Ordering one of these on your Xbox means never having to pause a game—or burn any calories you may need later. Photograph courtesy of Shutterstock.
Virginia Is for Haters
Don’t go looking for any hometown pride from Momofuku Milk Bar’s Christina Tosi, who hails from Springfield: “It was like the armpit of Northern Virginia . . . the one town in Northern Virginia nobody ever wants to show their friends.” [Eater] —Ann Limpert
We get cravings for Chinese takeout all the time. But one kid in Michigan took things a little too far. Photograph via Shutterstock.
Eat Your Words
In response to the horrific events in Boston, Epicurious tweeted about honoring the city with “whole-grain cranberry scones.” Yes, this is for real. [Eater] —Marisa Kashino
Roots Bistro in Texas is “local, organic, green” . . . and thinks it’s funny to relate beer to violence. [Culture Map] —Chris Campbell
The best Negroni ever? We’ll take two. Image via Shutterstock.
Try This at Home
You haven’t been a part of the counterculture until you’ve made goulash from stolen pork butt in a house with no heat or running water. Vulture has the recipe for Betty’s Squatter’s Goulash from last Sunday’s Mad Men. [Vulture] —Sophie Gilbert
Sorry in advance for getting “Last Resort” stuck in your head, but this Papa Roach “recipe” is pretty hilarious. (Although I wouldn’t actually try it at home.) [BuzzFeed] —Tanya Pai
Rhubarb Eton Mess sounds even dirtier when you say it with an English accent. This recipe for a classic British dessert seems a good match for spring’s tartest arrival. [Taste] —Shane Harris
How to cut up a whole chicken. Great for making stock. And relieving aggression. [New York Times] —SH
The secret to the best Negroni ever? Can’t disagree with this Napaman fellow. [Napaman] —Jessica Voelker
They’ll Be There All Night; Don’t Forget to Tip Your Waitresses
Sure, American restaurants tweet away about specials and promos, but what about in-house breastfeeding jokes? The Awl picks out “The Only Turkish Restaurant in London You Need to Follow on Twitter.” [The Awl] —Anna Spiegel
Eat Like a Man chronicles Pizza Hut's horrifying, calorific history. Image via Shutterstock.
Foodie Foolishness
The restaurant industry has a great sense of humor, particularly the self-effacing kind. Eater National compiles a roundup of April Fool’s pranks across the nation. House-made water, “No Appetit,” and artisanal air this way. [Eater National] —Anna Spiegel
Well, here’s one way to get fired from a Waffle House. [Gawker] —Jessica Voelker
Joe Englert talks rats, freebies, and other fun aspects of owning a bar. Illustration by Josue Evilla.
Talking Shop
This is really fascinating, mostly because it shows how insanely cheap Trader Joe’s is. Chow compares TJ’s own items to other grocery store staples to try to figure out who’s supplying them. [Chow] —Sophie Gilbert
Oddly Mesmerizing Video of the Week
BuzzFeed investigates what that ambiguous “2,000 calories” on dietary labels actually looks like in food. [BuzzFeed] —Anna Spiegel
Everyone’s least favorite vegan gets a pass during artichoke season. Photograph courtesy of Shutterstock.
Newsy Fare
Twenty gang members in LA have been accused of extorting money from food truck operators—not the ubiquitous taco/pizza/cupcake ones, but the hot dog and coffee food trucks at construction sites. [LA Times] —Sophie Gilbert
How much would you pay for Twinkies? [King 5] —Jessica Voelker
Photograph courtesy of Shutterstock.
Banning Together
A judge ruled that New York mayor Michael Bloomberg cannot ban large sodas. Headline writers responded on cue. The winner: Daily News with, “Suck It!” [Daily Intel] —Shane HarrisChicago representative Luis Arroyo is pushing a ban on lion meat in the city. Guess someone forgot to explain to him the concept of hakuna matata. [Grub Street] —Tanya Pai
As New York City quibbles over the soda ban, Bon App rounds up other food bans around the country. Who knew margarine was illegal in Wisconsin? [Bon Appétit] —TP
Ripped From the Headlines
Dunkin’ Donuts employee in Florida is ridiculously awesome, thwarts an in-store burglary by throwing hot coffee at a robber. She also shouts, “Go run on Dunkin’.” Make this woman a brand ambassador, like, now. [HuffPo] —Sophie Gilbert
Looking for more bad news about bees? Grist has more bad news about bees. [Grist] —Jessica Voelker
Bumblebee Tuna recalls several batches of canned fish because of “loose seals,” and I recall that it’s still two long months until Arrested Development season four comes out. [Grub Street] —Tanya Pai
The Chain Gang
Chelsea Welch, the waitress who was fired after posting a receipt on Reddit, shares her lovely experience working at Applebee’s. [The Guardian] —Todd Kliman
A year after her Olive Garden review went viral, Marilyn Hagerty revisits the land of unlimited salad and breadsticks. [Grand Forks Herald] —Ann Limpert
Last fall, cocktail historian and Washingtonian Philip Greene published To Have and Have Another, a historical account and collection of drink recipes based on the life and work of Ernest Hemingway. It’s a fascinating look at how the author incorporated drinking into his prose, and offers Papa devotees a way to delve deeper into those hauntingly evocative scenes—by making the drinks as the characters might have enjoyed them.
You can catch Greene on Thursday, February 28, at the Watha T. Daniel-Shaw Neighborhood Library, where he’ll be talking about the book and signing copies (a volume is included in the $50 ticket price). There will also be an open bar with two cocktails based on Greene’s research. The event benefits the DC Public Library Foundation. See more details on the Museum of the American Cocktail’s website, and read on for our conversation with Greene about his research process and what Hemingway’s favorite Washington bar might be.
I hear you’re a descendent of Antoine Peychaud of Peychaud’s Bitters, the guy who supposedly invented the Sazerac. True?
In the ’90s my uncle gave me this very cursory family tree, and I ended up finding out that my great-great-grandmother’s name was Marie Louise Peychaud. [Marie Louise was a cousin of Antoine’s.] I sort of became an expert on Antoine. This really gave me the tour into cocktails and got me introduced to the people who run Tales of the Cocktail and the people who were putting together the Museum of the American Cocktail. It was really good timing.
And how did you get into Hemingway?
I’ve been a Hemingway buff since high school. For many years I would read Hemingway, and I would notice the drinks that were mentioned. In 1989 I read Islands in the Stream, and I noticed he was talking about a drink with fresh lime juice, coconut water, Angostura bitters, and gin. I was visiting my girlfriend at the time (now my wife)—her folks have a place down in Florida, and they had a coconut palm tree and a lime tree, and they had gin. I made the drink.
From that point on I just started collecting in my mind and my memory whenever I read a Hemingway book. You know, “Okay, The Sun Also Rises, what’s a Jack Rose?” And then I’d figure out how to make it. In 2008 I did a seminar at Tales of the Cocktail on the drinks of Ernest Hemingway and that made me think: Why not a book?
Brave New World
Who knew the Special K diet involved bloodletting via the gums? [Grub Street]—Jessica Voelker
Whiskey Wars
The millennia-long rivalry between England and Scotland has reached a new battleground: whiskey. [NPR]—Sophie Gilbert
Famous Foodies
Why would human Chia pet Guy Fieri not register his own restaurant’s domain name? You snooze, you lose—and American wins with this fake website.—Tanya Pai
You definitely want to ready Andy Greenwald on the decline of Anthony Bourdain. Here’s how he describes the No Reservations host’s new role on The Taste: “Now he sits on a garishly lit soundstage, defanged like an aging circus lion, ginning up halfway constructive things to say to deluded Capoeira instructors who make ‘food for awesomeness’ when the only reasonable response would be laughter.” [Grantland]—JV
