food museum blog

Not About Gluttony!

The marketing minds in the Dodgers' baseball organization have come up with a lovely new way to increase ticket sales in a lousy part of the stadium, while at the same time pushing up antacid use and obesity figures among Angelenos.  Buy a ticket for a seat out in right field, and get an all-you-can-eat opportunity that begins, according to a report on MSNBC," 90 minutes before the first pitch, and lasts before the start of the seventh inning"-- the available eats are dogs, popcorn, nachos, peanuts and sodas. No beer, ice cream or candy.

"Fans are allowed four items per trip to the food counters under the stands. Soda stations offer unlimited drinks and bottled water is free."

Dodgers' COO Marty Greenspun is delighted with the right field experiment, proclaiming it a hit with fans. ( Average walk up ticket price is $40, $20 if part of a group.  A hotdog usually costs $4.75, as do sodas. )

“This is really not about gluttony,” he said. “This is really about offering a new fan amenity. It’s all up to individual choices.”

( Dodger Dog thanks to http://la.foodblogging.com/2005/05/21/dodgers-fans-divided-over-dogs-drinks-at-stadium/)

Astonishingly, TV Food Ads Aimed at Kids are Less Than Ideal

No big surprise here as we read in the Washington Post  that half the tv ads aimed at children in the US are for food, most of it in the lousy column. After analyzing 1600 hours of tv programming either specifically designed for kids, or likely to have a large child or teen viewing audience, the Kaiser Family Foundation discovered that " 34 percent marketed candy and snacks, 28 percent were for cereal, and 10 percent promoted fast foods. No commercials promoted fruit or vegetables. " ( Duh.)

In an ideal world young people would be fed well at home, never introduced to junky fast food, and tv would be an occasional diversion.

Tra la.

You can read more at the Kaiser site here.

( Cartoon from calorielab.com)

Original Wendy's Closes

A fixture in downtown Columbus, Ohio for 37 years, the first ever Wendy's Restaurant closed Friday.    An AP story byAndrew-Welsh Huggins reported that the store was a victim of a downtown location with poor parking and no life after five o'clock.  The relocation of the city science museum from across the street was the final blow.

According to AP, "Wendy's restored the restaurant in 1994 to its original fixtures, including multicolored Tiffany glass lamps, hanging plastic beads and tables with old-fashioned newspaper laminate surfaces.

The company plans to move the memorabilia to corporate headquarters in the suburb of Dublin."

Apparently, old photos, the blue striped dress sewn by her mother for founder Dave Thomas' daughter Wendy after whom he named the store, and other offbeat food historic gems, are part of the collection.

Spare the "Nutrition," Spoil the Child with Good Food

I was just listening to a woman from the Center for Science in the Public Interest speaking with Ed Schultz on his  radio show about children and obesity. Now we all recognize that this is a huge  ( sorry) problem in America, as well as in Britain and elsewhere, and much has been said and written about it. But this morning, after chat about changing what is in school vending machines, and an acknowledgment that  lunchrooms have slowly improved their offerings,  the speaker said something about "teaching nutrition" in schools.

Please, no. Turning the food thing into a nutrition lesson will kill off anyone's appetite. ( Except for those of budding biochemists, perhaps.)  Imagine the young eyes glazing over when asked to focus on good and bad fats, which vitamins do what, amino acids--huh?, and so on.  This seems to play right  into the "fear  food" syndrome that appears so bizarre to many Europeans.

Kids need to experience what good food really is--from growing their own veggies, to cooking up tasty meals full of variety, to sitting down with classmates and teachers and family and eating well. And cleaning up!

They also could take pleasure in knowing where food comes from, who raises it, and what its  history is.  ( Yes, The FOOD Museum offers proven educational programs along these lines!)

Interspersed with all that, like green peas in basmati rice, could be inserted stealth nuggets about nutrition...

( Pic from www.newmexicokids.org/.../index.htm.)

Devil Crabs Served Up With Cuban Luvvvvvv

Here's Lili, Queen of the Florida Devil Crab entrepreneurs.  We had just turned south from Ybor City and were heading down to Bradenton when we spotted her tiny white scooter-style  van by the side of Route 41 South.

"Hey, Mama, what can I get you?" A high energy huckster in the best possible sense, Lili  has the patter and jive of the pro she is. She told us she had started up and sold a handful of businesses over the years, always taking a year off before starting the next.

This time her aim is to revive the roadside vendor tradition of Ybor City, selling deep fried devil crabs, crab empanadas, meat-stuffed potatoes, ( based on her Mom Lidia's recipes,) French fries, and, in the works, a range of desserts.  Her wagon? An Indian-made white "van", brand name Bajaj, serves as vending point, kitchen and vehicle.

Oh-- did I mention that she's Cuban?

"The Cubans coming into this country, many of them, are educated professionals, " says Lili.  "But they can't get good work here the minute they arrive.  They're janitors making $6 an hour. I want to offer some of them the opportunity to become self-sufficient, owning and running a franchise selling devil crab."

Lili and her family came to Ybor City from Cuba in 1970, when she was five. Her parents had been running a grocery store.  Castro's people seized the family's stove, and their sewing machine. In the States her parents worked at the Arturo Fuente Cigar Factory, as well as at other jobs.

Right now Lili is training her cousin Maribelle,  over from Cuba just three months, and a young friend in Florida just a month.  They are intently trying to learn the customer chatter Lily has perfected--their English is raw--along with the fry technique.  Maribelle bends over the fry pot, and Nomar is set to doing prep work in Lili's brother's restaurant. The little white vending van sits out front of his place, Monday through Friday, 1-6.

When traffic starts to thin, the shy and retiring Lili roars into the restaurant and zooms back out dressed in her chicken costume, wildly waving a sign that reads, " Eat More Devil Crabs."

At $3 a pop, the plump crab croquettes are beyond good, and far better than those I praised at Columbia Restaurant. " Of course," says Lili," when I tell her that.

"These are made with lotta, lotta, lotta Cuban love. ( Three times, three times.) That's the secret."

Did I mention that Lili Peguero is Cuban?

( To buy a franchise email Lili at lilisdevilcrabs@yahoo.com)

Hold the Scallions!

With tainted green onions ( we used to call them scallions) back in the news in connection with the Taco Bell E. coli problem, it's becoming clear that oversight over veggie production, washing and packaging has been sorely lacking--it has not been considered a priority as compared to concerns with animal products, apparently.

According to today's NYTimes report,

“I think we are really at a tipping point for consumer confidence with fresh fruits and vegetables,” said Caroline Smith DeWaal, the group’s ( Center for Science in the Public Interest) director of food safety. She noted that the F.D.A.’s guidelines for safe farming practices were voluntary and that the number of inspectors had been pared by budget cuts."

Of course no grower and/or packer of fresh produce wants his/her products to cause illness among consumers. This certainly is not good for business. 

Back in 1997--has there been no updating??-- the Clinton administration announced this initiative:

The Produce Safety Initiative

Fresh fruits and vegetables are important to the health and well being of the American consumer. However, in recent years the detection of outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with both domestic and imported fresh fruits and vegetables has increased. As a result, President Clinton introduced the Produce Safety Initiative in the fall of  1997. Like the FSI, of which it is a part, the PSI addresses the entire produce food chain from grower to table.

VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE

To minimize microbial hazards in the production, packing and transport of fresh fruits and vegetables, voluntary guidance has been developed that represents generally accepted, safe science-based agricultural practices. Published in the Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards For Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, the recommendations identify critical control points where contamination is likely to happen and outlines steps that can be taken to minimize the risk of that occurring. Developed in consultation with consumers, growers packers and shippers, these recommendations are designed to be tailored to the needs of individual facilities and farms.

The Guide identifies broad microbial hazards, the scientific basis for the hazard, and good agricultural practices and good management practices that can be used to reduce the risk of microbial contamination in fresh and minimally processed produce. Five areas of concern are addressed in the Guide:

• Water quality
• Manure and municipal biosolids
• Worker health and hygiene
• Sanitation, including fields and packing facilities
• Transportation

The recommendations also establish traceback procedures so that the sources of bacteria can be identified and safeguards put in place to prevent further contamination.