Flash in the Pan

A weekly round-up of odd kitchen events:

• Toddler Tippling A San Francisco area Applebee's served a margarita in a sippy cup to a two-year-old - accidentally. The apple juice and margarita mix were stored in identical bottles and the manager grabbed the wrong one. Obviously he was looking for the whiskey sours. (AP)


• Pass the Pud A Delhi celebrity chef is filming a 40-part series on British cooking to air in India. It was thumbs up for bangers and mash, down for Welsh rarebit. Who says the glory of the British Empire is over? (Independent Online)


• Weiner-Weight Bout A 107-pound woman managed to eat 26 franks and buns in 12 minutes during the annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. Growing up in China, food was always scarce, so she learned to eat a lot when it was available. Just don't come between her and the plate. (AP)


• Getting the Last Honk For years the French have been force feeding geese to fatten their livers for foie gras. It now appears that those livers can transmit amyloidosis, a rare disease that affects various organs. Symptoms range from fatigue and weight loss to swelling and kidney damage. And certain death, at least for the goose. (Reuters)


• I'll Drink to That A Japanese person was just named the world's oldest living man at 111 years. He attributed his longevity to abstention from alcohol. Let's party ... kinda. (Reuters)


• Toss Up The Mexican city of Tijuana, having seen dozens of drug war killings in the last few years, has decided to pick its collective chin up with Caesar salad, invented there in 1932. A local restaurant industry association hopes to give the city "a better image." Nothing like mass salmonella outbreaks to make you forget murder. (Reuters)


• Forget the Market, Let's Get the Royalties The man believed to be the model for the face adorning Cream of Wheat boxes finally got a grave marker with his name after almost 70 years. (AP)


• With a Shot of Ranch, Please Pepsi is selling a cucumber-based soda in Japan. (AP)

Labels: Applebee's, Britain, British, Caesar, contest, Cream of Wheat, cucumber, foie gras, hot dogs, India, margarita, Nathan's, Pepsi, salad, soda, Tijuana

According to an Independent Online story:

Britons are obsessed with celebrity and addicted to junk food and ready meals, a new travel guide said on Wednesday, shedding a sometimes unflattering light on the country.

Ouch. Can't say as I've noticed that the rest of the world has shunned an obsession with celebrity, and real British food is pretty good. (For more on that, take a look at Jane Grigson's British Cookery, a hardback from the 80s that takes an authoritative English stride through regional foodstuffs, cuisines, and recipes.)

The guidebook seems to agree that there is great food in the country, but essentially says that it's not the favorite of all Britons. Oh, and let's not forget a mention of the "problem with alcohol." Is that Lonely, or Unappetizing?

Labels: Britain, guide book, junk food, Lonely Planet, U.K.

I've found an interesting collection of odd food stories from the last week:

• Will Watch for Drink Japanese will start getting free drinks from vending machines for the price of watching a 30 second commercial. (Independent Online)


• Eat It, It's Good For You Some Polish Benedictine monks are opening a chain of food stores where you can buy jams with such names as Angelic, Unfaithful, and Prayer Book. (AFP)


• Fast Food Debtor Nation A South Carolina woman went to a Burger King drive through and was charged $8,648.64 for her order, bringing new meaning to the term "super size." (WGAL)


• Eat and Elope An entire Austrian wedding party ate at a restaurant and then skipped out before paying the bill. (Independent Online)


• Food Tops British Most Hated Brands Topping the list of Britain's most hated brands, according to a recent study, are instant noodle product Pot Noodle, McDonald's, and the drink Sunny Delight. (Independent Online)

Labels: Britain, Burger King, fast food, McDonald's, monks, news, Poland, Sunny Delight, weddings, weird