Fast Food - - Page 7

by tvff

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: But She Has Sassy Bangs!

Hey, Food Network! What the hell are you doing?

Far be it from me to tell you how to do your job, but I’m starting to think you blew it with the first episode of The Next Food Network Star. Did you really start off the season by eliminating the cute, perky blond who identified herself as “Housewife 2.0?” She appeals to both the guys and the girls! I just don’t think you have the right mindset. And by “mindset,” I mean the typical reality show producer technique of keeping contestants around solely because they appeal to the audience and make for plenty of news coverage. In other words, the reason they kept that marginally-talented Susan Boyle on that British show for so long. (ZING!)

In other news, we’re running another contest here at Endless Simmer. Just give us your “last meal on Earth” and you can score some bad-ass Top Chef gear. I know what you’re thinking…”another contest?!?” It’s all part of our master plan to run as many contests as your local top-40 radio station. Be sure to stop back next week to nab some tix to the monster truck rally.

Shall we smörg?

A look at the folks on the upcoming Top Chef Masters: Slashfood thinks Kelly Choi could be “the new Padma” and Eat Me Daily wonders who the hell Jay Rayner is (other than an extra from Pirates of the Caribbean, by the looks of it.)

Gordon Ramsay finds out the hard way that Australian women don’t like to be called “pigs.” Who knew?

Post-jump goodness: a video podcast worth checking out, some gratuitous meat (and a burger, too) and a new way to get your gambling fix.

The Top 10 Top 10 Food Lists

You know we love our Top 10 lists here at Endless Simmer. So today we’re spreading the love around the web and shouting out the funniest food stories we’ve ever seen presented in list format: the very meta Top 10 Top 10 Food Lists:

10. Top 10 Songs With Sexually Suggestive Food Metaphors: From Tom Waits’ strawberry sundae surprise to MC Lyte’s hot peas and butter, the Frisky brings us the dirrrrtiest food songs of all time. Wait, I seriously thought that “peaches” song was just about peaches.

9. Top 10 Creepiest Fast Food Mascots: Remember that nasty Quizno’s rat/hamster thing? Seriously, what marketing exec OK’d that? And did you know Ronald McDonald used to be even weirder than he is now? Fanpop’s list will keep you up at night.

8. Top 10 Food and Drink Hacks: Lifehacker gets all Macgyver on your kitchen cabinet, with tips on how to build a fire from chocolate and Coke, freeze perfectly clear ice cubes, and open a beer bottle with one sheet of paper (seriously!)

7. Top 10 Sightings of Religious Figures in Food: That Virgin Mary is one hungry broad! Girl be showing up everywhere from grilled cheese to Cadbury’s. This list has her and her boy tracked.

6. Top 10 Uniquely ’80s Foods: Oh, hit me up with some Capri-Sun and California Raisins! Serious Eats has this nosh-talgic list, although I don’t know how they forgot Ecto Cooler.

Next: 1-5 of the Top 10 Food Lists

by tvff

Endless Simmer Goes Behind the Bell

I’ll be honest with you: I’m not a big eater of fast food. Takeout items like Chinese and pizza are much more likely options when I’m looking for a quick, convenient and inexpensive dinner. The fact of the matter is, with most of the big chains, I just don’t find their offerings interesting enough. Of course, there is one exception…

I’ve always had a thing for Taco Bell. Why? It has some spice. It uses cilantro (which I think we’ve definitively said is a good thing). It’s just different enough from the usual American fast food offerings to have held my interest.

This is why the Beef Baja Chalupa (those shells are addictive) has been occupying a spot on my bio since I came aboard ES.com and it’s likely why I received an offer to be flown out to Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, California along with a number of other bloggers to tour their test kitchens and discuss product development. The opportunity for a behind-the-scenes look at the kitchen and make one last attempt to be reunited with a long-lost friend from the Taco Bell menu were too much to pass up…