Celebrate the Windows 7 launch with a 5 inch tall Whopper

by Scott Carmichael on

Today is “Windows 7 day” – the first day the new Microsoft operating system is available to the general public.

In the US, the launch involved electronics stores opening at midnight so they can sell the new software to eager geeks.

In Japan, they do things a little different. Japanese Burger King restaurants are selling the “Windows 7 Whopper”, which is a regular Whopper, stacked with 7 patties.

The first 30 customers to order one, will get it for ¥777 (or $8.55). After that, it’ll cost just over $17. The price seems a tad insane, but not as insane as the tummy ache you’ll end up with if you manage to pound down one of these monster burgers.

As much as I’m loving Windows 7 (and it really is very, very good), I’m not sure I see myself celebrating its launch through masses of meat.

Iron Chef Morimoto working on skewered airport food

by Scott Carmichael on

Celebrity chef Masaharu Morimoto has partnered with a restaurant operator to bring a new Asian inspired food concept to US airports.

The concept is called Skewers, and it will feature a variety of meat and vegetables on…skewers, of course.

The meals will be served with rice bowls, and the idea is that this dish is highly portable and easy to bring on board your flight.

The skewered dishes are called Yakitori, and prices will range between $4.50 and $16.95. Morimoto predicts that Yakitori will be the next big wave, and fully expects it to be very popular.

Personally, I welcome any new food to the airport – we’ve had to deal with bad pizza and stale sandwiches for too long, though I do worry that this new food may be a tad aromatic. I really hate it when people bring strong smelling food on the plane (unless they bring enough for everyone). I also hope the TSA has no objection to wooden skewers. As of right now, no locations or dates have been announced for these new restaurants.
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Ten places to eat in Seattle

by Katie Hammel on

I lived in Seattle for two years, and I’d venture a guess that if the 16,000 or so hours I spent there were broken down, a good 10,000 of them would have been spent eating my way around the city. Based on my highly scientific research (aka, trying nearly every restaurant in town), here are my picks for the top places in Seattle every food-loving tourist should try.

Piroshky Piroshky
Had a little much to drink the night before? Hightail it straight to Pike Place Market and follow the sweet smell of dough to Piroshky Piroshky. This little storefront was my savior on many a hungover morning. There’s often a line but it moves fast, so make your selections before you get to the front. Go for my usual – the chewy, doughy, cheese and green onion – or try a traditional onion and potato or smoked salmon and cream cheese. Most piroshkies are under $5 and will keep you full for several hours.

Cafe Campagne
The closest thing you’ll find to Paris in Seattle,Cafe Campagne is the place to go when you want a decadent meal. Little sister to Campagne Restaurant, it’s a bit more casual and less expensive, while still offering plenty of French ambiance.The food is here rich – think poached eggs with pearl onions and bacon in a red wine foie gras sauce or Burgundy snails in parsley, garlic, and shallot butter – but the prices are not. Lunch and brunch plates average $15 each with dinner entrees not much more. Happy hour bites are all under $5.

La Buona Tavola
Another Pike Place favorite, La Buona Tavola is part Italian deli, part gourmet grocer. They specialize in all things Italian, including pasta, sauces, olive oils and small vineyard wines. The main draw though, are the truffle goods. You can buy jars of white or black truffle cream, truffle oil, truffle salt, truffle-infused sauces, and even (very expensive) whole truffles when available. Sit down for a $5 wine tasting, and order a truffle, prosciutto and cheese panini, or just sample liberally from the jars out for tastings.

Tom Douglas’ Lola
Actually any Tom Douglas joint will do (the city’s celebrity chef owns four restaurants, a pizza parlor and a bakery), but Lola gets my vote for the smooth, garlicky skordalia spread with pita dip for $3.50, and the tender chicken or lamb skewers ($6 at happy hour, along with $3 Greek beers). I preferred to come snack on small plates, but even if you settle in for a full dinner, you can still enjoy a wide variety of Mediterranean-influenced food on a small budget. Small plates range from $8-12, entrees are $22-28. Lola also serves breakfast, brunch, lunch, and a late-night menu. Be sure to try the cinnamon and sugar dusted made-to-order donuts for dessert.

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese
Beecher’s is Seattle’s best known cheese shop, and with good reason. Their Flagship Cheddar regularly wins awards from groups like the American Cheese Society and Wine Spectator. They sell wedges of their delicious cheese, and offer cheesy meals like grilled cheese (with tomato soup, natch) and macaroni and cheese. While you wait, watch fresh cheese being made in the production room or nibble on some fresh cheese curds.

Salumi
Some things, like the sandwiches at Salumi, are worth waiting for. Owned by Mario Batali’s father, Armandino Batali, Salumi is a cured meat emporium and sandwich shop. There’s always a line, there are few seats inside (so plan on taking your grub to go) and they often run out of ingredients so you’ll need to plan on a back-up choice. But once you bite into a hearty muffuletta or fig, goat cheese and salami sandwich, all will be forgiven. Come just before they open or wait for the afternoon lull for your best chance at a short wait. Sandwiches are around $9 each.

Farestart
Farestart isn’t your typical restaurant. The menu is always changing and the food isn’t exactly consistent, but that’s because the people preparing and serving it aren’t your typical restaurant workers with years, or even months of experience preparing familiar dishes. The servers and kitchen staff are “homeless and disadvantaged individuals” learning a new skill – one that will hopefully get them back on their feet and on a path to self-sufficiency. The restaurant is open for lunch Monday through Friday and only serves dinner on Thursday nights, when a guest chef from a local restaurant takes control of the kitchen. The three-course dinner is $24.95 and 100% of the proceeds go back into the program to help educate other students.

Elemental @Gasworks
The sign on the door at Elemental says “There are 1500 ‘normal’ restaurants in Seattle. This is not one of them.” And it’s true. Dining at Elemental requires a bit of effort. The restaurant doesn’t take reservations and has only five tables. Dinner service begins at 6pm, but if you want to snag a table, come for cocktails at 5pm to be the first in line (conversely, come around 10pm and you might get a table; the kitchen stays open until midnight). The tasting menu changes weekly but offers multiple courses of seasonally-based dishes each paired with wine. The price is usually around $75-$80 per person so it’s a little more expensive, but well worth it for the experience that the husband (server and sommelier) and wife (chef) team provide. If you can’t get in at Elemental, or if you aren’t up for a 3-4 hour culinary tour, check out Elemental Next Door, where you can get half bottles of wine for $15 and appetizers like artichoke dip.

Pike Place Chowder
Tucked away in Pike Place Market (just look for the long line and you’ll find it), Pike Place Chowder is one of the few places local Seattleites on their lunch break will actually wait for food – especially on a cold, rainy, winter’s day. The clam chowder here has won numerous awards on both coasts. In addition to New England and Manhattan clam chowders, they also serve a smoked salmon chowder, seafood bisque, and (my favorite) the Dungeness crab roll – a huge baguette piled high while heaping scoops of Dungeness crab. It’s $12 but easily feeds two when paired with a $6 bowl of soup.

McMenamins
I’m probably biased when it comes to McMenamins. My husband was a manager at this location (one of dozens of pubs in the Pacific Northwest chain that also includes hotels located in renovated historic buildings) and I spent many an evening at the bar, sipping one of the brewed-onsite beers like Hammerhead and Terminator Stout. It’s where I began to comprehend that there was a whole world of beer outside of Bud Light. Before that, my idea of a “craft beer” was Blue Moon. The food is your average pub grub: burgers, tater tots, salads. But the beer – oh the beer – is fantastic. Pints are discounted during happy hour (3pm – 6pm daily) and the staff is always willing to give you a sample or two to help you decide on your beer.

These ten restaurants are by no means the definitive list of great places to eat in Seattle. For a fancy meal overlooking Puget Sound, try the Waterfront at Pier 70 (yes, the same one those crazy Real World kids lived on); for New-American fusion, head to Restaurant Zoe (which was recently named one of the best in the country by Open Table); looking for romantic Italian, Il Bistro fits the bill; for a hearty breakfast, order a crumpet topped with egg and pesto at The Crumpet Shop . . . I could go on and on. The bottom line is: Seattle is a foodie town, so if you’re coming for a visit, come hungry.

Hotdogs: the Montreal and New York taste test

by Tom Johansmeyer on

It was fun to bring Montreal food insider Katerine Rollet into the world of hotdogs. Her refined palate is more accustomed to the culinary masterpieces she unearths in her home town, and she has the impeccable judgment that a food-illiterate like me can only admire. But, for a moment in New York and a moment farther north, she decided to come down to my level and explore the world of hotdogs.

Katerine and I formulated a fun plan. When she was in New York last month, we met for a hotdog at Chelsea Papaya, on West 23rd Street and Seventh Ave. This is one of many hotdog-and-papaya joints in the city, and I chose it because of the contrast with the surrounding neighborhood. Who would think to grab a dog in one of the trendiest parts of Manhattan? The restaurants in Chelsea are beyond impressive, which made a great backdrop for our experiment. Two days later, in Montreal’s Plateau neighborhood (a French Canadian cousin to Chelsea), we’d meet again for a local dog – this time at Mont-Royal Hot Dog. In the end, we’d compare notes on our respective blogs.

The major difference between New York and Montreal – or, specifically, their hotdoggeries – is style. In Manhattan, the dogs are grilled, and the roll may be warmed on the grill briefly before preparation, but the dog itself is the main event. Montreal boils its hotdogs, but what it does with everything else is most impressive. This is something I’ve noticed elsewhere outside the United States, especially in Scandinavia – the dogs are passable, but the surroundings are winners.

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The fare at Chelsea Papaya snapped when bitten. It was crisp, with a burst of distinct grilled hotdog flavor unleashed on your taste buds from the instant consumption begins. While some prefer onions or slaw on their dogs, I tend to go with just a little ketchup and mustard at Chelsea Papaya – to enhance the hotdog without concealing its flavor.

Mont-Royal’s dogs were at a slight disadvantage, being steamed instead of grilled. Steamed dogs do come across a tad on the bland side, making the ketchup and mustard more important to the experience. Yet, if you adopt the local style for “dressing” a hotdog, the entire experience changes.

Yes, “dressing.”

Order a hotdog “all dressed,” and you’ll receive it with coleslaw, chopped onion and mustard, with the fresh slaw providing the feeling of crispness missing in plain boiled hotdogs. A complexity of flavor results that uses the hotdog as the canvas rather than the masterpiece. The other aspect of the Montreal hotdog that shouldn’t be missed is the toasted roll. Again, you get the crispy feel, but the warmth is also important. There’s nothing worse than cold soggy bread (which happens, sometimes, with hotdog rolls) – this will never happen when you order your hotdog “toasted.”

The dog shops in Manhattan would be wise to offer a toasted roll, though it’s probably impossible to do so, given the number of people places like Chelsea Papaya serve every day.

As we navigated the hotdog world, I have to admit that I let Katerine go down a road that couldn’t end well. While at Chelsea Papaya, she decided to mix in her mouth a bite of hotdog and a sip of the papaya drink for which these establishments are known. Sometimes two good things aren’t good together, as you’ll see in the video. (Sorry about that, Katerine!)

So, who wins?

Well, in the interest of maintaining friendly Canadian-American foodie relations, I won’t say which is better. But, I will tell you that when I head up to Montreal, I’ll definitely end every hotdog order with, “toasted and dressed” – there’s no other way to put a few back up there.Disclosure: Tourisme-Montreal picked up the tab for this trip, but my views are my own.

Taking a look at new in-flight food with a United Airlines executive chef

by Scott Carmichael on

To many people, airline food has long been nothing more than the age old question of chicken of beef. In recent years, most airlines made some pretty big changes to their food offering. United Airlines was kind enough to invite Gadling to their world headquarters, for a sneak peek behind the scenes of their newest food and beverage lineup.

The highlight of the visit was an executive chef from United’s catering partner. This great chef explained to us how a meal is designed, how freshness is ensured, and what kind of food travels well (and what does not).
Preparing airline meals

When preparing airline food, the executive chef works alongside meal planners from United Airlines. Domestic US food is prepared at local catering stations, and the executive chef travels to each and every one of them to train the local staff.

Some ingredients (like tomatoes) don’t fly very well, and their moisture will turn any sandwich into a soggy mess, so those are avoided. The same goes for the granola yogurt, to prevent the granola turning into a soggy goo, it is stored in a separate container inside the product.

When designing the current food selection, United Airlines held focus sessions with their customers. The airline held 12 different focus sessions, and interviewed 3000 customers. The feedback included more organic options, and the option to upgrade. Even though many customers responded that they’d prefer healthier food, the “classic” option remains the most popular, and who can blame them – Jelly Belly’s and Goldfish crackers are a great in-air snack.

The same goes for the a la carte selection – even though the lineup includes healthy choices, the Lays Stax chips are the number one seller.

Now the new lineup is in production, the airline continues to gather customer feedback, as well as feedback from flight attendants. Cabin crew have access to a system that collects their sales and customer satisfaction results. In addition to this, they collect information on a daily basis from the credit card terminals.

All this information is gathered and it gives the airline a really good idea of what is selling (and what is not). Regular audits even take a look at the trays coming back from passengers, to get an idea whether a particular ingredient isn’t working out.

Choice Menu snack boxes

Obviously, times have changed, and being fed is no longer a given. We got to sample all the various snack boxes sold on United Airlines (domestic) flights. The selection was surprisingly decent – they currently offer four different snack boxes:

Active – Stoned classics tortilla chips, Heinz Salsa, Blue Diamond almonds, Think Fruit chocolate, Pomegranate Power Bar, Newmans Own Organic Raisins, Hannah’s Honey cured turkey stick

Classic – Kettle backyard BBQ chips, Oreo cookies, Jelly Belly gourmet jelly beans, Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers, Sparrer beef salami, Gourmet Cheddar Cheese spread, Pepperidge Farm cookies

Luxe – Rondele peppercorn Parmesan cheese spread, Pepperidge Farm crackers, Food Should Taste Good tortilla chips, Oloves Mediterranean olives, Wild Garden hummus dip, Real Torino bread sticks, Ashers dark chocolate pretzel

Organic– Late July organic cheddar cheese crackers, Terra Nostra Organic dark chocolate square, Kettle Valley Organic fruit snack, Nature’s Path organic pumpkin flaxplus granola, Bare Fruit Organic cinnamon apple chips

The Active and Classic snack boxes cost $6, and the Luxe and Classic boxes cost $7 , which is actually a very good deal, considering the amount and the variety of food. Personally I would also like to see a more kid friendly version, but that is my only minor complaint.


A La Carte products

Flights also carry an a la carte selection with the following products: Lay’s Stax chips, Toblerone bar, Walkers Shortbread cookies, Fisher Salty Nut mix, Clif Bar Oatmeal Raisin Walnut and Odwalla Banana Nut nutritional bar. These a la carte items are $3 each.

Fresh Choice Menu items before 10am

These products are part of the United Airlines Choice Menu Fresh Items. On flights before 10am, passengers can order one of three fresh items:

  • Traditional blueberry muffin ($3)
  • Continental breakfast – apple croissant, strawberry yoghurt, cranberry crunch snack fruits ($5)
  • Gourmet deli plate – deli ham and turkey, pepper jack and cheddar cheese, hard boiled egg, dried apricots, almonds and Pepperidge farm crackers ($9)

Fresh Choice menu items after 10am

After 10am, the menu changes to sandwiches and salads. The salad selection offers three different choices;

  • Southwestern chicken salad – Romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, black beans, corn, red and yellow bell pepper strips and a salsa ranch dressing on the side.
  • Chicken Caesar salad – Grilled chicken, red and yellow bell pepper strips, shredded parmesan cheese, croutons on a bed of romaine lettuce, served with a classic Caesar dressing on the side.
  • Mediterranean salad – Romaine lettuce, kalamata olives, chick peas, red and yellow bell pepper strips, crumbled feta cheese, served with a Greek feta cheese dressing on the side.

Each salad is huge – definitely enough for a decent lunch or dinner. All salads come with their own pouch of dressing, and cost $9 each. Salads are designed as a “production plus three days”, which means they are designed to be loaded, and cooled for three days. All ingredients are designed to hold up just fine for this three day period.

In addition to the salads, you can also order an assorted cheese tray with Havarti, pepper jack and cheddar cheeses, dried apricots, almonds and assorted Pepperidge farm crackers for $7.

The sandwich selection offers the following choices:

  • Caprese sandwich – Roasted marinated tomatoes, low fat mozzarella, fresh baby spinach, pesto sauce on a tomato and herb focaccia bread.
  • Roast beef sandwich – Roast beef topped with romaine lettuce, horseradish mayonnaise on Ciabatta bread.
  • Turkey sandwich – Smoked turkey topped with romaine lettuce and sundried tomato aioli on multigrain bread

Each sandwich comes with a bag of potato chips and sells for $9. In addition to the before 10am / after 10am lineup, the airline also sells a $3 strawberry smoothie and a mixed berry yogurt parfait ($5) all day long.

Behind the scenes

The United Airlines team was very open, and no question was off limits. When asked what they learned from offering “branded” food back in 2005, they answered that the licensing fees involved with this food did not make sense. I have to agree with them – I’d rather have a good quality $6 United Airlines sandwich than a $10 Bennigans sandwich with the same ingredients, and the market obviously agreed, because the Bennigans chain went out of business last year. Focus groups also showed that customers did not value brand names as much, which came as a surprise to the airline.

The United Airlines team also listened to some of the ideas we had for them – and tips like online discount coupons for food, and the option to pre-order food were mentioned. Of course, since these were just random thoughts, nobody knows whether they’ll actually make it to reality.

Availability of food

The snack boxes are available on all flights over 2 hours, and the fresh food is only loaded on flights 5 hours and longer. This chart shows what you can expect on your flight:

All purchases can only be made with credit/debit cards as cash stopped being an acceptable form of payment last year.

I tried several of the dishes being sold on their flights, and really did enjoy them. I’m happy to see such a decent selection, but I still can’t help but have happy memories of the time when food was free, and dinner was a nice warm meal. That said, the snack boxes and fresh food do seem to offer a good balance between healthy and decadent. Thanks to United AIrlines for inviting us, and giving us a sneak peek of their current in-flight food lineup.

The future of airline food

Nobody knows which direction airline food is heading. When most of the major airlines removed free meals, it looked like airborne food would be gone for good. As competition heated up, airlines once again started to pay close attention to their onboard services.

New competitors like Virgin America are not only offering food, they are offering award winning dishes, and the ability to place food orders from the comfort of your seat-back entertainment system.

I’m secretly hoping that airlines will start making more use of online services, allowing passengers to place food orders when they pay for their ticket. This will remove surprises and may help families traveling with kids be more prepared for longer flights. In addition to this, airlines may need to start creating more variety. The United Airlines selection may appear to be quite impressive, but if someone is flying the same route twice a week, these dishes will become pretty boring.

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