on-the-barbecue/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: evershedm, Flickr


While traditionalists still take their eggs in the morning and their 'cue in the afternoon, a few experimental pitmasters are putting their own spin on the "eggs on everything" trend that's lately seized high-end pasta joints and pizzerias.

At Luella's Bar-B-Que in Asheville, the most popular brunch dish is a scramble of pulled pork, collards and eggs. And over in Houston, restaurant critic Robb Walsh recently conferred 'favorite dish' status on Plantation BBQ Trailer's tortilla crammed with barbecued brisket and scrambled eggs.

"When you crack that yolk over a barbecue sandwich, you've just added creamy lusciousness," says Luella's owner Jeff Miller, likening the combination to the bacon lardon and poached egg that might surface on an Old World salad.

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]]>barbecueeggssouthern foodSouthernFoodHanna RaskinFri, 21 May 2010 11:00:00 ESTMississippi Inaugurates New Culinary Trailhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/20/mississippi-inaugurates-new-culinary-trail/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/20/mississippi-inaugurates-new-culinary-trail/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/20/mississippi-inaugurates-new-culinary-trail/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Serious Eats, Flickr


Mississippians have always known where to pick the plumpest blackberries and dine on the freshest catfish, but officials say a pair of new itineraries will help visitors find the state's choicest edible experiences.

Mississippi this month added culinary and agritourism trails to its tourism web site, showcasing nearly 200 restaurants, farmers markets, farms and fruit stands across the state. According to Sandy Bynum, bureau manager for Mississippi's tourism division, the project was designed partly in response to the current field-to-table craze.

"It's nouveau for some places, but we've always been close to our farms," Bynum says. "We've done this for years. But the trails are a good way for people to partake of our bounty."

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]]>culinary trailCulinaryTrailfeaturedmississippi tourismHanna RaskinThu, 20 May 2010 15:00:00 ESTFarmers Want Catfish on More School Lunch Trayshttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/19/farmers-want-catfish-on-more-school-lunch-trays/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/19/farmers-want-catfish-on-more-school-lunch-trays/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/19/farmers-want-catfish-on-more-school-lunch-trays/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: tobo, Flickr


Catfish growers say a recent USDA purchase of $5 million worth of their product could help put catfish on more school cafeteria menus.

The purchase, announced this month by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, will benefit federal nutrition assistance programs including the National School Lunch Program.

Roger Barlow, president of The Catfish Institute, calls school lunchrooms "the perfect venue for our product." While frozen breaded catfish strips are already a staple of many school kitchens, Barlow suggests catfish could be as prevalent as square-cut pepperoni pizza if administrators realized the advantages posed by the whiskered fish. "It's very nutritious, very versatile," he says. "I think there is room in schools for additional product."

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]]>catfishnational school lunch programschool lunchesHanna RaskinWed, 19 May 2010 16:30:00 ESTWhen Dining Is Deadly - What Can I Get You Folks?http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/18/when-customers-die-what-can-i-get-you-folks/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/18/when-customers-die-what-can-i-get-you-folks/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/18/when-customers-die-what-can-i-get-you-folks/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Getty Images

Eating isn't the only thing people do in restaurants.

While seated at table, customers fight. They have sex. They sign contracts. And, sometimes, customers die.

At the busy restaurant where I work, we've had at least three customers suffer fatal heart attacks after their meals. That's not the restaurant's fault, of course, but it's always a strange situation for the server, who's stuck with a section full of traumatized diners and the knowledge that she served the victim his last-ever plate of lobster risotto.

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]]>featuredrestaurant etiquettewaitress storieswaitressingWaitressStoriesHanna RaskinTue, 18 May 2010 11:00:00 ESTButter Queen Paula Deen to Oversee Culinary Program for Childrenhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/17/butter-queen-paula-deen-to-oversee-culinary-program-for-children/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/17/butter-queen-paula-deen-to-oversee-culinary-program-for-children/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/17/butter-queen-paula-deen-to-oversee-culinary-program-for-children/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: Jeff Christensen / AP Photo

Health food activists in Savannah are questioning the local school system's decision to partner with Paula Deen on a new culinary arts program.

According to a recent report by Georgia Public Broadcasting, some parents are horrified that the celeb chef responsible for the cookbook selected as the past decade's "unhealthiest" by a group of physicians will be steering the curriculum for high schoolers enrolled in the Paula Deen Academy of Culinary Arts.

A spokeswoman for Savannah's Brighter Days Natural Foods was unaware of the controversy when reached by phone, but wondered why the schools didn't pick a nutritionist as a consultant. According to Audrey Biloon, there's no shortage of talented Savannah chefs who don't bathe their vegetables in bacon grease or fry balls of butter. "You don't have to eat a high-fat diet in the South," Biloon contends.

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]]>paula deenpaula deen academy of culinary artsPaulaDeensavannahHanna RaskinMon, 17 May 2010 11:00:00 ESTN.C. Museum Prepares Pirate Feasthttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/14/n-c-museum-prepares-pirate-feast/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/14/n-c-museum-prepares-pirate-feast/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/14/n-c-museum-prepares-pirate-feast/#commentsFiled under:

Pirate CupcakesPhoto: tonibduguid, Flickr


Participants in North Carolina's Museum of the Albermarle's "Dine With a Pirate" program this weekend will have the opportunity to feast on hot dog telescopes and golden chicken nuggets in the company of Blackbeard impersonators. But what might aspiring buccaneers who want to dine like a pirate eat?

Pirate foodways aren't particularly well documented, partly because most serious academics aren't too keen on high seas crimes (A spokesman for Mystic Seaport, which bills itself as "The Museum of America and the Sea," says institutional policy prohibits its employees from commenting on piracy. "Have you tried Google?," he asks.)

Still, David Moore, curator of nautical archaeology at the North Carolina Maritime Museum, says it's fair to assume the pirates who terrorized the Atlantic Coast probably ate "pretty much everything that everyone else ate." As Moore explains, the parasitic nature of the pirate profession meant its members typically subsisted on whatever they found in the holds of the ships they hijacked.

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]]>museum of albemarlepirate foodPiratessouthern foodHanna RaskinFri, 14 May 2010 16:00:00 ESTBBQ Festivals Around the Countryhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/14/bbq-festivals-around-the-country/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/14/bbq-festivals-around-the-country/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/14/bbq-festivals-around-the-country/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Timmy Farol, Flickr

Eaters who associate barbecue with cold beers and warm summer evenings are often surprised by the rigors of the competitive 'cue scene, which kicks into high gear this month. Fortunately, there's nothing stressful about attending one of the nation's many cook-offs.

After the jump, your guide to barbecue festivals from New York to California and everywhere in between for 2010.

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]]>barbecue festivalsbbqbbq festivalsfeaturedHanna RaskinFri, 14 May 2010 15:00:00 ESTBojangles' Offers Free Tea for Teachershttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/12/bojangles-offers-free-tea-for-teachers/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/12/bojangles-offers-free-tea-for-teachers/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/12/bojangles-offers-free-tea-for-teachers/#commentsFiled under:

Bojangles' Iced TeaPhoto: chiodachic, Flickr

Soda machines may no longer be a fixture of scholastic halls, but Bojangles' is making sure South Carolina teachers get their sugary beverage fix this month.

In conjunction with the fried chicken chain's celebration of three decades in the Palmetto State, educators are eligible for a free tea or soda with every purchase throughout the month of May. "We tried to do something where we could give back," explains Bojangles' president and CEO Randy Kibler.

In addition to the drink promotion, the restaurant's also planning to give away a cruise vacation at each of its 100 outlets statewide and donate $10,000 to South Carolina's Future Minds. While sweet tea may not be quite so coveted as a cruise or cash, a free drink from Bojangles' - which many sweet tea devotees consider the South's leading source of well-made tea - is no small prize.

"It's real steeped tea," Kibler says when asked to explain the enduring obsession with Bojangles' tea. "We actually make tea the way it's supposed to be made."

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]]>BojanglesSweet TeaSweetTeaHanna RaskinWed, 12 May 2010 11:00:00 ESTThe Politics of Tipping - What Can I Get Your Folks?http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/11/the-politics-of-tipping-what-can-i-get-your-folks/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/11/the-politics-of-tipping-what-can-i-get-your-folks/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/11/the-politics-of-tipping-what-can-i-get-your-folks/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Getty Images

Restaurant servers aren't shy about profiling.

Even the most open-minded servers tend to buy into politically incorrect theories of customer behavior that hinge on race and gender. I've worked with women who buy nutritional yeast in bulk, slap "Free Mumia" stickers on their biodiesel-fueled cars and refuse to wait on all-female tables.

But a new study suggests tipping's linked to yet another core identity, one I've never heard discussed in any wait station. According to HCD Research, Democrats are reliably better tippers than Republicans.

Democrats are two percent more generous when receiving bad service, leaving an average 10.8 percent to Republicans' 8.7 percent. That stat might be dismissed as evidence of liberals' bleeding hearts, except that the phenomenon repeated itself on the good service end of the spectrum: Satisfied Dems tipped 20 percent, while the average G.O.P'er tacked 18 percent onto his bill.

Independents were the worst tippers, leaving just under 18 percent when pleased with their service.

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]]>tippingtipping etiquettewaitress storieswaitressingHanna RaskinTue, 11 May 2010 11:00:00 ESTAmish Food Newly Popular Down Southhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/10/amish-food-newly-popular-down-south/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/10/amish-food-newly-popular-down-south/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/10/amish-food-newly-popular-down-south/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Vilseskogen, Flickr


Over the last decade, Amish communities have begun migrating southward. And much to the delight of locavores, they've brought their food traditions with them.

A recent report in The Tennessean suggests Amish breads, cheeses, pickles, jams and relishes are finding new fans in middle Tennessee. Non-Amish eaters who pointedly avoid preservatives are now regular customers at the nation's southernmost Amish produce auction and Michael Yates' Amishables in Brentwood, Tenn.

According to Yates, many of the goods he stocks could probably be classified as organic if Amish farmers cared about such certifications.

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]]>amish foodamishablesAmishFoodwhoopie piesHanna RaskinMon, 10 May 2010 16:00:00 ESTSouthern Baker Looking for Cake Ladieshttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/06/southern-baker-looking-for-cake-ladies/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/06/southern-baker-looking-for-cake-ladies/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/06/southern-baker-looking-for-cake-ladies/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: Jodi Rhoden, Short Street Cakes


A western North Carolina baker whose cake line-up mischievously melds trends and tradition is seeking "Southern Cake Ladies" for a new book chronicling their lives and scratch-made cakes.

"I broadly define Cake Ladies as people who make cakes for their communities," explains Short Street Cakes' Jodi Rhoden, who's befriended hundreds of brides with her banana pudding, coconut, hummingbird and apple-bacon cakes made from all-natural ingredients.

"Rural and urban, young and old, professional and labor-of-love, of every one of the many cultures -- Black, White, Latina, rich, poor (you get the picture) that make up the South -- I want to meet them, interview them, bake with them," Rhoden writes on her blog.

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]]>baking bookcake ladieshomemade cakesouthern foodHanna RaskinThu, 06 May 2010 12:00:00 ESTDelaware Gobbles Up Crab Bombshttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/05/delaware-gobbles-up-crab-bombs/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/05/delaware-gobbles-up-crab-bombs/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/05/delaware-gobbles-up-crab-bombs/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Cheryl Liu


A popular D.C. area seafood restaurant has successfully set up shop in the very sort of community it was created to evoke.

The Delaware Wave recently proclaimed that Jerry's Seafood -- modeled after a 25-year old "Eastern Shore-style seafood" joint in Lanham, Md. -- is "finding its niche after five years in the community" of Lewes, a beach resort town of 3500 along the northern edge of the Chesapeake.

It's not uncommon for successful restaurants to open outlets far from the big cities where they're first built. What's more unusual is when a chain moves into the very region it's designed to celebrate: Imagine the Rainforest Café in Brazil, or Don Pablo's in Mexico.

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]]>crab bombCrabBombjerrys seafoodHanna RaskinWed, 05 May 2010 11:00:00 ESTFat Servers' Revenge - What Can I Get You Folks?http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/04/fat-servers-revenge-what-can-i-get-you-folks/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/04/fat-servers-revenge-what-can-i-get-you-folks/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/04/fat-servers-revenge-what-can-i-get-you-folks/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Getty Images


Restaurant servers read academic studies of customer behavior with the enthusiasm of graduate students (which, of course, they often are.) That's because we're always eager to adopt a new technique that's guaranteed to produce bigger tips, whether it's putting a flower in our hair or using our guests' names.

But a new study out of three universities in the U.S. and Canada is unlikely to provoke much response from even the most scientifically-minded servers. According to the research, restaurant goers who are monitoring their waistlines will order more food from fat waitresses. The study suggests the best way to up a check total - and accompanying tip - is to put on weight.

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]]>dietersfat waitressesFatWaitressesplus sizePlusSizewaitress storieswaitressingwhat can i get you folksHanna RaskinTue, 04 May 2010 14:00:00 ESTEnvironmental Group Calls on KFC to Redo Its Buckethttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/04/environmental-group-calls-on-kfc-to-redo-its-bucket/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/04/environmental-group-calls-on-kfc-to-redo-its-bucket/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/04/environmental-group-calls-on-kfc-to-redo-its-bucket/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: nikilok, Flickr


A southern environmental organization is asking KFC to kick buckets made with trees from endangered forests out of its packaging repertoire.

"We've linked KFC's packaging to the destruction of wetlands forest in the mid-Atlantic," says Dogwood Alliance's executive director Danna Smith. "We're calling on KFC to increase its use of post-consumer recycled paper, reduce its use of paper and put recycling bins in its restaurants."

A spokesman for KFC did not return a call seeking comment, but directed Slashfood to a web page the company has created in response to Dogwood Alliance's allegations. According to the web site, all of KFC's paper bags are made from 100-percent post-industrial and post-consumer recycled content, while 30 percent of its bucket lids meet the same standard.

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]]>Dogwood Alliancegreen packagingKFCrecyclableHanna RaskinTue, 04 May 2010 11:00:00 ESTLouisiana Legislature Rejects Pair of Healthy Eating Billshttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/03/louisiana-legislature-rejects-pair-of-healthy-eating-bills/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/03/louisiana-legislature-rejects-pair-of-healthy-eating-bills/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/03/louisiana-legislature-rejects-pair-of-healthy-eating-bills/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: Simon le nippon, Flickr


Legislators in Louisiana, where the statewide obesity rate stands at 29 percent, recently rejected two measures designed to improve residents' eating and drinking habits. But Rep. Patrick Williams, who authored one of the bills, is optimistic that the state will soon adopt a more proactive approach to citizen wellness.

"Everyone wants to be more healthy," Williams says. "And that's not just going to happen by itself."

Williams' original bill would have banned households enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from using food stamps to purchase "unhealthy foods." Retailers including Wal-Mart loudly protested the plan, arguing they shouldn't have to police their customers' shopping carts. Williams says he anticipated the outcry.

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]]>healthy eatingLouisianaobesity epidemicObesityEpidemicHanna RaskinMon, 03 May 2010 15:00:00 ESTTennessee Puts 1,500 Food Stamp Recipients to Workhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/30/tennessee-puts-1-500-food-stamp-recipients-to-work/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/30/tennessee-puts-1-500-food-stamp-recipients-to-work/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/30/tennessee-puts-1-500-food-stamp-recipients-to-work/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: NCReedplayer, Flickr

Like many other states, Tennessee has seen its food stamp applications surge since the economy faltered. But the state's found an especially novel way to deal with the deluge: Tennessee's Department of Human Services has hired more than 1,500 food stamp recipients to help process the applications.

"It's really been win-win," says department spokesperson Michelle Mower Johnson. "People aren't waiting months to get their benefits, and it gives the workers something to put on their resumes."

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]]>food stampsFoodStampstennesseeHanna RaskinFri, 30 Apr 2010 16:00:00 ESTWest Virginia Mountaineers Don't Care That Ramps Are Trendyhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/28/west-virginia-mountaineers-didnt-know-ramps-were-trendy/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/28/west-virginia-mountaineers-didnt-know-ramps-were-trendy/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/28/west-virginia-mountaineers-didnt-know-ramps-were-trendy/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: tiny banquet, Flickr

While New York City chefs have taken so many fancy-pants liberties with ramps this season that some critics claim the wild onion's become synonymous with food snobbery, eaters in ramp country have remained remarkably devoted to traditional preparations.

"Locally here, they like it with potatoes," explains Matthew Gottschall, owner of Bob's Hotdogs in Norton, W.Va., just west of Monongahela National Forest.

Gottschall's spent much of the last decade trying to shake his neighbors out of their ramp-and-fried potato rut, feathering his menu with ramp bread, ramp breakfast biscuits and ramp cheeseburgers during the five early spring weeks when mountain ramps are in bloom.

"Here at Bob's, we put them on everything," Gottschall says.

Bob's is locally famous for experimenting freely with ingredients: The stand offers 250 varieties of hot dogs, all of which Gottschall swears are ordered regularly. A few of his favorites include the Coal Miner, topped with locally-grown peppers, and the Elvis, smeared with peanut butter and garnished with fried bananas.

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]]>bobs hotdogsBobsHotdogsrampsHanna RaskinWed, 28 Apr 2010 14:00:00 ESTGrimy 'Lemonade' - What Can I Get You Folks?http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/26/when-you-get-grimy-lemons-do-you-make-lemonade-what-can-i-ge/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/26/when-you-get-grimy-lemons-do-you-make-lemonade-what-can-i-ge/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/26/when-you-get-grimy-lemons-do-you-make-lemonade-what-can-i-ge/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: gabindu, Flickr


A blogger over at the Huffington Post recently found a novel way to discourage restaurant goers from making tableside "lemonade": She argues the penny-pinching practice is as filthy as it is uncouth.

It's a point that bears repeating, if only because heaping scorn on the sugar-and-lemon set has done little to dissuade them. It's an argument that also has the distinct advantage of being true.

I'm not sure exactly when lemon wedges became as obligatory as plates and napkins, but I've never worked in a restaurant that didn't garnish their glasses with them. Server sidework invariably involves slicing a few dozen lemons into half-pinwheels, a process that's almost always messy.

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]]>garnishhuffington postHuffingtonPostlemon garnishlemonsrestaurant etiquettewaitress storieswaitressingHanna RaskinMon, 26 Apr 2010 13:00:00 ESTVidalia Growers Celebrate Onion's Enduring Popularityhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/23/vidalia-growers-celebrate-onions-enduring-popularity/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/23/vidalia-growers-celebrate-onions-enduring-popularity/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/23/vidalia-growers-celebrate-onions-enduring-popularity/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Old Shoe Woman, Flickr


Vidalia, Ga. this weekend is hosting the 33rd edition of its annual onion festival, an event partly aimed at maintaining the cache of the town's signature crop in an era of massively increased production.

Long before most American eaters obsessed about their produce's provenance, savvy shoppers sought out onions from the wiregrass region of Georgia, where a farmer in 1931 had discovered he could sell his sweet, mild bulbs at the unheard-of price of $3.50 for a 50-pound bag. Mose Coleman's neighbors followed him into the onion game, hawking their produce at a new state-run farmers' market in nearby Vidalia. Tourists' raves and a Piggly-Wiggly promotional campaign helped make vidalias the South's most celebrated onion.

Vidalias were so popular by the 1980s that bootleggers began retagging onions from elsewhere as Georgia-grown, leading the legislature to officially define Vidalias as originating from a 20-county area.

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]]>vidaliavidalia onionvidalia onion festivalVidaliaOnionVidaliaOnionFestivalHanna RaskinFri, 23 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST