"Wall Street Journal" news and stories

Hot dogs became an unlikely focus of controversy last winter when the American Academy of Pediatrics called for their redesign. The convenient, iconic size and shape of the average hot dog is also, unfortunately, perfectly sized to stop a child's airway; 17 percent of all food-related asphyxiations involve hot dogs, according to the AAP analysis.

Well, at least one person has answered the call for a kinder, gentler dog, patenting a device that he claims will render a hot dog safer to eat. Veteran food inventor Gene Gagliardi, head of Creativators and the mind behind Steak-umm and KFC's Popcorn Chicken, is now pitching the Kinder Cut Hot Dog cutting machines.

Small plates. Swanky hotel addresses. Open floor plans. Avant-garde olives.

As customers balk at the cost of luxury dining, is this future for high-end restaurants?

With its tapas-style menu and nightclub ambiance, The Bazaar by José Andrés, a Beverly Hills, Calif., bar and restaurant, grossed $13 million last year when other luxury establishments like D'Amico Cucina in Minneapolis and Chantarelle in New York City are closing their doors, the Wall Street Journal reported.

"This restaurant-packed at a time when many others are discounting or closing their doors-may be the future of fine dining," the Journal reported.

The image above doesn't scream "dinner" to most -- especially those who spent childhood summers grubby-pawed and overheated, plucking them out of the cracks of walkways, driveways and wherever else they lurked.

But as this timely Wall Street Journal story reports, weeds are spreading to places other than just your garden, including the dinner table. Dandelion greens, purslane, burdock and lamb's quarters are becoming staples of both haute restaurants and homespun summer salads. They can now be procured both high-end ($9 per pound in one farmers market) and low-end (via elbow grease).

But can one waltz down a Brooklyn street and pluck a handful of dandelions from the edge of a vacant lot to pop in a pan for dinner? The short answer, says 27-year veteran forager and author "Wildman" Steve Brill, is "no." He quickly follows that it's not as hard as one would think, and that hunting for a free dinner "is like learning how to swim, dance or drive a car. Learning to recognize very tasteful, very healthful wild food is no different than any other skill."

His tips, a weedy poll and an additional "expert" opinion after the jump.

The tariffs that were initially going to be imposed on Roquefort were a retaliatory move in reaction to the European Union's ban on hormone-treated beef. But after a provisional agreement, officials from the EU and the United States decided to drop both measures. So, while the U.S. removed threats of tariffs on Roquefort, the EU has gotten rid of bans on imported beef from the U.S.

See how chefs are reacting after the jump.

This year is the 10th anniversary of Open That Bottle Night, an evening invented by Wall Street Journal wine writers Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, and they invite you to participate.

What exactly is Open That Bottle Night? It's an excuse to open a bottle you've been hoarding and saving for a special occasion (that never seems to roll around). It's a night where you can savor an incredible wine all by yourself, with someone special, or with a big group of foodie friends. It's a night where you have a reason to Open That Bottle.

As a confirmed wine hoarder, I love the idea. I tend to save special bottles and then never open them because it's never the right time, or I don't think the occasion warrants it. OTBN is about letting go of those packrat tendencies. I've gone through my wine and can't decide what to drink. I'm leaning toward the 2005 Fort Walla Walla Cellars Treaty, a gift from my parents and a truly amazing wine, but then again, it's supposed to be good for another decade or longer, so maybe I should hold off. I've got some unique wines like Norton from Missouri, and a bunch of South African Cabernet.

The important thing is to open something. And this year, you can Twitter about it. What will you be drinking on Saturday for OTBN 10?