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/Secrets to Aromatic Cocktailshttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/17/secrets-to-aromatic-cocktails/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/17/secrets-to-aromatic-cocktails/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/17/secrets-to-aromatic-cocktails/#commentsFiled under: ,

Aromatic cocktails at Pegu ClubPhoto: Idandersen, Flickr


Brillat-Savarin recorded in his elegant and classic tome, The Physiology of Taste (1825), "I am...tempted to believe that smell and taste are in fact but a single composite sense whose laboratory is the mouth and its chimney the nose." Though lacking modern science to prove it, he couldn't deny the inherent, but elusive connection between aroma and flavor -- the subject of a weekend-long seminar at Astor Center in New York City.

"Most of what we perceive to be taste is actually smell," explained Audrey Saunders, lauded mixologist and owner of the Pegu Club (NYC). Friday evening at a panel discussing the alchemy of cocktail aromatics, Saunders revealed a few of her secrets to expressing fragrance through cocktails.

Saunders first began to experiment with aroma around the time she worked at the Carlyle Hotel while preparing for a week tending bar at the London Ritz. She wanted to create an aromatic cocktail using gin and tea -- the patron spirits of English imbibing. Her experiments faltered until she realized (with the advice of one Harold McGee) that egg white is an excellent conductor of scent and after a few iterations, created what is now a Pegu Club mainstay, the Earl Grey MarTEAni. Throughout the process she discovered a few key lessons about building fragrant cocktails that apply to any bar -- home or professional. See them after the jump.

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]]>aol originalcocktailsfeaturedpegu clubLeslie PariseauWed, 17 Nov 2010 16:00:00 ESTFive Perfect Beer-and-Food Pairingshttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/15/five-perfect-beer-and-food-pairings/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/15/five-perfect-beer-and-food-pairings/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/15/five-perfect-beer-and-food-pairings/#commentsFiled under: ,

oysters and guinnessPhoto: [puamelia], Flickr

What's the best nosh with beer? Here, from a couple of New York's finest beer experts, are five unique pairings. Following the gastropub tips are DIY dishes, with recipes, to bring the pairings home.

1. Dry stout and oysters. White wine and oysters seem the most genius flavor combination, especially when they're both briny, creamy and fresh. However, way back in the day, oysters weren't a novelty, but a cheap mainstay, its common bedfellow was a dry stout. At Jimmy's No. 43, a beer-focused gastropub in Manhattan, Long Island oysters are paired every Wednesday with stouts like the Irish Porterhouse Oyster.

DIY: Raw Oysters + Gritty McDuff's Black Fly Stout

2. Sweet pickles and Belgian Strong Ale. Pickle plates are increasingly popular among restaurants with a penchant for the local and the preserved. At one such venue, Beer Table in Brooklyn, New York, owner Justin Philips pairs sweet-potato pickles with a Belgian-style strong ale. "The sweet potatoes are soaked in orange juice and brown sugar which is great with the round, tropical flavors of The Bruery's Mischief."

DIY: Bread-and-Butter Pickles + Brooklyn Local 1.

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]]>beer pairingfood pairingsLeslie PariseauMon, 15 Nov 2010 14:00:00 ESTThe Original American Man's Brandyhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/10/14/the-original-american-mans-brandy/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/10/14/the-original-american-mans-brandy/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/10/14/the-original-american-mans-brandy/#commentsFiled under:

Peach Brandy BarrelPhoto: Robert Haynes-Peterson


Peach brandy may not seem like the most masculine of spirits, but it was one of George Washington's favorite cocktails. And who's going to argue with the Father of Our Country?

Not the five American distillers who met in Mount Vernon last week to brew a batch of this original American dram. Standing around buckets of bubbling peach juice, they occasionally stoked fires warming the high-proof liquid, much like George Washington's distiller may have done more than two centuries ago.This particular batch of peach brandy will be aged, bottled and sold similarly to the limited-edition rye whiskey that disappeared in a quick three-hour public sale this summer.

Lance Winters of St. George Spirits, in California, cut peach slices while David Pickerell of Whistlepig Rye dipped his fingers into a stream of brandy trickling into a wooden bucket. "We started with about 300 gallons of peach juice and will end up with about a fifth of that in brandy once it's ready for barreling," said Pickerell. This is almost the exact amount of peach brandy recorded in the Mount Vernon distillery's production ledger in 1799.

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]]>brandydrinksgeorge washingtonLeslie PariseauThu, 14 Oct 2010 10:00:00 ESTBurgers, Sides, and the People's King of the Bashhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/10/11/burger-bash-nyc-wine-and-food-festival/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/10/11/burger-bash-nyc-wine-and-food-festival/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/10/11/burger-bash-nyc-wine-and-food-festival/#commentsFiled under:

Wall Street Burger Shoppe. Photo: tomcensani, Flickr


The lines were huge at Friday Night's Blue Moon Burger Bash (part of the annual NYC Wine & Food Festival), held in DUMBO's Tobacco Warehouse, but none as long as the one twisting around and bunching up in front of Bobby Flay's Burger Palace. Flay himself manned the table, passing out hundreds of Santa Fe burgers and hamming it up for the crowds. The hand shaking, photo ops and his Santa Fe burger (topped with poblano chiles, queso and blue-corn tortilla chips) added up to a winning combination for fans -- Flay took home the People's Choice award.

Shake Shack was this year's winner (no big surprise there). Sure, their burgers are incredible, but can we give a shout-out to the shakes and those crinkle fries? The stars of every Burger Bash are the burgers, of course, but sometimes the supporting cast deserves attention too.

Check out our favorite sides of the evening.

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]]>bobby flayburger bashburgersnyc wine and food festivalshake shackLeslie PariseauMon, 11 Oct 2010 11:00:00 ESTBrooklyn Eats its Wordshttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/09/13/brooklyn-eats-its-words/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/09/13/brooklyn-eats-its-words/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/09/13/brooklyn-eats-its-words/#commentsFiled under: ,

Brooklyn Book FestivalPhoto: Brooklyn Book Festival


This weekend, the fifth annual Brooklyn Book Festival brought together a smattering of food writers from across the boroughs, including the Franks of Frankies Spuntino and Prime Meats; Rachel Wharton of Edible Brooklyn; chef Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune restaurant; Francis Lam, senior writer at Salon.com; and the Lee Brothers of Southern cookbook and boiled peanut fame.

There were many lively discussions on a variety of topics throughout the festival, but we've collected the most delicious quotes here:

On writing about food:

Gabrielle Hamilton: "It's a lot easier to cross off items on a prep list as opposed to figuring out the human condition."

Francis Lam: "I eat food because I love food. I cook food because I love food. I write about food because I love people."

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]]>brooklyn book festivalfeaturedfrancis lamfrankies spuntinogabrielle hamiltonlee brothersrachel whartonLeslie PariseauMon, 13 Sep 2010 16:00:00 ESTEating in New Orleans, Five Years Laterhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/26/eating-in-new-orleans-five-years-later/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/26/eating-in-new-orleans-five-years-later/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/26/eating-in-new-orleans-five-years-later/#commentsFiled under:

roasted oysters at Coquette restaurantPhoto: rdpeyton, Flickr


Five years after Hurricane Katrina, eating in New Orleans is definitely not the same. Quite possibly, it's better. "I'd argue that our restaurants are better today than before," says Brett Anderson, restaurant critic for the city's paper, the Times Picayune. "It has a lot to do with the remarkable number and quality of new places that were unimaginable before September or October [of 2005]."

Eating in New Orleans is geographically specific like in no other American city. And where there is eating, there is passion -- passion about the food, passion about the region, and passion about the neighborhood. "We have a tradition of eating in neighborhood restaurants," notes Anderson. Willie Mae's Scotch House, famous for its fried chicken, could only exist within the fabled streets of Treme, just as the Creole stronghold Antoine's is unimaginable anywhere but among the genteel blocks of the French Quarter.

Since Hurricane Katrina, only a handful of the best neighborhood spots haven't reopened, and it seems that for every one shuttered, two or three new ones have moved in. Among those Anderson names as the best are Coquette, an Uptown wine bar and bistro; the nationally renowned pork paradise Cochon; Mahoney's, a new po' boy shop ("It's not easy to make po' boys in this town and get noticed," attests Anderson); and Boucherie, a crew of young chefs reinventing Southern food (think Krispy Kreme bread pudding). "It's also the small things," Anderson says, "now, New Orleans is a better place to get Italian. You can get really high quality meats and better sandwiches."

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]]>hurricane katrinanew orleansnew orleans foodLeslie PariseauThu, 26 Aug 2010 17:00:00 ESTSalmonella Outbreak Could Have Been Avoidedhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/24/salmonella-outbreak-could-have-been-avoided/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/24/salmonella-outbreak-could-have-been-avoided/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/24/salmonella-outbreak-could-have-been-avoided/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Photo: Ivy Dawned, Flickr

In May, salmonella cases related to contaminated eggs began to mount across the country and continue to grow today. At the center of this outbreak, the United States Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.) and the Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A.), two overlapping yet disparately tasked entities, were responsible for the overseeing of this food system.

As of July 9, the U.S.D.A. and the F.D.A. began to jointly oversee egg manufacturers including food safety inspections, but prior to the outbreak, the two institutions monitored entirely different sectors of egg production. Before the new standards, the U.S.D.A. took responsibility for the inspection of chickens and their living conditions, whereas the F.D.A. surveyed chicken feed and the eggs produced. Somewhere between the two, something slipped through the cracks.

Aimed to prevent such large scale outbreaks, the F.D.A. and U.S.D.A. will now both oversee egg production, which will "prevent each year approximately 79,000 cases of foodborne illness and 30 deaths caused by consumption of eggs contaminated with the bacterium Salmonella Enteritidis," according to the U.S.D.A. If successful, this would be a nearly 60 percent reduction in egg-related salmonella illnesses.

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]]>eggsfdasalmonellausdaLeslie PariseauTue, 24 Aug 2010 12:00:00 ESTThe New Rx: Apples, Carrots, Conversationhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/20/the-new-rx-apples-carrots-conversation/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/20/the-new-rx-apples-carrots-conversation/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/20/the-new-rx-apples-carrots-conversation/#commentsFiled under:

apples at the farmer's marketPhoto: Ed Yourdon, Flickr


The farmers' market is the new pharmacy. This is the philosophy of Fruit and Veggie Rx, a new pilot program that recommends weekly trips to the farmers market for prescriptions of good old-fashioned produce.

Juliette Taylor DeVries, Chief Operating Officer of Wholesome Wave, the nonprofit group who created the program, says, "We're hoping to change the food future." Wholesome Wave partners with over 30 other organizations to provide access and affordability to the 32 million Americans living in food deserts, or those places without access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

DeVries says, "This is the first ever health initiative that can track the well being of patients after being prescribed a diet of fruits and vegetables." Partnering healthcare clinics will "prescribe" Fruit and Veggie Rx vouchers to 100 at-risk families throughout Maine and Boston during the 2010 farmers market season. These vouchers are redeemable at local farmers markets, each within walking distance of the individual families who are targeted by economic and accessibility factors. Transportation or market boxes will be provided to those out of proximity. Additionally, monthly lifestyle planning and education will maximize the effect of a new shopping routine, and ideally, create a conversation directly between customers and their farmers.

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]]>farmers marketfood desertsfruit and veggie rxwholesome waveLeslie PariseauFri, 20 Aug 2010 15:00:00 ESTThe Burger Battle: Shake Shack vs Five Guys vs Burger Kinghttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/18/the-burger-battle-shake-shack-vs-five-guys-vs-burger-king/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/18/the-burger-battle-shake-shack-vs-five-guys-vs-burger-king/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/18/the-burger-battle-shake-shack-vs-five-guys-vs-burger-king/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: biskuit, Flickr


New York's golden child, Shake Shack is growing slowly (seven locations in three cities). Washington D.C.'s favorite Five Guys is growing not so slowly (620 locations in 48 states). And the ubiquitous Burger King (12,000 locations worldwide) is attempting to innovate with the Whopper Bar. But which comes out on top?

We caught up with FOX Business Network Reporter Chris Cotter following his Burger Battle tour of New York City.

Round 1 Shake Shack:
The Argument: Founder Danny Meyer says they're about, "community, great ingredient sourcing, and warm hospitality." Shake Shack purchases wind offsets for 100% of consumed energy, composts restaurant waste and sources their meat from vegetarian-fed, non-antibiotic Black Angus cows.
On Five Guys: The Shack is moving into Guys' D.C. territory, but not before the Guys came NYC. "We love when they came to our backyard and I don't think that Washingtonians are going to stop eating Five Guys just because Shake Shack comes."
On Burger King: "I don't think that we're taking on giants." Meyer says he's committed to building burger shacks "where people come together to be with people. Not...where people drive through quickly to eat cheap calories."
Cotter says: "Meyer isn't focused on the big guys. He's looking at quality with details like proprietary wine and beer."

More after the jump ...

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]]>burger kingdanny meyerfast foodFive GuysFox Business NetworkFoxBusinessNetworkshake shackwhopper barLeslie PariseauWed, 18 Aug 2010 14:00:00 ESTLouisiana Blue Crabs Show Signs of Oil Contaminationhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/10/louisiana-blue-crabs-show-signs-of-oil-contamination/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/10/louisiana-blue-crabs-show-signs-of-oil-contamination/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/10/louisiana-blue-crabs-show-signs-of-oil-contamination/#commentsFiled under:

female blue crab on the gulf coastPhoto: jere7my, Flickr


Located off Southeastern Louisiana, Barataria Bay is home to some of the most biologically diverse and productive waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Beginning in late May, state authorities began to close off specific areas to recreational and commercial fishing due to the appearance of oil as reported by shrimpers. Then on July 27th , a passing dredge barge pulled by the Pere Ana C. tugboat collided with an abandoned wellhead causing a geyser of oil to burst over the waters. Capped on August 1st, the oil well was eventually controlled, but the damage to Barataria Bay was done, and blue crab, one of the Gulf's most vital seafood harvests, is feeling the effects.

"Blue crabs are one of the most important components in the Gulf's food chain," Vince Guillory, a biologist manager of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, told Slashfood. Over the past few weeks reports from researchers testing seafood in the Barataria area have shown these abundant crustaceans' larvae to exhibit characteristic orange specks caused by oil. Biologist Harriet Perry of the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory has been studying the samples and told the Associated Press, "In my 42 years of studying crabs I've never seen this."

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]]>barataria bayblue crabsgulf oil spillgulf seafoodlousianavince guilloryLeslie PariseauTue, 10 Aug 2010 11:00:00 ESTGulf Restaurants Deal with Seafood Shortageshttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/06/gulf-restaurants-deal-with-seafood-shortages/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/06/gulf-restaurants-deal-with-seafood-shortages/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/06/gulf-restaurants-deal-with-seafood-shortages/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: hermitsmoores, Flickr


On the docks of Dean Blanchard's Grand Isle seafood company, several large orange plastic containers sit along the concrete boat landing. Just half full of frozen Texas shrimp, these dwindling boxes are representative of the situation the Gulf states face in the wake of April's BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

"It's a seven day a week business," says Blanchard referring to his wholesale company, which has been buying and selling Gulf seafood for nearly 35 years. Sitting in his L.S.U. paraphernalia-adorned office smoking a cigarette, Blanchard reminisced: "Before I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you. We moved on average 12 million pounds of shrimp and 3 million pounds of fish a year, so every day I [had] to sell 40 or 50,000 pounds of fresh product."

Restaurants who once bought Gulf seafood from companies like Blanchard's are beginning to feel the pinch. Here in New Orleans, Susan Spicer -- chef-owner of Bayona and the newly opened Mondo -- comments: "I'm still ordering seafood from the same purveyors, but the fin fish variety is getting pretty tight. Drum is something we're not seeing at all and that was [once] very plentiful. It's just harder to get good local fish." Spicer has filed suit against BP along with several other New Orleans restaurateurs and seafood businesses to insure their long term survival as local establishments.

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]]>arnaudsgrand islegulf seafoodlouisana seafoodnew orleansLeslie PariseauFri, 06 Aug 2010 11:00:00 ESTFreshwater, Not Oil, Forces Oysters Off Menushttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/30/freshwater-not-oil-forces-oysters-off-menus/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/30/freshwater-not-oil-forces-oysters-off-menus/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/30/freshwater-not-oil-forces-oysters-off-menus/#commentsFiled under:

steamed freshwater oysters with minced ginger garlic black bean saucePhoto: avlxyz, Flickr


In a city renowned for one of America's most distinct and vibrant food cultures, a way of life is in danger: One by one, New Orleans restaurants are beginning to drop oysters from their menus, and it's not a matter of food safety.

"I wish we could change people's perception about our seafood," Gerald Amato, owner of Mother's Restaurant lamented this morning. "We had one customer say the catfish tasted oily. Catfish is pond-raised! It's just perception," he stressed. "Seafood has never been tested more than it is now and we can't sell it if it's not safe."

It comes down to supply. Amato pointed to an empty pan in the kitchen next to another heaped with pink Gulf shrimp. "That's where the oysters would go. We're supposed to get a shipment in tomorrow," Amato said. His oysters are supplied from P&J Oyster Company, the longest running oyster house in America, who earlier this summer was forced to lay off the majority of its shuckers due to supply shortages for the first time in 134 years.

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]]>gulf oil spillgulf seafoodGulfOilSpillGulfSeafoodoystersseafoodLeslie PariseauFri, 30 Jul 2010 13:00:00 ESTHas Fast-Food Styling Gone Too Far?http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/22/has-fast-food-styling-gone-too-far/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/22/has-fast-food-styling-gone-too-far/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/22/has-fast-food-styling-gone-too-far/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Photo: YouTube


Burger King got served -- by independent regulator of sales promotions in the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The agency ruled against the fast food company's Tendercrisp campaign, alleging the television advertisements may mislead customers to believe the chicken burgers are heftier than the reality of their drive-through counterparts. The commercial in question features a man shacked up in a motel with a substantially portioned and prettily composed Cheesy Bacon Tendercrisp.

The ASA stated that they "examined the size of the burgers in the hands of an average-sized man and considered they did not fill the hands to the same extent as the burger featured in the ad."

Consumers are often reeled in by the promise of juicy, chargrilled burgers and crisp, golden fries, which are often artful illusions created by food stylists (professional "make up artist for food," Jennifer Eustock proudly demonstrates some techniques here). A debate among food stylists as to whether "dirty tricks" should be employed when prepping food products exists in the blogosphere. One blog cleverly captured the disparity between these doctored food products and the soggy, foil-wrapped reality.

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]]>burger kingburger king commercialfood commercialsfood stylingLeslie PariseauThu, 22 Jul 2010 12:00:00 ESTDomino's New Campaign: Our Old Pizza Was Badhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/01/dominos-new-campaign-our-old-pizza-was-bad/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/01/dominos-new-campaign-our-old-pizza-was-bad/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/01/dominos-new-campaign-our-old-pizza-was-bad/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Rowen Atkinson, Flickr


If you've been fan of Domino's over the past 50 years, your judgment might be a little off. Perhaps you were charmed by the promise of 30 minute guaranteed delivery or the company's warm and fuzzy Midwestern backstory (it's based in Ann Arbor, Michigan), but you certainly weren't enjoying the pizza. The company's new philosophy is: "We changed our crust, sauce and cheese. And hopefully your mind."

So who was eating all that pizza? With more than 9,000 stores worldwide, of course Domino's had a few fans, but following a new US recipe launch in December of 2009, they've captured several thousand more.

Fast-food chains frequently add and change recipes to be "new and improved," but Domino's newest pie was accompanied by an almost subversive style of branding. The company launched a series of self-critical ads, including the documentary-style "Turnaround" commercial. We see Domino's employees' faces fall while watching brutally honest focus groups berate the cardboard-like crust and processed cheese. One test-kitchen chef explains the difficulty in facing such harsh commentary, having made the pizza for the better part of two decades.

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]]>dominosdominos pizzanew dominos pizzaLeslie PariseauTue, 01 Jun 2010 16:00:00 EST