A Michael Jackson tribute in sushi. Photo: alainalele/flickr
Don't stop till you get enough!
It was only a matter of time, as our friends at Cake Wrecks pointed out, before the Michael Jackson cake tributes would start to roll in at neighborhood grocery stores. But it is the great state of Iowa that surprised us this week with the announcement that the State Fair would honor the King of Pop with a tribute in butter.
That's right, a Michael Jackson butter carving will sit in the 40-degree-F comfort of a cooler from Aug. 13-23, the Des Moines Register reports. Lori Chappell, the fair's marketing director, told the paper "we're just trying to pay tribute to his contribution to music and dance ... as opposed to giving any scrutiny of his life."
The key to winning marathons might just be a stop at the Waffle House, if 1978 Boston Marathon winner Gayle Barron is to be believed. According to this Atlanta Journal-Constitution piece, the Atlanta woman discovered the chain best known for its fluffy waffles and late hours a decade ago after a session with her running group. WaHo, as it is known to devotees, discovered Barron's fandom and declared her their spokeswoman. She touts the tastiness and energy boost of her thrice-weekly fix of grilled chicken, hash browns and scrambled eggs.
A member of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, Barron has won the Atlanta marathon five times and still runs 15 to 20 miles per week. And though a stickler might note these runs are not, er, waffle-powered (a nutritionist notes Barron's meal is heavy in protein), some might say this is a pleasant contrast to hardcore athletes who consume raw egg milkshakes and dry, so-called performance bars. Pass the syrup.
After a 20-year ban, the European Commission is allowing the sale of less than perfect fruits and vegetables.
"July 1 marks the return to our shelves of the curved cucumber and the knobbly carrot," Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, says. "More seriously, this is a concrete example of our drive to cut unnecessary red tape ... It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they are the 'wrong' size and shape."
For years, the European Commission regulated the size and shape of fruits and vegetables sold on the continent.
Time to stop making the Dunkaccinos. Dunkin' Donuts has temporarily stopped selling its popular coffee drinks and hot chocolate on worries equipment used to make instant nonfat dried milk may be contaminated with salmonella.
Dunkin' Donuts officials told Slashfood that none of its products were contaminated, and the temporary halt in sales is just a precautionary measure.
"We have confirmed that no Dunkin' Donuts products were contaminated," Michelle King, a spokeswoman for Dunkin' Donuts, says. "However, we have made the decision to temporarily withdraw the beverages from our stores to ensure the safety of our customers."
The Good Beer Seal of approval. Photo: goodbeerseal.com.
Earlier today, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg officially proclaimed July to be "Good Beer Month." The declaration came at the request of a local collective known as "the Good Beer Seal."
Founded earlier this year by bar owners Garry Gillis (Burp Castle and Standings), Ray Deter (d.b.a.) and Jimmy Carbone (Jimmy's No. 43), the group strives to "recognize establishments that pride themselves on serving quality, craft beers." With only 15 recognized bars in a city of more than 8 million people, the Seal has yet to become the definitive icon for the city's best spots for suds, but Carbone admits things are still getting off the ground. "We really didn't expect the mayor to make the proclamation," he humbly admits.
For a nascent organization, receiving a mayoral decree after simply writing him a "nice letter" is quite a feat. Carbone believes GBS's support of programs for sustainable food and insistence that members have an "active community presence" was an important factor. "A lot of bars don't make such a good community impact," he told us.
One person's haul from Food Fête. Photo: craigemorsels/Flickr
If New York City's annual Fancy Food Show is a hurricane of food-related items, occupying three vast floors of the sprawling Javits Center, then the tiny, cramped Food Fête is its spin-off tornado.
Hosted in a smaller space and likewise designed to get food writers and editors interested in new and interesting culinary products, the Fête was an interesting and slightly chaotic affair. High-end eats were hawked right up alongside lower-end food, from a very tasty slice of grass-fed steak to a Kikkoman "umami" demonstration in which we were subjected to a taste-off between a regular chocolate and one containing soy sauce -- a rather palate-numbing experience, that.
Former Top Cheffer Stephanie Izard was there with Lucini, the spicy olive oil she endorses, which she had drizzled on a very tasty panzanella. She told us she hadn't had a chance to roam the halls yet. But we had, and our faves are after the jump.
Chez Dolley and James Madison. Photo: Mark F. Levisay
There's no telling how Dolley Madison, celebrated for her exceedingly proper social graces, would have felt about folks sifting through her midden.
But that's just what the archaeologists at Montpelier -- the onetime Virginia home of former President James Madison -- have been doing since 2007, when they first uncovered the (very first) First Lady's trash heap. Their findings, many of which pertain to the Madisons' culinary habits, will likely be supplemented this summer by a new excavation of the estate's North Kitchen. According to spokeswoman Beth Morrill, interpreters at the historic site are planning to use their discoveries about how and what the Madisons ate to engage a new generation of hungry visitors.
"We're teaching children about recycling," Morrill says, pointing to a recently unveiled hands-on exhibit that teaches children about the Madisons' penchant for using every part of an animal (every part except, it seems, for the shell: Dolley Madison's midden was well-stocked with discarded oyster shells, the fruit of which likely paired nicely with the Champagne she served her guests.)
Perhaps you couldn't get to NYC for the 55th Summer Fancy Food Show or maybe you're plotting the most delicious path through the 250,000 edible products on display at the Javits Center. Consider Slashfood your eyes, ears and mouth on the scene.
We'll be Twittering our most fabulous finds as @slashfood from the moment doors open on Sunday, until they roll us on out Tuesday night. Just sit back and watch Slashfood's real time reactions via the widget below and after the jump, see Twitters from folks all over the food world.
"It's OK," François Payard told the assembled schoolchildren, many of whom looked suspicious. "The first time my girlfriend made me this pizza I tried to run out the door."
A world-renowned chef consoling kids about the charms of pizza? There's a role reversal. But many of them had folded their arms and were eyeing the pastry czar as he basted a whole wheat pita with sauce, lentils and -- gasp -- tofu. New Yorkers, even young ones up, know their pizza pies. Tofu is not usually part of the bargain.
The reaction to those pizzas and soy chocolate mousse, after the jump.
William and Mary's new Tribe? Photo: aliciagriffin/flickr
Go spears, go! That could be a new chant for College of William & Mary students, if administrators approve an asparagus stalk as the school's next mascot.
Known collectively as the Tribe, the sports teams of the Williamsburg, Va., school have been without furry representation since a 2006 NCAA ruling eliminated its feathered Native American logo, the Associated Press reports. Since April, the school has solicited suggestions for a new mascot. Submissions close on June 30.
Of course, the school wouldn't be the first to adopt a food as its mascot ... ever notice how these anthropomorphized eats always seem to be on the offensive?
Competitive eaters v. Ringling Bros. elephants. Photos: Getty Images
Man versus beast. That age-old test of wills is being revived once more, and this time it's about who can pack down more hot-dog buns.
As a prelude to the annual hot-dog eating contest at Coney Island, three professional eaters will go up against three Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey elephants on July 3 in Brooklyn, N.Y., an organizer confirmed to Slashfood.
"The animal kingdom in general is oppressed -- many would say -- by the dominance of the human species, and if they were to win this battle, in a way it could signal a rise of the animals," George Shea, chairman of Major League Eating, tells Slashfood. "Or at the very least, a confidence booster."
Get the details on this pachyderm pack down after the jump.
Bees fly to the hive on the hotel rooftop. Photo: The Fairmont Washington, D.C.
Some permanent hotel guests in the nation's capital are definitely causing a buzz. The Fairmont Washington, D.C. recently brought 105,000 Italian honeybees to their roof to make the sweetener for the hotel's restaurant, Juniper.
As "chief beekeepers," executive sous chef Ian Bens and executive pastry chef Aron Weber share the responsibilities of maintaining the three colonies -- Casa Bianca, Casa Bella and Casa Blanca.
So why bees? Weber tells Slashfood he got the idea when he visited the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto and saw their rooftop hives flourishing in an urban setting. The D.C. Fairmont already had an interior courtyard garden that produced fresh herbs and edible flowers like lavender, peppermint and rosemary, so the bees seemed like a logical step to further extend the chefs' ideology in keeping products as fresh and local as possible.
Couldn't swing a trip to Food & Wine Magazine's Classic in Aspen this year? S'okay -- we've got you covered. Kick back with a glass of bubbly and some schmancy nibbles, bookmark this post and keep on checking back for real-time Twitter coverage from the event. Keep up with pictures from the red carpet and around the festival here.
We can change the way we make eggs -- scrambled, poached, fried -- but what about changing the eggs themselves? Mix up your scrambling routine with quail eggs.
Second Helping of Slashfood - June 19
Competitive-Eating Contest to Pit Humans Against Elephants
The Backyard Boom - The Hungry Bride
