From Slate | Many Americans love hot dogs, eat a lot of bologna, and enjoy sausages. But when it comes to Spam, another processed meat, we are not so apt to crack open a can. Yet Spam, much maligned in the rest of the nation, is served and loved everywhere in Hawaii—from fast-food restaurants to the annual "Spam Jam" street festival. Slate has the full story on the tropical state's love affair with the canned food.
From Tested.com | Even though charming astronaut Chris Hadfield has since come back down to earth, there's another video loose on the interwebs in which he floats around and holds forth on how to eat in space. This time, some celebrities join him on camera: Momofuku's David Chang and the guys from "Mythbusters" teamed up to engineer tastier recipes for the zero-gravity Hadfield. Unfortunately, mixing shrimp in with your grits proves to be somewhat difficult in space, but everyone gets As for effort.
From The New York Times | Long gone are the days when a filet mignon on a menu signified a hip and with-it dining establishment. It seems that today all it takes to make the hot list is to offer up a kale salad. Many spring events in NYC have played host to this humble green: At the Art Production Funds gala last week the vegetable was served with lemon, Serrano peppers, and mint. At Frieze New York, the green showed up as a hearty Caesar salad at Fat Radish's concession stand. And at the Creative Time gala, the chewy leaf once again took a star turn. Looks like this food is proving itself a staple in the world of quickly changing food trends.
From Ad Age | Celebrities love endorsing booze. Frank Sinantra repped Michelob, and even Orson Welles was a spokesperson for Paul Masson Champagne. But these days you can't be a celebrity worth your saltwithout speaking up for a liquor brand. Do you know which celeb backs what drink? Test your knowledge with this quiz from Ad Age.
From Metro | Well, we thought we'd seen it all, and then a grown man gets stuck in a high chair at McDonald's and the cops have to come pull him out. In fact, three policemen in Cork, Ireland, had to come to the rescue of this oversized baby. Not surprisingly, witnesses say alcohol may have contributed to the adult male's desire to fit inside the small chair.
From Gawker | The grandmothers are coming, the grandmothers are coming! Well, they've actually already showed up to a Cooking Channel show called "My Grandmother's Ravioli." In this charming bit of small screen magic Mo Rocca travels around the United States visiting homes and learning to cook family recipes from old people with big personalities. We're on board, because what could be better than homemade food from wise-cracking nanas?
From Food Republic | Chef Tony Maws, the powerhouse owner of the Cambridge, MA, award-winning restaurant Craigie on Main, has a bone to pick with the food world. And that bone, full of marrow and served alongside oxtail pastrami, is that there is no way to qualify "best" when it comes to restaurants and cooking. He takes issue mainly with the idea that in order to be "the best," chefs must follow trends and try to one-up each other in terms of how avant garde their offerings are. Maws bucks the trend of following trends: "Because while aesthetics may change and 'Best' lists are revised," he says, "great flavors remain great. And food cooked with heart and soul doesn’t need to be gussied up to look the part of what’s labeled as 'hot.'”
From MRobin Cakes | Beautiful, intricate cakes are puzzling: Unless you watch someone make them, you often can't even begin to imagine how they were created. Which is why we're crazy about this video featuring baker Marcella Robin, of Portland, Oregon, making her sculpturesque confections (it should come as no surprise that she has an art degree). Our favorite part about her cakes is how edible they are: She uses no fondants, only sponge cake layered with a variety of creams, custards, and mousses, so they'll taste as good as they look.
From The Kitchn | Dog: Man and woman's best friend. Beer: Man and woman's other best friend. If you identify with these two statements, try combining them and check out Bowser Beer: It's a cold brew for your furry friend made from meat-broth, malt barley, and glucosamine, a compound added for joint health. And don't worry, there's no alcohol in it, so Fido will still be fine to drive you home from the barbecue if you have one too many beers yourself.
From Boston.com | Boston Marathon bombing victims and first responders joined hundreds of well-wishers at Fenway Park while dozens of top chefs served food and drinks from concession stands last night. The event was to raise money in memory of and for those wounded in the attacks on April 15 on Boylston Street. Emergency workers, victims, and government officials were among those who feasted on over 60,000 hors d'oeuvres, which included ceviche shots, seared duck breast, oysters, foie gras, and many other delicacies. The famous Boston chef Ken Oringer said of the victims: ‘‘A lot of them lost limbs, a lot of them are not gonna be able to work again, a lot of them have families...We just want to do what we can as a community ... to help them out.’’
