Dining at Our Desks

Is Livermush Ready for a Comeback?

by Hanna Raskin, Posted May 18th 2009 @ 5:00PM

Liver is a perpetual bottom dweller on Americans' list of favorite foods. This makes livermush -- yeah, really -- an especially hard sell. Once a staple of textile mill worker lunches, the creamy loaf of pig parts has lately become even more of a lunch pail pariah.

Changing tastes, mill closings and an onslaught of snack-wielding vending machines have conspired to nearly wipe out western North Carolina's signature liver, skin, snout and cornmeal hybrid, a khaki-colored treat pioneered by scrapple-loving German farmers who followed the Great Wagon Road south in search of work. But community leaders in Marion, a thrifty little foothills town where a turned-over tomato truck is occasion to break out the home canning supplies, are banking on livermush's resurgence. Local livermush makers suspect the poor man's pate could become the current recession's official lunchmeat.

Filed under: Dining at Our Desks, Food Politics

Brooklyn Uncorked Recap - Tipsy Locavores Unite

COMMENTS 0

by Alex Van Buren, Posted May 14th 2009 @ 5:00PM

"Loco for locavorism" might sound like some bizarro play on an old TV ad, but the phrase carries some heft these days, if the crowd at last night's Brooklyn Uncorked was any indication. The sip-and-nibble-fest in honor of local goods was jam-packed with tipsy oenophiles clutching wine glasses and munching on local pickles (garlicky!), rosé sorbet (brilliant!) and buzzed-about turkey meatloaf (by the time we got there, gone!). Dozens of local restaurants, wineries and producers were on the premises: as one sign bragged, no vinos were made more than a two-hour drive from Brooklyn.

Hyperlocalism isn't local to New York City, either. Edible Communities, whose Edible Brooklyn hosted the tasting, boasts more than 50 publications from Missoula, Wash., to Santa Fe, N.M. All feature the same bright, minimalistic food-focused design touting "local foods, season by season." If you believe that New York hearkens nationwide trends, well, like the Brooklyn Food Conference before it, this event was sold-out and about as crowded as could be.

Filed under: Magazines, Raves & Reviews, Trends, Food News, Dining at Our Desks, Drink Recipes

Cinco de Mayo Is for Suckers - Walnut Maple Popsicles

COMMENTS 2

by Alex Van Buren, Posted May 5th 2009 @ 4:00PM

"It's Cinco de Mayo, dude! Where's my marg?"

Margaritas are lovely, yes, but sometimes the liver needs a break. And Mexico, of course, is no one-trick culinary pony. In fact, while ambling through the famously taco- and torta-laden neighborhood of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, last weekend, a compadre proselytized wildly about a maple-walnut popsicle right before running into traffic to lead us to the deli where it lived.

Traditionally no friend to the walnut unless it is candied, we were inclined to pass. Then we noticed that in this popsicle, walnuts were a minor player relegated to the stick end of the treat. We politely accepted a small bite. And then another.

And then we turned on our heel and ran back to the deli to rummage frantically through the cooler gleaming on the sidewalk: mango-lime, pistachio, egg nog. Egg nog?! Walnut! Where was it? Pops flew everywhere as, like a dog frantically chasing a mole burrowing underground, we went shoulder-deep into the icy cooler. Thank the stars, a lone, innocuous "nuez" pop remained.

Filed under: Raves & Reviews, Dining at Our Desks, Tinfoil Swan, Ingredients

Pom Iced Coffee Considered

COMMENTS 5

by Lissa Townsend Rodgers, Posted May 4th 2009 @ 4:00PM

As we've noted, it's iced coffee time, folks. While we can all agree that the best version is that which is freshly brewed, sometimes you've got to make do with what can be grabbed out of the convenience store fridge. Starbucks' Frappuccino is a perennial favorite, and we're fans of their Doubleshot Energy Drink (especially the new Cinnamon Dulce flavor) when caffeine alone isn't quite enough.

Behold, however, a challenge to Starbucks supremacy from Pom Iced Coffee. Far from an unpleasant mix of joe and pomegranate juice (though it does feature a touch of the antioxidant-laced fruit extract), this is one smooth-blended iced coffee drink. The cafe au lait version is delightful, but it is the chocolate that may soon boast the title of best bottled iced coffee, with an addiction-inspiring taste reminiscent of a blend of Yoo-Hoo and chocolate Nestle Quik.

The only problem with this cooling nectar? It's only available at select stores and Whole Foods in the Northeast (though bottles have been spied at 99-cent stores on the west coast). If anything were to make a convenience store crawl or a trip to a pricey specialty grocer worth it, it is Pom Chocolate Iced Coffee. So stock up.

Note: Slashfood does not accept compensation of any sort in exchange for reviews.

Filed under: Raves & Reviews, Dining at Our Desks, Tinfoil Swan, Ingredients, Drink Recipes

Don't Judge a Bottle by Its Label - Vintage 17-Year-Old Bourbon

COMMENTS 0

by Alex Van Buren, Posted Apr 21st 2009 @ 2:00PM

OK, OK, so we're a little obsessed with bourbon right now. But Derby Day is just around the corner, the sun is starting to make a cameo and, well, bourbon is absurdly delicious.

While at a whiskey-and-barbecue eatery the other night, the bartender stopped short when he heard me order Woodford Reserve, mistaking me for some high-rolling aficionado (I'm new to the cult and have never even tried Pappy Van Winkle). "You like bourbon?" he asked, smiling. With a flourish, he produced this bottle of Vintage 17-year-old bourbon. I laughed when I saw it. Look at that photo! It was like someone saying, "You know what's a high-quality nail polish?" and dramatically presenting you with an old bottle of cherry-red Wet & Wild with its insanely '80s script. How could this be tasty stuff?

One sip shut me straight up. My companion crowed, "It's incredible! It coats the palate with caramel!" All I could muster after a long day writing about food was a sober, "Yeah," and a deep sigh -- the sigh of a woman who had just acquired a very expensive new habit.

Filed under: Raves & Reviews, Happy Hour, Liquor Cabinet, Cocktail Hour, Dining at Our Desks, Tinfoil Swan, Drink Recipes, Drinks

Haagen-Dazs New 5 Ice Cream -- Taste Test

COMMENTS 12

by Sarah Christine, Posted Mar 17th 2009 @ 10:31AM

After testing Haagen Dazs new Five Ice Cream line, we have the verdicts!

Several weeks back, Max wrote about the launch of Haagen Dazs' new Five ice cream. Last week, Slashfood was surprised by 14 pints of the new recipe. That's right, 14 (2 pints each of the seven new flavors). Needless to say, everyone got a bite.

All of the Five offerings are made with milk, cream, sugar, eggs and one of the following ingredients to create the seven single-note flavors:

Brown Sugar
Coffee
Ginger
Milk Chocolate
Mint
Passion Fruit
Vanilla Bean

Find out after the jump whether these clean ice cream flavors live up to their hype.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Chocolate	132 (13.7%)
Vanilla	184 (19.1%)
Mint Chocolate Chip	170 (17.6%)
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough	115 (11.9%)
Coffee	176 (18.3%)
Other	187 (19.4%)

Filed under: Dining at Our Desks

Riedel TriO Glasses

COMMENTS 2

by Kat Kinsman, Posted Mar 4th 2009 @ 9:00PM

This could be dangerous.

Most people of legal drinking age have at some point mastered the necessary spatial relation between wine and standard glass to allow themselves an enjoyable portion while not getting totally sloppy after one initial serving. Riedel's new suite of machine-blown TriO red and white wine tumblers blows that all to hell. Their groundbreaking sans-stem O Tumbler takes a cue from the Champagne and beer end of the product line to reunite with a beehived, hollow base that's ridiculously pleasing the hand, and ever so easy to over-fill.

F'rinstance, the (very) generous pour in the dime-a-dozen IKEA glass on the right is the same quantity as seen in the TriO on the left. I tend to be a glass-oughta-be-full kind of girl, and found myself having to quite consciously refrain from serving right on up to the usual mark. There are worse problems to have, and these glasses are possessed of none of them. As mentioned before, the grooved stem is a treat to hold, the design quite visually appealing, and, joy of joys, they're dishwasher-friendly.

At $30 for a three-pack, they're not quite IKEA cheap, but they're hardly a $106 Sommelier's Grüner Veltliner Glass, either. The wine, by the way, is a $10.99 2004 Kanonkop Kadette from South Africa's Stellenbosch region and if you can't find it in a store near you, it's prolly because I went in and bought all of it. Sorry.

Filed under: Raves & Reviews, Dining at Our Desks, Drink Recipes, New Products