A recent study by the Center For Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has shown that restaurants are incredibly dirty. From moldy refrigerators to live cockroaches to unsanitary prep and cook surfaces, the study illustrates the huge number of restaurants that are cited with health-code violations. Sarah Klein, an attorney for the CSPI, explains why most restaurants have a long way to go before they meet the Food and Drug Administration's health codes:
Restaurants aren't motivated to pass a very high safety bar. A restaurant may commit violations that the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention would classify as most critical — improper holding temperatures, poor employee hygiene, food bought from unsafe sources, food that is not thoroughly cooked, or food surfaces that are not properly disinfected — without much fear of being shut down. Even violations that involve rat infestations or unwell employees (restaurant workers tend not to get paid sick days) also may not lead to closure. Restaurants only have the incentive to do what they need to do to stay open. The consumer would never know how close they were to being shut down.
While opposition is quick to point out that the inspectors could have been too harsh, I have a feeling the study's disturbing conclusions may be true. After all, Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares takes an insider's look at such kitchens. Although the findings don't list the restaurants' names, it does provide the public with a breakdown of the worst and best cities in terms of health expectations. To find out how your city ranked, read more
The foodie documentary King Corn will be shown at my movie club meeting, so the menu features a variety of vegetarian corn dishes. During the screening, let guests nibble on corn cakes and pizzettas with corn and zucchini.
After the movie is finished, invite everyone around the table for a light meal of cheddar corn chowder with an arugula fresh corn salad on the side. The soup can be kept warm during the movie, while the salad can be assembled in advance and dressed just before serving.
For these delicious recipes that highlight the sweet flavor of corn, read more
Although one of her specialties is turkey burgers, lately DearSugar has been in a recipe rut. I decided to help her spice things up with this savory and scrumptious recipe.
Instead of being served on a bun, the burger gets placed inside a pita pocket. The meat is seasoned with tons of fresh herbs before being stuffed with salty feta cheese. Paired with red wine or a cold beer, this flavorful burger is far from boring. To experiment with the recipe, read more
On a recent dining adventure, Joe at Serious Eats passed up the carnitas tacos in favor of a taco filled with chapulines, a variety of grasshopper that is a prized delicacy in Oaxacan Mexican cuisine. As long as I didn't think about where it came from, the sensual description of the chapulines as "crunchy, nutty, and slightly salty" had me craving one! Are you grossed out by the thought of eating an insect with a crunchy exoskeleton, or does this delicacy appeal to you, too?
"Why is it that food always tastes better when it's on a stick?" DearSugar mused the other day. I must say I concur. There's a playful element to eating kebabs; they're interactive and low-maintenance at the same time. Or maybe it always tastes better because I associate food on a stick with socializing over passed hors d'oeuvres. Regardless of what the reason is, I thought I'd share seven skewer combos that'll stick with you.
This soup ends up being a good source of three blood pressure-lowering minerals since the milk adds calcium and the potatoes deliver a dose of potassium, as well as magnesium.
A recent study by the Center For Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has shown that restaurants are incredibly dirty. From moldy refrigerators to live cockroaches to unsanitary prep and cook surfaces, the study illustrates the huge number of restaurants that are cited with health-code violations. Sarah Klein, an attorney for the CSPI, explains why most restaurants have a long way to go before they meet the Food and Drug Administration's health codes:
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