"international" news and stories

Last summer, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, a Los Angeles-based coffee shop chain and Starbucks number one international competitor, offered banana flavored drinks, including a Banana Caramel Ice blended - their signature cold drink. The drinks were made with a banana puree and the chain stopped selling the seasonal drink at the end of the summer. According to the New York Post, Starbucks is launching a very similar line of drinks this summer at its US stores. The banana-caramel and banana cream Frappuccinos are already being sold at stores in Australia and New Zealand. Though some people miss the Coffee Bean's banana offerings, it is safe to assume that the fact that they are no longer on the menu is an indication that they were not entirely popular. Only at the end of the summer will we be able to tell how the drinks did at Starbucks. The drinks are scheduled to be released in May.

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Saveur magazine just released its "100 list" for 2006. 100 what? Since any explicit label would be too restricting, the annual list is simply described as Saveur's "favorite restaurants, food, drink, people, places and things", which certainly covers a lot of ground.

Making the eighth list this year are restaurants from India to Mexico City, as well as a variety of restaurants and chefs from Las Vegas, including Daniel Bouloud, Bouchon, Alex and Joel Robuchon. Favorite foods included Costco birthday cakes, Crispy Buffalo Wontons from Ruby Tuesdays (a US chain) and Rich Man's Purses at Gundel Restaurant, Budapest, in addition to duck eggs, spicy Thai kettle chips and Japanese freshwater crabs, while favorite drinks included California dessert wines, Hendrick's Gin from Scotland and cointreau.

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