snackdown! - 7.25.11

happy monday everyone! it looks like the democrats & republicans down in d.c. haven't figured out what to do about the pesky debt ceiling. luckily, nfl owners & players have been able to get it together & agreed on a deal, meaning that there will be a football season come september. the only thing that could stop it now is if our elected officials can't reach an agreement about how to fix the debt issue & the economy goes spiraling into the ground, causing financial chaos that will result in the cancellation of the nfl season. that's right, americans. john boehner and/or harry reid want to take away your football.

it's been a week of chaos in the food world as well, with protests & recalls & insect addictions & life imitating art & a vegetarian lawsuit. are we going to hell in a handbasket? probably. will it be a tasty ride? probably. oh well...let's snackdown!

• it's tough being a restaurant owner in NYC. every time you come up with a dish that's both awesome & creative, something that will make people stand up & take notice, there's somebody who wants to piss all over your fun flame. take the dudes who run do or dine, a bed-stuy restaurant that opened up back round the beginning of june. they have a foie gras donut on the menu & animal rights activists obviously hate the idea of stuffing a donut with an engorged duck liver. one girl started a petition against the donut & the owners of do or dine are all "whatever, girl. we don't care what you think." supporters on both sides of the argument have spoken up, often in harsh tones. it's like a food fight where no food gets thrown. (village voice)


• the above photo depicts a starbucks sesame noodles bistro box i purchased for lunch last monday & took a picture of for last week's snackdown! starbucks had released them the previous week, but i totally slacked & didn't even write the column. i did eat the sesame noodles box though. it's a strange & occasionally tasty mess. then this week, the bistro boxes were back in the headlines when starbucks in georgia & alabama pulled their chicken hummus & chicken chipolte wrap bistro boxes from the shelves because the chicken in them was ripe with listeria, a bacteria that's also the name of my favorite def leppard album. (huffington post)


• angelina jolie's a friggin weirdo, so it only makes sense that her kids would be sort of odd as well. in breaking snack news, last week angelina told marie claire that her sons maddox & pax are basically addicted to crickets. in fact, they like them so much that angelina had to ban them from eating them because she was worried they'd get sick from excessive cricket consumption. they apparently brought "to-go boxes" of the crispy buggers home with them & ate them constantly, "like they're doritos." um, to-go boxes of crickets? for realz? man, hollywood is fucked up. (marie claire)


• our next headline is one that i would have used last week if i hadn't slacked on writing the snackdown! luckily, outdated news organizations like time magazine have just got around to covering the story, so i figure it's ok if i cover it in this week's snackdown! the story? south park turns fifteen this year & in celebration, comedy central & frito-lay have teamed up to create a real life version of cheesy poofs, the favorite snack of south park's eric cartman. they're only available at wal-mart, so if you live in a non-wal-mart area like myself, you're not allowed to buy them. it stinks. i know. look at it this way though...while you're not able to spend your hard-earned money on what will SURELY be a vital piece of pop culture history, at least you don't have to step foot in a wal-mart. (time)


• say you're hindu & you're out celebrating india day at a restaurant in scenic edison, NJ. since you're hindu, you're vegetarian, so when you order samosas, you ask for the veggie kind. since eating meat would eff up your soul, you double check--"no meat, right?" since there are no meat samosas on the menu, you figure you're fine. then, to your shock & dismay, when the samosas come out & you bite into them, you notice that they're chock full of meat. spiritually, you're screwed. you're no longer pure. the only way to fix this is to go bathe in the ganges. you have no choice but to sue the restaurant for trips to india. to your relief & reward, a state appellate court rules in your favor. time to get your bathing suit ready! you're going to the ganges! also, you should probably take tapeworm medication just in case. i hear the ganges is dirt-y. (NJ.com)