Lucky Dip – Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Why are bartenders waging war on vodka? Because it’s for people who can’t handle the taste of real, better spirits. And if that makes me a booze snob, then I’m okay with that. [Globe and Mail]

Are you so obsessed with food that you need to think about it while playing board games? Have at it, kids – board games for foodies. [Bon Appetit]

The Boston molasses disaster? You never learn about the cool stuff in history class, do you? [Smithsonian.com: Food & Think]

“Virgin rape oil” – is not actually a bad thing, it’s just a really lovely type of organic canola (once known as rapeseed). [Globe and Mail]

You know what the sad thing about the “maggot melt” is? It’s probably made with some crap plastic cheese instead of a nice stinky raw cheese that is supposed to have maggots in it. (Also, those really look a lot more like mealworms than any maggots I’ve ever seen.) [CNN: Eatocracy]

10 classic Italian food movie scenes. Glad to see The Bicycle Thief and Big Night in there, but surely there are some better ones than the rest. Something old, with Sophia Loren maybe? [Food Republic]

Attention chocaholics – Soma has some rare beans from Bolivia and they’re making a small number of rare bars. [Globe and Mail]

The Colombian Exchange, bio-piracy, and why there’s no such thing as a truly “local” tomato. [New York Times]

Should we move to a mandatory service charge system in lieu of a tip? [New York Post]

Ah, that we’re all this spry and cooking dinner for ourselves at 95. [Toronto Star]

Nope, I still don’t get the allure of Whoopie Pies. Maybe it’s because I actually ate them as a kid and didn’t much like them, but they seem especially over-rated. [Smithsonian.com: Food & Think]