Eating weird $#@@$*

My buddy Dave over at re/creating Tampa put up this awesome post from UK food bloggers A Very Good Taste. Called the Omnivore’s One Hundred, it's a list of 100 items they believe every omnivore ought to try. I’ve bolded the things I’ve tried and asterisked the things I would NOT consider eating. Who's got me beat?

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (does alligator count?)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (I don't know, it's a cheese I guess)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda (but I never ate it with cardoons dipped in)
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal (nah, but I've eaten some spicy vindaloos)
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. *Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin (hate it)
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (this sounds gross, but I'd give it a whirl)
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. *Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (those Asian choc-covered stick cookies, right?)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (thanks, Jim, for reminding me French Laundry counts)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake (I've eaten rattler, not "just like chicken" at all)

More bontemps, evidently

New Orleans' fabled Commander's Palace Family of Restaurants (Lally Brennan, Ti Martin and Alex Brennan-Martin) had a massive $6 million rebuilding of its flagship Commander's Palace to get it back up and running after Katrina. But recently Commander's Palace has opened another outpost in--huh???--Destin, Florida. Not that it's really that weird, just seems a little random after the branch in Vegas closed due to the Aladdin's renovation. Danny Trace is the chef overseeing this ambitious new waterfront property in the Emerald Grande at the new HarborWalk Village. It opened in July with a haute Creole menu that showcases locally sourced Southern and Floribbean ingredients.

I guess the location has more to do with the Brennans' vacation predilections. Says Ti Adelaide Martin: “Our family has vacationed on Destin’s beautiful beaches for more than 30 years – it’s where we go to play! We invite Destin locals and visitors to join us for some eating, drinking and carryin’ on!”

Don't mind if I do, Ti. (34 Harbor Blvd., Destin, FL; 850/337-8555)

Laissez les bontemps roulez

My review of Chappy's today made me cogitate a little about Louisiana restaurants. At the end of July, New Orleans’s Times-Picayune started doing something it hadn’t done since Hurricane Katrina three years ago. It started running restaurant reviews again. After the storm, the paper’s award-winning restaurant critic, Brett Anderson, retooled his job, forgoing critiquing the local restaurants to report on their rebuilding. By some people’s calculations, the Big Easy has 100 more restaurants than it did before Katrina. Even Alan Richman (who, not long after Katrina, wrote a searing rant about the mediocrity of New Orleans restaurants, a piece was was effectively debunked here by Brett Anderson) and the rest of the country's food writers seem to be enthusiastic about the culinary direction the city's moving in. Hm, maybe it's time for a road trip...

Bartenders for Obama

Last night I spent a couple of very fragrant hours at a Scotch vs. bourbon debate at the Tampa Improv (see the resulting story here). Moderator David Mays, a dead ringer for Howie Mandel minus the soul patch, began the evening with some delicious patter. Seems a survey sponsored by Beam Global (as in Jim) surveyed about 100 Washington, D.C. bartenders on whether or not they could discern differences between the drink preferences of their Democrat clients and their Republican constituencies. Here were their convictions:

The survey showed that Democrats tip more, have better pick-up lines (um, Bill Clinton), and give better toasts, while Republicans take the cake for ordering their drinks straight up.  Bartenders said both parties like to party, with Republicans edging out the Democrats as the first to arrive at happy hour, and Democrats being the last to go home (Ted Kennedy).

Here are some of the questions the survey posed, and the results:

Who is a better tipper? 
Democrats 60%
Republicans 38%

Who is more likely to order a drink straight up?
Democrats 14%
Republicans 82%

Who is more likely to order a fruity (pink) drink?
Democrats 58%
Republicans 34%

Who has the better pick-up lines?
Democrats 74%
Republicans 14%

Who is better at giving a toast?
Democrats 63%
Republicans 36%

Who is more likely to arrive first to happy hour?
Democrats 48%
Republicans 50%

Who is more likely to be the last to go home?
Democrats 53%
Republicans 46%

Fro yo in downtown Clearwater

Upon discovering a new rage of frozen yogurt that was blessing the West Coast with its tangy new flavor and active live cultures, executive board member of the Clearwater Downtown Partnership, Joy Gendusa, longed for the tangy yogurt to be in her downtown. Thus, the CDP now announces the grand opening of CaliYogurt this Tuesday (Aug. 26) at 6 p.m. It's also the first "eco-friendly" store in Downtown Clearwater, at 519 Cleveland Street.

The start of the fro-yo wars began when Pinkberry got the craze going on the West Coast; then Red Mango cropped up, then Yogurberry, Iceberry, Kiwiberri and more. Owner Phillip Park of CaliYogurt saw an opportunity on the East Coast and first opened two stores in Tampa and Orlando. Gendusa, who founded PostcardMania, learned of CaliYogurt by accident. “That accident became an addiction,” she then said. “And that addiction is now a brick and mortar reality!”

Phillip Park worked with artist and project manager, Jennifer Lindsay of Jennifer Lindsay Designs, to create the new store in Downtown Clearwater. They each shared a commitment to being as green in the build out as possible.

Now what you really wanted to hear: Free samples will be given out at the grand opening Tuesday (Aug. 26) starting at 6 p.m. There will be entertainment, games and Clearwater’s Mayor Hibbard in attendance.

Eat the clock?

A competitive-eating reality show. Do we really need this? The Food Network thinks we do. In fact, they're casting "high-energy, dynamic and competitive two-member teams...who are 25-45 and have some connection, knowledge or experience in the food industry" right now. I guess the setting is Los Angeles, with the designated eaters chewing and swallowing at high-end eateries all over town in between traffic jams.

Doesn't seem particularly au courant. Grotesque, high-end overeating seems wrong on so many levels. Also doesn't seem like a show that will have any legs among the world's foodies.

Members only

That may be one of the most satisfying post titles ever for what follows. I was surfing on the Chicago Tribune site today and came upon the video of two Trib reporters covering the Olympics. In the name of journalism, they had decided to visit the Beijing Penis, purveyor of all things, well, you know. Please watch their findings here.

In a similar story (as in, stuff I don't relish the idea of eating), Chi-Town is utterly agog at the prospect of getting its first Sonic. There are MySpace and Facebook pages devoted to just how much the Windy City is excited about pulling up to order one of those fried ice cream blasts or extra-long cheese coneys (wonder why these are suddenly on my mind?). In one of the country's greatest food cities, this seems like a travesty to me, but it's obviously a case of scarcity amping up fiendish demand. For a great story on the subject, go here.

That's the way the cookie crumbles

Mrs. Fields Famous Brands (owner of those mall cookies as well as TCBY yogurt stores) has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Turns out the cookie giant has racked up $200 million in debt. I'm sure some of this is due to skyrocketing commodity food prices, but maybe also because people are making fewer high-cal impulse buys at the mall? Perhaps this signals impending doom for those other mall juggernauts, Auntie Anne's Pretzels or, shudder, Cinnabon (one bun? 740 calories and 24 fat grams. no lie.).

New restaurant beats out Cher for speediest quick-change

This weekend I got a call from a befuddled, not quite disgruntled, reader. He told me that he'd been to Ha Long Bay, which I reviewed last Thursday. Turns out, the owners have just decided to rethink their formula of largely Vietnamese cuisine with Chinese dim sum at lunch and a smattering of Chinese dishes. Evidently, this part of St. Petersburg is glutted with decent Vietnamese fare and Ha Long Bay wasn't moving the merchandise. Thus, they have tinkered with the formula, expanding on the dim sum cart service on the weekends (more veggie dishes, more shrimp), and adding a range of traditional Chinese-American crowd pleasers. The boba shakes stay, but the bulk of the Vietnamese dishes have been jettisoned.

Thus, as per the review that appeared in the paper last Thursday, in the words of Saturday Night Live's Emily Litella, "Never mind." It's laudable to see a new restaurant making adjustments in order to meet customer needs and tastes. As a critic, I just wish it hadn't had to happen just a day or two after a positive review. Such is life. I wish them well with the new menu and look forward to Ha Long Bay redux.

Any way we slice it...

Jay Cridlin and I spent some time roaming the bay area, stopping at intervals to eat pizza. Read our thoughts here. Obviously, a few people disagreed vehemently. Here's the feedback we've been getting:

"How was the article regarding pizza researched?. Obviously, your writers had not tried Cristino’s at 1101 South Fort Harrison, Clearwater. The best!"--Lauren Hourihan

"You guys should check out Bro's Pizzeria on Fort Harrison in downtown Clearwater. Their garlic knots are amazing and they have really great pizza by the slice or by the pie. They even have a coupon on their website for free garlic knots with the purchase of a pizza."--Michelle N. Calez

"C'mon, people, get with the program! How could you  possibly have missed Johnny's Mediterranean Restaurant, at 28th St. and 30th Ave. N. in St. Pete, in both your "May we suggest..."  and your pizza review? Best pizza in town (maybe the universe), and dinners that would easily be worth three times the under-ten-bucks prices if Johnny put checkered tablecloths and nice candles on the table. (Okay, maybe the ambience needs a little more help than checkered tablecloths and a few candles, but you get the idea.) Ambience? Zero to truck-stop. Deliciosity? Incomparable. Price? You wouldn't believe you could get food this good -- or this much of it -- for so little. Think of a stromboli that looks like a football and tastes like heaven. Greek salads? Omigod! Cheese steaks? Take it from a Philadelphia native and true aficionado -- if they were in South Philly, Gino's would be history. Folks, you are doing your readers a serious disservice if you do a restaurant review and overlook Johnny's. That's all I'm saying (with apologies to Ernest Hooper)."--Robert Sterling

"I am the owner of the new Marco’s Pizza Franchise on Gandy Blvd. in Tampa.  I am wondering if anyone on the staff has had a chance to try us out?  We have grown significantly since opening the store just 4 months ago and already have store #2 under construction in Brandon.  We have an award-winning White Cheezy pizza made on our thin crust that is one of the best pies available in Tampa!  We make the dough in the store so we are very different than our competing pizza franchises."--Greg Manning

Food in my future

I’ve been hearing good things about a few casual newcomers to the area. Wow Wings (4195 34th St S., St. Petersburg, 727/864-0999) is serving good, well, you know. And over at 4900 Park Blvd. N in Pinellas Park (727/548-0700), Quick Q BBQ is serving purportedly great wood-smoked ribs, beans, collards and pulled pork. Just ten days old, Greek-Town Grille (1230 Cleveland St., Clearwater, 727/230-6850) is turning out classic Greek dishes in a gargantuan dining room with outdoor patio. The menu has lots of my faves (kataifi, pastitsio, those intensely lemony Greek potatoes), so I aim to try it as soon as they’re really up and running.

Of course, some of these I’ve heard about through readers, and I gotta say some of you people have been sending me on wild goose chases. I heard good things about the breakfasts at Hungry Bear Cafe (229 62nd Ave N., St. Petersburg, 727/329-6124), that they had a great range of Benedict options and so forth. After a morning’s investigation, they’re not so hot, the poached eggs rock hard and the hollandaise suspiciously like a mix. And then I’d heard from a number of readers about ABC Chinese Seafood Restaurant (2705 54th Ave. N., St. Petersburg, 727/522-1888), which I visited last week. Eh, I say. Whole steamed fish in ginger scallion sauce, salt and pepper tofu, etc.—the dishes were pleasant enough, but I’ve had better versions at Yummy House or China Yuan in Tampa, and it was extremely difficult to flag down servers. It's one of those Hong Kong-style seafood houses with the wall of fish tanks ("Look, Mommy, that one's cute. Let's eat him!"), but they seem to steer non-Asian customers to the safe stuff.

Big Brother is watching what you eat

On July 25, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a bill to ban trans fats. And New York City now requires calorie counts be listed on fast food restaurant menus alongside the prices. Today I read the Los Angeles City Council has just decided to prohibit new fast food restaurants from opening in the city's poorest neighborhoods.

For the first time I can remember, we're legislating about what people should or shouldn't eat. Not just a "here's what we suggest" food pyramid or recommended daily allowances. This isn't just about public education or guidance--governing bodies are starting to say, "No, you can't eat that" in cases where it's not a clear-cut instance of tainted food, carcinogens, etc. It's all because we now see obesity, and all of its related problems, as a public health "crisis."

Just ten years ago, it was impossible to imagine the illegalization of cigarettes. It's getting easier to envision by the day--it's unequivocally and irredeemably "bad," not to mention smoking-related illnesses are a burden to the taxpayer. Food is trickier, I think. To bring morality into what and how we eat is a slippery slope--not hard to play out scenarios in which Little Debbie snack cakes and Toaster Strudels become contraband substances sold from the lockers of entrepreneurial middle-schoolers.

I'm wary of the medicine-ization of food, with "good" foods sanctioned and "bad" foods illegalized, partly because nutrition science has performed staggering about-faces in the past four decades. (See my colleague Kyle Kreiger's rant on the subject here.) To put the Twinkie on death row is risky if nutritionists don't have anything as reliable as DNA testing. Now there's a different kind of Twinkie defense.

In a related story, my friend Marvin Hymanson reports that there's a vegan/raw restaurant that has just opened its doors on the corner of 170th and Gulf Blvd. in Redington Beach. It's called Leafy Greens. Looking forward to checking it out, maybe after I eat a couple Ring Dings washed down with a Yoo-hoo.

Congrats again to Rennaissance Tampa Hotel Intl. Plaza

Fabrizio Schenardi, executive chef of Pelagia Trattoria, and Jim Bartholomay, general manager of the Renaissance Tampa Hotel International Plaza, have been named the 2007’s best  from the worldwide ranks of Renaissance Hotels & Resorts. This marks the first time two winners from a single Renaissance property have been so honored during the same year. Both Schenardi and Bartholomay have been at their respective positions throughout the four years that the Renaissance Tampa Hotel and Pelagia have been open. 

 

Reading the tea leaves and seeing only murky tea

Wendy's just announced a 32 percent plunge in second quarter income. It's partly due to $10.1 million in restructuring costs (Wendy's is being acquired by Arby's parent Triarc Cos. Inc.), but still, this seems like more bad news, linked directly to higher commodity costs. On the other hand, Landry's Restaurants reported on Friday that its second quarter net income nearly doubled from a year ago ($13.9 million this year, versus $6.9 million a year ago). This gain may say more about reduction in costs than much else.

Taken together, though, it's hard to know what, if anything, this signals about the health of the economy. I do know that Chris Sherman's excellent story today about hot dog vendors (how they're popping up all over in these tricky times) must hold water. Just today I got e-mail announcing a new one: Hank's Franks is a New York-style cart stocked with Sabrett and Chicago-style Vienna beef dogs, located at the Straw Market (next to Kauffman Tires), 5638 W. Waters Ave., Tampa.

How to put together a good wine list

I saw this nice little story in the Santa Barbara Independent. I'd love to hear from some local Tampa Bay restaurateurs about their own strategies for assembling a list--comment or e-mail me offline at lreiley@sptimes.com

Skip the Sales Pitch, Mind the Menu
Thursday, August 7, 2008
By Wendy Van Horn

I just paid a visit to a newly opened restaurant in town. Clearly, a lot of thought had gone into putting the menu together and creating ambiance in the dining room. Anticipation ran high for a great experience. And then I asked for the wine list. Looking it over, I could only sigh in disappointment.

Before continuing, full disclosure: I have been involved in the wine trade for a decade. My experiences include a stint working for a large wine and spirits distributor followed by years in the retail and restaurant side of things (six of them running the wine program at Santa Barbara’s Wine Cask). In short, I have a very definite point of view when it comes to wine lists.

Sadly, this restaurant’s list exemplified an all-too-common restaurant management mistake: It was put together by a wine salesperson whose motivations will always be different from those of the restaurant owner. Said owner was happy to chat with me about the wine list and freely acknowledged that, yes, they went with the suggestions made by their sales guy.

The irony is that one could write a great list from just the wines in his catalog, but, of course, creating a great list was not the salesman’s intention. His loyalties are, appropriately, with his company and he has sales goals to meet. Instead of an interesting mix of wines chosen with the menu in mind, there is an uninspiring list of wines from predominantly large-volume producers whose primary attribute, as far as I can tell, is consistency of supply. Further, as this restaurant is located here in Santa Barbara, one might expect a good representation of regional wines but, alas, this was not the case. Neither the food nor the customers are well served by this approach.

So what makes a list good? In a word: Balance. Balance of flavors, styles, and price points.

Follow-up on a couple stories

I've gotten two letters from readers recently about my review of Grillside Central. It seems prices have been hiked drastically at the restaurant since the review appeared. Melanie Marquez wrote to say:

"As a downtown resident, I came to enjoy quick access to low-price meals at Grillside Central. The revamped restaurant had meatloaf that made my morning runs worth it and breakfasts that left me full for almost an entire lazy Sunday -- with most of my meals ringing in under $10. As at the supermarket and at the pump, things have changed, but awkwardly. Shrimp and grits jumped from $7 to $10 while the shrimp and crab omelet hopped only 50 cents to $10. The burgers went up $1 while the BLT increased by $2.50 to $7.50. All drinks are up by 25 cents, but the salads all stayed the same. Kids menu items also were left unchanged. How do restaurants go about setting prices, and now with increased costs, how do they go about deciding the higher prices?"

In general, restaurants decide on their target food cost, usually in the neighborhood of 30 percent. Then they set their prices accordingly. New restaurants, however may adopt a "loss leader" strategy and take a hit on menu items for a while to draw customers in, then slowly inch them up as they get more established. These seem like some steep increases, however.

And from Michael Chooljian of Chooljian Brothers Packing Co I got this:

"Thank you for the wonderful article you did for the sake of healthy eating. I was really impressed to see my Prize raisins in the picture. The timing could not have been better because on Friday Subway sent a letter to us canceling the sales of raisins from all the stores. Maybe this kind of publicity may pressure them not to cancel raisins."

I say, Bring back the raisins, Subway!! And I got this response from Jennifer Elker to a story I wrote last week called Think inside the lunchbox.

"Based on your whole wheat recommendation, I thought you might be interested in Arnold Double Protein Bread. This 100% whole wheat bread provides 20 grams of whole grains per slice, which, as you said, 'may significantly reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, digestive- and hormone-related cancers, as well as obesity.' But what's really interesting about Arnold Double Protein Bread is that it is the first high-protein bread on the market, providing 12 grams of protein in a single sandwich - more protein than other popular options such as one egg or 1.5 ounces of chicken. It's also heart healthy and a good source of fiber."

Wipe outs versus negative reviews

Readers write. They say, "You GOTTA try this restaurant." If I start hearing about the same place more than a couple times, or if the heads-up comes from a reader who has given me reasonable tips in the past, I check the restaurant out. Alas, sometimes the recommendation must come from the restaurateur's mom, dad or fairygodmother. Sure, they could use the business a review might bring, often because they're floundering.

The restaurant business is a meritocracy. By that I mean that, by and large, good restaurants survive and bad restaurants bite the dust. In general, if I have a miserable experience at a restaurant, I don't review it. Here are some examples: In the past year, I visited Novo in St. Petersburg, Chateau Soho in Tampa and maybe a dozen other restaurants with the intention of reviewing them. There were problems.

My decision was to give them more time to work things out...or not. In about half the cases, the restaurants have subsequently closed. It's natural selection, pure and simple.

Then why ever write a negative review? In the words of sage Thumper, If you can't say something nice... don't say nothing at all, right? Not exactly. My primary obligation is to readers, not restaurateurs. If someplace is high profile (new, splashy or whatever) and people are curious about it, it's my aim to essentially pre-screen it for readers. Most people have a finite amount of time and cash to spend navigating the wide field of untried restaurants, and I aim to point out where the landmines are buried.

That said, I try to be as specific as possible. Since I started at the Times, I've reviewed these restaurants fairly negatively: City Fish in Oldsmar; Cheap and Mangroves Grill in Tampa; Banbu, Grille 121, DeSanto (the first time) and Hammerhead's in St. Petersburg; Pan Y Vino in Dunedin; and Fishtail Willy's in Clearwater. In each case, I had plenty of positive things to say, but the negatives made them difficult to recommend. I'm not exactly sure what's going on over at Hammerhead's right now, but in all the rest of the cases the restaurants are still open (some with tweaked concepts). A bad review didn't "kill" any of these restaurants, but hopefully focused criticism helped them work out some kinks.

New dogs, new 'za

As a follow-up to the hotdog story we ran a while back, I heard about a new top dog contender: U Dirty Dog Grille (located at 9830 Little Rd, New Port Richey in the Shoppes at Golden Acres) opened June 2 for business with an extensive fast-food menu. Its claim to fame is deep-fried hot dogs known as Hot Texas Wieners, served plain, with kraut or ATW (all the way), which in this case is Guldens spicy mustard, chopped onions and a beanless chili.  UDDG also serves monster crinkle-cut french fries (not sure if size matters, but they say the average measurement is 1/2"x1/2"x6"). 

And vampires, beware: Garlic Jim's Famous Gourmet Pizza has come to Tampa, with the newest location opening recently at 12821 N Dale Mabry Highway. Garlic Jim's touts epicurean pizzas delivered in a speedy fashion. Call (813) 964-5467. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

Bennigan's follow-up

A couple bits of good news have come to my attention as the result of this story I wrote for Wednesday's Taste section.

All Florida Texas Roadhouse restaurants will exchange Bennigan’s and Steak and Ale gift cards for a free entrée certificate. There is no limit on which menu item diners can choose. One card per table.  The offer expires August 30. Texas Roadhouse will also exchange the cards through the mail by calling the guest relations department at 1-800-TEX-ROAD. The closest location locally is located at 26409 Silver Maple Pkwy., Wesley Chapel, (813) 907-8188.

And I got this e-mail: "Your online coverage for tomorrow’s print edition of the Bennigan’s story was about the best I’ve read." [alright, I just had to leave that part in] "That said, I did want to let you know that there are glimmers of hope in casual dining. T.G.I. Friday’s has recently announced a loyalty program with member recognition components that has them, well, jumping the line and getting lots of free food. They've had over 380,000 members signed to-date. That’s well over 600 members per US restaurant, a staggering figure given the program was officially launched just three weeks ago. For more information about the Give Me More Stripes program, visit here."

In addition to free food, early Give Me More Stripes benefits include:
• Personalized & customized membership card
• Free appetizer or dessert upon sign-up (up to $8 value)
• One-time use jump-the-line-pass
• $8 certificate for every $100 spent (excluding alcohol)
• Exclusive communication about specials and food/drink previews

Danger, Will Robinson

Food gets scarier all the time. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has added Mexican serranos to salmonella warning. A sample tested positive for the rare Saintpaul strain of salmonella. The FDA warns that consumers should avoid eating raw serrano or jalapeno peppers from Mexico at the current time.

Of course, there are more foods that can whup up on consumers. According to an AP story, British celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson has apologized to the readers of Healthy and Organic Living magazine for mistakenly recommending henbane instead of fat hen as a salad ingredient. The latter is a member of the spinach family whose leaves are edible, the former whose name means “killer of hens,” is a toxic plant that can cause hallucinations, drowsiness and disorientation if ingested. Oops.

Pizza time, it's a natural

In honor of our pizza roundup in today's TBT, I thought I'd share an interesting bit of pizza trivia. Tampa Bay residents are among the first to have the chance to try Pizza Hut’s new pizza made from all-natural ingredients. “The Natural” debuted this week in two test markets, Tampa/St. Pete and Dallas/Fort Worth, and will be available at Tampa Bay area Pizza Huts through August 23. 

“While customers are increasingly seeking options for more natural foods, they still love pizza,” said Brian Niccol, Pizza Hut CMO. “That’s why we’re offering the Natural.  It allows us to stay on the cutting edge of food trends while delivering on the amazing Pizza Hut taste our customers expect and demand.” 

This 'za features:

• Multi-grain crust (delivering eight grams of whole grains per slice)
• Organic sauce
• Natural Toppings   

The move to natural products doesn’t end with the pizza - it even extends to the box.  The Natural pizza will be served in boxes made from up to 75% recycled material. A medium one-topping pizza is $9.99.  The Natural Rustica pizza is $11.99.