"choice" news and stories

A recent WebMD article highlights some of the alcohol-related results of a new Gallup Poll, and it looks like beer is back on top as America's alcoholic beverage of choice. In the sampling of 1,007 Americans, 41 percent ranked beer as their top pick and 33 percent chose wine. It's also interesting to note that the sample group is based on Americans that are 18 years of age or older. While the number of Americans who say they drink hasn't really increased much since the '40s, according to Gallup, the amount those Americans drink has risen. The most recent figures show Americans drinking 4.5 drinks per week, compared to the average 2.8 drinks per week people reported having in 1996. Perhaps people are becoming more wine and beer savvy, or perhaps, as WebMD suggests, the increase is related to all the good press wine has received for its health benefits.

[Via Fark]

A group of chefs in Chicago have started an organization called Chicago Chefs for Choice. The group includes Michael Tsonton of Copperblue and Didier Durand of Cyrano's Bistrot, as well as foie gras lobbyists, and their mission is to protect their craft "from personal moral campaigns on products that are legally produced in this country." One must ask whether they apply their convictions evenly to all products, including factory farmed meats and conventionally grown (not organic) vegetables, which seem to have fallen out of favor with chefs, especially those at high end restaurants that are likely to be serving delicacies such as foie gras, lately.

While the chefs wait for the ban to take effect at the end of July, they are also preparing and serving special menus that heavily feature foie, appealing to diners who don't want to drive to "suburban restaurants" in Highland Park or Wheeling to get their fix.

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