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Most Shopping Carts Contain Fecal Bacteria

2 Mar

Another silly scientific study, but this one is silly because I just didn’t need to know the results. Like going to the supermarket and using shopping carts? You shouldn’t. Researchers from the University of Arizona examined 85 shopping carts from around 4 states. They found that 72 percent of those carts contained the marker for fecal bacteria. When they examined 36 of those carts more closely, they found half of them contained e coli bateria.

Lead researcher Charles Gerba said the shopping carts were more contaminated than the average public bathroom. Say what? Well, public bathrooms are usually cleaned and disinfected daily, while shopping carts are rarely (if ever) cleaned. Additionally, reusable grocery bags contain large amounts of bacteria. Gerba compared using them consistently to “wearing the same underwear every day.”

You can use a disinfectant wipe before pushing a cart, and wash your bags every so often. Or you can panic and just give up.

Shopping Carts

Punny Jerk Wandering Chicago

22 Feb

One diner was particularly upset with how his meal turned out at a Chicago restaurant. Consequently, he decided to literally, instead of figuratively, “offer his two cents” about the establishment’s performance.

Jerk offers "two cents" instead of tipRather than offering a tip and complaining to someone during the meal, this guy decides to offer two cents and a snarky comment about getting “faster cooks.” What’s worse, instead of a tip, he leaves a smiley emoticon. That’s pretty low.

Apparently, the guy was a financial analyst. Just a coincidence.

[Eater/Chicago 312]

Review: Sitka and Spruce

16 Feb

So, I had read lots of wonderful things about Sitka & Spruce before actually eating there myself. Lots of reviewers thought it was pretty much amazing. Now, admittedly, it’s the type of place I would like. Nestled in the rear of the new Melrose Market, the restaurant is the anchor of a building devoted to seasonal, local ingredients. There’s a butcher shop, flower shop and sandwich place all offering local, delicious things to eat. But the restaurant is the real star.

We picked a bit of an odd time to come. Valentine’s night, for one. Sitka and Spruce is not usually open on Mondays, but they’ve made an exception over the recent weeks for taco nights, which feature Mexico City-style tacos. The restaurant space itself is tiny, so it added to the casual feel of the evening. Much like Fremont’s Revel, the space has a large butcher table that both chefs and customers utilize. You get to watch everything that’s going on in the kitchen.

For starters, we selected guacamole and chips. Chunky, and delicious (Darcy liked it even more than I did). The tacos themselves were delicious (I opted for the flank steak, while Darcy had tacos al pastor). I thought both were good, and seemed really authentic. Nothing was overly pretentious. The food was simple, but showcased superior ingredients.

Complimented by really kind and friendly staff, the restaurant totally lived up to the hype I’d heard about it. With a menu that changes daily, I’m excited to go back and experience something completely different. Check it out, fellow Seattleites.

Inside Melrose Market's Sitka and Spruce

Snickerdoodles!

15 Feb

Last night, Darcy and I decided to make some snickerdoodle cookies (for no reason in particular). For a recipe, we consulted with Foodista…

Amish Snickerdoodles

Watch the cookies take shape…

Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough

The dough almost looks good enough to eat as is

Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough

You form the dough into 1 inch balls, which are then rolled in cinnamon-sugar

Warm Snickerdoodle Cookies

8 minutes later... perfection and delicious snickerdoodle cookies

Whole Foods Awards Grants for 500 School Salad Bars

12 Feb

Pretty cool news here. Thanks to extremely generous support from their customers, Whole Foods Market has awarded grants for more than 500 salad bars to schools across America.

At the start of the campaign, Whole Foods hoped to raise $750,000 for the project. Customers responded with extreme generousity and donated more than $1.4 million. They then partnered with Chef Ann Cooper and awarded the grants.

The company is also a founding partner of Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools, which hopes to provide 5,000 salad bars to schools by 2013. Currently, just one percent of adolescents gets the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables daily.

Salad bars in schools.