Trends

Low-Alcohol Booze: The Next Big Thing?

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 26th 2011 @ 4:00PM

vodka martini Photo: Jupiterimages

Is cocktail culture losing its buzz? Last fall, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that bartenders were mixing up a host of cocktails with a lower alcohol content -- drinkers are looking for beverages with fewer calories, and a lower alcohol level also means patrons can consume more without fear of the breathalyzer. The trick behind many of these cocktails? Fortified wines, which are substituted for stronger spirits.

Last week, Grub Street SF dug a bit deeper into the world of low-alcohol beverages by tasting an array of lower-alcohol spirits made without distillation. After sampling fermented vodka and agave wine (think tequila, but instead it hovers around the ABV limit for wine), they proclaimed themselves impressed with the flavor -- and the added benefits. ("You've got yourself a decent drink that, after a half dozen or so, will have your college-age cousin buzzed but not barfing," was one enthusiastic response.)

The trend carries over into alcohol levels in wine. In a market reversal, California vintners are pulling back after years of producing juicy, high-alcohol wines, writes ZesterDaily. NPR reports that Kutch Wines and Vineyards owner, Jamie Kutch, is lowering the alcohol content of his winery's pinot noir to balance our the flavors -- and also prevent people from falling asleep on the couch after dinner.

Though these low-alcohol drinks may be growing slightly in popularity and distribution, they are far from mainstream -- particularly in the realm of beer: The Sunday Times tried to find to find moderate-alcohol beer in London and struggled due to "low demand." Colorado actually banned the sale of low alcohol beers in bars, albeit for complicated political reasons (and legislators are working to overturn the bizarre measure).

As with most matters booze-related, it's largely a matter of preference. But if you like your cocktails on the lighter side, it's nice to know you have options.

Filed under: Trends, Drinks

E la Carte: Restaurants' Electronic Menus Revolutionize Ordering

COMMENTS 2

by Jason Best, Posted Apr 21st 2011 @ 4:00PM

Photo: E la Carte

Technology has managed to make all manner of service employees practically obsolete -- bank tellers, travel agents, grocery store checkers. Are waiters next?

When you think about it, the newfangled gadget that tech startup E la Carte released this week has been sort of a long time coming. It's basically a more rugged version of an iPad that allows you to touch-screen your way through a restaurant menu, order and even pay.

The crotchety misanthrope might ask, "How is it that I've been able to scan and bag my own groceries for years, but still I have to make chit-chat with the waiter at Applebee's?"

Right now, reports our our sister site TechCrunch, only about 20 eateries have the device, mostly in San Francisco and Boston. But E la Carte says it has a long waiting list of restaurant owners eager to try the thing. One reason is because restaurants that have tested it have reported a 10 to 12 percent spike in overall revenue, since E la Carte is great at up-selling. ("Would you like a side salad with that for only $3 more?" Here's a lovely picture of the side salad. All you have to do is press this button.)

Filed under: Trends, Restaurants, Gadgets

Food from the Edge: The End of Espresso?

COMMENTS 3

by Rebecca Rothbaum, Posted Mar 9th 2011 @ 11:00AM

making siphon coffee Photo: tyrone warner, Flickr

Lattes are so last year. As a matter of fact, so are cappuccinos and macchiatos.

At least, that's what the emergence of a new kind of coffee bar suggests. Oh, this new breed has the requisite La Marzocco machines for those who really must have their shot, but the emphasis is on brewed coffee made using a variety of venerable counter-top contraptions, from the simple ceramic cone to the laboratory-like siphon, two glass bulbs perched above a Bunsen-burner. (Sorry, Mr. Coffee: the automatic drip still hasn't made a comeback.)

One of the latest entries into this category is WTF Coffee in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood. The bar, which opened late last year, is a sleek little storefront with no seating, only narrow shelf-like bars along the walls. All the action happens at the counter, where customers choose from a long menu of beans and roasts, and half a dozen ways to have that coffee brewed, including the siphon and pour-over cone, as well as the Chemex, a modernist hour-glass, and the more popular French press.

Billing itself as a "coffee lab," WTF invites patrons to watch as their java is made on the other side of a glass sheet. (Behind all of this, one might catch a glimpse of the espresso machine.) Not coincidentally, owner Asio Highsmith, is also behind the nearby Hideout, a modern speakeasy that also draws an audience interested in old-fashioned, fussed-over drinks. A newcomer to coffee, Highsmith cast WTF as kind of café-cum-educational center, noting that all of its coffee-making devices are available online and most cost little more than $20 a piece. In a kind of anti-marketing pitch echoed at other home-style brew bars, he added that anyone could recreate their WTF experience home.

Filed under: Trends, Coffee Shops

FoodieRegistry.com Expands to New Cities

COMMENTS 2

by Jason Best, Posted Mar 8th 2011 @ 4:00PM

newlyweds at dinner Photo: Jupiterimages

Does the planned expansion of FoodieRegistry.com spell doom for the electric waffle cone maker?

Let us explain.

FoodieRegistry.com is the result of a genius idea by husband-and-wife team Ben and Jennifer Reid. Basically, the whole concept was to give betrothed couples an alternative to registering for more stuff by allowing them to register for gift certificates to high-end restaurants.

The couple launched their site a year ago in their hometown of Chicago. They now have 65 participating eateries in the Windy City, and last week, they began offering gift certificates to restaurants in San Francisco. There are plans afoot to expand to five other cities as well: New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Miami and Las Vegas.

So what does all that have to do with electric waffle cone makers? Well, as anyone who's ever killed time wandering around a Williams-Sonoma knows, there's a whole bevy of miscellaneous kitchen gadgetry whose only conceivable market must be the modern engaged couple. Think about it: you've got to register-there are a hundred-odd people on your guest list, and if you don't give them some guidance, that's a hundred-odd chances for you to end up with, say, a hundred matching his-and-her Snuggies.

Filed under: Trends, Online

Breast Milk Ice Cream: Would You Try It?

COMMENTS 4

by Bill Sertl, Posted Feb 24th 2011 @ 3:00PM

The Icecreamists Ice Cream parlor in London Photo: EverJean, Flickr

We weren't that crazy about the savory dessert craze -- bacon ice cream? no thanks -- but the Brits have a new idea for something tasty to end your meal: Breast-milk ice cream.

The Daily Mail reports that each helping of the frosty dessert is served in martini glass by costumed "Baby Gaga" waitresses at a shop called The Icecreamists, in London's Covent Garden, and we're sure the Baby Gaga itself, a combo of breast milk and Madagascan vanilla with lemon zest, will prove to be a winning formula. (At least when it comes to getting attention.)

Filed under: Trends, Food News

Ditching College Cafeteria Trays Reduces Food -- And Pounds

COMMENTS 0

by Bill Sertl, Posted Feb 18th 2011 @ 3:00PM

school lunch trays Photo: John E. Lester, Flickr

A portrait of Henry VIII hangs in the Tudor dining hall at Oxford's Christ Church College (a stand-in for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films, by the way), which the famously large King founded in 1532. We may never know why Henry had so many wives, but his obesity is almost surely the result of never having to get up from the dining table.

While university students don't have servants to feed them, they do have cafeteria trays, which allow them to pile on the pork as they proceed to pork up. But The Washington Post reports that Virginia Tech, whose new dining hall is filled with gourmet treats like Belgian waffles and brick-oven pizza, has now banned the enabling trays in an effort to cut down on the eyes-bigger-than-the-stomach syndrome.

The school says it's trying to stop food from being wasted, while other colleges in the Washington area (notably Georgetown and George Washington) cite environmental reasons-saving water, soap, electricity. But the side effect is weight -- students now have to get off their rears if they really want that second plate of tiramisù for dessert. And that can only be a good thing. Hopefully, no college co-ed will ever have to look in the mirror again to pose the heart-wrenching question: "Does this tray make my butt look big?"

Filed under: Trends, Food News

Home Food Delivery from TakeThemAMeal.com

COMMENTS 1

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Feb 16th 2011 @ 1:00PM

lasagna Photo: cibomahto, Flickr

When a friend's daughter was hospitalized recently, offers to help the family poured in. "What can we do for you?" we all asked. "Can we bring you some food?" The offers were heartfelt, and the meals truly appreciated, but sometimes taking the phone calls and organizing the home food delivery was overwhelming for a family already overwhelmed with the health care of their child. Enter website TakeThemAMeal.com, which makes simple work of bringing food to those who need it.

Founded in 2007 by Adina Bailey and Scott Rogers, a pair of Virginians who designed the site amid a friend's health crisis, Take Them A Meal lets you easily provide a wish list for your loved one, a simple calendar where people can choose the dates they'll cook and deliver food (as well as list the dish they'll bring), and the address of and directions to the delivery location. One quick step allows the person administering the site to send emails to all who may be interested in participating.

Now, my friend has twice-weekly meals lined up for a couple of months, and she never had to pick up the phone. Wherever there's a need -- an elderly family member, a too-busy new mom, a noncooking college student, a family that's suffered a loss -- Take Them A Meal can help spread the love.

Filed under: Trends

USDA Food Map Tells Us How We Eat Across the Country

COMMENTS 0

by Jessie Cacciola, Posted Jan 28th 2011 @ 2:00PM

USDA food atlas maps Photo: USDA.gov/FoodAtlas

Last week the updated USDA food map was released, detailing our country's food environment by county -- who has better local food, more farmer's markets, better availability to grocery stores? What are people eating most per capita in each county? How much food assistance are we getting? And who goes out to restaurants more? It's all right here.

The updated tool is part of First Lady Michelle Obama's initiative to end childhood obesity, reports the Washington Post. And it's a treasure chest of information. According to the map, Oakland County, Michigan, had 983 fast food restaurants in 2009, and 1,042 in 2010. In 2009, Minnesota's Hennepin county had 15 farmers markets -- and by 2010, they had 39. Impressive. That's more than San Diego, which lost 7 percent of its farmers markets over the same time. Washington Post contributor Jennifer LaRue Huget spent an hour on the site and found some interesting facts about Montgomery County, Maryland, where she was born. Among other statistics, she discovered that in 2006, residents there consumed 230 pounds of produce per capita at home and 320 in prepared foods.

You can search by state or see the entire country lit up in color-coded categories. And the data is seemingly endless -- you can investigate anything from how far households are from the nearest grocery store to how many stores accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Lose a very investigative hour of your own at USDA.gov.

Filed under: Trends, Stores & Shopping, Food News

The Demy Recipe E-reader: A Clumsy Cook's New BFF

COMMENTS 2

by Libe Goad, Posted Jan 18th 2011 @ 1:00PM

The Demy e-reader on display at 2011 Consumer Electronics Show Photo: Libe Goad

Cookbooks and recipes have gone virtual, and while it's great to have that extra shelf space back, the digital age of cooking comes with a slew of new (and expensive) hazards. If you've ever taken your laptop or iPad into the kitchen, you know exactly what I'm talking about. One big oops!, and it's game over for what's most likely one of your most prized possessions.

That's where Key Ingredient's Demy digital recipe reader enters the picture. The $200 touch-screen tablet was on display at the recent Consumer Electonics Show in Las Vegas, and it's specifically designed to serve up your favorite internet recipes. Made with even the clumsiest cooks in mind, the 5x7 device has an extra-sturdy rubber base, and the sealed glass screen is completely spillproof, according to Key Ingredient President Wendy Jenkins. You can flip the Demy horizontally or vertically and the screen will reorient itself to the new position.

Keep reading and see a video demonstration of Demy after the jump.

Filed under: Trends, New Products

Luxury Spa Offers Chocolate Bath for Valentine's Day

COMMENTS 3

by Jason Best, Posted Jan 12th 2011 @ 1:00PM

Auberge de Soleil hotel in Napa Photo: Auberge du Soleil

The Christmas decorations are down and the New Year's Champagne bottles hauled to the recycling bin: it must be time to start planning for Valentine's Day! This year, why settle for a heart-shaped box of chocolates when you can literally bathe your sweetheart in milk chocolate?

And by literally, we mean literally.

Throughout the month of February, the ultra-luxe Auberge du Soleil hotel in Napa Valley will be offering what you might call the crème de la crème de cacao of romantic spa treatments. The decadent, multi-stage, chocolate-themed treatment for two begins with "a delectable cacao and grape seed exfoliation" and ends with a full-body massage using chocolate-and-spice massage oil, according to our sister site Luxist.

In between the exfoliation and the massage is the real coup: the smitten couple steals away to a private outdoor garden where (we kid you not), they slip into a milk chocolate bath for two "while indulging in dessert and specially paired wine." ("Dessert"? Aren't they already swimming in the stuff?)

Filed under: Trends, Celebrities