Trends - - Page 44

by gansie

Hott Links: JoeHoya

While you may think star-commenter JoeHoya (or affectionately, JH) may simply spend all of his blog reading time with ES, you’d be shockingly mistaken. JH actually writes for the *rival* food blog, DC Foodies. And as I never really read other food blogs (unless he/she comments on our posts and leaves a link to their blog) I have neglected JH’s hard work elsewhere. So, here, JH – our official ES tribute to our first and favorite non-friend commenter. (Actually, you know what that stinker first wrote on our blog – he corrected a misspelling of mine…) Anyway, enjoy our ~~GOP foe~~ boy, JoeHoya.

Investigative Reporter [JoeHoya]

Disgruntled Cheese Plate Eater [JoeHoya]

Exhaustive Restaurant Critiquer [JoeHoya]

by BS

Who Cooked It Better? Bacon Cupcakes

Chalk up another win for the blogs over the MSM, as Sushi Day’s steak sushi rolls over Gourmet, 58 percent to 42 percent in last week’s Who Cooked It Better.

For this week’s contest, we’re going with a hot new trend that combines a possibly tired trend with a classic taste to make everything new and creative again. Confused? You’ll understand in a second.

As you know, cupcakes have been quite the ubiquitous presence over the past few years, to the extent where some are declaring them so over already. I liked them better myself in grade school, when they weren’t trendy and didn’t cost nine dollars, but I think we can all agree, overexposed or not, these little devils are delicious.

One thing that is definitely not over is bacon, so it was only a matter of time before bacon collided with cupcakes to create something God is kicking himself for not inventing. Bacon cupcakes are here indeed, and all of a sudden they seem to have taken over the food blogosphere. I browsed through said blogosphere to find the best of the best, and there are no half-assed bacon-topped cupcakes here, each of these three contenders mix actual bacon into their batter to present three tantalizing recipes.

On the left is one of the first known versions of the mythical bacon cupcake. From the Vanilla Garlic blog, this maple bacon cupcake is for “those who eat with no fear,” and it sure lives up to that claim. Diced bacon is mixed into the brown sugar-maple syrup cupcake, which is then topped with a maple syrup-butter frosting and finished off with a sweet and salty kick from turbinado sugar and kosher salt. (Note: This does not make the cupcake kosher in any way). Full recipe here.

Appearing in the middle, No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner throws a chocolate spin on the BC, dreaming up an amazing coffee-buttermilk-dark chocolate-bacon batter. While she doesn’t give us a chocolate frosting recipe, she more than makes up for it by sprinkling bonus bacon (crispy, of course) on top of the cupcake. Full recipe here.

A Good Appetite, on the left, also goes with the dark chocolate theme, whipping up a batch of Hershey’s dark cocoa batter, topped with some dark chocolate frosting and a sprinkling of fleur de sel for that extra salty (and artsy!) touch. Extra points for some creative black and white photography. Full recipe here.

Wow I am hungry after writing all that up. I, for one, will surely be trying one of these recipes soon – so which one?

Find more cupcake commentary in Endless Cupcakes

(Photos: Vanilla Garlic, No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner, and A Good Appetite)

in Bacon / Desserts / Endless Cupcakes / Trends 17 comments

by gansie

Friends, Lend Me Your Beers

From Today’s Onion/AV Club (DC):

“Our brewing baby might be a miscarriage, but our friends are overly encouraging,” jokes Guy Anthony, a member of the newly formed D.C. Homebrewers Club. Then again, what friends wouldn’t hold out hope for a quaffable homemade Hefeweizen?

That was the thinking of brothers Mike and Brian Dolan, who created the fledging group earlier this year hoping to attract hip, young District residents who either brew their own beers or are toying with the idea. Following a stint in beer-centric Belgium for two years and a job in a Boston beer store during college, co-founder Brian developed a love for the drink; on his graduation night, the brothers decided that they would take that love to the next level—brewing their own.

While the brothers usually base their brews on a recipe, they also improvise. Smelling their way through an organic market, they picked up “sacred bark,” an herb with a pleasant aroma. They went through the whole process of brewing and bottling, and, as they were enjoying their first round of beers, they thought to Google “sacred bark.” They then immediately threw out all of the bottles, as they discovered their special ingredient was a laxative.

Take Your DAD GANSIE to Work Day

Back when there wasn’t a *boy crisis* it used to just be “Take Your Daughters to Work Day.” (“Sons” is now added in there, and as I try to promote equality in all aspects of gender, I do like this updated model.)

On this special day (no school!) I’d switch between my mom’s nursery school class and DAD GANSIE’s own business in Philly every other year. And as much as I loved playing with the three year olds, helping them with crafts, taking them to the bathroom and feeding them snacks (graham crackers!) I felt mighty important at DAD GANSIE’s office.

They would find an empty desk for me, fitted with pens and—sometimes—a typewriter. I would usually draw notes to my mom, then go over to the copier, play with the darkness and lightness, and make about 5 copies for her. I’d also run around, lay on the couch and basically disrupt my dad and his dad while “doing business” on the phone. And in my lovely, I’m the oldest, I’m the best mantra, I would figure out how many pictures on my the wall there were of me versus how many pictures there were of my brother and sister.

But the real highlight of the day was our lunch date at McDonalds.

Growing up, we only were treated to McDonalds on the weekends, and then only once in a while. So a random weekday Mickey Ds lunch totally made the day. I think, and DAD GANSIE correct me if I’m wrong, I would order a plain hamburger, fries and a Coke. Today, if I do go to McD (which I can proudly say that I haven’t been in the year 2008) I would get a Happy Meal with the 4-piece chicken tenders, fries and Coke.

The lovely people at McCormick & Schmick’s let me remember all of these special days when I received their PR push: kids get a free “business meal” when their parents lunch with them at the restaurant. Now I know kids are different these days (Holy shit – did I just say that! How old am I?!?!) but I still bet that a McDonalds meal would beat a shrimp cocktail in their book any day.

Official McCormick & Schmick’s presser after the jump.

Meat Eaters Need Not Apply

I know ES has been heavy on the veggie/vegan train lately (I promise, we’ll get back to our red meat and pig roots) but I couldn’t not post about this redic job requirement: vegetarianism.

San Francisco video-game company, Bigfoot Inc, published this internship description

A vegetarian-owned and managed emerging sports games startup in San Francisco is looking to hire vegetarian software development interns for summer 2008 (and potentially beyond) who are interested in entrepreneurship and promoting vegetarianism.

And as my full-time job demands I promote diversity in the workplace, I cannot advocate for an entire staff full of non-meat eaters.

Quotas can be a good thing.

in Trends / Veggie 4 comments

by gansie

Hott Links: Bring In ‘Da Noise

Maybe because 80P is always telling me to keep my voice down, I never notice how loud or quiet a restaurant is – I just scream regardless. But apparently I might be the only person that feels this way. According to a 5-part investigative report by Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema, noise is the number one complaint about eating out.

He explained the severity through this over-the-top story:

Brown, a 35-year-old senior finance manager at a Washington nonprofit, planned to propose to Rebecca Oser at Central Michel Richard downtown just before Valentine’s Day. Fueled by a few drinks, Brown says, he pulled out a gift-wrapped box containing a sapphire ring from his jacket pocket before the dessert course. It should have been a memorable moment. Instead, Brown found himself competing for Oser’s attention with a bustling open kitchen, CNN anchors on overhead TVs and a conversation at the next table that got louder when another person walked over to say hello.

Despite the distractions, Brown popped the question: Rebecca, will you marry me? He’s not sure if he actually heard the reply, but he got the response he was looking for. Oser, a 29-year-old project director, slipped on the ring and came around the table to sit beside him.

First off, public engagements should be outlawed. You’d think that for this most special of all nights people would want to be in private. I know I don’t want to see a blubbering bride-to-be flashing a diamond around to people she doesn’t know. Get a room! (The best engagement story I’ve heard so far is from my friend, Jules – she was in her sweatpants when Gary proposed! And, she’s letting the bridesmaids sport these gorgeous, absolutely re-wearable dresses! Love you, Jules!)

Anyway, I’d absolutely rather enjoy food in a loud restaurant (my fav place, Bistrot du Coin, was rated the nosiest place in the city!) than in a setting where I have to whisper for fear of everyone hearing my conversation.

When 80 took me to Vidalia for my birthday, we actually both hunched over the table (well, maybe I was hunching because I was hungover) so 80 could whisper to me the details of the previous night’s Happy Hour without completely appalling the neighboring table.

But here, take a look at Tom’s articles and let me know your thoughts on restaurant noise.

No Appetite for Noise [Cover Story]
New rating system that will surely fix the problem [Decibel Breakdown]
Everyone loves lists! [Top 10 Loudest/Quietest DC Restaurants]
Bring on the complaints [Chat with Tom]
Nothing’s more fun that watching noise [Video of noise, I shit you not]

in Trends 1 comments

by BS

A Better Butter Battle

Now here’s an ES fan who is all talk and all action…

Yesterday’s discussion of Kerrygold Irish butter inspired quite the passionate response, with readers weighing in from the Emerald Isle to Oklahoma. But the most exciting response came from MissGinsu, who promised a “premium butter throwdown” and then backed it up with a nine-way butter battle royale, detailed over on her blog.

Miss G. sampled the nine best premium butters she could find (and yes, she does feel a little ill now). She’s still not completely sold on the Kerrygold bandwagon “most of what I’m tasting is salt,” but she was blown away by the French entry – Elle and Vire – and even discovered a high-class butter made right here in the good ol’ U S of A, Pennsylvania’s own Krowka Maslo Wiejskie.

This is goodbye land o’ lakes – I am officially a butter snob.

Link: Miss Ginsu

Photo: Pennsylvania state government, and yes, that’s an 800 lb. Ben Franklin butter statue.

in Contests / Trends 4 comments