YumSugar

Hamburger Harley: Love It or Hate It?

YumSugar — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:00:05 -0700

My pal calamari recently pointed out this interesting motor vehicle. Created by hamburger enthusiast Harry Sperl, this Hamburger Harley is a real spectacle. Could you imagine driving down the freeway and seeing this thing on the road? I would definitely have to demand that my driver slow down so I could take a few pics.

I love how detailed it is, and especially enjoy the actual fast-food tray mounted to the front. Yet I couldn't imagine driving it around. How about you? What do you think of the Hamburger Harley?

Hanging With One of LA's Hottest Nightclub Owners

partysugar — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:28:33 -0700

Les Deux is undeniably one of Los Angeles' most trendy bars. Paris and Nicky Hilton have a private table, and so does Jamie Foxx. The Hills girls kick up their heels on the dance floor and everyone from TV Guide to Tom Hanks has hosted parties inside the famed house's walls.

While in LA for the Sugar Party, I had the chance to slide behind the velvet ropes, check out the party scene - more on that later! - and chat with one of the owners, Sylvain Bitton. To see what Sylvain had to say about his party lifestyle as a nightclub owner, read more.
Devilishly good looking and impeccably dressed, Sylvain is a member of the Dolce Group, part owner of Les Deux, and host to some of Hollywood's hottest. He spends most of his time at Les Deux, arriving as early as 10 a.m. and staying until the place closes. Although he caters to the stars, Sylvain is a friendly, normal, down to earth guy, who just happens to have three motorcycles and a house in the Hollywood Hills. Here is what he had to say:

PartySugar: What's it like being a host to LA's rich and famous?
Sylvain Bitton: It's fun. We are a very rare situation. Trendy nightclubs come and go, but we're just as popular now as when we first opened. We offer something incomparable. Les Deux isn't really a place for hard partying and dancing. It's more of a social nightclub. We offer the whole experience. It's a place where normal people feel like celebrities and celebrities feel like normal people. After all, you have to remember, they [the celebrities] need me as much as I need them.

PS: What trends are emerging in the party/nightclub scene?
SB: Immaculate service and attention to the smallest details in the world. The smell of a place matters. I have a guy whose job it is to spray this place with Febreeze. I think smaller restaurants and smaller boutique clubs that take their guests on a journey are on the rise.
PS: What's the biggest disaster that has ever happened at one of your parties?
SB: Not enough room. Sometimes we get a couple celebrities here at once and it's hard to accommodate them all. Just last night Rihanna was here. Journey was here.

PS: What do you like most about owning a place like Les Deux?
SB: The control of making my ideas and visions happen and it being a success. All the people who come inside of Les Deux, I decide the fate of their night. This is a beautiful club, which deserves to be filled with beautiful people.

PS: What's your advice to the everyday hostess?
SB: Know what you want and be strict to get it. Have something no one else is going to offer. That's how your parties will be remembered.

PS: A successful party is...
SB: When time never matters. I know it's already been said, but when you dance like no one is watching. When you don't care who's next to you because you are having so much fun then everything about what the club has to offer will forever be a memory.

Now You Can Feast on Asphalt Anytime You Want To

YumSugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:01:33 -0700

Alton Brown fans will be pleased to hear that last year's popular Feasting on Asphalt 2: The River Run is now available on DVD. As a fan of Alton, I thought this was a really fun series. It chronicled his and his crew's journey along the Mississippi River on motorcycle, but most importantly it chronicled everything they ate. While I'm well versed on foreign foods, it was great to learn about some of these homegrown treats.

If you're interested, the DVD set runs $29.95 - if you're one of the first 1000 to order you get a free map charting the journey - but from now until April 30, you can get 10 percent off by using the code: C93837 when you check out.

And if you'd rather read about his journey, they've just released a companion book ($16.50, the discount code probably won't work on this). Alton was recently on NPR talking about it. It's part memoir and part cookbook. Kool-Aid pickles anyone?

Joey Chestnut Does It Again

YumSugar — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:10:31 -0800

This afternoon, over 20,000 fans packed the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Penn., to see the sixteenth annual Wing Bowl. Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, who was the reigning champion, held onto his title by chowing down on 241 chicken wings in 30 minutes. This was 14 more than his nearest competitor Patrick Bertoletti and 36 more than third place Bill "El Wingador" Simmons.

For his gastronomic feat, Chestnut - when did he obtain the nickname "Jaws"? I swear he didn't have it for the Fourth of July Hot Dog Contest - received a Toyota Tundra, a 2008 Black 883 Sportster motorcycle, a championship ring, and, of course, all the bragging rights.

So what do you folks think, could you eat that many wings in 30 minutes? Could you even eat half the amount? Also, can you believe the number of folks who attended? From the look of things, this place was packed!

View 7 Photos ›

Source

An Exhausting Way to Cook a Burger

YumSugar — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:18:31 -0800

Would you like a nice charbroiled burger? Oh wait, did I say charbroiled, I meant Car-broiled. That's right, I said car.

A group of inventors have created the Exhaust Burger that allows you to drive and cook burgers at the same time. The exhaust goes through the top of the contraption - don't worry, the exhaust doesn't actually touch the burger - and heats the metal. The metal then cooks the burger, sort of like a George Foreman grill, only there's nowhere for the grease to go. The product is still in the concept phase, but I can see where it could be helpful - no extra fuel or energy needed - however, there's something about it that just seems wrong. Wouldn't it just be a greasy mess? Yet, having said that, you all know I'd be the first in line to see what it tastes like!

Oh and does this remind anyone else of Alton Brown's Feasting on Asphalt contraption that allows him to cook stew while riding his motorcycle?

Food Network Announces its 2007 Programming Additions

YumSugar — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 09:58:17 -0700

Get your TiVos warmed up, there's some new stuff coming to Food Network. They just recently announced their 2007 programming additions and here's what we can expect this summer:

Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives - starring - looks like Food Network is putting their new star Guy Fieri (who, I might add was absent from any of the Food Network's South Beach Festival photos I saw) behind the wheel of his 1967 Camaro looking for the best diners, drive-ins and dives the US has to offer. Debuts April 23.
Simply Delicioso (working title) - Galavision superstar Ingrid Hoffmann brings her Latin lifestyle expertise to America. Debuts in July.
Food Dudes (working title) - Follow two young chefs, Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook, try to make a name for themselves and their catering business. Debuts this fall.

To check out the rest, and there's at least one that I'm going to be sure to TiVo, read more

The Next Food Network Star - The third season of the Food Network reality show beefs things up by expanding its format to have contestants compete on location and not just in the studio. Begins June 3 at 9pm.
Feasting on Asphalt 2 - Alton Brown (my personal Food Network favorite) hops on his motorcycle for a second season of touring the back roads of America in search of good eats. Hopefully he doesn't break anything this time (he had an accident last year where he broke his collarbone).
The Next Iron Chef of America - Food Network's looking for someone to join Batali, Cora, Morimoto and Flay. They're casting now for professional chefs to be contestants on the show. Alton Brown is hosting, and I have a thing for food reality TV, so I'll probably end up watching this too. Debuts this fall.
America's Best Recipe - Nine everyday contestants prepare original recipes in front of a live Las Vegas audience. Airs in 2008.

So what do you think, are you looking forward to any of these?

Source: Digital Producer Magazine

Off To Market: Host Gift

partysugar — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 09:57:13 -0800

I was ichatting with my friend Elizabeth when she asked me to help her out with something. She's traveling to our Spanish "home-away-from-home" for five days and is going to be put up by a friend of ours, Ravé. Elizabeth asked me to help her out and come up with a great host gift for Ravé - something a little more special than a bottle of Patron.

So, let's all head off to market in search of a great host gift for Ravé. He's a trustworthy guy who has his own heavy metal band and several tattoos. He's not really the girlfriend type (I've known him for 3.5 years and have never seen him in a relationship) so his kitchen could use a feminine touch or two. He's a guy's guy (he drives a truck and a motorcycle), likes to cook and loves to eat. So keep his personality traits in mind when looking for the perfect host gift. Save your gift ideas in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag, Host Gift. Good luck! Elizabeth and I can't wait to see what you find.

Don't know what the Yum Market is all about? Read geeksugar's informative how-to.