"GOOD magazine" news and stories

This month, Good Magazine - which donates its readers' subscriptions to the nonprofit org of their choice - let us all in on a little secret. Actually, several little secrets. They're called "speakeasy restaurants," a catchy term for underground eateries and "supper clubs" that aren't sanctioned by their city's health departments and are frequented only by a small, specific clientele who are privy to the information. This usually occurs virally, because even posting about them online increases the chance that the speakeasies will be closed down.

These "restaurants" are primarily run out of people's homes, and actually aren't all about the food. Instead, the point of going to one is the people you'll meet and the comfortable atmosphere you'll enjoy. In fact, from the sound things, the only clandestine quality about these top-secret eateries is exactly that: the fact that they're operated in the shadows and that they are choosy about their diners. And except for a few suspect experiments in molecular gastronomy here and there, the get togethers sound relatively tame, and feature mainly traditional, home-cooked meals.

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The latest in silly, bizarre, fun food news:

• Ever wonder what cops really think of donuts? Or if most teachers actually loathe apples? GOOD Magazine did, too, and conducted an interview with four people in different jobs, asking them their take on the food most often associated with their profession. There's a cop talking about donuts, a pilot on airplane food, a teacher on apples, and a rock star on whiskey. Excerpt from the pilot's take on airplane food: "Economy travelers don't want to live out some bourgeois fantasy of the 1940s. Give me a damn sandwich or some pasta."

• Asylum gives us the ten weirdest pizza toppings, including squid ink and caviar.

• Bake a geek-worthy cake...Tux the Linux Penguin or an iPhone, anyone?

Lots of cities have a stretch of road in a particular neighborhood that has amazingly good, inexpensive food. It's almost like the restaurateurs got together and planned to all gather in the same vicinity in order to pull in the the clientele. Here in Philly, Washington Avenue around the Italian Market is home to some of the best and cheapest food in town.

Good Magazine is on to this trend and has traveled around the country, looking for the very best examples of these cheap and tasty strips. Sadly, my beloved Washington Ave. didn't make the list. However, if you live in Queens (Roosevelt Ave.), Houston (Travis Street), Seattle (Fremont Avenue North), Chicago (Broadway), Miami (SW 8th Street), Nashville (Nolanville Road) or Los Angeles (West Sunset Blvd.) you've been blessed with some good chow.

What's the strip in your town or city that you know you can head for without a reservation or much cash and still get a good meal?

[via la.foodblogging]

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