"Oh my god! They want how much for that piece of chocolate?!?!"

I'm not sure how many of us have actually stood indignantly in a grocery store aisle screaming the above statement since a Hershey bar is usually under a dollar, but if you have, you might be justified.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the US Justice Department is looking into possible price fixing in the chocolate industry. The Justice Department's anti-trust division has contacted Mars (makers of M&Ms and, duh, Mars Bars), Nestle, and Cadbury. Representatives from both Mars and Nestle said they will cooperate with the investigation, though a Cadbury spokeswoman had no comment.

Damn! And I love those Cadbury Creme Eggs at Easter, too!

Whole Foods had been expanding breath-takingly fast over the past several years, with new locations - many of which are huge or feature unusual amenities - popping up all over the place. Being everywhere is one way to beat out the competition (think Starbucks), but another way is to buy them up. Whole Foods has just announced that they will be buying Wild Oats Markets, one of their top competitors, for $565 million, with the deal expected to to close over the next few weeks.

Colorado-based Wild Oats has 110 stores in 24 states and British Columbia and has not been doing as well as its rival. Whole Foods has twice the sales per square foot of retail space, though Wild Oats has smaller stores, and recently lost both their chief executive and chief financial officers.

Some stores will be closed and others will be relocated to fit in with existing Whole Foods stores, but Whole Foods feels that they can improve the Wild Oats stores on the whole and "put jet propulsion under [them]" to bring their sales up to Whole Foods levels. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey estimates that it could take two ears to fully integrate the Wild Oats stores

A detailed examination of the US wine and spirits market has revealed that the country will be the world's leading wine consumer by 2010, with consumption up to 3.8 billion bottles of wine annually. It should also be the second largest wine importer, moving up from its current position in third place behind Germany and the UK, though imported wines represent less than 1/3 of all the wines consumed in the US.

The study was conducted by the International Wine and Spirit Record (IWSR) for VINEXPO, the world's leading wine exhibition held annually in France. It looked at wine trends from 2001-2005, calculating trends from that period and making projections based on them, in addition to considering economic and political factors that might play a roll in the next three years. Worldwide, wine consumption will be up everywhere, with consumer spending expected to be up almost $2 billion more than a decade ago. China and Russia will enter the top ten list of wine-consuming markets and per-capita wine consumption will be up, as well.

Easy meal prep is hot right now. By this, I am referring to the make-and-freeze dinner businesses that are thriving all across the US. With names like Dream Dinners, Super Suppers, My Girlfriend's Kitchen, Supper Thyme USA, What's for Dinner and Dinner by Design, all appeal to the "busy family demographic, where people want to have home cooked meals but don't necessarily feel that they have the time to do it themselves. These businesses offer kitchens with lots of partially assembled meals and ingredients that you can put together in combinations that your family will like. Typically, meals are prepared for a week or two in advance and everything can be frozen. Heating instructions (and any other cooking suggestions, if needed, are included.

The trend is so popular that it is starting to spread out of the US. In London, a chain called Dinners Made is springing up and gaining popularity with those who are looking for food to make in advance and freeze, and also with those who want to entertain and don't have time (or perhaps the ability) to cook everything from scratch without some assistance. Using Dinners Made means that the recipes are included, prep is done and cleanup is taken care of, as they are at every similar easy meal prep shop. Combining the convenience of working in the store with below-restaurant prices, a flexible menu and fresh ingredients, it's not hard to see why the idea is spreading so rapidly.

The newest issue of Cooking Light, which is their 20th anniversary issue, has the magazine's choices for the top 20 cities in the US, based on 15 criteria that they feel embody their "Eat Smart, Be Fit, and Live Well" philosophy. They looked at fitness, health and exercise data from the Centers for Disease Control, the number of parks and recreation areas (and how often they're used) from the Trust for Public Land, restaurant ratings from the Zagat Survey and James Beard Foundation, and the USDA's farmers markets listings. Everything was evened out on a per capita basis and the cities with the most of everything made the top cut.

One of the top ten cities will be featured each month in the magazine this year, so readers will have access to information about all the things that got the city their ranking.

1. Seattle, WA
2. Portland, Ore.
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Minneapolis, MN
5. San Francisco, CA
6. Boston, MA
7. Denver, CO
8. Milwaukee, WI
9. Philadelphia, PA
10. Tucson, AZ

Rounding out their year of travel and restaurant reviews, Gayot has put out their list of the top restaurants of 2006. Interestingly enough, the way they attempt to give credibility to their list is by putting down bloggers and people who, in their opinion, are too young inexperienced to know a good restaurant when they see one. But to be a really top restaurant, it should be able to appeal to all types of people, not just those who are old with potentially outdated ideas of what high quality cuisine should be. That being said, their list actually has quite a few good picks on it and certainly seems to be in touch with current dining trends. In fact, it pretty much looks like they just picked out some of the hottest spots in the country to make up their list. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Some highlights from their list include the following, but click here to read the whole thing.

• CHICAGO
  - Alinea, TRU
• HEALDSBURG, CA
  - Cyrus
• LAS VEGAS
  - Picasso, Restaurant Guy Savoy
• LOS ANGELES
  - Mélisse, Patina
• NEW YORK
  - Alain Ducasse, Daniel
• SAN FRANCISCO
  - Gary Danko, Michael Mina
• WASHINGTON, D.C.
  - CityZen, Michel Richard
• YOUNTVILLE, CA
  - The French Laundry

In Details magazine, Ed Levine recently laid out a list of the best pizza places in the country at the moment. The criteria for the best pie changes from person to person and city to city, but Ed's criteria - crisp but tender crusts, fresh mozzarella, high-quality tomatoes, and a touch of salt - are standards that every pizza lover can agree on and should expect from their pies. Ed's list includes: PIZZERIA BIANCO, Phoenix, NY

• DI FARA, Brooklyn, NY
• TOTONNO'S, Brooklyn, NY
• UNA PIZZA NAPOLETANA, New York, NY
• FRANK PEPE PIZZERIA NAPOLETANA, New Haven, CT
• SALLY'S APIZZA, New Haven, CT
• AL FORNO, Providence, RI
• PICCO, Boston, MA
• 2 AMYS, Washington, D.C.
• PUNCH NEAPOLITAN PIZZA, St. Paul, MN
• NOSTRANA, Portland, OR
• SERIOUS PIE, Seattle, WA
• MOZZA BAR, Los Angeles, CA
• PIZZERIA PICCO, Larkspur, CA
• PIZZAIOLO, Oakland, CA

There are only two small problems with the list, although the lack of inclusion of The Cheese Board is just my own bias and perhaps should not be counted. The real problem is that , aside from the St Paul pizzeria, the only restaurants listed are on either cost. Now, the South isn't necessarily known for their piazza, but there are plenty of Chicagoans who are willing to, loudly, defend their city's top pizzerias. It could be that the best pizzas are only found towards the country's coasts, or perhaps there just haven't been any volunteers willing to take Ed around to the best that the midwest has to offer to see if it holds up to his standards.

[via the food section]

We already took a look at the world's most expensive restaurants for this year, but Forbes has added to their compilation of the priciest restaurants with a list of those located in the US. Unlike the global list, which takes into account the price for only a main course, drink and tip, the US list includes the prices for fixed-price tasting menus, which are definitely the most popular way to eat at top eateries. And those prices are going up. There are new and better ingredients to be used and higher expectations that must be met by these restaurants. "We're seeking out smaller producers with better products, and with that comes a higher expense of preparing them in the kitchen. It creates an upward pressure on menu prices," said one restaurant owner, who also noted that it was fortunate the economy is strong enough to sustain restaurants that serve the such high-priced meals.

At the top of the list is New York City's Masa at $446, followed by California's The French Laundry at $254 and Chicago's Alinea at $168.

The rest of the top ten are after the jump.

Generally, the scariest thing about amusement parks is not the haunted house or the gravity-defying roller coaster. It's the greasy, overpriced food - and when the funnel cakes are the only thing drawing people in, you know that there has to be a change. Six Flags is using some scary food as a way to attract customers to their parks during their Halloween Fright-Fest celebrations. The promotion entails eating a live Madagascar Hissing Cockroach in exchange for front-of-the-line passes at some parks, including Six Flags Great America, although at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, eating a roach will get you free admission.

To no one's surprise, PETA is not thrilled with this promotion, but some theme park visitors are loving it. "They do taste like chicken," said one visitor. An eight grader at Great America said "I've been here too many time, I just want to eat cockroaches."

You'll have to check with your nearest Six Flags to see if they're offering the deal. Six Flags representatives said that those with shellfish allergies might want to avoid the roaches, though there are no other problems associated with eating them.

After having successfully brought the coffee shop chain Tully's to Japan and helped to make coffee tremendously popular there, Kouta Matsuda is returning to the United States with the hopes of returning the favor with a different beverage. He has a chain of successful cafes in Japan that specialize in matcha. With his drinks, he is hoping to do for green tea what Starbucks did for coffee.

His company, Foodx Globe, recently opened its first US Koots Green Tea cafe in Bellevue, Washington, just outside of Seattle. Decorated in bamboo and Asian prints, the cafe specializes in a variety of drinks all made with matcha, a powdered green tea, and other Asian drinks. The menu includes offerings such as matcha Americanos and white chocolate matcha lattes, in addition to black sesame smoothies and tapioca pearl teas.

While specialty teas are growing in popularity, matcha is a fairly new player in the US tea scene. It has been helped along by Starbucks green tea lattes and frappuccinos, but bringing a coffee drinker over to the "green side" might be an uphill battle. Matsuda is planning his expansion slowly, with a few choice west coast locations to open over the next year or two.

[Image Seattle Times]

Food & Wine magazine has announced its list of Best New Chefs of 2006. The 10 chefs come from across the country--and surprise-- there's even a chef from New Hampshire, the first time a chef from the Granite State has appeared on the list. The chef is Mary Dumont from the Dunaway Restaurant at Strawbery Banke. Past chefs chosen in the Best New Chef category include Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud and Nobu Matsuhisa. Eater has the full release.

• Cathal Armstrong Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA
• Christopher Lee Striped Bass, Philadelphia, PA
• David Chang Momofuku, New York, NY
• Douglas Keane Cyrus, Healdsburg, CA
• Jason Wilson Crush, Seattle, WA
• Jonathan Benno Per Se, New York, NY
• Mary Dumont The Dunaway Restaurant at Strawbery Banke, Portsmouth, NH
• Michael Carlson Schwa, Chicago, IL
• Pino Maffeo Restaurant L, Boston, MA
• Stewart Woodman Five, Minneapolis, MN

 

While Whole Foods market already has a foot in the door on the grocery market in the United Kingdom, due to its ownership of the Fresh and Wild market chain, there are no Whole Foods stores in England. Yet.

Whole Foods is planning to open a 75,000-square foot British flagship store on the Kensington High Street in London next year. While that is still some time away, commentators are already speculating as to how the US chain will fare overseas. It seems that some feel that the chain will not do well in the competitive market there, but signs point to the success of the American store because of the poor track record of British markets in the United States. The American market is cutthroat, possibly moreso than the UK's.

Look for the opening in early 2007. If all goes well, the chain hopes to expand into continental Europe in the future.

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.

The US standard for parmesan cheese is that it must be aged for at least 10 months. In Italy, they cure the cheese for at least a year before selling it as Parmigiano Reggiano. In fact, only cheese from strictly regulated dairies in Parma, Italy can be called Parmigiano Reggiano; other cheeses must only be called parmesan. Kraft Foods is petitioning the FDA to reduce the aging standard for US parmesan to a mere 6 months, saying that their consumer taste tests show acceptance for the new product, which can be produced more cheaply and in greater quantities than the current product.

Italians, as well as other cheese producers in the US, say that the long aging is what allows the distinctive crumbly texture and delicious flavor to develop. It is possible that the World Trade Organization would consider restricting the use of the word "parmesan" by setting a minimum aging standard, if the US standard is changed and if there is enough international protest. A restriction on the use of the "parmesan" name would adversely affect US exports of the cheese.

Did you know that McDonald's is more profitable in France than any other European country? With over 1 million French men and women eating there every day, it is hardly surprising. It also is not surprising that the "French paradox," the term applied to the idea that the French are famous for eating rich and fatty foods without gaining a significant amount of weight, is falling by the "weigh"-side.

According to the New York Times, the adult obesity rate in France is rising steadily at about 6% per year, but the children's obesity rate is nearly triple that rate. With the nation currently reporting 42% of its population as overweight or obese - compared to 65% of the US population - France may meet or exceed the US rates in as few as 10 years.