The Cheddar Has Landed

I'm a bit late with this, so pardon me, but the space-bound wedge of cheddar has been recovered. It landed in a Buckinghamshire garden. Somewhat bemused to find a piece of cheddar attached to a weather balloon and a GPS device, the owner of the garden took it to local police.

The Week in Food

Where no cheddar has gone before: some English cheesemakers are waiting to find out if 300 grams of their finest actually made it into space.

A word of advice for the violent: if you're going to attack people in a restaurant, you might want to pick one where the employees aren't used to wielding steel skewers.

It seems the mania for combining bacon with everything imaginable isn't over yet.

We're learning more and more about the environmental costs of raising animals for meat. And it's a weak retail market. So what's an aspiring businessman to do? Start selling business cards made of beef, of course.

America's Finest at Work

It's been almost eight years since a major terrorist attack on American soil, so it would be understandable if those in law enforcement and security were starting to get complacent. Not so. The men and women of TSA are as vigilant as ever, and they're willing to go the extra mile, whether it's confiscating the toys of a grieving eight-year old, taking a woman's jewelry, or detaining and interrogating a man who's doing something totally out of line like carrying money.

And you'll be happy to know the men and women in local government are following their example: the fire department in Columbus, Ohio stepped up to protect the staff of JP Morgan Chase from a timer, and two cops in DeKalb County, Georgia took the initiative to do a background check on, well, guess who?

You can't be too careful.

File Under, "Not Much Better"

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said last week that we needed the F-22 fighter*to help deal with the security threat from India. You might be aware that India is officially an ally of the United States. I certainly hope Cornyn is, since he's a co-chair of the Senate India Caucus.

Well, sly pol that he is, Cornyn had his spokesman clear things up today in an interview with the Times of India:

"Senator Cornyn misspoke, saying 'India' when he meant to say 'China.'"

China. That big country we began a summit with today.

That country that keeps lending us money.

Suddenly Joe Biden seems quite the smooth talker.

*Remember? The planes that cost $350 million each and that you can't fly when it's raining?

The Week in Food

Administrators at a kindergarten in Southampton, England have decided that when it comes to fighting truancy, they'll drop the stick in favor of the carrot--or rather, the curry.

Thanks to the Claim Jumper restaurant chain of California, finding a fly in your soup doesn't seem like that big a deal anymore.

We've got warning labels on blow dryers, irons, household cleaners, and children's toys. Guess what's next?

You thought the days of German invasions were over: but don't worry, this time instead of sending in Panzers, they're sending in supermarkets.

At some high-end confectioner's, milk chocolate will soon take on a slightly different meaning.

A new hunting season opens in Florida which begs the question, is Burmese python red meat or white meat?

Clearly....

..I shouldn't be posting "The Week in Food" so early in the week. If I had waited 'til Thursday I could added have this lovely dress made of meat to the line-up.


I would hate to be her dry cleaner.




In other news the Berlin restaurant scene has attracted the notice of the New York Times travel section. I can imagine the tourism slogans now: "Berlin--come for the museums. Stay for the asparagus ice cream."

The Week in Food

Thanks to the good people at Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, you'll be able to taste history this summer.

Every fat has its day. History shall look back on this time as the Lard Moment.

Remember those seventeenth-century still-life paintings of just-killed game, loaves of bread, or glasses of wine? Artist Abbey Ryan has, shall we say, Americanized the genre.

Professor Murali Doraiswamy of Duke University has done all us a great service: he's given us yet another reason to eat Indian food.

I guess when you really want your coffee, you really want your coffee.