nosh nook #89 - thursday, july 16, 2009

giving the people what they want (link)
07.14.09 - the stranger - by david schmader

anybody who properly embraces the exclamation point is all good in my book & that's why, without even having been then there, seattle's snacks! is pretty much the best convenience store ever created ever. there's nothing subtle about the recently opened store's name. it's no yawningly unoriginal "number one food mart" or "park slope deli." it's just balls-to-the wall snacks! while it's still a work-in-progress, it already sounds like the ultimate stomping grounds for the seattle snacker.

located in the ballard neighborhood in northwest seattle, snacks! is the brainchild of dante rivera, who also created some seattle institution called "dante's inferno dogs." according to the stranger's david schmader, snacks! will soon be the "ass-saving bodega of choice" for folks in the neighborhood, as snacks! goers can pick up "convenience-store standards," "higher-end local products" & items from dante's dogs, including "the chiily dog, a visionary concoction involving a lightly toasted hot-dog bun covered with a layer of smooth peanut butter and filled with soft-serve ice cream." for those infused with the munchies, that sounds like the snacking equivalent of crack.

if there's anyone properly sanctioned to do a proper review of a convenience store, it's the stranger. what other publication would refer to the "two-by-four-foot wish list hanging near the door that invites customers to share their dreams for snacks! inventory" as "the greatest poem about america since 'leaves of grass?'" surely not the ny times. schmader has even created a perfect slogan for snacks!--"snacks!: uniting tipsy birthday girls, lagging zombies, and needy stoners since 2009." from what i gather, snacks! is basically a little slice of tasty heaven on puget sound...definitely my kind of place.

nosh nook #88 - wednesday, july 15, 2009

docu "food, inc." gets boost from chipotle (link)
07.14.09 - reuters - by alex porter

when the documentary food, inc. came out as part of a limited release last month, it got a good amount of press for its insight into the workings of our nation's food system. in the same way that fast food nation (the book, not the lackluster linklater movie) aimed to get people thinking about where their food comes from, food, inc. aims to educate american consumers about the big business that is the american food industry. to help spread their message, they've formed an interesting partnership with chipotle mexican grill to promote the film.

as alex porter reports, starting yesterday, chipotle began sponsoring "free screenings of the film in 32 U.S. cities" and placing "promotional material in all of its more than 860 restaurants." chipotle, who began as a company out of denver and has since been bought & sold by mcdonalds, prides themselves on using as many fresh, organic ingredients as possible, putting them in a unique position. they've both been a part of the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants and an advocate for "food with integrity."

steve ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of chipotle is excited about the partnership. "i hope that all our customers see this film," he said, "the more they know about where their food comes from, the more they will appreciate what we do." what does chipotle do? according to this article, "35 percent of the beans it uses are organically grown and that it serves more naturally raised meat than any other restaurant worldwide." the last part of that probably wasn't that tough of an accomplishment, given that they're huge, with 860 restaurants & over a billion dollars in revenue last year.  for food, inc., pairing up with such a huge part of the american food system to promote a film about the problems with the american food system is an interesting approach, but if it gets the word out about the film, good for them.  at least they're not working together with a company still owned by mcdonalds.

nosh nook #87 - tuesday, july 14, 2009

dunkin’ donuts offers coupons as tim hortons lands in new york (link)
07.13.09 - bloomberg news - by laura myers

ladies & gentleman! yo bitchez! the NYC donut warz are totally on! in this corner we have the contender, hailing from oakville, ontario, the great white hope from the great white north--tim hortons! in our other corner, hailing from canton, massachusetts, the reigning donut champion of the working man & northeast US--dunkin donuts! that's right...in NYC, it's totally on, donutwise. bring it on, canada.

as bloomberg news reports, last friday, twelve NYC dunkin donuts franchises owned by the riese organization closed down, only to reopen yesterday as tim hortons, a milestone that brought the first tim hortons stores to new york city. this changeover included two major dunkin donuts locations--in penn station & times square. to combat this, dunkin donuts had street teams out & about in the city yesterday, handing out coupons near eight of the tim hortons locales.

if you're like me, you've never even heard of tim hortons, but it's apparently the largest food servicer in canada. now, the fast food chain is "pushing into the US fast-food market after closing about 15 locations in new england last year." i'm not the only one who hadn't heard of them. outside of the new tim hortons location on 50th & 7th, bloomberg spoke to bobby lauria, a project manager from barclays. he used to go to dunkin donuts "at least twice a day," and although he wasn't familiar with tim hortons, he had this to say about it..."looks appetizing." that's about all you can ask for from a donut shop.

#110 - bro.

i have two bros & one sis. the younger bro (tim) came along my final year of high school, but i grew up with the sis (aimee) & one of the bros (chris). in fact, i shared a bedroom with chris until i moved out for college. through the years, we had our share of sibling squabbles, but it was two times that we were playing together that led to two scar-inducing injuries for him.

the first came when he was about four. our basement had been leaking, so my parents decided to weather treat it & had folks dig up around the foundation, leaving huge piles of dirt & rocks in the yard. since kids love playing in dirt & i was a budding MLB star, the two of us were running around on the mounds as i heaved a random rocks about...until one connected with his forehead. the second time came a few years later, on a rainy afternoon when we really wanted to play wiffle ball. despite our mother's pleas to stay inside, we went out anyhow. during the game, he hit a booming shot to the outfield & i gave chase. by the time i got to the ball, he had already rounded 2nd base & was headed for 3rd, which was a large boulder. as i reached him & went to apply the tag, he slipped on the wet grass, smashing his head on the boulder & reopening the scar from years earlier. playtime fun!

luckily, a forehead scar isn't that serious of an injury, so he grew up to be a relatively well-adjusted individual, despite all the death metal he listened to during high school/college and the fact that he initially went to college & earned a degree in funeral services. it worried some of our relatives, but for the most part, i saw it as him getting into a unique & respected profession. eventually, he went back to school for a degree in industrial design, allowing him to both better utilize his amazing creative talents & get away from dead people.

he's always lived in cool neighborhoods--jamaica plan, somerville, greenpoint--and lived in austin for a few years, which is totally hip. these days, he's just moved into a sweet apartment in greenpoint & has a ton of tattoos & builds bikes & rides them all over the place & designs custom cabinets for hot shot NYC folks. on the side, he works with kaiju big battel, which means he's been on friggin' MTV.

my bro's a good guy. i'd like to say i taught him well, but he's obviously cooler than me. if not for him, who would've introduced me to dirt, gish or dirty? who would've gave me the set of drums i tried to use on my first home recorded album?  who would've brought me back a bag of gourmet popcorn from austin? nobody...that's who.

#110 - bro.
snack: cornucopia dill pickle popcorn
drink: lakefront brewery wheat monkey ale



...so the bro took a trip back to austin a few weeks ago & returned with a gift bag of cornucopia dill pickle popcorn for me. cornucopia's a popcorn store with two locations in austin & this particular bag came from the locale that's housed in an airstream trailer in the trendy soco (south congress) neighborhood.  it was started by two friends who are obviously big fans of the pun.  at cornucopia, there's no such thing as hours of operation.  nope. instead, they have hours of poperation. how punny!

the dill pickle flavor's not as weird as it sounds.  in fact, it's the "house favorite" at cornucopia. it's basically like regular butter popcorn with a buttery/salty taste that's complemented by the dill flavor. when compared with cornucopia's range of flavors, which includes everyday flavors such as smores, texas chili & cinnamon toast and seasonal flavors such as pumpkin pie & pomegranate, dill pickle's rather tame. regardless...really tasty.

to try keeping up the texas theme, i went to my local fancy beer shop (where the coolers are arranged by state) looking for a texas beer. i didn't see any, so i went up to the counter & asked the guy if they had any. with a smirk, he responded, "nope." i had a feeling that was going to be the case. after all, texas is known for beers like lonestar & shiner bock. instead, i went for a bottle of lakefront brewery wheat monkey ale, out of milwaukee. the label has a crazy, clearly drunk cartoon monkey with a piece of wheat for a tail! i love monkeys! they're even spelled cool plurally! :(|)

as for the contents of the bottle, it's your average wheat ale with a hazy look, but it's apparently infused with a lil bit of monkey love, which never hurts.  it's a great beer for the summer--not too heavy but not too bitter, with a slighty fruity taste.  plus, when you're drinking it, you'll have nothing to hide...& your monkey won't either.

nosh nook #86 - monday, july 13, 2009

'organic and chic' alternatives to junk food (link)
07.12.09 - npr's weekend edition - by liane hansen

kids say the darndest things. for sarah magid, author of organic and chic, there was a day when her son was all "give me twinkies, mom." kids love twinkies! kids say the darndest things! sarah magid grew up jewish in southern cali, so kosher + health conscious = never tried twinkies. instead of getting them for her son, she decided to come up with an organic version of them..."goldies." they're made with dark chocolate sponge cake, a whipped vanilla butter cream, chocolate glaze & an edible gold powder.

this story's from npr's weekend edition sunday, which has been hosted by liane hansen for the last twenty years. i love her stories & manner. plus, she's married to neil conan (host of npr's all things considered) & gets to do the sunday puzzle with puzzle master will shortz, who's basically the only person with a degree in enigmatology (the study of puzzles). now she gets to meet the inventor of goldies, a cute brooklyn mom who will make you healthy alternatives to junk food. is there anything liane hansen doesn't get to do? she's so lucky.

as for magid, she also makes custom cakes & the book just came out, so she was in chicago for book signings this past weekend & is in l.a. near the end of the month. whirlwind book tour! seriously though, her cakes are friggin nuts! one of them has a bird's nest thingy on top of it! what's also nuts is that that cake's entirely organic, right down to the nest. you can't say that about a lot of cakes. too bad it can't survive a nuclear holocaust like a twinkie can.