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Man Arrested For Sharing His Buffet Plate

YumSugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:00:04 -0700

Lately, it seems like people are willing to do anything - including serve jail time - over food. Earlier this month, a Florida man was arrested for trying to pay for his McDonald's meal with pot. This week, two cooks were put behind bars for intentionally contaminating a police chief's food. Now, a man has been arrested for letting his girlfriend eat off his buffet plate while refusing to pay for two meals.
On Oct. 21, Dan Linscomb and his girlfriend dined at the Iron Skillet restaurant in Atlanta. While he admitted in a police report that his girlfriend "ate a couple bites from his plate," Linscomb defended his position, saying, "there were no signs in the restaurant that said someone could not have some food off your plate." The restaurant staff called local police, who arrested Linscomb on theft. Two days later, he was released after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.

In today's tough times, should restaurants charge both parties regardless of how much they eat, or do establishments need to go easy on customers like Linscomb, who may simply be trying to scrape by? Have you ever eaten "two-for-one" at a buffet before?

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Yummy Link: Richard Blais's 31-Course Tasting Menu

YumSugar — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:13:31 -0700

Earlier I mentioned that Top Chef contestant Richard Blais helmed several restaurants in the past. One of them was his own eponymous Blais, in which there was a 31-course tasting menu. Learn what it was like to eat there, warning, the photos are going to make you drool. - The Amateur Gourmet

Steak n' Legs or How Maxim Is Opening Several Steakhouses

YumSugar — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:21:42 -0800

Now that Joe Francis is in jail, the plans for the Girls Gone Wild restaurant are probably on hold. If this leaves you worrying where you'll go for your steak n' legs dinner then fear no more, Maxim Prime is opening in late March. Restauranteur Jeffrey Chodorow - you may remember him from NBC's The Restaurant - has announced plans to open Maxim Prime, a joint venture with Maxim magazine. The restaurant will be located in New York's Gansevoort Hotel and has a scheduled late March opening. Another branch will be located in Atlanta's Glenn Hotel and 13 other locations will open over five years. Chodorow has said that he does not want it to be like Hooters. Instead he has said it will be, "sexy but sophisticated." Unlike traditional steakhouses, the portions will also be smaller and lighter. Chodorow said:

The people who leave here are going to go someplace else - maybe dancing. They're not going to go home and go to bed.

So if you live in the Atlanta or New York areas, be sure to check it out and report back. I want to know what "sexy but sophisticated" is like. I mean they never said it wasn't going to be "sleazy."

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Noteworthy Nibbles -Oct. 7-13, 2008

YumSugar — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:00:12 -0700

It's the middle of Fall, and the festivities are bigger than ever. From Spencer, WV, to San Francisco, there's something for everyone, whether you've got a craving for candy or a hankering for ham. Know of something we've left out? Please feel free to add your comments below!

New York, NY: Food Network New York City Wine and Food Festival - Oct. 9-12
Denver, CO: The Celebrity Chef Tour Denver - Oct. 9
Denver, CO: Great American Beer Festival - Oct. 9-11
Spencer, WV: West Virginia Black Walnut Festival - Oct. 9-12
San Francisco, CA: San Francisco Magazine's Fallfest 2008 - Oct. 9-12

To see the rest, read more.

Gulf Shores, AL: National Shrimp Festival - Oct. 9-12
Charleston, SC: Taste of Charleston - Oct. 10-12
Cadiz, KY: Trigg County Country Ham Festival -Oct. 10-12
New Smyrna Beach, FL: New Smyrna Beach Uncorked - Oct. 10-13
Long Beach, WA: Wild Mushroom Celebration - Oct. 10-15
Chincoteague, VA: Oyster Festival - Oct. 11
Timonium, MD: Maryland Brewer's Oktoberfest - Oct. 11
Fairfield, CA: Fairfield Candy Festival - Oct. 11
Port Angeles, WA: Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival - Oct. 11-12
Waynesville, OH: Ohio Sauerkraut Festival - Oct. 11-12
Oroville, CA: Passport Weekend 2008 - Oct. 11-12
Atlanta, GA: Taste of Atlanta - Oct. 11-12
Cape May, NJ: Cape May Wine Festival - Oct. 11-12
Grand Prairie, TX: International Bar-B-Que Cookoff - Oct. 11-12
Williamsburg, VA: CIAO Italian Festival - Oct. 11-12
Newport, RI: Newport Oktoberfest - Oct. 11-13
New York, NY: PastryScoop Fall 2008 Conference - Oct. 12
Culpeper, VA: Taste of Culpeper - Oct. 12
Half Moon Bay, CA: The Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off - Oct. 13

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Noteworthy Nibbles - Oct. 6-13, 2009

YumSugar — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:00:10 -0700

This week kicks off one of the biggest culinary events of the year: the NYC Wine and Food Festival, featuring headliners like Rachael, Bobby, and new favorite celeb chef, Ming.

Not in New York? No worries - there's still something to raise your glass to. Even though Oktoberfest technically ended last weekend, the party rages on from the East Coast to the West Coast.

Where will this week take you? Let us know below!

New York, NY: Rum Fest - Oct. 8
New York, NY: NYC Wine & Food Festival - Oct. 8-11
Gulf Shores, AL: National Shrimp Festival - Oct. 8-11
Panama City, FL: Panama City Beach Seafood, Wine & Music Festival - Oct. 9-11
Puyallup, WA: Oktoberfest NW - Oct. 9-11
Timonium, MD: Maryland Brewer's Oktoberfest - Oct. 10
Atlanta, GA: Taste of Atlanta - Oct. 10-11
Port Angeles, WA: Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival - Oct. 10-11
Alexandria, VA: Old Town Food & Wine Festival - Oct. 10-11
Boston, MA: Share Our Strength's A Tasteful Pursuit Dinner - Oct. 13
San Francisco, CA: Wine and Spirits Magazine Top 100 Tasting - Oct. 14

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Noteworthy Nibbles - Apr. 14-21, 2009

YumSugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:00:15 -0700

Food festival season appears to be in full swing! The weekend's chock full of fancy food productions, from Scottsdale to Pebble Beach to Blue Ridge food and wine festivals. A number of your favorite celebrity chefs, like Top Chef's Fabio and Carla, Paula Deen, and Thomas Keller, will be making appearances across the nation. And what Southerner could miss out on crawfish and grits? If you think of anything we've left off, please feel free to add in below. What events will you be hitting up?

Scottsdale, AZ: Scottsdale Culinary Festival - Apr. 14-19
Charlotte, NC: Taste of the Nation Charlotte - Apr. 15
San Antonio, TX: Paso Robles Grand Tasting Tour - Apr. 15
Atlanta, GA: World Barista Championship - Apr. 15-19
Atlanta, GA: Toast of the Town Atlanta - Apr. 16
Austin, TX: Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival - Apr. 16-19
Pebble Beach, CA: Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival - Apr. 16-19
Blowing Rock, NC: Blue Ridge Wine Festival - Apr. 16-19
Biloxi, MS: MS Coast Coliseum Crawfish Festival - Apr. 16-19
Springfield, MO: Rock 'n Ribs BBQ Festival - Apr. 17-18

To see the rest, read more.

York, PA: Pennsylvania Herb Festival - Apr. 17-18
St. George, SC: World Grits Festival - Apr. 17-19
Salisbury, MD: Pork in the Park - Apr. 17-19
New York, NY: Coffee & Tea Festival NY - Apr. 18-19
Moulton, AL: Alabama Chicken & Egg Festival - Apr. 18-19
Atlanta, GA: Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show - Apr. 18-19
Norfolk, VA: Virginia Culinary Expo - Apr. 19
Princeton, NJ: Taste of the Nation Princeton - Apr. 20

Papa John Called - He Wants His '71 Camaro Back

YumSugar — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:30:32 -0700

In 1984, John Schnatter, founder, chairman, and former CEO of Papa John's, sold his cherished 1971 Z28 Camaro to buy $1,600 worth of restaurant equipment to open a pizza joint. Now that he's got a worldwide empire under his belt, Schnatter has set out on a cross-country mission to find his original Camaro. He's even offering $25,000 to the person who reunites him with his long-lost ride.

Papa John has already hit up Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, and Louisville on his road trip, but so far, there's been no sign of the gold, double racing-striped Z28. Check out the publicity stunt, which has been documented at length on a promotional website, Papa's Road Trip.

I think the contest - which requires the winner to show written proof of John Schnatter as a past title owner - is wonderfully random and entertaining and I'll be checking up on it periodically. What do you think of the whole endeavor?

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Noteworthy Nibbles - May 5-12, 2009

YumSugar — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:00:11 -0700

Many of you are gearing up for Mother's Day, but if you've got some time to spare, there are plenty of enjoyable events worth checking out. There are two national events to note: You can celebrate American Craft Beer Week (find out what is happening in your neck of the woods) and on Saturday, help fight hunger at the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

Here at Yum, we're all over the specials going on during Sexy Dishes Week and the new cocktails being showcased at SF Cocktail Week. Where will you be?

Humboldt, TN: West Tennessee Strawberry Festival - May 3-9
Bay Area, CA: Sexy Dishes Week - May 4-8
Atlanta, GA: Taste of the Nation Atlanta - May 6
Manchester, NH: Taste of the Nation Manchester - May 6
Hartford, CT: Taste of the Nation Hartford - May 7
Las Vegas, NV: Vegas Uncork'd - May 7-10
New Orleans, LA: World Cocktail Week in the Big Easy - May 8

To see the rest, read more.

Charlotte, NC: Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival - May 9
Brooklyn, NY: James Beard Dumpling & Noodle Tour - May 9
Anhalt, TX: Cajun Music & Gumbo Cook-Off - May 9
Santa Monica, CA: Los Angeles BBQ Festival - May 9-10
San Francisco, CA: San Francisco Cocktail Week - May 11-18

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Noteworthy Nibbles - Mar. 31-Apr. 7, 2009

YumSugar — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:00:20 -0700

From Mississippi catfish cookoffs to Louisiana strawberry celebrations, this week is full of can't-miss Spring food festivities in the South. What delectable diversions will you be hitting up this week? Be sure to chime in below!

Plantsville, CT: Flavors of Connecticut - Mar. 31
San Francisco, CA: Nirvino Mixology Contest - Mar. 31
Kona, HI: Kona Chocolate Festival - Mar. 31-Apr. 5
Vail, CO: Taste of Vail - Apr. 1-4
Atlanta, GA: Atlanta Food and Wine Month Kickoff Party - Apr. 2
Boston, MA: Taste of of the Nation Boston - Apr. 2
Clear Lake, TX: Clear Lake Crawfish Festival - Apr. 3-4
Newport, NC: Newport Pig Cookin' Contest - Apr. 3-4

To see the rest, read more.

Ponchatoula, LA: Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival - Apr. 3-5
Poteet, TX: Poteet Strawberry Festival - Apr. 3-5
Timonium, MD: Maryland Beer, Bourbon, and BBQ Festival - Apr. 4
Austin, TX: Swamp Thing and Crawfish Festival - Apr. 4
Belzoni, MS: World Catfish Festival - Apr. 4
Winnsboro, LA: Franklin Parish Catfish Festival - Apr. 4
Greenville, SC: Taste of the Nation Greenville - Apr. 5
New Orleans, LA: Mai Tai Seminar - Apr. 6
Philadelphia, PA: Sake Fest - Apr. 7

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Food & Wine Announces 2009's Best New Chefs

YumSugar — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:53:19 -0700

It's the moment the restaurant world has been waiting for: Food & Wine just announced the winners of its annual Best New Chefs awards, which are given to the nation's most promising new chefs.

Considering previous winners have included such celebrated chefs as Tom Colicchio and David Chang, this title could mean a very bright future ahead for 10 of the nation's burgeoning chefs. To find out who they are, read more.

Paul Liebrandt, Corton; New York, NY
Nate Appleman, A16; San Francisco, CA
Naomi Pomeroy, Beast; Portland, OR
Barry Maiden, Hungry Mother; Cambridge, MA
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, Animal; Los Angeles, CA
Bryan Caswell, Reef; Houston, TX
Christopher Kostow, Meadowood; St. Helena, CA
Linton Hopkins, Restaurant Eugene; Atlanta, GA
Mark Fuller, Spring Hill; Seattle, WA
Kelly English, Iris; Memphis, TN

I'm thrilled that my local favorite, Nate Appleman, has finally gotten some national recognition (he's also up for the James Beard Foundation's Rising Star Chef of the Year Award). Of course, this means reservations are going to be even more difficult to get! Do you plan on checking out any of these chefs?

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