Slashfoodhttp://www.slashfood.comSlashfoodhttp://www.slashfood.com/media/feedlogo.gifSlashfoodhttp://www.slashfood.comen-usCopyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/World's First Wonka Store Opens in NYChttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/09/23/worlds-first-wonka-store-opens-in-nyc/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/09/23/worlds-first-wonka-store-opens-in-nyc/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/09/23/worlds-first-wonka-store-opens-in-nyc/#commentsFiled under:

wonkaPhoto: Jennifer Lawinski


Do the snozzberries taste like snozzberries?

You can find that out and more at the world's only Wonka candy store inside the world's largest Toys R Us toy store in New York City's Times Square. With candies dangling from the rafters and bulk-candy bins housed inside mushroom-shaped tables, the Wonka candy store is like the movie and iconic book by Roald Dahl come to life -- a world of pure imagination.

"This is the only place on the planet that you can find everything Wonka makes," spokeswoman Tricia Bowles told Slashfood at the store's grand opening.

In addition to the fantastical set and larger-than-life boxes of Nerds candies, customers can find everything from sluggie gummies to the new Wonka line of chocolate bars -- Wonka Execeptionals, one of which is named the Scrumdiddlyumptious Chocolate Bar, appealing to fans of the film and chocolate lovers alike.

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]]>wonka candywonka chocolatewonka worldwonka world nycJennifer LawinskiThu, 23 Sep 2010 12:00:00 ESTBehind the Scenes at NYC's Pop-Tarts Worldhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/10/pop-tarts-world-nyc/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/10/pop-tarts-world-nyc/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/10/pop-tarts-world-nyc/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Richard Drew / AP Photo

Just when we thought Times Square had it all -- Pop-Tarts introduces Pop-Tarts World, a 3,000 square-foot sugar metropolis, which opened Tuesday. The store has Pop-Tarts merchandise, a custom T-shirt creation station, the "varietizer" machine and a Pop-Tarts Cafe. Slashfood caught up with Scott Schoessel, COO of Gigunda Group and just had to ask, "Why?"

"We saw an opportunity," said Shoessel. "We started watching what people had to say -- our Facebook fan page has close to 2 million fans. We wanted to bring their passion for Pop-Tarts to life in a tangible way, letting them create an experience of their own."

The most eye-catching contraption is "The Varietizer" machine (see photos below), which allows shoppers to build their own customized box of Pop-Tarts for $12. There are currently 23 different kinds of Pop-Tarts in the machine -- some will be switched out seasonally (Orange Cream, Blueberry Muffin, and Ice Cream Sandwich are current options) and the classics. What I found to be most interesting was the process of choosing your "tarts." On a computer screen, a customer is presented with all the possible choices. Before you make your final decision, the nutritional facts for the specific flavor appear. When I asked Schoessel for the reasoning behind this (I found seeing all those calories listed to be a turn-off), he said "Kellogg's takes nutrition very seriously -- it's also a good way to provide information if people have food allergies."

Photos and more after the jump ...

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]]>pop tartspop tarts worldPopTartsPopTartsWorldSarah De HeerTue, 10 Aug 2010 17:00:00 ESTWhole Foods Introduces Pizza "GreenBox"http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/19/whole-foods-introduces-pizza-greenbox/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/19/whole-foods-introduces-pizza-greenbox/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/19/whole-foods-introduces-pizza-greenbox/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: YouTube


Adding to the (occasional) guilt of finishing off a greasy, cheese-laden pizza is that awkwardly large, hard-to-trash pizza box -- do you bend it? Rip it into pieces? Leave it for someone else to deal with in the morning?

Whole Foods will be breaking this vicious cycle with the newly designed GreenBox, made to sustainably package, serve and store their take-out brick-oven pizza. Announced today by makers ECOvention, LLC, the boxes are manufactured from 100% recycled cardboard and are said to replace the need for paper plates (for serving), as well as plastic wrap or tin foil (for storage). The company realized that a standard 14-inch pizza box could breakdown into smaller reusable compartments, which could then be recycled more easily.

What's their secret? Clever perforation.

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]]>eco-friendlyfast foodgreenboxpizzarecyclesustainablewhole foodsJessie CacciolaMon, 19 Jul 2010 14:00:00 ESTBen & Jerry's Exclusive Flavors at Targethttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/22/ben-and-jerrys-exclusive-flavors-at-target/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/22/ben-and-jerrys-exclusive-flavors-at-target/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/22/ben-and-jerrys-exclusive-flavors-at-target/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: Ben & Jerry's


Beginning this week, and available only at Target stores, Ben & Jerry's is launching two new "philanthropic" flavors, both aimed at encouraging consumers to volunteer in their communities.

Raspberry cheesecake flavor best describes Berry Voluntary, which is laced with white-chocolate chunks and raspberry swirls.

Brownie Chew Gooder is vanilla caramel ice cream loaded with pieces of fudge brownie and topped off with caramel swirl.

Both are available in either a mini cup ($1.25) or a pint ($3.50).

More details after the jump...

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]]>ben and jerrysberry voluntarybrownie chew goodertargetKristine HansenTue, 22 Jun 2010 11:00:00 ESTNo, You're Not Crazy -- That Shelf Is Talking to Youhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/18/commercials-in-supermarkets/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/18/commercials-in-supermarkets/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/18/commercials-in-supermarkets/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: photine, Flickr

As evidence that our future is shaping up to be some unholy hybrid of Blade Runner meets Mad Men (with a dash of Orwellian paranoia thrown in), here comes this: 3GTV.

As The New York Times reports, a company called Automated Media Services has developed TV screens that can be clipped to supermarket shelves. And what will be showing on those tiny screens? You guessed it: endless loops of the same commercials for cereal or soup or shampoo.

More after the jump.

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]]>automated media servicescommercialsupermarketsJason BestFri, 18 Jun 2010 15:00:00 ESTSeventh Street Wine Company, Ft. Lauderdale - Ask a Shopkeeperhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/09/seventh-street-wine-company-ft-lauderdale-ask-a-shopkeeper/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/09/seventh-street-wine-company-ft-lauderdale-ask-a-shopkeeper/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/09/seventh-street-wine-company-ft-lauderdale-ask-a-shopkeeper/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Photo: Seventh Street Wine Company


Chris Skillicorn, owner of Seventh Street Wine Company, should've been a character in a Hemingway story. He's a man of the sea with a passion for the bottle. Skillicorn grew up on the Isle of Man, smack in middle of the Irish Sea. As an adult, he sailed off to warmer climates, becoming an on-board food and beverage officer for a major cruise line. When it came time to settle down, Skillicorn chose Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., the widely acknowledged yachting capital of the world. In 2005, he and his partners opened Seventh Street Wine Company. Five years later, customers come from all over South Florida to shop from a selection 1,500 wines, many of which can be sampled using state of the art, computerized dispensing machines.

More from Skillicorn on what it's like to be the wine man of the sea, after the jump.

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]]>enomaticft. lauderdaleFt.Lauderdaleseventh street wine compnaysouth floridaSouthFloridawineChris DudleyWed, 09 Jun 2010 14:00:00 ESTYour New Favorite Restaurant? The Supermarkethttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/04/your-new-favorite-restaurant-the-supermarket/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/04/your-new-favorite-restaurant-the-supermarket/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/04/your-new-favorite-restaurant-the-supermarket/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Wegmans


Back in the '80s and '90s, grabbing dinner at the prepared foods section of your neighborhood grocery store meant picking up a rotisserie chicken, some gloppy potato salad, and maybe -- if you were feeling ambitious -- a trip through the salad bar.

While those rotisserie chickens haven't gone anywhere, these days, new high-end prepared food offerings have turned sections of the supermarket into full-blown restaurants.

Wegman's, a small supermarket chain based in Rochester, N.Y., features a Market Café that offers shoppers more than your average neighborhood diner. Pizza, sushi, stir-frys to order, homemade soups, even something they call a "large fish fry dinner." Whole Foods, the granddaddy of luxe prepared foods, goes even further. Here, depending on the store, you might find a Parisian cafe, a pizza bar, a BBQ shack, a sushi bar, a raw foods bar, a taco bar, a sandwich bar, or a full-out wine bar.

So what's the motive behind this new ready-to-eat bonanza? Profit, of course. Company execs want to keep customers returning to the store, and more visits mean more shopping overall.

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]]>supermarket restaurantssupermarketswegmanswhole foodsNichol NelsonFri, 04 Jun 2010 17:00:00 ESTGrass-Fed Fashionhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/25/grass-fed-fashion-marlow-and-sons/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/25/grass-fed-fashion-marlow-and-sons/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/25/grass-fed-fashion-marlow-and-sons/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Hannah Whitaker / New York Magazine


Now locavores can also be fashionistas. Brooklyn's Marlow & Sons is a quirky gourmet eatery specializing in local, grass-fed meat; owners Mark Firth and Andrew Tarlow (Mar-low, get it?) also opened a butcher shop, Marlow & Daughters, giving them even more control over their sustainable food supply. Now, in true nose-to-tail spirit, Firth and Tarlow are taking the use-everything ethos to the next level, offering leather bags made from the skins of their house-butchered livestock.

Like the restaurant, the simple, classic leather bags are getting enthusiastic reviews. "Nice and classy," says one commenter on New York magazine's The Cut. "Brilliant idea," says another. "Very forward thinking." Perhaps most refreshing of all, the prices are reasonable (for high-end fashion) -- the most expensive bag tops out at $350.

Inquiring minds may well ask: Will it become a trend? Will farmers markets start offering an array of home-grown luggage and shoes next to their meat shares and produce? "Eh," says one jaded commenter at The Cut. "Stick to serving me oysters and bloody Marys."

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]]>featuredleather bagsmarlow and sonsNaomi ShulmanTue, 25 May 2010 15:00:00 ESTWhole Foods Market to Recycle Customers' Wine Corkshttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/08/whole-foods-market-to-recycle-customers-wine-corks/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/08/whole-foods-market-to-recycle-customers-wine-corks/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/08/whole-foods-market-to-recycle-customers-wine-corks/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: themooring, Flickr


This week, Whole Foods Market announced that all 292 of its stores in the U.S., Canada and England will collect customers' wine corks with the goal of turning them into really cool items. The company has partnered with Cork ReHarvest to find various ways to repurpose the corks. For example, Midwestern Whole Foods stores plan to give the corks to Yemm & Hart, a cork-floor tile manufacturer. At stores west of the Rocky Mountains, corks will be turned into recyclable cardboard shippers containing 10 percent cork. And Jelinek Cork Group, one of North America's oldest cork manufacturers, will be responsible for taking corks turned in at Whole Foods stores along the East Coast in the U.S. and throughout the U.K., and transforming them into an assortment of products for consumers. While news hasn't been announced about what exactly those products will be, Jelinek creates cork coasters, furniture, model-train tracks, fishing rods and flooring designed for yoga studios (as well as yoga blocks).

If you're like us, you have an abundant collection of wine corks. Sure, you could save them for the day when you will actually have the time to sit down and construct trivets or bath mats out of the corks. Or, you can donate them to this good cause.

Whole Foods says it's the first national retailer to offer a cork-recycling program. Only natural corks can be turned into the stores' drop boxes -- so keep those synthetic corks for an innovative D.I.Y. project, perhaps?

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]]>cork reharvestfeaturedwhole foodswhole foods marketwhole foods recycles wine corkswine corksKristine HansenThu, 08 Apr 2010 16:00:00 ESTFree Breakfast at IKEAhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/02/free-breakfast-at-ikea/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/02/free-breakfast-at-ikea/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/02/free-breakfast-at-ikea/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: rutlo, Flickr

If this weekend's sunny forecast makes you realize a good spring cleaning is in order, furniture megastore IKEA will come your rescue with their ample storage and organizational goods. In addition to offering free pencils and measuring tapes, IKEA will fill your stomach with free breakfast from Friday, April 2 through Sunday, April 4. After you exhaust yourself running through their maze of a showroom, refuel with a scrambled eggs, bacon and potatoes breakfast and one cup of coffee.

This offer is valued at $1.98, is limited to one per customer and is not available at IKEA Hicksville, IKEA Houston and IKEA Direct.

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]]>featuredfree breakfastfree foodfree ikea breakfastikeaikea breakfastLindsay DamastFri, 02 Apr 2010 11:30:00 ESTFreezer Burn - Seafood Buyers Get Scammedhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/03/31/seafood-buyers-get-scammed/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/03/31/seafood-buyers-get-scammed/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/03/31/seafood-buyers-get-scammed/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: weye.org, Flickr

Consumers who net their seafood in the freezer section may be paying up to $23 a pound for ice, rather than on the shrimp, tilapia or scallops they believed they were purchasing, according to an investigation by the National Conference on Weights and Measures, which tested samples from 17-states, including Florida, California, New York, Wisconsin and North Carolina.

Lisa Weddig, director of regulatory and technical affairs for the National Fisheries Institute, which prompted the four-week investigation, says the ice glaze that's applied to seafood is done to seal in moisture and prevent freezer burn. "But it cannot be included as the weight of the product," she says. Seafood packers who do so are violating packaging and labeling laws.

Over 21,000 packages of seafood were removed for incorrect package weights during the month-long investigation which began at the end of January. In some cases, inspectors found that ice made up to 40 percent of the product's weight. Judy Cardin, Weights and Measures Chief for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, noted that most of the states which spot-checked products reported significant overcharges because of incorrect package weight.

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]]>FDAfrozen seafoodfrozen shrimpseafoodshrimptilapiaClare Leschin-HoarWed, 31 Mar 2010 14:00:00 ESTPrice Fixing on Passover Food?http://www.slashfood.com/2010/03/30/price-fixing-on-passover-food/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/03/30/price-fixing-on-passover-food/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/03/30/price-fixing-on-passover-food/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: gomattolson, Flickr

Ahh, Passover. With the first night's Seder behind us, we have that pleasant full-of-matzo feeling (not to mention a vague Concord grape-wine hangover). We stumble into the kitchen and realize that, breakfast options being what they are during this leavening-free week, we're going to need some more kosher-for-Passover cereal. And you know what? It's gonna cost us. You can call Passover food stale, tasteless and even unhealthy -- and you definitely can't call it a bargain.

This is, of course, not exactly news. In fact, it was twenty years ago that Manischewitz, probably the most famous purveyor of matzo and other Passover foods, was hit with a fine of $1 million for allegedly engaging in price fixing with its competitors (notably Streit's and Horowitz, which Manischewitz later acquired). But as Benyamin Cohen points out on Slate, not much has changed since the early 1990s. It's still commonplace to find Passover staples (cereal, jelly, tuna) selling for triple the price of their goyische counterparts.

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]]>manischewitzmanischewitz passover foodspassover foodprice fixingprice fixing passover foodNaomi ShulmanTue, 30 Mar 2010 12:00:00 ESTWhole Foods CEO Donates His Bonus to Animal Welfare Grouphttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/26/whole-foods-ceo-donates-his-bonus-to-animal-welfare-group/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/26/whole-foods-ceo-donates-his-bonus-to-animal-welfare-group/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/26/whole-foods-ceo-donates-his-bonus-to-animal-welfare-group/#commentsFiled under: ,

Getty Images


In 2007, Whole Foods' controversial and colorful CEO, John Mackey, reduced his salary to $1 a year, and has continued to keep his salary low. The value of his total compensation (including bonuses), however, shot up from $33,831 in fiscal 2008 to $653,671, according to the Associated Press. (The large increase over last year's bonus is mainly the result of Mr. Mackey being paid out in 2009 for assets that were frozen in 2006 when he announced his salary reduction.)

Mackey donated the after-tax proceeds of his 2009 compensation -- $379,636 -- to Global Animal Partnership, an animal welfare group that's "committed to working collaboratively to improve the lives of farm animals," according to a statement on the organization's website. Wonder how Mackey chose the group? It turns out that he's on the board.

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]]>John MackeyJohnMackeywhole foodsWholeFoodsNicki GostinTue, 26 Jan 2010 17:30:00 ESTWalgreens Nationwide Offer Freshly Prepared Foodhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/19/walgreens-nationwide-offer-freshly-prepared-food/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/19/walgreens-nationwide-offer-freshly-prepared-food/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/19/walgreens-nationwide-offer-freshly-prepared-food/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Nick Ut, AP


You can already pick up fresh milk and eggs at Walgreens (besides much needed essentials like toilet paper, mascara or a snuggie wearable blanket). But now, in several hundred stores across the nation, you can also pick up freshly prepared food like fruit salads and sandwiches.

The South Bend Tribune is reporting that this rollout is new and available at all 7,000 stores, but Walgreens manager of media relations, Tiffani Washington, tells Slashfood that's not entirely accurate.

"We currently have a few hundred stores with sandwiches, salads and cut fruit," said Washington. "We are gathering learnings from those locations and looking at opportunities to appeal to on-the-go consumers with similar meal options in more stores."

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]]>featuredwalgreenswalgreens freshly prepared foodwalgreens salad sandwichesNicki GostinTue, 19 Jan 2010 15:30:00 ESTFood Lion Goes Green in South Carolinahttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/18/food-lion-goes-green-in-south-carolina/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/18/food-lion-goes-green-in-south-carolina/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/18/food-lion-goes-green-in-south-carolina/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

food lionPhoto: part two, Flickr

Few publicists instruct reporters to destroy their press releases. But in keeping with Food Lion's roll-out of what it is billing as its "first environmentally friendly grocery store," spokeswoman Christy Phillips-Brown issued materials printed on paper saturated with seeds.

"You tear it up, put it in soil and it grows," Phillips-Brown says.

Food Lion is counting on its green grocery in Columbia, S.C., to blossom, too. The store -- the first supermarket in the state built according to LEED Silver Certification standards -- is a major element in Food Lion's ongoing attempt to rehabilitate its image.

"Certainly we want to serve our customers," Philips-Brown says of the project. "But it's more about being a good corporate citizen."

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]]>food lionLEEDsouth carolinasouthern statesHanna RaskinFri, 18 Dec 2009 15:00:00 ESTTop Holiday Cheese Gifts of 2009 - Cheese Coursehttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/16/top-holiday-cheese-gifts-of-2009-cheese-course/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/16/top-holiday-cheese-gifts-of-2009-cheese-course/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/16/top-holiday-cheese-gifts-of-2009-cheese-course/#commentsFiled under: , ,

cheesePhoto: Pastoral

The holiday season usually means plenty of us will be saying "cheese!" But the smiles it brings doesn't only have to be for family photos.

Consider mail-ordering a festive cheese platter for holiday events or as gifts. From one-time cheese platters and cheese-of-the-month clubs to special cutlery and distinct pairings, the gift offerings available from some of the nation's top cheese stores can't be beat. Here are three of our favorites.

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]]>americacheesecheese giftsCheeseCourseCheeseGiftscowgirl creamerypastoralreviewssaladini cheese knifeMax ShremWed, 16 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST