"new" news and stories

The most recent edition of the New York Times Book Review features a write-up of A Stew or a Story, a new collection of short pieces by M.F.K. Fisher assembled by Fisher biographer Joan Reardon. The NYT review doesn't exactly make you want to run out and snatch up a copy, however. From what reviewer Julia Reed has to say, many of the pieces in the collection are less than essential reading. Rather, they're mainly instructive pieces that don't feature much of the intertwining of food and emotion for which Fisher was known. Still, if you're already a fan, as I am, A Stew or a Story sounds to be worth a look. If, however, you're looking to get into M.F.K. Fisher, as any human who reads and eats should, perhaps the best place to start is The Gastronomical Me, which is available as a standalone volume or as part of the collection The Art of Eating.

The Philadelphia Daily News recently ran a column by beer reporter Don Russell, a.k.a. Joe Sixpack, about the growing number of restaurants that employ beer sommeliers. As the name suggests, these are folks that orchestrate a restaurant's beer selection, from consulting with the kitchen to helping diners pair beer and food. Russell has no problem with the existence of such a position, but he takes issue with the title, saying that the French term (and its connotations) has no business being paired with the word beer. His answer? Cellarman (or cellarwoman), an old British term for the person charged with the upkeep of a pub's beer supply and equipment. Personally, I'm just excited by the prospect of more restaurants having such a person. I don't much care what they're called. Still, Russell's piece is fun and definitely worth a read.

[Via Fark]

The Zagat Survey recently released some stats from its new 2007 edition of America's Top Restaurants. According to Zagat, the citizens of Houston, Austin and Dallas/Ft. Worth dined out the most, all about four times per week. (Houston also frequently tops the Men's Fitness list of America's fattest cities.) The average meal is also a little cheaper in Houston ($27.04), compared with some of the more expensive dining cities on the survey, such as New York City ($39.43) and Palm Beach, FL ($38.56). Also, west coast diners apparently tip a percentage point or so less than East Coast diners, according to Zagat. Average tips out west hovered around 18 percent, while averages on the other side of the country were around 19 percent. There are still plenty of chowhounds out there too, apparently; 63 percent of those surveyed said they would drive 45 minutes each way for a good meal. Restaurant News Resource has the full Zagat press release with lots more info.

GroupRecipes is a website about people, food, recipes and bringing those elements together. It is an interactive space where you can read, write and rate recipes, build your own personal page and meet (virtually, anyway) other foodies. Eventually, as the community grows, it could evolve into being some kind of hybrid between myspace or another social-networking site and allrecipes, with a group blog and a common interest in food binding everything together.

At the moment, the recipes are one of the sites biggest draws - though judging from some of the profiles already up on the site, there are a number of interesting people already using it - and the ways in which recipes can be tagged is particularly interesting. Not only can they be identified by category (e.g. "cookies" or "breakfast"), but by flavor, as well, so if you are in the mood for nutmeg, you'll be able to find something to satisfy your craving.

One of my favorite discoveries so far is a recipe for Oatmeal Cookie Granola, but I'm still exploring the site myself. Check it out if you have the chance. I suspect that it's going to be a hit.

Source

Wine sales in France are on the decline, and that has several wineries turning to other ways to use their crops, such as grape-based sodas and beers, according to a recent Times article. The Times' Adam Sage reported on several such products unveiled at last week's International Food Fair in Paris. While one of the new products, Le Soda de la Vigne, is alcohol free, other new grape-based products like Ensô are more akin to beer, and others are simply wines with lower alcohol contents. These are aimed at "drinkers who have grown more health conscious and in some cases more wary of France's tougher drink-driving laws," The Times reported.