Hi Honey, I'm Home

AMC has created one of the best marketing campaign's I've ever seen for the new season of Mad Men. Between teaming up with Banana Republic and holding their "Be on Mad Men" competition, it's a great way to get people interested and involved.

Now they show you how to make classic cocktails, like a Tom Collins or an old-fashioned or eight versions of the martini.

When you get home from work today, loosen your tie, put on some music, make yourself a drink.

The New Fortune Cookie

On the inside of my blackberry carton:

In life there are no punishments or rewards, only consequences.*

Why are the blackberries trying to Dumbledore me? If I wanted sage advice, I wouldn't ask for it it before I had breakfast.

*Actually, what the carton said was "In life they are no punishments or rewards only consequences." Why doesn't the world realize it needs me to edit things?

Modest Mango

Funniest juice box ever!

We'd Better Split!

I love the banana faces!

I Wish I Were an Oscar Mayer Wiener--With Insurance

Maybe too much processed meat makes your reaction time slower. Because the Oscar Mayer Winermobile crashed into a home on Friday.

"Police said the driver was trying to turn the Wienermobile around in the driveway and thought she was moving in reverse. But she instead went forward and hit the home. It sat in the driveway as if it were stuck in the garage Friday afternoon."

I'm not exactly sure why the Wienermobile was in someone's driveway in the first place. Aren't these things generally used for promotional events? But I am so glad this happened, if only for the picture.

Snack Time

Forget that lame G-Force thing. This is what I want to watch guinea pigs doing.






Munch, munch, munch.

(Thanks, Joe!)

I'm Not Addicted, I Swear

I want a poster of this to hang above my desk.

Fugly Fruit

Everything's a beauty pageant, even in the world of fruits and veggies. Apparently there were major rules against 'ugly' produce in the EU--even if they tasted the same. But now these laws are coming down. Will people buy less than attractive food? Would you?






I mean, if it tastes the same, why not? And you're probably going to cut it up anyway. So make some Wonky Veggie Soup today!

Not Making Candy

From the good people at How It Should Have Ended comes everyone's favorite scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.





It makes so much sense now!

(And it's still better than the new version.)

Kind of Makes You Want to Order Right Now

Pizza Hut is trying to update its image. Now it's going by "The Hut" (like that sounds a lot better) and has a new design for its box. On the inside lip of the box is a new slogan: "Now You're Eating."

Seriously, guys? Did you want to make your pizza sound as average and unappealing as could be? Okay, I get the idea--Pizza Hut lets you fully appreciate the joy of eating. But "Now You're Eating" just makes me think of other options they could have considered:

• "You Will Probably Digest This."
• "We Guess It's Food!"
• "Good Thing You're Hungry."
  
• "No Refunds."
  
  

Mmm...tasty! Post your own ideas in the comments.

Power to the Bunnies!

When Che Guevara woke up in the morning, I bet he prayed that his grandchildren would have the opportunity to live in a better world. A world of the people. A world of the people who loved the animals. Granddaugther Lydia Guevara is sure making him proud. She's one of the new PETA poster-girls, posing semi-nude with the catchphrase, urging viewers to "join the vegetarian revolution." It will launch in South America.

My favorite part:

"In the ad, Lydia Guevara wears camouflage pants, a red beret, and bandoliers of baby carrots while standing with one fist on her hip and the other outstretched."

Baby carrots are better than bullets!

At first, I really want to be snarky about this. But given the choice between Castro and carrots, I will go with carrots every time.

Replace Plums!

Passive aggressive notes meets poetry.

Meat the Competition

You'd think a chain like KFC would be all about chicken. That's what they sell, right? They're not like McDonalds, which sells burgers and chicken sandwiches and fish fillets. They're the chicken people, right?

Except when their grilled chicken is flavored with beef.

A KFC spokesman said that "small amounts of beef flavors are commonly used in seasonings for many food products, for both restaurant and retail use," and that the beefy flavors "account for only 0.2% of the total seasoning."

Still...beef? Really, KFC? I don't think I've ever used beef flavorings in chicken, and my chicken still tastes way better than your stuff. Maybe, instead of bringing in other flavors, you should try using chicken that doesn't taste like rubber. Just a thought.

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy

For a huge sushi fan like I am, this article makes me feel a little guilty/stupid, but also hopeful. Apparently American sushi restaurants aren't exactly authentic. I know, surprise, surprise, but still, it makes me feel a little sad to know that the thing I love isn't all that great. But the good news is that American chefs are looking to bring sushi back to its roots.

"Instead of teaching us about the full range of sushi fish and shellfish, as well as the varied tastes and textures of the cuisine, most sushi chefs in the U.S. have neglected the Japanese style of eating and force-fed us simplistic menus that feature the least environmentally friendly—and least healthful—items: at the high end, bluefin tuna; at the low end, fatty belly cuts from lesser tuna; along with fatty industrial salmon, and factory-farmed shrimp and eel saturated in sugar. Until the latter half of the 20th century, none of these was considered suitable fare by connoisseurs of traditional sushi; none adheres to the Japanese practice of highlighting local, seasonal ingredients.

So imagine my delight when I walked into a sushi bar one evening and found not only a welcoming neighborhood atmosphere, but a chef who explained that he doesn’t serve bluefin tuna, because he doesn’t want it to go extinct."

Since over-fishing is such a problem, this practice of highlighting the local and seasonal is a really good thing. Also, it sounds like these more traditional sushi restaurants encourage discussion with the chef and other diners, so you can get to know a little more about the cuisine and maybe find new favorites.

Also cool--these chefs aren't just Japanese or Japanese. A lot of them are normal American chefs who want to encourage these traditional Japanese dining techniques. Hopefully this signals a trend.

This doesn't mean I'll be giving up on sushi in the meantime. (In fact, just writing this has made me hungry.) But I'm definitely looking forward to the reinvention of the sushi business.

Kale to the Chief

Is Washington DC going to see a restaurant renaissance because of the Obamas? It certainly looks like it. Five Guys got a boost when President Obama stopped by for some of their delicious burgers and fries, and when Michelle admitted that she snuck out to Five Guys as well. I think this made the lines at Five Guys even longer.

And it seems like anywhere the Obamas go get attention. A trip to Blue Hill, a New York restaurant that uses locally-grown food, brought attention to the organic/local food movement. Add that to Michelle Obama's White House vegetable garden, and local food is suddenly getting a lot more attention.

It's like how, when the Kennedys were in the White House, Women's Wear Daily could have been What Jackie Wears Daily. Now the Obamas are covering both fashion and food. I think that's a pretty cool move. Obviously there's a sense of the celebrity about it, but I hope this will give people the opportunity to try different restaurants/foods and even learn about cooking themselves. (White House recipes, anyone?) And I'm sure DC restaurants would love to get the publicity that an Obama visit would bring.

For more on what the Obamas are eating, check out Obama Foodorama, a presidential food blog.

Tastes Like Democracy

When I first tried Five Guys, I knew it was love. It's fast food the way fast food should be done. The delicious burgers (with fun toppings) with bag full of perfect fries, the fact that they had vinegar available alongside the ketchup (don't even try to argue with me about vinegar)--they won me over at fire bite. And apparently they won over the Obamas, too!

Obama chose a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, jalapeno peppers, and mustard. I think Five Guys should see if this is Obama's usual burger and, if so, call it the Presidential Guy Burger.

And it's something he and Michelle can share:

"First lady Michelle Obama recently said she snuck out to a Five Guys restaurant without anyone noticing."

Avoiding the paparazzi and getting burgers. Smart lady!

Obamas, any time you want to go out for a burger and fries, just holler. It's on me.

Ham It Up

Forget what Cosmo tells you. Guys don't care if you have blue mascara or bronzer. It doesn't even matter if your lipstick is straight, as long as it tastes like bacon. Bacon leads to thoughts of love. Red lips are nice and all, but bacon lips are what get a girl kissed!

That's why pigs are so kissable.

And the Bacon Explosion. Kiss kiss!

I Can't Lose Control

In a way, this kind of explains how Edward feels about Bella.






"You brought a snack!"

He's Some Terrific, Radiant, Humble, Thingamajig of a Pig

With all this coverage about the swine flu, I think someone's out to destroy the meat industry. Good thing we have Chomposaurus to set things straight:

"What I’m trying to say is: Bacon is still ok! Eat all the pork sausage you want...In the rare case of swine->man transmission, the swine would need to be alive, and you’d probably need to be bathing in its blood, Carrie-style. But even then, the chances of Carrie getting the flu are very low; she’d have to be bathing in the blood every day, or be a child with bad immune defenses who spent a creepy amount of time in the pig booth at the county fair. Don’t listen to me, listen to the CDC!"

Phew! So put that bacon log back in the oven, kids, and enjoy your meat as you watch more media coverage of the medical emergency.

Cheers!

I don't tend to write about my own experiences, but I thought this deserved a nod.



Sunday was kind of sucktastic for me. When I went to Starbucks for an iced tea, the girl at the register took down my name. I usually say "Anne" and then wait to see if they spell it correctly. (Sorry, Anns.) Most of the time they just write "Ann" but when they get it right, it's a total win. But this Starbucks Barista went above and beyond--she spelled my name right and drew a little flower next to it! When I got my drink, it made me so happy!

So thank you, Starbucks girl, for brigthening my spirits on a stressy day.