"van halen" news and stories

Julia Child's 10 best bon mots. Photo: Chow

Chow sums up its 10 favorite Julia-isms in time for tonight's release of "Julie and Julia". Our fave? "When a sommelier asked her to name her favorite wine, she replied, 'Gin.'"

Holy adorableness, Batman: Bakerella's pie pops.

Bill Keller, editor of the New York Times, jumps on the Diner's Journal blog to weigh in on the non-anonymity of new critic Sam Sifton.

Freakishly beautiful Meneghini refrigerators, via Apartment Therapy.

Speaking of John Hughes, over at sibling site Moviefone they've summed up the 10 best cinematic moments in eating.

BoingBoing finds a great Snopes article about Van Halen trashing a concert venue after finding forbidden brown M&M's in the backstage area. Apparently David Lee Roth used the candies as a litmus test of a venue.

Disaronna Originale is an amaretto (almond) liqueur with 28%abv / 56 proof, it comes in a bumpy, old fashioned, rectangular bottle. Originally known as Amaretto Di Saronno, the company changed the name to Disaronno Originale a few years ago after there were some copyright issues. The liqueur is made of 17 selected herbs and fruits soaked in apricot kernel oil, and has a beautiful amber color. It is the world's best selling Italian liqueur.

The aroma is first a toasted almond scent, followed by a waft of sweeter marzipan, then a assortment of fruits, with hints of spices and herbs intermingled throughout.The taste is a bitter sweet almond and marzipan base, piled high with a mélange of fruit and spices floating hither and yon. The legend of Disaronno is quite old and involves a pretty inn keeper who models for an artist painting a cathedral, and gives him the gift of what will become amaretto liqueur. It is argued whether Disaronno is the original liqueur that can be traced back to this legend and I will let you decide.