What a grim photograph. The soldiers are protecting the presidential house in Honduras, following the recent coup. But the background probably says quite a bit about America’s actual interest in preserving democracy in the beleaguered nation.
(Photo by Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters, courtesy of BAGNewsNotes, a terrific site that analyzes images related to current events.)
Enraged man calls 911 after being allegedly short-changed by McDonald’s.
(Hat tip, Michael Saunders)
Pizza Hut may be changing its name to … The Hut, according to Marketplace, American Public Radio’s business program that airs on WABE (90.1 FM) weekdays at 6:30 p.m. You can read or listen to the piece about the change on its website. Here’s a teaser:
Kai Ryssdal: Marketing is more important than ever in a down economy. We ran across the latest example in the trade magazine Brandweek this morning. Pizza Hut seems to think that’s just one word too many to be really catchy. The Hut, they say, would be better. Marketplace’s Rico Gagliano reports it’s yet another fast-food chain trying to change with the times.
RICO GAGLIANO: Outside a pizza hut in downtown L.A. this morning, I asked passerby a pretty obvious question.
GAGLIANO: So when you think of Pizza Hut, what food item comes to mind?
GUY 1: I think of very spongy pizza, barely edible.
GUY 2: Um, greasy pizza.
Setting aside these guys’ unsolicited editorializing, you’d think this would make the folks running Pizza Hut happy, because at least customers know what they sell, right? But problem is, more and more consumers aren’t buying pizza from chains.
Meanwhile, however, Pizza Hut told Reuter’s it’s not changing its name and reported the same decision on its website a few days ago. So whatever. The important thing is that the chain’s sales are down significantly.
(Photo courtesy of fabulous, battered Perez Hilton.)
Last week, the United Nations’ Food and Health Organization released a chilling statistic: More than one-sixth of the world’s people will go hungry in 2009. What qualifies one as “going hungry?” Less than than 1,800 calories a day, according to the FHO. The agency attributes the 100 million increase over last year’s figure to the global economic slowdown and consistently high food prices. Called a “silent crisis” by FHO Director-General Jacques Diouf, political instability and lack of infrastructure have compounded food shortages — shifting political boundaries and conflicts such as civil war keep much needed food from reaching people.
Want to help? Consider volunteering here in Atlanta. The Atlanta Community Foodbank accepts individual and group volunteers daily and for special events. Project Open Hand — a service organization that delivers meals to the chronically ill or elderly — needs help preparing and giving out food. The Hands On Atlanta website lists volunteer opportunities by date and interest so you can find a foodie way to be good to Atlanta.
To shed light on last week’s suspicions, The Reynolds Group PR Rep Jill Caramella sent out a press release yesterday about the changes coming to Trois. The dining room will have a new concept in September, though the bar and event spaces will remain open. Trois plans to give their employees jobs at other Concentrics restaurants in the downtime.
The release quoted owner and founder of Concentrics Restaurants Bob Amick.
“We conducted intense guest focus groups and surveys at TROIS which revealed the restaurant was not meeting guest expectations,“ he said. “As a result, we feel it is necessary to adjust the décor and menu to better please our guests. We are excited to provide more insight on the new concept when all elements are solidified.”
I can’t explain it, but I love the Queen. I loved her mum. I can live without her kids, and her grandkids. Anyway, all that’s beside the point — she’s planting an organic garden! Obama Foodorama opines that it was most likely inspired by Michelle’s own garden efforts. Long live Betty!
(Photo courtesy Wikimedia commons. It was taken by NASA. No, really.)
I heard a rumor this morning that Trois, Concentrics’ glittering French restaurant in Midtown, will be closing within the week. Calls to the restaurant and the restaurant’s PR rep garnered a lot of “no comment”s (although PR rep Jill Caramella at the Reynolds Group promised more information by the end of the day). But we were able to find three separate sources who told us, off the record, that the downstairs bar will stay open, probably serving food, while the upstairs dining room is “re-branded”. We’re told that concept, price point and decor will all be changed. It will no longer be Trois.
We’ll keep you posted as the official word comes down.
(Thanks to intern Robyn Baitcher for her intrepid reporting, which contributed to this post)
People living on food stamps have been given an incentive to shop at farmers’ markets.
Thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Wholesome Wave Foundation, Atlanta-based nonprofit Georgia Organics has kicked off a Double Value Coupon Program which matches food stamp dollars spent at participating farmers’ markets.
“For a limited time, all food stamp dollars will have double the buying power at three Atlanta farmers markets,” Georgia Organics Executive Director Alice Rolls says. “Food stamp recipients still can choose to spend their food stamp dollars any where that accepts them, but at farmers markets, where local, fresh, and healthy food is sold, one dollar is equal to two dollars.”
Georgia Organics communications director — and former CL staff writer — Michael Wall says the effort is modeled after similar programs in San Diego, Baltimore and the Northeast United States. The program ends when the money runs out, he says, but fundraising could keep it operational.
More information about the program, including the participating farmers’ markets, after the jump.
YUM/YIKES: Good news and bad news for The Cheesecake Factory this month.
The Cheesecake Factory has shown up on two interesting lists this month: the 2009 Zagat Fast-Food Survey and the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s 2009 Xtreme Eating Awards.
The Zagat reader feedback survey gives Cheesecake Factory the top spot in five out of 11 categories under the “Full-Service Chains” section (a sweep of almost 50 percent!). The restaurant wins in Best Salads, Best Coffee, Best Appetizers, Best Desserts, and Best Value.
Cheesecake Factory also takes it home in three out of nine categories in the Xtreme Eating Awards, but this recognition is of a different sort. The CSPI is on the lookout for the most fattening, most caloric meals available. The Cheesecake Factory wins for its over three day’s of recommended saturated fat in their Fried Macaroni and Cheese, for the 2,500 calories in their Chicken and Biscuits, and for the three day supply of sodium in the Philly Style Charbroiled Flat Iron Steak with fries.
The Cheesecake Factory has four locations in Atlanta.
(Photo by TriviaKing via Wikimedia Commons)
Bob Herbert of the New York Times published a column yesterday that is grim on several fronts. It describes the horrific scene of thousands of ducks force-fed in an operation in upstate New York to produce over-sized livers for foie-gras.
But Herbert also describes the horrific working conditions of the company’s employees. He writes:
Animal-rights advocates have made a big deal about the way the ducks are force-fed to produce the enormously swollen livers from which the foie gras is made. But I’ve been looking at the plight of the underpaid, overworked and often gruesomely exploited farmworkers who feed and otherwise care for the ducks. Their lives are hard.
Each feeder, for example, is responsible for feeding 200 to 300 (or more) ducks — individually — three times a day. The feeder holds a duck between his or her knees, inserts a tube down the duck’s throat, and uses a motorized funnel to force the feed into the bird. Then on to the next duck, hour after hour, day after day, week after week.
The routine is brutal and not very sanitary. Each feeding takes about four hours and once the birds are assigned a feeder, no one else can be substituted during the 22-day force-feeding period that leads up to the slaughter. Substituting a feeder would upset the ducks, according to the owners of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, which operates the farm.
Not only do the feeders get no days off during that long stretch, and no overtime for any of the long hours, but they get very little time even to sleep each day. The feeding schedule for the ducks must be rigidly observed.
Farm workers have been specifically exempted from laws that protect other kinds of workers from these turn-of-the-last-century conditions. It’s hard to believe an employer can legally deny workers any time off. The workers don’t have collective bargaining rights to improve their lot, either. Please read the column.
LUNCH CRUNCH: Should Georgia's prisoners get lunch every day?
Georgia prisons are getting national attention this morning for their initiative to save money by not giving prisoners lunch three days a week. According to an Associated Press article running in some major newspapers today, prisoners in Georgia will still get the same amount of calories every day (2,800 for men and 2,300 for women), but now won’t get lunch on Fridays - in addition to Saturdays and Sundays, when state prisoners have been lunch-less for years now. Instead, they’ll get bigger portions at breakfast and dinner on those days.
As the fifth-largest prison system in the nation, the Georgia Department of Corrections has seen some major budget cuts within the last fiscal year, and they have to make up for the difference any way they can. And at a time when Georgia has a child food insecurity rate of almost 20 percent, it’s hard to decide just who deserves a free and healthy lunch every day.
Opponents of the prison lunch cut back say it increases violence in prisons because inmates become disgruntled as food becomes a hot commodity. The AP pulled up reports of inmate assaults through an open records request for their story and found that reports of inmate assaults have increased “substantially” in Georgia prisons for fiscal year 2009 over the previous year. However, it is unclear if there is any connection between the assaults and the lack of lunch.
(Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
We went — where else? — to the Shed at Glenwood Wednesday night, for the $3 sliders and had another great meal. I’m addicted to the barbacoa but tried a new one made with meatballs, which turned out to be another winner.
The place was packed last night. In fact, we had difficulty finding a parking space.
Speaking of parking, I headed to P’cheen Monday for its “Bone Lick BBQ” night. After 10 minutes, I gave up trying to find a parking space, so I didn’t get to pig out on the Carolina-style ‘cue. Instead, I headed to the Standard for its regular Monday night special of Indian curry. …
As I mention in this week’s Grazing column, we ate at Solstice Cafe twice recently. Today, Erick Newman, a partner in the restaurant who recently assumed management of it, made this cryptic announcement on Facebook: “Erick Newman has signed his separation agreement with Solstice Cafe and thanks all of his friends for the support they provided.”…
The Reynolds Group is this week’s winner of the Florid Writing Award in its announcement of a new pub:
Rí Rá Irish Pub, debuting in mid- July at the intersection of 12th Street and Crescent Avenue in Midtown, will epitomize a true Irish pub experience, building a comfortable neighborhood environment where conversation flows as smoothly as Guinness ebbs in the glass. Constructed from a pub meticulously restored in Ireland then shipped to Atlanta, the location is destined to be Midtown’s latest hotspot, offering an impressive line-up of live music, a comprehensive drink list and fare that defies pub standards. After all, when your name is translated as “celebration and good fun,” it would be blarney to have it any other way!…
How I dearly and futiley wish that well-intentioned PR firms would learn that they can greatly, hugely, impressively increase the chance of their oh-so-very-important news being published by sticking to the facts and leaving out the baroque, frilly, subjective adjectives.
Chef Bourdain names some of his favorite restaurants from around the world in this month’s issue of Men’s Health magazine. Eateries that make the cut include Mario Batali’s parent’s sandwich shop in Seattle and the infamous elBulli in Spain. “A table at the most expensive restaurant in the world does not guarantee a truly great meal,” writes Bourdain. His list reflects this idea — giving diners options that range from just plain delicious barbecue in Kansas City, to exquisite sushi in Tokyo in case “you’re planning on dying in the near future and want to knock off a list of final, glorious dining experiences.”
A Madison County, Ill., court approved a settlement last Wednesday under which Tyson Foods Inc. — the nation’s largest meat producer — will donate 1.7 million pounds of chicken to Illinois food banks to end a nearly eight-year lawsuit.
The legal issue arose after accusations that the company had inflated the retail weight of poultry by infusing the meat with cold water. The class action suit ran into settlement issues because the people who bought the chicken as early as 2001 no longer have proof of purchase.
Instead, in an out of court settlement, Tyson has agreed to donate the unclaimed funds in the form of chicken to be distributed by Feeding Illinois, the former Illinois Food Bank Association.
This just appeared as Riccardo Ullio’s Facebook status:
Cuerno will be closing its doors this Sunday, so for all of you that have enjoyed dining there in the past, please stop by this weekend for a farewell.
No word yet on the reason for the closing.
This post by Jennifer Leslie on 11Alive.com, qualifies as one of the most disturbing local restaurant stories I’ve ever come across — and if you’ve got a weak stomach I don’t recommend you click the link. The story’s opening:
DORAVILLE, Ga. — A local restaurant with a loyal following and rave reviews is under the microscope.
Doraville Police took pictures a few months ago of a skinned cat and raw meat stacked in the back of Ming’s BBQ on Buford Highway.
The pictures, taken on January 23, forced Ming’s to make big changes.
They showed grease traps overflowing, pigs stacked in buckets, boxes of raw meat sitting outside and pieces of raw meat hanging from a fence.
“One of the employees was taking, we don’t know what kind of meat it was, but he was tossing it over a fence, and we did get pictures of that,” said Officer Rosemary Martin.
The numerous comments at the end of the article are quite interesting, with many accusing the media of sensationalizing the story, particularly in implying that the restaurant had butchered a cat. There are quite a few posts also (understandably) alleging ethnic stereotyping. (Hat tip to our commenter, FoodieMan.)
A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives yesterday that would give the FDA much greater oversight on where food additives come from, what they go into, and who violates cleanliness standards along the way.
The legislation is a response to the salmonella outbreak due to contaminated peanuts that left nine dead earlier this year. Inspectors found that a Georgia plant for the Peanut Corporation of America had not been inspected for seven years, and that the company had not disclosed contaminants when they found them in their products.
Under the new bill, the FDA will charge every food facility $1000 to pay for the new system of checks. Private laboratories used to test products will report to the governmental agency, and manufacturers and handlers will have to identify and document contamination risks. The hope is that the FDA will be able to trace any product from source to a consumer’ stomach — the lack of such ability was one of the major issues in the recent salmonella outbreak.
(Photo by Alice Welch)
First sign of the times: Cheap food. I can’t think of a better bargain in Midtown than a meal at Eats on Ponce de Leon Avenue. Here’s half a chicken roasted with jerk seasonings, an ear of fresh corn, a bowl of lima beans and some collards — for just under $10. And it all tastes good
Second sign of the times: This warning is affixed to the door of Eats.
Third sign of the times: Ansley Mall is doomed to eventual redevelopment but the Piccadilly Cafeteria there is closing this week or next, I’m told. I wonder where the area’s church groups will go for dinner now. The parade of hats and suits in colors unknown to nature has long been a favorite Sunday spectacle there.
(Photos by Cliff Bostock)
Abattoir, the new meat-centric restaurant from Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison of Bacchanalia fame, opened last night in the White Provisions building on Howell Mill Road. The Blissful Glutton gives us a sneak peek from her opening-night meal. I’ve seen the menu and it looks awesome. Tripe stew and lamb liver fritters? Yes, please.
A few weeks ago, I reported that Top Flr had a new chef. This week, I got an e-mail from owner Jeff Myers saying the news was a tad premature (they did confirm the new chef, although they were reluctant to, seemingly for good reason). Anyhoo, here’s the scoop on the newest new chef, from Myers’ e-mail:
Originally from Philadelphia, PA. Shane Devereux discovered his passion for cooking as a child working in his family’s kitchen. The difference for Devereux was that his family was Vietnamese and this brought an element of diversity into meal time, which continues to influence Devereux’ cooking style. His culinary career began with a position of pantry cook at a local private club outside Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He then moved on to work for three of Philadelphia’s most well-respected certified French Master Chefs: Dominique Filoni, Jean Marie LaCroix and Jean Francois Taquet. Two of whom, Filoni and Taquet, where the youngest French Master Chefs in the United States.
He moved to Atlanta and found a home at Peasant Group opening a new venture in Peasant Bistro. We are so excited to have Shane on board…
The AJC’s Meredith Ford Goldman gives Nikolai’s Roof an affectionate 3 star review. I’ve never eaten at this Atlanta dinosaur, but from this piece it seems worth the visit, and for more than the kitsch factor.
On the Atlantic’s food site, Carol Ann Sayle asks whether small farms can feed the world.
In the New York Times, John T. Edge writes about the origins of and American devotion to Sriracha, the chili sauce known to many as “rooster sauce”.
She’s been talking about retiring for years, but yesterday Peach Buzz reported that Miss Ann is planning to sell.
The restaurant industry is usually one of the first casualties of a recession. Eating out’s a luxury many people forsake as soon as money gets tight. When folks do eat out, value becomes a key factor: People return to the ethnic favorites and the family restaurants they already trust.
In Atlanta, restaurants have closed down as a result of the recession (the Globe), projects have been put on hold (Buckhead Life’s signature restaurant in the St. Regis Hotel), and other restaurants are struggling to get customers in the door.
Continue reading the food feature on Atlanta dining deals.
(Photo by James Camp)
It’s hard to believe how desperate media dimwits have become to attack President Obama. Having gone nuts over his mention of arugula during the election campaign, they are now apoplectic over his ordering a hamburger without ketchup, requesting spicy mustard instead. Dijon! You know, like that fancy-schmancy Grey Poupon.
Above, Sean Hannity, a man who probably uses ketchup for a sexual lubricant, discourses on the “scandal.” But Hannity was calm compared to Laura Ingraham, who ranted about the mustard in the context of a bromance between the president and his vice-bro, Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, Salon.com’s Alex Koppelman has a brief piece on the brouhaha and refers to a fascinating read in the New Yorker by Malcolm Gladwell. It demonstrates that, given a choice, the great majority of people prefer Grey Poupon over America’s harsher yellow mustards.
UPDATE: Michelle gets into the act.
This just in from the PR folks:
On Friday, May 15, Restaurateur Joe McCarthy will open his new seasonally-inspired restaurant, called WaterHaven, within Midtown Atlanta’s Technology Square. Serving lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, with lunch service beginning on May 18, WaterHaven offers a welcoming retreat from the hustle and bustle of Atlanta’s urban activity.
Executive Chef Chris Lee’s menu features contemporary American fare that highlights local farms and purveyors. Focusing on two to three components per dish, Lee lets his local ingredients shine for sustainable and Southern-inspired meals.
WaterHaven’s décor, created by Marc Moscript, features mustard and olive green hues and a warm, cozy ambience. The restaurant offers 150 seats indoors and an additional 80 on the patio, as well as a semi-private room that seats up to 65 people and features a transparent wine wall separating it from the main dining room. A large stone water feature is the focal point of WaterHaven’s bar area, which also contains a long zinc bar for guests to gather while sipping and snacking.
