Category: lucky dip

Lucky Dip – Friday, October 28th, 2011

Remember that nice lady on your street who always made the awesome candy apples every Halloween? She wouldn’t hurt you with poison or razorblades. Why trick or treating for homemade goodies isn’t all that scary. [Globe and Mail]

What the candy you give out for Halloween says about you. [My Food Looks Funny]

Tipping part 2, when to be generous. [Inside Toronto: Menumental]

Dear restaurant-goers – if you can’t afford to order a drink other than the free tap water, please stay home. [Nation’s Restaurant News]

Chef Matt Kantor did a Tribute to El Bulli dinner 3 nights this week at The Cookbook Store; Jennifer Bain recaps the 23-course meal. (I hope to have my own recap up this weekend.) [Toronto Star]

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Lucky Dip – Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

Toronto has officially banned the sale, possession and consumption of shark fin. Thank you city council, for doing the right thing. Let’s hope this leads to other jurisdictions passing a similar law. [Toronto Star]

The math on this seems a little sketchy (a can of Coke has 39g of sugar; so 365 cans would be 14,196g  or 31.29 pounds), but the New York City Healthy Department is claiming that drinking 1 can of soda a day is the equivalent of ingesting 50 pounds of sugar per year. Still, an extra 31 pounds can’t be good either. [CBS New York]

Goodbye potatoes, hello rice. How a changing demographic is changing how Canadians eat. [Food Navigator]

Eat your broccoli to keep colds at bay. [Globe and Mail]

Chefs and restaurants are now using Twitter regularly. Just remember – no squabbling with disgruntled customers and for the love of God, stop retweeting every nice thing anybody says about you. We know you’re great, that’s why we’re already following you! [Wall Street Journal]

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Lucky Dip – Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

After a whole lot of wine last night, I’m super-excited that today is National (well, in the US, who’s quibbling?) Greasy Foods Day. Pass the fried chicken. [Bites]

Oh come on… kids who drink more soda are more likely to be violent? Or maybe they’re violent because they’re frustrated by stupid, biased studies. [Globe and Mail]

Speaking of studies, you know how you were supposed to drink 8 glasses of water, and then you didn’t have to… maybe we actually should. Preliminary studies show a link between low water consumption and high blood sugar. Further research will be needed to determine if it’s causal or if people who don’t drink a lot of water are replacing it with soda and juice, but still… drink some water. [Toronto Sun]

Dear McDonald’s, even worse than the bad press you might get from that lady who goes around swabbing your Playlands and testing for germs would be banning said lady from entering your premises. Because that just makes you look like you *know* you’ve got something to hide. And did you really think she wouldn’t go to the press with the letter from your lawyers? [Consumerist]

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Lucky Dip – Monday, October 24th, 2011

One of the reasons I hate weddings is that the whole thing is a laundry list of things you have to do to keep other people happy. In Chinese culture, this also occurs, only it has some horrid environmental results – as in,  “Oh, grandma will be disappointed if there’s no shark fin.” So this week we urge Toronto city council to just say no to shark fin, and urge brides and grooms to be to question stupid wedding traditions that you do just to keep Grandma happy. [Globe and Mail]

Oh, I want to go to this – the Experimental Food Society Spectacular – where you can see a Dodo cake, an eagle made of sugar and a bum sandwich. [Daily Mail]

Meatballs – there’s a creative process at work. [National Post]

Tipping in restaurants – Eric Vellend offers part 1 of a guide. [Inside Toronto: Menumental]

Tootsie rolls vs. molasses candy? Well, Tootise rolls, duh. But both pull my crowns off so I eschew the chews. [Globe and Mail]

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Lucky Dip – Friday, October 21st, 2011

Yikes! A Pusateri’s location was shut down yesterday due to an infestation of rats and roaches. [Toronto Star]

Conservatives – they’ve got a way of ruining everything. Like in the US where some supermarkets are refusing to stock Ben & Jerry’s Schweddy Balls ice cream because of some right-wing organization of concerned parents. Really? You folks think a little chuckle and a punny innuendo is going to ruin society? [Huffington Post]

The guys behind Trevor Kitchen have started a pizza business. That they didn’t want you to know they were behind. [Toronto Star]

Wouldn’t it be a lovely world if places stopped kowtowing to celebrities, like the KFC in the UK that refused to reserve a table for John Travolta? Awesome. [Videogum]

Fear of being fat might be more dangerous than the fat itself. [Toronto Sun]

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Lucky Dip – Thursday, October 20th, 2011

Well, that’s enough to make you go vegetarian – burger war dick waving (aka. my burger is taller than your burger). [The Grid]

Speaking of stuff that might make you go veg – Maple Leaf Foods (you remember, with the listeria outbreak a few years back) will be restructuring operations, with a net loss of 1500 jobs. [Toronto Star]

Occu-pie. Pizzeria cashes in on the occupation of Wall Street. [New York Post]

Jon Bon Jovi opens a pay-what-you-can gourmet restaurant in New Jersey. Folks who can’t pay can volunteer, either at the restaurant or another food-oriented charity. Rock on. [GoErie.com]

It’s been a very good year for mushroom foragers – the rain has made the spores go nuts and people are harvesting stuff all over the north east. (Those of us suffering from mold allergies would just like some damn frost already.) [Associated Press]

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Lucky Dip – Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

Michael Schmidt is now on day 19 of his hunger strike over the lack of legalization for raw milk, and says he will continue until Premier Dalton McGuinty grants him a meeting. [Toronto Star]

When it comes to shoplifted items, cheese is the most popular food for people to steal. I’m guessing this is because it’s usually small enough to slip into a pocket. Shame about the crackers being so bulky. [Sky News]

The blood is the life… just in time for the season of ghouls and vampires, Toronto chefs are cooking with blood. And while, IMO, items like blood sausage tastes like rank death, some of the stuff (like a tart where blood is combined with chocolate) are actually really good. [Globe and Mail]

For all of those 99% complaining that they can’t get a job, any job at all, maybe they can explain why, all over the US, in the face of a crackdown on illegal immigrant workers, farmers are having to either turn to prison labour or destroy their crops because they can’t find unemployed people willing to do field work. [Wall Street Journal]

Confirmed – The Four Seasons‘ “mystery chef” is indeed Daniel Boulud. [Toronto Star]

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Lucky Dip – Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

Remember when the theme at McDonald’s was “you deserve a break today, eat your food and go away”? So what’s up with the fancy new decor and now, in California, TV and a whole McDonald’s channel? Now they want us to linger? [Toronto Star]

Does “ethnic food” exist? [Wall Street Journal]

Cara (owners of Harvey’s, Swiss Chalet and Milestones) are set to buy Prime Restaurants, which include Casey’s, East Side Mario’s and Bier Markt). [Financial Post]

I’m not sure whether to be pleased or horrified – the Girl Scouts of America have come up with a “locavore” badge. [LA Weekly]

Rob Rossi’s Bestellen will not be a German restaurant. Just so you know. [Toronto Life: The Dish]

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Lucky Dip – Monday, October 17th, 2011

You know that theory about doing one thing well? Tim Horton’s doesn’t believe it. Now with more … lasagna? [Toronto Star]

Dear processed meat manufacturers… do you really think that informed consumers are stupid enough to be tricked by you calling your products “natural”? [Globe and Mail]

The logistics of Cask Days. Raise a pint to the guys at barVolo. [Toronto Sun]

When it comes to pastry shops, vegan is still a dirty word, even if things like vegan cupcakes look and taste the same (or better) than those with eggs and dairy. [Wall Street Journal]

Despite all the recent furor over deal coupons, some restaurants still think of them as a great way to advertise, even if it comes at a loss. [Toronto Star]

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Lucky Dip – Friday, October 14th, 2011

It is the obligation of schools to create a completely allergen-free environment? And does that include banning foods that *look* like common food allergens, such as soy nut butter instead of peanut butter? [Toronto Star]

It’s taken a while to trickle down to the mainstream, but the mini-dessert trend allows people to have their cake and eat it too. [USA Today]

The Mommy Bloggers are coming – and they want freebies, samples and swag bags. [Toronto Star]

Restaurant patrons (hopefully) know that booking a reservation via OpenTable means a hefty charge to the restaurant. Soon-to-roll-out free booking services via Google and Facebook are about to change that. [Seeking Alpha]

Eating well in Halifax. [Recipes For Trouble]

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