Some celebrities are perfect for the food they promote -- Florence Henderson and Wesson Oil seemed made for each other like Popeye and spinach.
But not all stars are a natural match for the products they endorse. (Like that former Soviet premier who went on to do Pizza Hut ads?) Here are Slashfood's picks for the 10 Weirdest Celebrity Food Commercials of All Time.
In honor of "Julie & Julia," a look into the culinary highlights and lowlights of ten culinary films.
Move over, haggis! A Glasgow restaurant claims to have invented chicken tikka masala, and the city wants to make it a local delicacy.
Leftover sirloin steak? Turn it into part of a tasty salad.
If looking for wine off the beaten path, investigate quirky LCBO selections such as Vignamaggio Suhaili Syrah 2006, Puglia, Italy and Concha Y Toro Winemaker's Lot No. 11 Riesling 2007, Chile.
Vancouver's Le Crocodile offers the classic French cooking many restaurants have left behind.
Backyard barbecues don't have to entail mountainous piles of food; they can be enjoyed bite-sized.
A dish to "encapsulate the best of British cooking": summer pudding.
Summer means fresh salads, but are the fast-food versions from spots like Swiss Chalet and Pizza Hut actually healthy?
I tend to be pretty particular about my pizza. When I lived in Virginia, I plotted out most of my region based on the tastiest pizza, the best priced pizza, and a few other key pizza considerations. While New York is a daunting pizza town, I've spent much of the past few years figuring out the best pizza places, calibrating the difference between amazing pizza and that which is simply acceptable, and generally trying to figure out how to best enjoy one of my favorite foods.
While I prefer mom and pop pizza joints, I have occasionally been know to frequent chain pizzerias. Of the major pizza franchises, my favorite was always Pizza Hut; their flavors always struck me as particularly clean, and their ingredients always seemed quite fresh. However, when I removed high fructose corn syrup from my diet, I started being able to taste it in fast foods. One day, while eating a pizza, I detected its foul flavor in the sauce. A little research confirmed my suspicion: Pizza Hut was using the dreaded HFCS. In a moment, Pizza Hut joined the foully-sweet Papa John's and the blandly repulsive Domino's on my no-eat list. My "pizza island" got a little smaller, a little narrower, and a little sadder.
Recently, however, the chain has developed The Natural, a pizza that allegedly uses vine-ripened tomatoes and all-natural mozzarella, while eschewing artificial ingredients like HFCS, nitrates, nitrites, artificial colors, and preservatives. According to some sources, they are planning to extend this all-natural trend to the rest of their line.
It looks like I may have to revisit one of my old favorites!
I made the grave mistake of ordering Pizza Hut online once, about eight months ago. I had a craving, I read about the online ordering, and I went for it.
...Big mistake. First, it was way too expensive. Second, I happen to live in one of those delivery netherworlds - between the boundaries of one delivery area and another - where the delivery dude refuses to visit. This, however, was not made clear to me on the website - I was easily able to enter my address, and the system informed me that my food would arrive shortly.
Two hours later, no pizza. I wearily called up my local Pizza Hut branch, and a pissed-off sounding teen answered. "...Yea? Pizza Hut?"
"Um...I ordered online, and it still hasn't arrived. Do you happen to know...?"
"Oh. Yea," she said, snapping her gum. "We don't deliver there." (This, mind you, was about .75 miles away). "You can come pick it up."
I'm beginning to think that fast food companies are in some sort of secret competition to create the highest-calorie, most artery clogging food ever. You'd think that in these times where obesity and the health-risks associated with poor eating that someone would stand up and say enough already.
Apparently, today is not that day, as Pizza Hut has just released a pizza called the Double Deep Meat Lover's Pizza and a single slice of that pizza contains 580 calories (330 of those are from fat). This pizza claims to have so many toppings that Pizza Hut had to invent a new style of crust (it folds over the toppings) in order to get it all on the pie. As my mother would say, it is something of a coronary on a plate.
Of course, most people don't need a special holiday to celebrate their love of cheese pizza (if I could eat if for every single meal of my life...well, I wouldn't, that would be boring, but it's probably my favorite food). But this would be a good day to make a pie of your own. Hopefully today just happens to be your "cheat day" if you're on a diet.
Of course, if you don't want to make your own and want to call Pizza Hut or Papa John's or maybe go the store and buy a frozen Mystic or Freschetta or even Ellio's, well, that's OK too! And don't forget the posts from our Pizza Day celebration.
For as much time as I spend on my computer, it surprises me how seldom I actually order food online. Though not exactly a new concept, (heck even Sandra Bullock ordered pizza online in The Net) many pizza restaurants either don't offer the service, or it is limited to so few delivery areas that it doesn't seem worth the effort.
However, Pizza Hut is looking to change that now with the official launch of their system-wide online ordering system. It seems to have all the bells and whistles that you would expect, including special offers and coupons specific to your ordering area, the ability to create your own "pizza playlist", memory of past orders and one-click repeat ordering. I have to admit, my favorite aspect of online ordering is that you actually have a 'hard copy' of what you ordered in case of discrepancy - rather than just your word against that of the person who took your order by phone.
Pizza Hut states that they already have an average of nearly 30 online orders placed every minute during normal business hours nationwide, so you can expect that number to increase exponentially now that the system is fully functional. Do you often order food online, or do you prefer to call it in or simply just pick it up?
Sure Fabergé eggs are beautiful, bejewelled and intricate as all hell, but you when you bite into them they really hurt your teeth. Perhaps the surreal sculpted cakes from Zhanna, a St. Petersburg baker are informed by the same passion that fueled the eggmaker to the Tsars.
Lord knows they're certainly detailed enough. Among the 50-plus intricate cakes pictured on English Russia are numerous structures, including bridges, cottages, a kitchen, a Pizza Hut and the Eiffel Tower. I'm not quite sure who Zhanna's clientele is but, based on the eye chart and mouth cakes, I'm guessing it includes eye doctors and dentists.
Many of the cakes sport distinctly American imagery including a blue Reebok sneaker, a Big Mac and numerous depictions of stacks of $100 bills. [via Boing Boing] See the jump for a few more of these insanely creative cakes.
Say what you will about Sbarro's authenticity, but with almost 1,000 locations in 30 countries, the Italian restaurant chain is certainly popular. Earlier this year it announced plans to open in Mexico, Egypt, Romania, Central America and the Bahamas.
Now Sbarro has set its sights on India. The 50-year-old company plans to open 100 units there in its largest international expansion to date. It will start with New Delhi next year and open 10 eateries a year over the next decade. The casual pizza and pasta spots will be located in shopping malls.
Pizza Hut, has been in India since 1996, but Sbarro will be the first chain to bring the pizza slice to India. Naturally beef will be omitted from the menu. Special dishes will also be created to appeal to the country's many vegetarians.
In Taiwan, the patrons at Pizza Hut can only make one trip to the salad bar. This, my friend, is a
challenge to any individual seeking to maximize their buffet experience. The patrons have become experts at stacking salad items, using
cucumbers and carrots that would put any architect to shame. The real question is: do they really eat all of that?
If you're like me, you
were so busy cooking up goodies for
the Super Bowl that you missed half of the really fun part - the ads! AdJab to
the rescue. They're blogging their fingers to the bone so they can dish up coverage of the advertisements for your
favorite foods and beverages.
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I tend to be pretty particular about my pizza. When I lived in Virginia, I plotted out most of my region based on the tastiest pizza, the best priced pizza, and a few other key pizza considerations. While New York is a daunting pizza town, I've spent much of the past few years figuring out the best pizza places, calibrating the difference between amazing pizza and that which is simply acceptable, and generally trying to figure out how to best enjoy one of my favorite foods.
I made the grave mistake of ordering Pizza Hut online once, about eight months ago. I had a craving, I read about the online ordering, and I went for it.
For as much time as I spend on my computer, it surprises me how seldom I actually order food online. Though not exactly a new concept, (heck even Sandra Bullock ordered pizza online in The Net) many pizza restaurants either don't offer the service, or it is limited to so few delivery areas that it doesn't seem worth the effort. 
Say what you will about Sbarro's authenticity, but with almost 1,000 locations in 30 countries, the Italian restaurant chain is certainly popular. Earlier this year it announced plans to open in Mexico, Egypt, Romania, Central America and the Bahamas.
In Taiwan, the patrons at Pizza Hut can only make one trip to the salad bar. This, my friend, is a
challenge to any individual seeking to maximize their buffet experience. The patrons have become experts at stacking salad items, using
cucumbers and carrots that would put any architect to shame. The real question is: do they really eat all of that?
If you're like me, you
were so busy cooking up goodies for
the Super Bowl that you missed half of the really fun part - the ads! AdJab to
the rescue. They're blogging their fingers to the bone so they can dish up coverage of the advertisements for your
favorite foods and beverages.
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