Gigabiting

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                 vintage cartoon via Serious Eats

The internet speaks with many voices

Restaurant criticism has become a democratic activity. This has not always been the case. Restaurant reviewing, like all forms of cultural criticism, was an elite enterprise. It was undertaken by individuals who brought disciplined tastes and cultural and contextual perspective. They adhered to an established set of ethical and journalistic standards. It was precisely because they were not one of us that we valued their opinions.

The rise of social media has changed all that. We’ve seen the flowering of millions of cacophonous voices and a forum for each of them. But do we really want to swap the lone, authoritative voice for the collective wisdom of many? Read entire article.

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Milk’s leap toward immortality.

We do like our cheese. Not as much as they do over in Europe, but here in the U.S. we are eating more cheese than ever. We are also eating better cheese, turning away from highly processed products and toward natural and artisan-made varieties. We are showing a growing interest in style and variety, seeking out regional farmstead cheeses as well as cheese produced organically and from different milk blends.

Nowhere is this trend more evident than online, where age-old traditions meet new technology. Read entire article.

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A better mousetrap

The bagel guillotine. The salad shooter. The Veg-O-Matic. Not a one came from GE Research or Westinghouse Laboratory. Each of these contributions to the culinary arts was conceived in the mind of a home cook.

A new website has come along that applies a crowdsourcing model to turn concepts into products. Quirky is not exclusively a platform for kitchen innovations, but with a strong natural affinity between cooking and tinkering, the site receives a steady stream of cooking-related submissions. Read entire article.

                image courtesy of Neuroscience Marketing
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Two menus.

One lists burgers and fries. Some people add fries to the order, some don’t.

The other menu has the same burgers, same fries, and also offers a side salad. Figure that some of the burger-only folks will order the salad. Some of the burger-with-fries will stick with fries and some will switch to a salad. Up by a few salads, down by a few fries.

Funny thing is, it doesn’t work like that. While a few salads get added to the burger orders, french fry orders actually increase– in fact three times as many diners will go for the fries when a salad is added to the menu. Read entire article.

   image courtesy of Food Mayhem

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The recession marches on.

Unemployment is still too high; consumer spending is still too low. And have you looked at the financial sector lately?

While discretionary spending on groceries and restaurants is down overall, there are some signs of life. Health, convenience, small luxuries, and qualities that can can lead to future savings; these are the features that seem worth opening wallets for.

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Up: home-brewed coffee.

We’re dusting off the Mr. Coffee or replacing it with a single-cup brewing system. Even Starbucks got in on the act launching Via Ready Brew instant coffee. When we do go out for coffee, it’s likely to be a 99¢ cup from a fast food outlet. Could $4 lattes be a thing of the past? Read entire article.

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Are you a dine-now-pay-later Life-a-holic? A first-on-the-scene Thrill Jockey angling for the hottest table in town? Or more of a Proud Provider, cooking dinners at home so you can feather the nest?

Bundle is a new social-media website for personal money management that puts you in touch with your inner spender. It’s a joint venture of Microsoft MSN, Citigroup, and the investment research folks at Morningstar that in their minds offers information and tools to help people spend more wisely, but to the rest of us it’s a chance to see how the other half really lives. And eats. Read entire article.