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Jason Bishop will be at Wingate University to mystify you tonight at 7:30 p.m.

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CHARLOTTE TASTE OF THE NATION EVENT ATTENDANCE HELPED FEED A DELICIOUS DONATION TO SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK OF METROLINA

National Pork Board Will Coordinate Donation of 803 Pounds of Pork to
Provide 4,015 Meals to Local Families in Need

What: On April 16th, Charlotte citizens joined the city’s culinary elite for the Taste of the Nation event at Wachovia Atrium to support Share Our Strength, an organization that works to make sure that no kid in America grows up hungry. Ticket proceeds will directly benefit Charlotte’s local hunger relief organizations.

What’s more, Vande Rose Farms of Oskaloosa, Iowa made a pledge to donate one pound of pork to Second Harvest Foodbank of Metrolina for each person that attended the event.

803 people attended the night’s event, which means that 803 pounds of pork will be donated to the The Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina. That’s enough for 4,015 meals!

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To pregame for St. Patrick’s Day head over to Ed’s Tavern. Raise your glass with the rest of the drunks for a midnight Guinness toast and chow down on a corned beef and cabbage platter for $5.95. Hunters Travesty will be supplying the evening’s tunes. March 15. Ed’s Tavern, 2200 Park Road. 704-335-0033. www.edstavern.com.

Wear your green socks and drink some green beer at Bad Dog Burgers and Brew. The food is free and the drinks are cheap. While sipping on your $5 green pitcher and $3.50 Guinness Surger pint you can jam out to Drop D Acoustic and who knows … maybe get lucky too. March 17. 8933-2 J.M. Keynes Drive. 704-717-7177. www.baddogburgers.com.

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Obviously, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated mostly with a liquid diet, but if you want to do it right, corned beef and cabbage is the way to go. Though this meal is the tradition, it is actually just as American as it is Irish. Cabbage is a longtime element of the Irish diet and was typically eaten with bacon. When the Irish immigrated to the U.S. they began substituting the bacon for less expensive corned beef.

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The week of everything Irish is nearing quickly, and here are a couple of events to keep in mind as you plan out how you’ll go green.

Table Restaurant & Bar will host a St. Patrick’s Day Party with international music from DJ Jensacion and Irish beer specials on March 15. And on March 17, your pot-o-gold awaits you. Chef Gene Briggs brings you an Irish Beer Dinner. This five course meal will be paired with brewskies from Ireland. 6:30 p.m. $59/person. Table Restaurant & Bar, 14835 John J. Delaney Drive. 704-369-5170.

Tavern on the Tracks is going the traditional route with a corned beef and cabbage dinner. Drink on $2 Killians and $2 pints. March 15-17. Tavern on the Tracks, 1411 S. Tryon St. 704-372-0782.

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Just because you prefer home cooked meals doesn’t mean you have to slave away every day on gourmet dinners. Though many of us would prefer it, most just don’t have that kind of time. Home cooking still has to be simple, quick and hopefully yummy. But sometimes it all seems to get old: steak and potatoes with a salad, chicken and asparagus, pork and green beans.

How about something easy to switch up with the broccoli you eat once a week? No one ever seems to think of broccolini. It’s right there next to cauliflower and brussel sprouts — two other veggies no one ever seems to attempt to add to their meal plan. If you’re sick of all the usual suspects, broccolini is the perfect substitute.

A hybrid of the cabbage family, broccolini is a cross between broccoli and kai-lan (Chinese broccoli) and has much more character and a sweeter flavor than the traditional alternative. If preferred, the “baby broccoli,” as it is also known, can be eaten raw, but the most common cooking methods are sauteeing, steaming, roasting or stir frying — but keep it short and sweet; you dont want to over cook it. The result will be a tender, sweet taste with a “broccoli like bite.”

The next time you’re grocery shopping and thinking how sick you are of eating asparagus and carrots, pick up a bundle of the little veggie that could. It’s packed with nutrients and is just as basic to prepare as the conventional stuff.

Sources: CNN.com, Wikipedia.com, wisegeek.com

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When Johnston and Wales first came to Charlotte in 2004, those working in the service industry at the time seemed to have mixed feelings. On the one hand, there would be a wealth of young, new talent coming to the city looking to learn and work in their respective fields; on the other hand, this new talent would be well-educated, less experienced, and would perhaps work harder for less money, which is appealing to a restaurant chef or hotel manager and nerve-racking to a sous chef with no formal education.

Now that the unemployment rate has gone up and the job market has gone downhill, employers have some difficult decisions to make. When the economy is not at its best, luxuries like dining out usually go to the bottom of the to do list. Restaurants and hotels may tighten their budgets a bit and look to fill any job openings with cheaper help — meaning younger, less experienced employees. Many of the recent graduates are looking to get their foot in the door any way they can. But longtime veterans of the service industry will say book smarts will only get you so far. Maybe the new guy makes the perfect by-the-book burre blanc, but can he keep it from separating on Valentine’s weekend, feeding over 300 people a night? Sometimes shortcuts are important … and they don’t teach shortcuts in school.

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On Valentine’s Day, love and sex seem to go hand in hand with food.

We buy our lovers chocolate candies and dine on luxurious meals to get turned on for the evening. Throughout the ages, humankind has attempted to discover the arousal abilities of different foods. It is believed that certain sumptuous nibbles, such as oysters and strawberries, are powerful aphrodisiacs. Though we are told by the FDA that no foods have been proven to pump up the sexual appetite, sometimes it’s just more fun to believe otherwise.

Some of these legendary libido boosters include chilies and curry. The spicy foods raise the heart rate and make you sweat, hence the thoughts of a spicy romp in the sac. The musky scent of truffles are said to stimulate and sensitize the skin to the touch. The phallic shape of asparagus and the nipple-like qualities of strawberries and raspberries induce sexy thoughts. Oysters and mangoes will forever be known as aphrodisiacs because of the way their look and texture seem to strongly remind men of the female sweet treat.

Do these sexy cuisines really turn up the heat? Maybe not — but what’s the harm in checking?

Sources: fda.gov, wikipedia.com, gourmetsleuth.com

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As a radio host, author, relationship and psychology expert, Cooper Lawrence is always on the go. She is a regular guest and expert on CNN Headline News’s Showbiz Tonight and has been on The Today Show, The O’Reilly Factor, The Early Show and The Tyra Banks Show, among many others.

Lawrence says the inspiration for her new book, Cult of Perfection: Making Peace With Your Inner Overachiever, was a combination of her Ph.D studies on developmental psychology and her female listeners. “The idea grew from my radio show which led to my research,” Lawrence explains. “My listeners don’t realize how unique they are. They think they are just doing what must be done in everyday life; they don’t realize how extraordinary they are to be mothers and career women and good role models.”

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Creative Loafing is proud to announce that Just Can’t Get Enough, a novel by our very own Cheris Hodges has been nominated for cover of the year! The Emma Awards, the premier awards event for writers and readers of black romance, will be handed out at this year’s Romance Slam Jam in Chicago beginning April 30. Hopefully, Cheris will bring an Emma home!

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