Sounds From The Basement

I Think These Are All GREAT Food Pyramids

via http://www.chow.com/food-news/83224/the-usda-s-rejected-food-pyramids/

Turducken!

via amultiverse.com

Do You Want You Grill Attached To The Wall?

World's Largest Cinnamon Stick?

via newyork.seriouseats.com

Admit it. You Want One, Too.

Coke's New Machine Gives You 104 Flavors

Yes, public health advocates are getting increasingly vocal about the negative effects of soda on the body, but Coke isn't giving up its 70 percent market share to tap water without a fight. The Atlanta-based company is rolling out the big guns with the Freestyle, a super-sleek, touch-screen soda fountain that lets users create up to 104 different flavors of fizzy refreshment. This high-tech beverage machine shoots out a wild range of traditional sodas, flavored waters, and energy drinks in every conceivable combination. Raspberry Coke? Check. Grape Sprite? Why not. Peach Fanta? No problem. The fountain is a study in excess, totally over the top. And yet...admit it: You want to try it.

Read more: http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/10/cokes-new-machine-gives-you-104-flavors/#ixzz0nYdpC9hb

John Thorne on Frozen Dinners

I thought it tactful not to explain that my sole criterion was the package’s net weight. I was unswayed by the tempting photograph of the dish; to me the words describing its contents resonated with false promise. In my experience, all these dinners were bad; their novelty consisted in what part of them would prove to be surprisingly bad. In some the noodles failed to cook, in others the food scorched, in still others the meat portion seemed more like an afterthought than the dish’s raison d’être, The package weight, though, they couldn’t fudge.

Complete Excellent Article (about more than eating frozen dinners)

Anything by John Thorne is likely to be outstanding and worth reading.

Eating Habits

The Cupcake Craze Is Oficially Over

In Germany, a Taste of New York, via McDonald’s

BERLIN – Chelsea, you are chocolate. Claim cappuccino, the East Village. Thank your Strawberry Fields, Central Park, for your flavor is strawberry.

Sorry, SoHo, but you are plain old vanilla.

These taste interpretations of four famous Manhattan neighborhoods come courtesy of German McDonald’s, which introduced cupcakes at many of its restaurants here on March 30. Although they are a staple of bake sales and birthday parties across America, cupcakes were all but unknown in Germany until recently.

To sell the unfamiliar treats to German consumers, McDonald’s chose to push its connection to New York, home to high-end cupcake shops like Magnolia Bakery, which even some Germans know from dubbed reruns of “Sex and the City.”

click here for full article from the New York Times

Is This Really Higher Education?

LSU Chancellor Proposes On-Campus Brewery

Students at a southern university that perennially tops lists of party schools may soon have the opportunity to uphold their institution's reputation with 12 added ounces of collegiate pride. The chancellor at Louisiana State University recently unveiled a proposal to build a microbrewery on campus. The facility would serve as a laboratory for food science students and a training center for aspiring brewmasters. "At some schools around the country, they have mini breweries on campus," says president and CEO of the LSU Alumni Association, Charlie Roberts, pausing to clarify his pronunciation: "That's m-i-n-i breweries, not m-a-n-y," he adds helpfully. According to Roberts, Chancellor Michael Martin believes an LSU-branded brew could contribute significantly to the school's marketing and generate revenue for its programs. Planning's still in a preliminary stage, so nobody's quite sure yet what kind of beer might bear the LSU name. "I'm not even familiar with the different types, light and dark," Roberts admits, "but we joked and said we'd make a purple-and-gold beer." The school is still grappling with legal and logistical hurdles, including how to make the beer available for sale on campus. But Roberts is sure tailgaters and other LSU fans set on celebrating game day in proper Fightin' Tiger style would somehow track down the signature student-made ale. "It would be a great conversation piece," he says. Not surprisingly, students have been abuzz about the potential project since it was announced in the campus newspaper. "They expressed interest," Roberts says. "They expressed 'is it real?' and they expressed 'are (administrators) sincere?' Typical student reaction."

What Kind Of Food Does Your Robot Prepare?