Happy Easter

Peeps turducken. Plus: LJ McGriddle fanfic. All via mefi.

Death Watch 2

Speaking of periodicals, I was planning to stop subscribing to Art of Eating, because it's not cheap and I've been disappointed with the ever-increasing Ed-edited content, as opposed to the Ed-authored. But the latest issue, entirely Ed-free, is excellent. My only objection is to Derrick's article on Mosel reislings: if consumer ignorance of these wines "keeps the price low for those of us who do enjoy them," why change anything? For God's sake, don't alert the unwashed. Though I suppose the latter are poorly represented in the AoE demographic.

Even as my own obsessivenes about food wanes, this issue has forced me to admit that I still want to read quality writing on the subject. I just wish I didn't have to pay for it.

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Hey, the USDA has finally admitted that poultry needs only be cooked to 165F. I wonder when they'll get around to pork. Still, I shudder to think of Sysco turning down the heat on their immersion baths. I don't care what the government says, God wants you to cook the fuck out of some things, like Tyson chicken.

And brisket. Now, that is what I call country, and you would too if you drove there. [That photo's from a few years ago, as I managed not to call attention to myself with flash photography on this last trip]. I would happily keel over from coronary arrest if it were caused by eating this every day. Luckily, I'm on a more biennial schedule.

Ok, see you next month.

Death Watch

A loyal reader (who knew?) alerts me to the federal subsidy of a Quiznos sub. Now I'm no fan of compelled government speech -- which is what the Supreme Court has decided checkoffs are -- but you'll understand if I fail to muster sufficient outrage here. That would depend on the conviction that the USDA's nutritionists are any less full of shit than its agribusiness marketers. [Marion Nestle, who does believe in the science of nutrition, has been beating this drum for a long time, and last year it showed up both in the mainstream media and even in Scalia's opinion in Johanns v LMA]. I should also point out that although I have never eaten at Quiznos, the sub in question appears marginally less revolting than the Domino's Steak Fanatic Pizza the Beef Checkoff funded last year.

Not to to say that the real issue -- the obscenity of government-funded advertising for private enterprise -- isn't enraging, of course. Those of you more devoted than I to the topic will want to check out Agribusiness 19/3 (2003), special issue on the economics of commodity checkoffs. If you don't have access, I can send you pdfs.

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Saveur death watch: they're down to like 15 ad pages. At least Colman Andrews didn't write the whole issue himself, like last month. But whoever edited Regina's bizarrely truncated article clearly can't afford his meds anymore.