Food Links: 1/21

21 Jan

Yum! During my trip to San Francisco last week, I fell behind on reading my beloved food blogs. I read Eater’s daily listages (that link is an example), which are full of interesting food news. Therefore, I’ve decided to put together some links to the most interesting articles. Get ready for more food-related stories on this blog.

1) The Iceman Cometh (The Atlantic): An interesting look at the latest in food trends: gourmet ice. The owner of one “luxury ice” company stresses that poor quality ice can ruin a cocktail. He says the only way to evaluate his claims is to try his product.

2) Undercover Fish Testing Reveals Mercury at Three Times Federal Limits (GOOD): As this article warns, watch out sushi lovers. San Francisco-based “Got Mercury?” tested 32 samples of fish obtained from supermarkets throughout the state. Of those tested, only 6 fish tested below the federal guidelines for mercury.

3) Good Healthy Food News All Around: Several large corporations recently announced greater commitments to healthy food options. Dominoes announced they would offer reduced fat pizza options for schools and  Wal-Mart, now the country’s largest grocer, pledged to reduce fats, sodium and sugars in their food selections (teaming with Michelle Obama). It’s not perfect, to be sure, but any positive changes among such large corporations could make a big difference nationally. Good news except at Burger King.

4) 10 Best NYC Restaurants Of The Last Two Centuries (Village Voice): How can one reasonably make this list? You can’t, but it’s still  interesting. I’ve always wondered, “Who first thought of the concept of the restaurant?” This article reveals the first restaurant to open in NYC.

5) Italy’s Legendary Butcher Comes to New York and Boston (Atlantic): A look into the rise of celebrity butchers. I swear this is a real thing.

6) New York’s 12 Most Expensive Cocktails (Eater): Hey, it’s nice to dream every once in a while, right? Any of these cocktails is over-the-top. The winner comes from the Covet Lounge and is called, “the $100 Icarus Cocktail. It’s a mix of Louis XIII Cognac (priced at $1,600 a bottle) and … imported, Iranian saffron oil, served over hand-chiseled dry ice, for that oh-so-desirable haunted house effect.” Or the $10,000 “Martini on the Rock” (it has a diamond at the bottom of the glass) at the Algonquin Hotel.  Drink up.

Tourists Flock to the South Pole

21 Jan

The hottest (ironically) tourist destination of the year may be one of the coldest places on Earth. The South Pole.

Later this year marks the 100th Anniversary of the arrival of Roald Amundsen to the South Pole, followed shortly after by British explorer Robert Scott. In honor of their achievements, many adventure-seekers will seek to trace their routes through Antarctica. And they will pay a pretty penny to do so.

Polar Explorers, a company based in Chicago, Illinois, will take costumers to the pole for just $40,500. Or, if you want to be dropped just a couple of miles short of the pole, it will cost you $57,500. Tourism to the South Pole peaked in 2007-8 with 46,000 people arriving, and has since dropped off because of the recession. At the pole, visitors can get their letters stamped with an official postmark and can purchase souvenirs, but there are few amenities.

One of [the explorers] is Matt Elliott, a 28-year-old Briton, who will compete in a 440-mile ski race, pulling 200 pounds of gear the whole way. A resident of Windsor, he works for his family’s paper wholesaling business and calls himself “a complete polar novice.”

He has never tried cross-country skiing, and he is not a big fan of cold weather, but he has been practicing by dragging two car tires on a rope for several hours at a time.

“I want to know how far, physically, I can go,” said Mr. Elliott, who is paying about $95,000 to enter the competition, sponsored by a London-based company called Extreme World Races. “It would be great to get there first and run the Union Jack at the South Pole before the Norwegians get there,” he said.

Despite their excitment for the trips, some scientists dislike the increased human traffic to the South Pole.

“It’s a place that wants you dead,” said Robert Swan, an environmentalist who walked Scott’s route to the South Pole in 1985. “Scott found that out 100 years ago

Two Other Notable Newspaper Headlines

21 Jan

I will stop with the focus on journalism stories, but how can you ignore these headlines.

1) Meatball Sandwich Horseplay Leads to Two Deaths, Family Betrayal, Two Trials- Cincinnati.com: The story itself is really sad. Two deaths after somebody was hit over the head by a meatball sandwich. I wouldn’t recommend writing a story in the same style. It’s wandering, and hard to follow.

2) Keira’s Not Getting It Knightley- The Sun: Pretty good pun, I have to say. This is in response to the actress’ breakup with longtime boyfriend Rupert Friend.

Scientist Hopes to Clone a Woolly Mammoth

21 Jan

A scientist in Tokyo says a breakthrough in cloning technology will allow him to bring the long-extinct woolly mammoth back to life in as little as four years.

Akira Iritani, a professor at Kyoto University, says the technological issues have been overcome and all he needs now is “a good sample of soft tissue from a frozen mammoth.” An adult African Elephant will serve as the surrogate mother to the new mammoth.

Iritani says he needs two years before implanting the elephant, followed by a 600-day gestation period.

Old-Time Vespa and Bicycles

21 Jan

You have to love this old commercial about the Vespa. As far as I can tell, the scooter still has this effect in Italy…

Also, a new Tumblr blog, called “Rides a Bike,” launched and features celebrities riding bicycles. Who says a niche is too small to capitalize on?

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