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Would You Drink a Hot Smoothie?

YumSugar — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:30:54 -0800

Coffee and tea are so passé. At the St. Mark's Place location of Surf City Squeeze in Manhattan, it's all about the hot smoothie. New York Press writer Justin Richards decides to try it out, and concludes it's not really his cup of ~~tea~~ hot smoothie: "If you don't drink it soon enough, it's like you're cleaning your apartment the morning after a smoothie party," he explains. Would you give it a whirl?

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Sam Sifton Is New York Times's Next Food Critic

YumSugar — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:00:22 -0700

When Frank Bruni announced he'd be stepping down as the New York Times's restaurant critic, readers were left with a pressing question: Who will step up to the dinner plate? The food world waited collectively with bated breath until the answer was announced today: Sam Sifton, the paper's current Culture editor, will begin reviewing in October.

The blogosphere wasted no time compiling critical stats on Sifton, and Gawker has already come up with a slew of potential dining guises for him. One thing's for sure: The role of restaurant critic is evolving. Even execs at the Times admit critics don't wield the power that they used to, and with photos of him already abundant on the web, dining incognito will be virtually impossible.

Sifton may be new to the position, but he's no novice - in fact, he was rumored to have turned down the job once before. In addition to being the culture editor at the Times, he's contributed to the $25 and Under column, reviewed restaurants before Bruni's arrival, and even served as Dining editor. In last month's New York Times Magazine, he detailed making meatloaf for Nora Ephron. What do you think of the news? At a time when media is evolving so rapidly, does the role of restaurant critic still have a place in the food world?

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All the News That's Fit to Eat - Jan. 7, 2009

YumSugar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:30:31 -0800

Try your hand at Gordon Ramsay's pineapple soufflé with Thai curry ice cream. - Los Angeles Times
Top 20 wine leaps to take in 2009. - Wall Street Journal
Due to the shortage of bluefin tuna, a 282-pound premium tuna sold for $104,700. - Associated Press
In Britain, squirrel is the newest protein to come to the table. - New York Times
How two young men plan to convince our new president to grow a garden on the White House lawn. - Washington Post
In the thick of Winter, turn to citrus to brighten your palate. - San Francisco Chronicle
Keeping inexpensive staples around is the key to eating gourmet on a budget. - Chicago Tribune
Just in time for the Inauguration, Ben & Jerry's has named on of its flavors "Yes Pecan!" - New York Daily News
In a taste test of toasted O's cereals, Cheerios didn't come in first. - Boston Globe

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All the News That's Fit to Eat - Oct. 22, 2008

YumSugar — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:00:08 -0700

Making pasta at home is the perfect cooking project for kids. - Los Angeles Times
A New York judge awarded $4.6 million to 36 underpaid delivery workers. - New York Times
How are new restaurant projects preparing for hard times ahead? - Boston Globe
Spike Mendelsohn of Top Chef offers a primer on cooking Vietnamese. - Washington Post
The right tools and ingredients are the secret to making golden loaves at home. - Chicago Tribune
Which store-bought turkey bacon brand tastes the best? - San Francisco Chronicle
Ferment your own sauerkraut with this basic recipe.- The Oregonian
In response to overfishing, several conservation groups have worked together to produce sustainable sushi guides. Get your pocket sushi selector today. - Associated Press

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Dunkin' Donuts Claims to Beat Starbucks in Coffee Taste Test

YumSugar — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:30:32 -0700

As colossal coffee chain Starbucks struggles to keep up with past profit margins, its competitors continue to move in for the kill. Earlier this month, breakfast chain Dunkin' Donuts introduced its version of a recession deal. Now, in its latest ad campaign, the chain is claiming it beat Starbucks in a blind taste test.In the campaign, Dunkin' Donuts, which is currently in the middle of a national expansion effort, airs a new TV spot and launched a website, Dunkin' Beat Starbucks, that will highlight the results of the taste test.

The blind taste test, conducted by A&G Research, polled 476 adults in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle. According to a press release from the chain, 54.2 percent of participants surveyed preferred Dunkin' Donuts coffee to the 39.3 percent who preferred Starbucks coffee. Another 6.3 percent had no preference between the two.

I'm slightly surprised by the results: I recently had Dunkin' Donuts coffee, and found that I still prefer the coffee from Starbucks. What about you? Are you impressed by the study's results, or are you skeptical of the findings?

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All the News That's Fit to Eat - July 23, 2008

YumSugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:26:29 -0700

What to do with all that extra leftover takeout rice. - Washington Post
The science of soft-serve, and how chefs are transforming the swirl into a gourmet dessert. - New York Times
Will this summer's massive wildfires hurt California's wines? - Press Democrat
Why Spain's albariño is the perfect white for summer sipping. - Houston Chronicle
In France, renowned chef Paul Bocuse makes history elevating "le fast food"; can the US be far behind? - Los Angeles Times
Cooking to enhance the produce you've just bought at the farmers market. - Boston Globe
What is the significance of terroir? - St. Petersburg Times
Whether you love it or hate it, mayonnaise is an American staple that's here to stay. - Chicago Tribune

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All the New's That's Fit to Eat - June 18, 2008

partysugar — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:15:53 -0700

Happy goats make the most delicious goat cheese, which is perfect for making croquettes! - Boston Globe
With a little planning you can make a gourmet meal even while camping. - Los Angeles Times
Paletas are Mexico's refreshing fruity take on the Popsicle. - New York Times
If Popsicles aren't your thing, cool down with horchata. - Washington Post
Learn how to cook with whole-grain pastas. - The Press Democrat
A Provencal-style feast is perfect for celebrating the Summer solstice. - San Francisco Chronicle
Use global flavors to update classic chips and dip. -Chicago Tribune
It's harder than it looks to be a good sever. - Sacramento Bee
Make proper use of the season's best watermelon. - Dallas Morning News

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All the News That's Fit to Eat - May 7, 2008

partysugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:15:43 -0700

Meet the next generation of farmers who are taking over farmers' markets. - Los Angeles Times
This Mother's Day delight mom with whole-grain breakfast dishes. - San Francisco Chronicle
Wine's pleasures: do they exist or are they all in your head? - The New York Times
Don't judge a chef by his reality TV show: Gordon Ramsay gets real. - Chicago Tribune
Use herbs to jazz up ordinary dishes. - Sacramento Bee
Now you can safely send a birthday cake to your loved one at war overseas. - Boston Globe
Traci Des Jardins' teaches kids to love good food. - Press Democrat

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Does Coffee Dream of Electric Chocolate? New Starbucks Chocolate Reviewed

YumSugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:30:31 -0800

This summer a press release went out with limited fanfare. The folks at Hershey's were teaming up with Starbucks. At the time there was very little news available, other than an upcoming Starbucks-branded premium chocolate. The news piqued my interest, but there was no word on when the products would hit the shelves. Turns out it's today.

Using the expertise of Artisan Confection Company - a division of Hershey's that includes Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt - Starbucks has created a line of products to sell in stores. There are three types of chocolate bars, tasting squares and filled truffles. Thanks to FabSugar - who hand-carried these samples back from New York - we were lucky enough to give them a try. If you want to learn more about each flavor, as well as what we thought of them, read more.

The box the samples arrived in was dramatic. It was a high quality brown box filled with all sorts of goodies. There were six different tasting squares, four truffles, three chocolate bars and covered coffee beans. I thought the bars were better than the squares, and that the truffles were a bit overpowering. The beans on the other hand, were absolutely delicious. Overall, the flavors that paired coffee with chocolate were highly successful, the other tea-inspired flavors, not so much.
Truffles

Dark Chocolate Vanilla Bean Truffle: A rounded chocolate-covered-cherry sized truffle with a large dollop of vanilla bean cream in the middle. It was creamy and smooth, slightly buttery. Overall very nice.

Milk Chocolate Chai Truffle: This was the least favorite truffle. It was super heavy-handed with the cardamom and tasted more like sucking on chocolate covered cardamom pod, than it did like chai.
Milk Chocolate Caffe Mocha: The chocolate is slightly waxy. I thought it seemed rather Hershey's-like. Reminded us of the Hershey's Treasures, only better.
Dark Chocolate Espresso: This was by far our favorite truffle. The dark chocolate was smooth - almost too smooth - and it had a great melt, with a hint of smokiness. The espresso really came through, but was not overpowering. We'd definitely eat this again.

Milk Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans
This was my favorite thing in the box. FabSugar - who is a bit of a chocolate snob and hates on milk chocolate - even thought they were delicious. Unlike most chocolate covered beans, these are more like ground up beans covered in chocolate. It's a big coating of chocolate on a lovely amount of crunch.

Tasting Squares

Milk Chocolate: This was sort of generic. It would hit the spot if you craved chocolate, as it was tasty, but there was nothing special about it.
Dark Chocolate: Strangely, we liked the milk chocolate better. We thought it was a bit waxy. Again, tasty, but nothing special.
Mocha Dark Chocolate: This was our favorite square, the flavor pairing was really nice. There were bits of beans in it. I almost wished they offered this in a milk chocolate version too.
Chai Milk Chocolate: Like the truffle, there was way too much cardamom going on. Some of the folks here liked it because of that, but I was disappointed by how much it didn't taste like chai.
Passion Dark Chocolate: This was the worst thing in the entire box. Some of the folks thought it was okay, but I hated it. It was highly floral in taste, and there were bits of things in it that were just too much. It sort of tasted like artificial powder stuck inside of the chocolate. I say pass this one off to your friends, so you can eat the others.
Citron Dark Chocolate: Like the passion square, this one is also infused with tea. It was nicely flavored and okay. However at the end, it started reminding me of cleaner. If you love lemon/chocolate pairings you'd probably like it, but once again I say pass this one and eat the others.

Chocolate Bars
There are three flavors of chocolate bars - milk, dark and mocha dark - the flavors are reviewed above, but it should be mentioned that they tasted much better in a thicker bar format. It was nice to have something to sink your teeth into.

So, have you seen the new Starbucks Chocolates - they'll be in large grocery and drug stores retailers soon. If so, have you tried them?

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Gwyneth, Batali, Bittman, and Claudia Hit the Road

YumSugar — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:33:11 -0700

A few months ago, I mentioned that Gwyneth Paltrow was heading to Spain with Mario Batali in order to film a show for PBS. Well, for all of you who thought it was too crazy to be true, I have news for you: They've started filming!

That's right, according to the Associated Press, Paltrow and Batali - along with Mark Bittman (aka the New York Times's "Minimalist") and Spanish actress Claudia Bassols - are spending much of the next four months cruising around Spain in a fleet of Mercedes. Their producer, Charles Pinksy, hasn't told them what their itinerary is, but cameras in the cars will capture their reactions.

"It is going to be a road trip as if anybody else was taking a road trip, although we've planned things out. We've got some special things that maybe other tourists might not get a chance to do, as well," Pinsky told a press conference Tuesday in Madrid.

I don't know about you, but I am definitely going to tune in. Batali and Bittman are always worth watching - especially together - and the addition of Paltrow and Bassols should make for very entertaining television. What do you think? Are you going to watch?