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April 28, 2006
NYSE Dining Club Closes
It's sad day in the world of exclusive private dining clubs. The New York Stock Exchange's Dining Club is closing its doors for good. The reason given? The same reason we're in Iraq: Enriched uranium was found in the kitchen. We're just kidding. It's because of 9/11, silly:
The club said "enhanced security and reduced access after 9/11" led to losses of "both money and membership."
[NY Post via Dealbreaker.com]
Posted by Cakehead at 07:52 PM | Comments (1)
April 27, 2006
CAKEHEAD OF THE WEEK: But where's the cake?
CAKEHEAD of the WEEK. WE SEE THE CAKEHEAD, BUT WHERE'S THE CAKE?
This week's CAKEHEAD OF THE WEEK AWARD goes to Big R. R as in Rumsfeld. We were almost certain that he had received the award before, but after scouring the CAKEHEAD HALL OF FAME, we found no indication that he had.
So this one's for you Rummy. Not only has he been too preoccupied eating cakes with his cronies to make smart decisions about war policies, but during his recent "surprise visit" to see the troops, he forgot the cake! Now that's a cakehead kind of thing to do. He thinks that just because he has the "Support the Troops" yellow ribbon magnet on his SUV and wears an American flag pin on his lapel that the troops would greet his arrival with whoops and cheers. Not the case.
Read what troops told CNN reporters about Rumsfeld's surprise visit:
If I see him, "I'd ask him for a plane ticket home to see my wife. I have barely seen her in the last two years," said a young sergeant, who did not want to be identified. Like many of the soldiers with the 4th Infantry Division, he is on his second deployment to Iraq.Some joked that whenever VIP's come to visit they just go to the main bases and meet the "fobbits," the nickname given to troops who do not go outside the barbed wire.
"They have to get out to see the people that are doing the jobs they are making them do. If they didn't they would not be very good leaders," said Maj. Michael Humphreys, one of the few soldiers here willing to tell journalists some of his opinions on senior leadership.
Posted by Cakehead at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)
April 25, 2006
Cookie Baking Rock Stars
DJ Scratch & Sniff are two baker/music makers - made up of duo of German Cassis and Serena "Swiss Miss" Jost. While they mix beats they stir and cook. We stumbled upon them a couple of weeks ago at PS 1 as they were pulling a batch of cookies out of the oven, mid-beat. They placed the tasties on a little serving tower and fans ran up to for samples. Their cookies are chocolate chip - not jam filled, but that doesn't mean they can't jam.
Posted by Cakehead at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)
Our Muse: new and improved
When you're tired of eating and dreaming and talking about food go to the new and improved Freewilliamsburg.com. It's hot.
Posted by Cakehead at 04:51 AM | Comments (0)
April 21, 2006
Weekend Guide to Free Eating & Drinking
Free Drinks at Black & White Art Gallery Opening
Date: Friday, April 21, 6-9 PM
Cost: free
Location: 483 Driggs Ave (N. 9th & N. 10th St.) Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Directions: L Train to Bedford Avenue stop
Description: Leigh Tarentino's Slip Road . A striking collection of paintings, drawings and photographs reflecting the artist’s fascination with power lines
Taste of Chinatown
Date: Saturday, April 22, 1-6 PM
Cost: $1 and $2 a plate
Location: Mott, Mulberry, Baxter, Bayard, Pell, Doyers and Mosco Streets
Description: Over 50 restaurants, tea houses, bakeries and specialty food shops will offer $1 or $2 tasting plates throughout Chinatown, NYC.
Earthday Weekend
Date: Friday, April 21, 12-7 PM-Saturday, April 22, 11-5
Cost: Free
Location: Grand Central, Vanderbilt Hall (42nd Street) for inside fair and the bands play outside (43rd Street btw Vanderbilt Avenue and Madison)
Description: What better way to celebrate Earthday than with a $10 Wholefoods gift certificate. Con Edison is offering $10 Wholefoods gifts certificates as well as a $25 rebate on your power if you sign up for ConEdison Solutions GREEN Power.
Free Brunch at Xing Restaurant
Date: Saturday, April 22, 11 AM-3:30 PM and Sunday, April 23, 11 AM-3:30 PM
Cost: Free to first 50 people
Location: 785 9th Ave bet. 52nd and 53rd
Description: The Restaurant Xing kicks off their new brunch service this weekend by offering free brunch to the first 50 people through the door. The Asian/American/Fusion menu looks insane (think five spiced french toast with lemongrass butter) and there is a $12 all you can drink option.
Free Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
Date: Tuesday, April 25, Noon-8 PM
Location: Ben & Jerry's around the city
April 25: Free Ice Cream!
Description: Ben & Jerry's offers their public service to the country.
Posted by Cakehead at 07:00 PM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2006
"Feed Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500-2005"
The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum presents "a journey through the evolution of Western dining from the Renaissance to the present" in their Feed Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500-2005 exhibit. The exhibit will examine social and design history with a collection of dining implements that includes some of our favorite utensils: Ice cream scoops and grape shears.
When: May 5-October 29
Where: The Cooper-Hewitt Museum, 2 East 91st Street at Fifth Avenue, New York City
Posted by Cakehead at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)
April 19, 2006
McGriddle Fan Fiction Live Community
We don't know if this is a brillliant marketing move by McDonalds or just a group of funny, clever people with a craving for McGriddle sandwiches and a penchant for creative writing. But whatever it is, it's highly entertaining and can prompt salivation.
Here's an excerpt from Bonnie Burton's story "Bad Taste"
He finished quickly and dumped the man's crumpled body in the nearest dumpster. The taste of blood was still there, but Henry knew he'd just have to get used to it all. He was a vampire now and that meant drinking blood no matter how disgusting it tasted. As he turned to head back home, the biker's messenger bag caught his eye. Picking it up, he opened the top flap and a glorious smell wafted through the alley air. Maple syrup, sausage, eggs.... Henry hadn't smelled anything so tantalizing since he was a little boy growing up on his grandfather's ranch. He stood there breathing in the aroma of the breakfast, with a rare smile on his face.
[From boingboing via kottke]
You can submit your McGriddle Fan Fiction too. Here are the rules:
This is a LiveJournal community for writers of McGriddle Fan Fiction, Breakfast Fan Fiction, and McGriddle Creative Writing. While our primary focus is on Fan Fic involving the McDonald's McGriddle, we extend membership to writers of any sort of breakfast food creative writing (i.e. McMuffins, Bagel Sandwiches, Pancakes, etc).Rules:
I will delete any posts that do not adhere to the rules.
* Keep it reasonably clean. Nothing worse than PG-13.
* Be courteous. If You don't like someone's post, keep it to yourself. No flaming.
* Keep it focused on breakfast products. I don't want to hear about any french fries.
Posted by Cakehead at 02:15 PM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2006
If Christ can rise...so can your souffle
So we slept through all the praise worship services on Easter Sunday. We've had some lapses in our leavened product eating during Passover. But it's not too late to celebrate Christ's rising up and since Passover isn't officially over until tomorrow, we figured we make a dish that's not chometz (as long as you take the proper steps to expunge and clean). And what better way to celebrate than with a souffle that's all risen up like the lord: Betty Bowers' The Passion Fruit of the Christ Easter Soufflé. This flourless delight will prompt tears to flow from stone Virgin Marys and blood to drip from the palms of bronze-cast Christs. Jews, well, you'll just be glad to eat something that is leavened but without breaking the rules.
[From Betty Bowers]
Posted by Cakehead at 01:54 PM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2006
Hot Dog in Hanoi: (not) eating the Thịt chó
Day 6: Hanoi
Thịt chó: translates to mean hot dog....literally
This week's Time Out New York announces the City's best hot dog. Gray's Papaya Uptown won. But the dog we're talking about is not the hot variety, but the canine kind.
Our wanderings through Hanoi eventually led us to Dog Meat Alley. We look with fascination at the cooked carcasses hanging about. For a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to preparing dog meat for eating, and for background information about the practice go to Loupiote's Flickr photos and description. There are more photos too.
Deterrence
My biggest regret is that I didn't indulge in a sampling. I do have a long list of excuses: the ubiquitous puppies were so cute; my vegetarian traveling companion's eating practices quickly became contagious. At times I blame the reason I did not sample the meat on my sex. (The dog restaurants were for men, not women. Excuses, excuses. I know. I'm sure they would have made an exception.) And I won't be getting any dog meat during my trip to California. They made it illegal.
Posted by Cakehead at 02:09 PM | Comments (0)
April 09, 2006
Working the Streets: Eating the Street Food of Hong Kong
Hong Kong Day 3
Our thigh muscles were where we felt the pain. And as with any muscle burn, that hard-earned pain triggered a signal in the brain to green light any and all eating endeavors. By day two of our Hong Kong tour we had climbed up and down the steep hills so much that we longed for the flat cornfields of Iowa. But we did not long for Iowa's food. We hadn't flown to Hong Kong with the intention of toning our thighs. We were there to eat. We had all the offerings to satisfy our hungry bellies in the back alleys and lining Hong Kong's streets.
Ferry to Street Food
Breakfast Pastries
egg custard tart (before it was dropped)
Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it should consist of the most important food group: sugary treats. We had heard about a top-notch bakery across the bay from our hotel on Hong Kong Island called Tai Cheung. Based on the positive reports, I was certain their treats would give this cakehead the fuel she needed to ascend and descend the hills for further street sampling. We took a ferry across Victoria Bay then scaled a number of hills until we came to Lyndhurst Terrace. It took some wandering before we found it. But had we looked for the long line leading up to a glass case of baked pastries, we would have tracked the shop down sooner. When my turn came to make my selection I narrowed my choices down to two yolky egg custard tarts, a fried donut-like pastry coated in sugar on the outside and all custardy like a popover on the inside. I also made the mistake of selecting a little angel cake-like square that was too dry to finish without espresso.
But before sampling could begin, the vegetarian traveling companion snatched the bag away to examine the contents up close. A self-avowed klutz (possibly due to lack of protein), the vegetarian not only dropped the pastry-filled sack on the pavement, but then in a state of panic proceeded to do a little dance that wound up being more of a stampede on top of the preciousness. Not one to allow cake-like substances to go to waste, I rescued and salvaged the contents, proceeding as planned with our sugary street breakfast.
Vegetarian Street Lunch
gelatinous turnip and mushroom cube
We did a little more hiking about around the multi-leveled walkways and pathways of Hong Kong, killing time until our next feeding. But we pushed up our lunchtime when we stumbled upon a street stand on Cochran Road selling all vegetarian treats. For $2 we purchased several gelatinous squares made of turnip with specks of mushrooms, a deliciously greasy spring roll filled with bean sprouts, and mushroom and a dumpling filled with fake pork. The dumpling was so good that we founded an outdoor dumpling shack in an alleyway where we ate a pile more spring rolls and dumplings.
Temple Street Night Market Dinner
After a jet lag nap and some cocktails we were ready to eat more. We made our way to the Temple Street Night Market where university students and teens gathered to eat cheaply. Lining the alleyways where "100% cotton" socks and underwear could be purchased for pennies were plastic tables and chairs. Nearby women stood over industrial-size woks and kettles stirring vegetables or deep-frying fritters and fish. We chose an outdoor table at a spot advertising "seefood."
We chose right - both with dining locale and with the dishes we ordered. The fried oyster fritter was like a big omelete, rich with oysters and could possibly be my favorite dish during the entire trip. The semi sweet fish dipping sauce accented the richness of the oysters. My companion indulged in another hit - a corn kernel-rich porridge-like dish containing large chunks of fried salted cod. Both dishes were unlike anything we've eaten at the Cantonese spots in New York's Chinatown and now that we're home we're suffering from withdrawal.
Posted by Cakehead at 07:28 PM | Comments (0)
