Remember the Vocation Vacations I mentioned earlier on which you can go on vacation and live out four dream job as a star chef, a baker, or even a restaurant owner? Well, food-related vacationing seems to be quite the trend these days, as the New York Times Travel section points out. Hotels are now opening up their kitchens to provide learning experiences for their guests. Writer Taylor Holliday has gone to Turkey and Vietnam to do such a thing, and also lists the Shaw Guides and the International Kitchen as resources for finding your next culinary vacation.
Me? I'd love to go to Spain. Then again, I don't think I'd actually want to cook. I just want to eat!
Jason Calacanis is in Barcelona enjoying the Spanish fun and sun, and went back to a tapas bar called Ciutat Comtal, which he went to when he was in Barcelona eight years ago. He says the tapas there are even better than he remembered. I am falling over myself just gazing at what looks like a pinxo with sliced tomatoes, anchovies and olives.
Racing to get your taxes done and need a quick caffeine boost? Denny's Restaurants want you to know that they have come out with a new "Special Blend" of coffee, and will be offering free samples on Tax Day which is tomorrow, April 17th. If you are unable to make it on that specific date, they will also be offering free samples on April 21 & 22, and April 28 & 29 between 8am and 1pm.
I recently went to The Penthouse, the new restaurant at the top of The Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica. While the food was a little less than spectacular, the view of the Pacific from that high up was pretty stunning. However, there was one thing I ate that got my attention, which was their Green Crunch Salad.
The mix of crunchy greens tossed with a spicy vinaigrette was awesome, so I decided to re-create it at home, with my personal preferences, of course. The Penthouse's salad was composed of fresh sugar snap peas, cooked regular peas, and steamed edamame, which I did as well. However, instead of lightly steamed asparagus tips, I used raw snow peas cut on a bias. I dressed my vegetables with a spicy balsamic vinaigrette (3:1 olive oil: balsamic vinegar + finely minced garlic + salt/pepper + crushed red pepper) and the result was good. In fact, I might say that I liked my version with the balsamic vinaigrette a little more than The Penthouse's Asian-inspired sesame dressing.
We just can't seem to post enough about McDonald's here on Slashfood, can we?
You may not learn much about the world from a Big Mac and large fries, but if you take a peek at the menus in McDonald's restaurants in other countries, you might get a peek into their cultural cuisine. Sure, it's not the greatest lesson in the world, but it's a start. Blog Fjetsam has a list with images of just a few things that are offered in other countries:
Japan - Ebichiki is shrimp McNuggets, Ronald's take on shrimp tempura?
Japan - Tamago Double Mac - a burger with the addition of sweet egg omelet traditionally served as sushi, tamago
Israel - McShawarma is turkey shawarma on flatbread
Middle East - McArabia is grilled chicken sandwich on Arab bread with lettuce, tomatoes and Arab sauce
Greece - The Greek Mac
Netherlands - McKroket, with a croquette
Singapore - McSpaghetti -- yeah, not Italy, but Singapore!
Rui Daniel Faria Velosa, the owner of the Portuguese restaurant, was fined April on April 12 for an incident that occurred back in May 2005. A server brought the appetizer in the ceramic dish to the table. The food was already flaming, but the server returned with more rum to top off the dish. The rum spilled all over the woman, leaving her with burns on her face and hands. She spent two weeks in the hospital and still suffers from flashbacks, panic attacks, and anxiety.
If that happened to me, I'd probably eat raw food for the rest of my life.
Here in the US when we go to state fairs and carnivals, we eat funnel cakes and deep-fried Mars barsoreoscheesecakeanything. However, in the Japanese culture, the "fun" fair-ish food is imagawayaki, a small, flat bun that is filled inside with "an," sweet red bean paste. Though it is a Japanese food, here in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo, there is a small cafe that is well-known for its imagawayaki, Mitsuru Cafe in the Japanese Village Plaza.
The imagawayaki are made with a batter this is similar to a waffle or pancake batter. The batter is poured into special cooking contraptions that are used especially for imagawayaki - a large "pan" made of cast iron or aluminum that has small molds for each imagawayaki that is placed over a direct heat source.
There are a few shots of imagawayaki being made after the jump.
If you're like me and, I am suspecting, tons of other people out there who have procrastinated for the last few weeks, you're on a mission-critical path to get your taxes done before the April 17 deadline. No time to waste, and no time to...cook!
Good morning, Slashfoodies! There's no better way to start the day than with breakfast, and when you're surfing the Internet, the best breakfast is always the most beautiful one.
The above breakfast of some version of Eggs Benedict (vegetarian, maybe?), potatoes, and fresh fruit is from the 2nd Street Cafe in Brooklyn, as posted by Zen in the Kitchen. It's so perfect that it almost looks like an advertisement for a restaurant, and kind of makes me regret the Diet Coke and soup I slurped down this morning!
For the 13th year, Los Angeles restaurants are participating in Dine Out LA, a one-day fundraising event, where Los Angeles area restaurants will donate 20% or more of their day's proceeds to Aid For AIDS. Dine Out LA is Thursday April 19, 2007, and will be breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Check the site for the list of particiapting restaurants, which is still growing.
Aid for AIDS is a non-profit organization that works to prevent homelessness and hunger for individuals and families impoverished and disabled by HIV/AIDS.
Admit it. At some point in your foodish life, even if for a fleeting moment, you dreamt of opening a restaurant. Or perhaps a cute little cafe. Maybe it was to become a star chef. For us, Slashfoodies, a dream job is in food, right?
Snap out of it. You have bills to pay, screaming kids demanding your attention, and you still have eleven things on your to-do list that you were supposed to do yesterday.
And work in a job as a chef? Please. What you really need is a vacation.
Well, now you can do both. Vocation Vacations is a combination of a dream vacation with your dream job. They've put together lists of "vacations" all over the world that incorporate a few days of "work" in a dream job, and have a whole slew of food-related dream vocation vacations: brew master, baker, star chef. Personally, I'd love to be "restaurant critic" and fly all over the globe, eating in a different delicious restaurant every night.
Well, to think we forgot to mention that April is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month! While I doubt I could actually make and eat a grilled cheese sandwich every day for the 30 days of April to "celebrate," I'll probably do a couple and post them here later this week. But until then, we'll have to make do with the Top Eight Grilled Cheese Sandwiches in New York, as selected by Grub Street. And don't think they're all fancy schmancy paninis or Thomas Keller's at Bouchon Bakery. There's a diner in there that's got some Kraft going, too.
Just weeks after introducing their new Fresh Fit Menu, Subway Restaurants are now planning to add a personal-sized deep dish pizza to their regular menu offerings. The idea has apparently been in the works for years, but never materialized due in part to the difficulty of fitting full-sized pizza ovens into their tiny stores. That particular problem has now been fixed though with the use of speed ovens - a compact design that can cook a personal-sized pizza in 90 seconds flat.
The basic pizza will be prepared off-site, then baked at the store with your choice of additional toppings. Supposedly a plain pizza will be sold for $2.99, certain toppings such as pepperoni or meatballs can be added on for a dollar extra, and vegetables and extra cheese will be free. Subway is planning to introduce the new product line in June at 13,000 US locations.
Whether you are celebrating Passover, or simply just Spring, the LA Times Food Section takes a look at some decadent desserts, one-pot meals, and even recommends a wine to sip while enjoying the extended daylight hours.
Finding a cake that is both simple to prepare and looks elegant isn't an easy task, yet Avenue's Walnut Cake will do just that
I'll forever think of Anthony Hopkins when someone mentions fava beans, but this recipe for Creamed Fava Beans with Tarragon is almost enough to block the image
Tossing everything into one pot and letting it cook is a great way to enjoy more of the Spring weather, thanks to this recipe for Pot-roasted Lamb with Fennel and Potatoes
How to prepare a Sephardic Passover feast, with recipes for Friday Night Brisket, Pesce in Carpione (marinated white fish with caramelized onions and pine nuts), and Keftes de Prasa (beef and leek croquettes)
Austrian white: Grüner Veltliner, complements the season's freshest menus.
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.
Despite a global ban on killing whales, Japanese multi-national seafood conglomerate 
If ever you plan to grab dinner at Sporting Clube de Londres in West London, 
For the 13th year, Los Angeles restaurants are participating in 
Admit it. At some point in your foodish life, even if for a fleeting moment, you dreamt of opening a restaurant. Or perhaps a cute little cafe. Maybe it was to become a star chef. For us, Slashfoodies, a dream job is in food, right?
Just weeks after introducing their new 
Second Helping of Slashfood - June 19
Competitive-Eating Contest to Pit Humans Against Elephants
The Backyard Boom - The Hungry Bride
