"poll" news and stories

Oh, man. So this squirrel was caught on film with its head stuck inside a Yoplait yogurt container.

The squirrel attempts to do all of its usual running, jumping, and generally squirrelish activities against the majestic backdrop of a white, elegant gazebo at South Carolina's Furman University -- all while wearing the container on its head. Apparently the videographer, a WYFF photographer, helped the squirrel remove his cap after filming this footage.

Click and come back to tell us:



[YouTube via Serious Eats]

Photo: Michael David

Gretchen Roberts writes the wine blog Vinobite, has passed the introductory course at the Court of Master Sommeliers and is studying for her sommelier certification this fall.

With Independence Day just around the corner, we turn our attention to all-American wines for the all-American holiday. I combed through the Slashfood archives to find wines from all around our grand ol' country worthy of an American toast. Here are seven perennial favorites:

7. Before dinner, sip on some New York Riesling like Fox Run Vineyards Dry Riesling.

6. Howdy from Texas: the Becker Vineyards Prairie Rotie is a great barbecue wine, as is the (No. 5) Waterbrook Melange from Washington or (No. 4) Michael David "Sixth Sense" Syrah from California.

Three more grand American vinos and our new poll after the jump.

Gretchen Roberts writes the wine blog Vinobite, has passed the introductory course at the Court of Master Sommeliers and is studying for her sommelier certification this fall.

At Slashfood we're all about saving you moolah on the best food and drinks around. Here are five more Wine Steals to add to your "must-try" list.

5. Bodegas Arzuaga Navarro "La Planta" 2007 ($13): This Spanish red, made from 100 percent Tempranillo, has dusty plum and strawberry flavors with warm vanilla and allspice. With nice, grippy tannins and a lingering finish, it's a real winner for the price and one of best $13 wines I've had in ages.

4. The Sopranos Red Blend 2007 ($15): Its light, earthy bouquet speaks to Italy's terroir, but like Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri, it's fairly soft and round for an Italian mobster vino.

Three more Wine Steals and an ice cube (for wine, that is) poll after the jump.

Photo: Jason Reidy/Flickr

Hanna Raskin's first waitressing job was at a small Greek diner in Michigan. In the 15 years since, she's worked at a chop suey joint in Mississippi, an exclusive Arizonan country club, a vegetarian eatery and an Irish pub. She currently picks up odd shifts at a seafood eatery in the North Carolina mountains, where she cracks crab legs for helpless tourists. This is the first in a series of posts.

The first time I saw a fellow server settle into a booth with her customers while taking orders, I was seriously concerned.

I was a veteran of both high- and low-end cuisine, but had never seen such a thing. I immediately assumed she was too tired to carry on, and never suspected she was angling for a better tip.

As folks who ate out in the early 1990s may recall, researchers discovered in 1993 that sitting down with customers -- like drawing a smiley face on the bill or wearing a flower in one's hair -- was a sure route to a bigger tip.

Read on, plus a poll, after the jump.

Photo: jljjld(away)/Flickr

Is there one food about which you -- despite maybe being a food snob the rest of the time -- are not at all fussy? About which you say, "I don't care who makes it: I'll eat it!"

We realized after chomping down our second ice cream of the day that perhaps, perhaps, we are not so discerning about the stuff. It was late at night, and Häagen-Dazs Five (mint) had us rather over the moon. Then we realized that really, we've rarely met a decently-made ice cream that didn't sway our affections at least a little bit.

It's one of those foods that, as long as its basic components are intact, fails to register on the Picky Meter. Such eats are a relatively rare breed; they exist largely to answer a timeless and bottomless craving, and their combination of ingredients hits the pleasure buttons that in turn short-circuit the ability to criticize -- and to say "no."

Here are five we think might hit those buttons. Vote for yours, and if it's "other," hit the comments to let us know what it is!