Think you’re eating 100% beef, well that cow you’re eating was raised on corn feed, so if you’re looking to avoid corn, it’s going to find it’s way back in your body one way or another.  Scary huh?

The documenters even go as far as making high fructose corn syrup in their own kitchen, and the ingredients that go into making it has convinced me not to touch that stuff ever again!

This is a must watch for everybody.  It’s highly entertaining and extremely interesting to watch.  What I learned is that corn farming is not a lucrative business, in fact, farmers loose money farming corn.  It’s the government subsidies that keep the industry going because the crop has become so ingrained into our society.

Head over to the website to purchase a copy on DVD or you can watch it online via Netflix.

~ Kin

Last night, I left Pure Food and Wine mildly satiated and was in search of a filling desert joint.  I was craving cake to be more exact.  Plugging in the word “dessert” into the Yelp search bar, Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar popped up and it was just two blocks away.  Seeing that Angela and I had never been there, there was no better time to go and get a sugar fix.

Upon entering, the senses are filled with scents of butter and sugar, it’s exactly how a bakery should smell.  There are no stools to sit at, just long wooden tables.  The place looks to be designed for quick eating, get in and get out.  The place offers soft serve, milks, shakes, cookies, cakes, pies, breads, pork buns, and even spreads such as kimchi butter, miso butter, and burnt honey.  Looking at the paper menu, the Crack Pie and Pistachio Cake looked to be the winners, but then after a quick glance at the chalkboard menu hanging above the counter and cake display case, we saw the words Dulce de Leche.  Well, so much for the Pistachio cake.

The Delicious Crack Pie – I didn’t want it to end.

The slice of Crack Pie was small, but don’t let the size fool you.  It’s a concentrated slab of sugary and buttery goodness.  Appropriately named, the sweetness alone will drive you into a sugar rush, and the smooth, gooey and buttery filling just tops everything off.  You’ll probably want more after the one slice.  I’m disappointed that I just discovered this place.  I’m moving to Chicago soon and I’m going to miss New York City even more now.

Dulce de Leche

The Dulce de Leche cake isn’t as memorable as the Crack Pie but it’s still good.  It’s nowhere as sweet as the Crack Pie, but it’s just right.  I’ve had better Dulce de Leche cakes at other places, but Momofuku’s version still holds up rather venerably.  What threw me off were the milk crumbs in the filling.  They are these milky and hard clusters that worked against the soft and moist texture of the cake.  Imagine driving down a newly paved road and then running over a pothole.  It’s not a good transition.  I like it when the cake slowly dissolves and melts in the mouth, and having to bite down on something that’s rock hard just takes away from the cake eating experience.

Literally 5 minutes later…

While the Crack Pie and Dulce de Leche might have given me the quickest sugar rush in a long time, it’s good to be cake whore from time to time.  Recommended, especially for those with a sweet tooth.

Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar
207 2nd Ave
(between 12th St & 13th St)
New York, NY 10003

Food: 4 out of 5

Service: 3 out of 5

Ambiance: 3 out of 5

Out of the four dishes ordered, 2 were pretty good, one was just ok, and one managed to get an “interesting” from the both of us.

The appetizers (first course) started out strong, so we were looking forward to the main course (second course).  Unfortunately, the appetizers out-shined the main dishes, which were rather disappointing.  I have to admit though, it was my first time eating many of the ingredients so I did not know what to expect.  Going in with an inexperienced vegan palette might have put me at a disadvantage as an food reviewer, but it allowed me to be as objective as possible.  Dessert is classified as a third course, but we didn’t order any.

King Oyster Mushroom Scallops – This dish was well done.  The texture of the mushroom went really well with the chive crème fraiche.  The tomato broth was a bit light on the flavor and the flavor the black caviar was masked by the crème fraiche.  The wilted watercress was cooked with black garlic, but I couldn’t taste the black garlic.

Green Papaya Salad – Crunchy, spicy, and tangy.  This was my favorite dish of the night.

Beet Ravioli – While it might not look like ravioli in the traditional sense, it’s basically a soft cheese sandwiched between two thin slices of pickled beets.  The flavor of the cheese reminded me of the crème fraiche.

Enchiladas – The term enchilada is loosely used for this dish.  The different layers of flavor hits the tongue at all angles.  First comes the hints of Mexican spices, then the flavor of cinnamon and the pumpkin seeds takes over.  It’s a bit of Mexico, and a bit of Autumn.  The flavors seemed to clash a bit.  As Angela put it, this dish would be better used as a spread than an entree.  The texture is soft with the occasional soft crunch of pumpkin seeds.  Interesting.

Final Thoughts

This type of food isn’t for everybody, but I suggest you go and try it out for yourself.  Don’t forget, this is a vegan restaurant.  If you’re a full-time carnivore, I don’t think anything on the menu is going to give you the satisfaction that you’re looking for.  It’s going to be hit or miss when it comes to the food, and your palette will either be in for a treat or a shock.  The place has the atmosphere of fine dining and the food isn’t cheap.  There’s nothing special about the ambiance.  Dimmed lights, small votive candle…been there, done that.  Going in too hungry might result in searching for a heavier meal someplace else afterwards.  I left barely satiated and my stomach still had vacancies for more.  Reservations are recommended.   Three out of the four items we ordered were not on the online menu, so choose your dishes when you get to the restaurant.  Recommended for vegans, vegetarians, and those who can keep an open mind.

Pure Food and Wine
54 Irving Place
New York, NY

Food: 3.5 out of 5

Service: 4 out of 5

Ambiance: 3.5 out of 5

Man, I didn’t see this coming at all.  Former Winter Olympics gold medalist, Brian Boitano will be showing off his culinary skills on his new show, ‘What Would Brian Boitano Make?’ The name of the show is a play off the South Park song, ‘What Would Brian Boitano Do?’  As it turns out, Boitano is uber passionate about food and he impressed the Food Network executives.  His new show will be joining the Sunday afternoon Food Network line up starting this Sunday, August 23 at 1pm/12c.  A television chef who has his own South Park Song?  Win.

Full story

On the next episode of Bizarre Foods, Andrew embarks on the 48-hour Survivor Special episode.  Ah yes, will Andrew be listed amongst the elite survivalists such as Man vs Wild’s Bear Grylls and Survivorman’s Les Stroud?  I don’t think so, but it’ll be interesting to watch.  He’ll be stranded for 2 days in a Mexican jungle, fending for himself.  Of course, he’ll be trained beforehand in starting a fire, building a shelter, foraging for foods, and amongst other things before he goes out on his own.  Is it me, or does 48 hours seem too short?  He can definitely survive on his belly fat for at least a week without food.

Catch the new episode on Tuesday, June 16 at 10 E/P on the Travel Channel

ABC is teaming with British chef Jamie Oliver and Ryan Seacrest for a new series that gives healthy makeovers to an entire city.

Oliver will travel to the unhealthiest places in America and find ways to use nearby resources to improve local eating habits. The network has ordered six hours of the project from Ryan Seacrest Productions.

The series is loosely inspired on Oliver’s acclaimed school lunch project in the U.K., where the chef set about to improve kids’ nutrition. His effort to improve one school’s offerings, documented in the 2005 series “Jamie’s School Dinners,” shamed educators into passing new measures to ban certain junk foods.

Seacrest said he talked about school lunches during a segment on his KISS-FM morning radio show in Los Angeles and was struck by the amount of listener response. Then he heard Oliver was looking to bring his public service campaign stateside. The resulting ABC show will not only tackle a city’s schools, but workplaces and other avenues for change.

“I couldn’t do what I do in terms of my schedule if I didn’t eat right and exercise right,” Seacrest said. “As a kid I was chubby, and I’m a firm believer that the fuel we put into our body results in a healthy lifestyle. Jamie’s going to come over here, roll up his sleeves and use the resources of each town to help condition living habits to make it a better and healthier place.”

Oliver previously appeared as a judge on ABC’s successful one-off series “Oprah’s Big Give,” where his personality impressed the network. Though health and fitness reality genre (dominated by NBC’s “The Biggest Loser”) has proved a tough nut for networks to crack, ABC’s co-head of alternative series Vicki Dummer points out that Oliver benefits from having successful experience doing this sort of program in the UK.

“Jamie has been through this mission before,” she said. “He will be an advocate for change, but not act like, ‘I’m from Britain and you Americans are fat.’ I think he’s really equipped to make a change and knock on the right doors.”

The target city hasn’t yet been named, but it’s expected to be a place that has been cited on “fattest cities” lists. ABC expects to air the as-yet-untitled show sometime next year.

He was then replaced by Iron Chef Michael Symon,  but the new host seemed to be unable to fill Irvine’s shoes.  Not feeling the excitement of the show with the new host, I stopped watching.

Well, the Food Network has rehired Robert Irvine as the host of Dinner Impossible for six episodes.  I also just read that Symon’s stint on the show was only temporarily and that Food Network had planned to bring Irvine back all along.

Check out Dinner Impossible on Wednesdays at 10pm/9C on the Food Network.

If you have nothing to do today, or have nothing to watch on television, head over to the Travel Channel and join in on the Bizarre Foods marathon.  Also, Andrew visits Tanzania in this week’s upcoming episode.  Catch the new season on Tuesday at 10E/P.

Bizarre Foods

By Richard Leong

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) – Since winning a television cooking competition three years ago chef Guy Fieri has forged a career both in and out of the kitchen.

The 41-year-old chef has hosted several TV series including “Guy’s Big Bite,” and when he is not in front of the cameras he tends to his five restaurants in California, including his Tex-Wasabi’s “Rock-N-Roll Sushi-BBQ” eateries where guests can eat sashimi and chipotle pork tacos in the same meal.

He spoke to Reuters about his passion for food, eating out and the perils of being a celebrity chef.

Q: How would you describe your cooking?
A: “I’m a pretty spicy guy. I like forward, bold flavors. I don’t care if it’s a $5 dollar burger from a truck.”

Q: Why do you have such a passionate fan base?
A: “I’m not pretentious. What you see is what you get. People feel really comfortable to come up everywhere to talk to me about everything.”

Q: What is one of the stranger incidents that happened to you with a fan?
A: “A guy asked me to sign his arm. The dude showed up the next day with tattoos.”

Q: You are on the road a lot. What do you order when you eat out?
A: “My rule is that no one can order the same thing when I go out with my friends. There’s nothing I don’t eat usually. I’m a guy who can eat sushi, barbecue, Italian, Mexican and Greek all in the same meal all at the same time.”

Q: What do you cook for yourself?
A: “I have a tendency to go into excess when I cook. I like to cook 10 things. I like to get three cutting boards and four knives out and pull as much out of refrigerator as I can. I love stir-fries. I love Italian and French. I love making things hot and fast in a saute pan with fresh ingredients.”

Celebrated chef and restaurateur Marco Pierre White (UK’s “Hell’s Kitchen”) serves up a new original cooking competition series “The Chopping Block,” in which the British Michelin star chef offers neophyte hopeful chefs/restaurateurs a chance to compete in America’s greatest restaurant challenge. “The Chopping Block” will expose the unseen pitfalls and behind-the-scenes madness that goes into opening a restaurant — with a grand prize of $250,000. The controversial and unpredictable White represents the contestants’ best chance to make their dreams come true, as he is one of the world’s most notable chefs and restaurateurs and they will all be under his critical eye.

The heat is on when White ushers the contestants — split into two teams of four couples each — to two empty restaurant spaces, side-by-side, in the middle of Manhattan. There, they are given less than a week to accomplish a multitude of tasks, including a design and makeover of each space, planning a menu, and generating buzz-worthy publicity to ensure a crowd on opening night. Both establishments will open at the same time and will be competing for the same customers — against 26,000 other restaurants in the world’s busiest (and hungriest) city.

In each episode, noted food critics will be assigned to observe the chaos that inevitably unfolds on opening night and after the dust has settled, White will return with the reviews. The worst-performing team will have to plead their case — because one couple will be asked to remove their aprons as they are sent home.

Series premiere on Wednesday, March 7 on NBC at 8PM Eastern