that’s what Jonathan, Shirley, and I are in this picture, taken when we took Shirley to Co. to celebrate her last day at FN. Clearly, “Co.” stands for “cola” — what are you trying to insinuate, anyway?
UPDATE 4/8/09: Now that the actual article’s posted, there’s even more Jonathan for all your Jonathan needs!
Rupa Bhattacharya, Culinary Writer
For those interested in food and politics, here’s an interesting piece that explains why recent popular food movements, though well-intentioned, aren’t fixing our food system. And if that isn’t enough, I just learned about this documentary called Food, Inc. yesterday, which covers huge problems in our country’s food industry. I can’t wait to see it.
Shirley Fan, Nutritionist
I’m not sure if anyone saw this in the news yesterday, but the Obamas have hired Chicago chef Sam Kass to cook for them in the White House. Sam Kass is known to be an advocate for healthy and local eating and has taken up some public health issues like school lunches and obesity. It’s not a victory garden on the White House grounds, but hopefully it’ll keep Alice Waters happy.
Shirley Fan, Nutritionist
So if there is indeed a Chicago vs. New York trend, what about sweet smells in the air? Having recently visited the Windy City, best known for its deep-dish pizza and well-dressed hotdogs, I discovered that the downtown area smells less like meat and more like Hershey, Pennsylvania. Upon some cursory research, I found that the scent is from the Blommer Chocolate Factory on the west side of the city, which came under some fire for it a few years back.
Air pollution aside, New York did have the scent of maple syrup wafting through the air for a short period of time. It made me think of French toast and waffles all day long. I don’t know which one is better though. Which do you prefer: chocolate or maple syrup? Or do you know of a better-smelling city?
Shirley Fan, Nutritionist
Unfortunately, while I was out in the icy, cold tundra of Chicago earlier this month, I did not visit Dixie Kitchen, one of the president-elect’s favorite haunts. I did, however, experience some Hyde Park hospitality at Medici, where servers wear t-shirts that say “Obama Eats Here.” I bet he eats there because they have the best Arnold Palmers in town.
Shirley Fan, Nutritionist
I had been eyeing a new conveyor belt sushi spot all semester long and finally had a chance to go after class the other night. Having been fascinated with automation and mass production since childhood, I couldn’t wait to try it.
Conveyor belt sushi is exactly what it sounds like: small plates of sushi that roll along a conveyor belt in front of you. You pick whatever you want and are charged by the plate. Prices vary according to the color of the plate.
The sushi wasn’t the best I’d ever had, and, after seeing the same cucumber roll come by more than several times, I began to wonder about its age. But still, it was pretty neat. It made me wonder why we don’t have conveyor belt tapas. Good idea? Maybe not.
Shirley Fan, Nutritiontron
Last weekend, my mom and I walked through Ft. Greene Park in Brooklyn in search of “bai guo.” Translated from Chinese, “white fruit” or gingko nut is a product of the gingko tree. Surrounded by an orangey flesh that smells horrendous (I liken it to a mix between vomit and dog crap), the nuts are predominately valued by Asians for their medicinal value. You also may have heard of it through the nutritional supplement gingko biloba extract, which is purported to help with memory and concentration.
The gingko nut is surrounded by an incredibly smelly orange flesh.
I’d only had gingko nuts a few times in a Chinese dessert soup and in a vegetarian dish with hair-like seaweed. I thought the flavor was kind of bland and unremarkable. But still, hunting for the nuts seemed like a fun thing to do on a lazy Saturday afternoon. After a few minutes of stooping under the trees, my mom said she would come back in a couple of days with gloves and plastic bags to retrieve the fruit since they were too smelly to handle. A few days later she came back with a box full of the nuts. Though they’ve been washed and scrubbed of their flesh, I get a faint whiff of them every now and then, as they are sitting on the window sill drying. I’m not quite sure what she’s going to do with them, but I can’t wait to find out!
After the flesh is peeled and rinsed away, the nuts resemble pistachios.
Shirley Fan, RD, Nutritionist
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