"soft pretzels" news and stories

• Burgers for Memorial Day weekend? Mark Bittman helps you take 'em to the next level.
• Prime Meats: very good, very beautiful -- and cash only.
• Don't like street vendor pretzels? Try making them yourself instead.
• Savennières, a Loire Valley wine, might politely be called "high maintenance."
• The new Lincoln Center restaurant is still nameless. (Got any suggestions?)

You're walking down the street with your stomach rumbling and your blood sugar plummeting, when suddenly, like an oasis in the desert, you spot the soft-pretzel guy under his umbrella, handing out chewy, salty, twisted dough. Saved from hunger by a pretzel... again.

But don't limit your pretzel intake as but a street snack: A few cooks have been inspired by chef Bobby Flay's soft-pretzel recipe (which he serves with queso poblano and mustard sauces) to take a step toward self-sufficient snackdom. Blogger fakeginger made hers bite-size and used a bread machine in lieu of hand-kneading the dough. You can also try a soft-pretzel recipe from Kitchen Daily.

So beloved is the Pennsylvania Dutch snack that there was once a museum in Philadelphia entirely devoted to the pretzel. In case you're curious, searches for a potato-chip museum came up blank.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Are pretzels a "healthy" snack? Probably depends on what you mean by "healthy." They're certainly better than chips and they're low-fat, but they're also carb-heavy and have a lot of salt.

But if there's one day you should go crazy and eat lots of pretzels, let it be this one. It's National Pretzel Day! I like all kinds of pretzels. When I was a kid I loved the little pretzel sticks, and then when I got older I liked the pretzel rods (you can put them in your mouth like a cigar!). I like the twists too, and all the incredible flavored pretzels (mustard

Here's a recipe for Soft Pretzels from Alton Brown, and here's one for New York Pretzels, from Gourmet. If you like your pretzels sweet, here are recipes for Pretzel Turtles, from Rachael Ray, and one for Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Stuffed Pretzels from RecipeZaar.

I went through a phase several years ago where I was eating soft pretzels for meals once or twice a month.

Now, this wasn't just grabbing a couple of soft pretzels and something to drink and calling it a meal, I put different things on top of the pretzel: ham and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, mustard. It's like having a really chewy sandwich, only a lot saltier. Hey, why not, it's pretty much bread, right?

April is National Soft Pretzel Month. You can buy your own from the supermarket or make your own with this recipe from Alton Brown.

So what's the latest word on pretzels? Thoughout the 80s and 90s we heard they were good for you because they were low fat. Then we heard they might not be the best snack for you. And then companies started putting the "no cholesterol" stamp on packages. Are they a good snack or not?

October is National Pretzel Month, and whether you like the little sticks plain or the big soft ones with mustard on top, celebrate with a bag today. Does anyone here make their own pretzels? It's one of those things I've just never thought of doing.

When I was a kid I use to eat the long pretzel rods and pretend they were cigars.