GADLING TAKE FIVE: Week of October 6- 12

by Jamie Rhein on

Another week already? The weather shifts have me wondering what season we’re in exactly. It was 93 degrees in Columbus on Monday. Today it’s in the mid 50s and I’ve hauled out my jacket. Pumpkins started appearing at the local grocery stores and farmers markets a few weeks ago. At Gadling, you’ve probably noticed that Halloween posts are beginning to appear. Catherine, Kelly and Martha have their thumbs squarely on the Halloween what’s happening pulse. There’s more coming as the rest of us join in. Besides Halloween, there’s a lot more on our minds.

Have a great weekend whatever the weather is like where you are.

Don’t Poo-poo Pu-er Tea

by Iva Skoch on

Who cares about the price of tea in China? More and more people globally. A recent article in the WSJ says that there’s been a run on China’s most popular tea, pu-er (aka pu-erh, or pu’er, or Bolay tea). A recent sale netted the seller almost $40,000 . . . for a single 3.5oz cake that was 60 years old.

Like all true teas (as opposed to fruit “tea” or herbal “tea”), it’s made from the Camellia sinensis plant. Pu-er tea is only slightly oxidized, like green teas, has a smoky taste, and is sold generally in bricks or cakes, which are usually round, discus-like objects, looking like large cow-patties. It comes in “raw” or “cooked” form.

Unlike most teas, it’s meant to be aged, even for many years, and, supposedly, it gets better with age. 150-year old cakes go for over $13,000 sometimes. And collectors are drinking this tea up.

According to people we met in China, this was the most prized and most typically drank tea (not the oolong tea you usually get in Chinese restaurants in the West). Further, the black tea we typically drink in the West is fairly rare there. And you sure won’t see a tea bag.

In fact, while sampling and discussing the relative tastes and benefits of various teas, the owner of a small tea shop laughed off the fact that we enjoyed black teas, told us that the caffeine would surely kill us . . . and then offered us a cigarette.

Must-Eat Restaurants at Concierge.com: A Running Tally

by Jamie Rhein on

I haven’t eaten at any of the picks on Concierge.com’s growing list of must-eat restaurants and I’m feeling hungry. The list starts out with Concierge’s recommendations and is continuing to grow as readers add their own options. Next to each entry are up and down arrow icons where readers can vote on each suggestion. At first, I thought the must-eats would solidly fall in the expensive and fancy. On the contrary. From what I can tell, must-eats come in a variety of packages. The Concierge list includes:

French Laundry in Yountville, California. This one has been named the best Restaurant in the World. To eat at the best is a two month wait. Once you are dining, give yourself three hours to savor the experience. If you can’t wait that long, the restaurant’s Web site offers three recipes you can try at home. I looked over the first one and I know one friend and three of my aunts who could make Parmigiano Reggiano Crisps with Laura Chenel Goat Cheese Mousse to perfection.

Also in California, The Chez Panisse in Berkeley has a menu that changes nightly. Since there is only one option per course per night, I suppose you check ahead to make sure what is being served is something you want. Here’s what is being served this week. The names of dishes are like lines from poetry–each sounding fantastically special. If you don’t want the full course meal, you can go to the café upstairs. Here you can either choose the fixed menu or order dishes separately.

Sienna, Italy is the place to head to try the gastronomic wonders of Osteria le Logge. Concierge likes this one because of its blend of fusion dishes and Tuscany favorites. The decor interested me. There is a blend of artwork and literary influences.

Red’s Eats in Wiscasset, Maine sounds like my kind of place. This is lobster at its best at what looks like a roadside stand. Here’s where you can interact with other people waiting in line since that’s what you do before you order. Dining is outside on picnic tables. This is a seasonal restaurant so don’t head there until the middle of April. It closes in October.

Porcão in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is another restaurant that I seems like a lot of fun besides serving yummy fare. One word Concierge uses to describe it is raucous. Plus the food is wheeled out and served at your table.

Pumpkins — Carve ’em, Eat ’em, . . . Chuck ’em?

by Catherine Bodry on

Halloween’s most famous symbol (except maybe the white-sheet ghost) has several uses: front-porch prop, tasty fall vegetable, and carving medium. But chucking pumpkins is becoming a popular activity as well. And this is some serious chucking: The World Championship Punkin Chunkin contest last year attracted 50,000 spectators and 100 teams.

So what is pumpkin chucking? More than just tossing the orange vegetable, the “sport” incorporates launching machines like air compressors, catapults, centrifugal machines that spin the pumpkins before hurling them, and trebuchets. The contest’s record for distance was set in 2003, when a pumpkin flew 4,434 feet.

Other chucking contests include:

  • Pumpkin Chuckin in Moab, Utah, Oct. 27.
  • The Bristol Pumpkin Festival, Bristol, Conn., Oct. 28. Contestants are invited to power their pumpkins with “springs, rubber bands, air, muscle, centrifugal force, brute strength, power architecture and bicycles.”
  • Pumpkin-chucking weekend, Nov. 3-4, in Ellicott City, Md.
  • Pumpkin Chuck, Nov. 3, in Cincinnati’s Stanbery Park.

Oil up your sling and see how far your pumpkin can go!

[via Msnbc]

America’s Favorite Cities from Travel & Leisure and CNN

by Catherine Bodry on

60,000 people chose their favorite towns from 25 choices across the U.S., and the list is in. The results are divided into 9 categories and 14 subcategories, including Shopping, Food and Dining, Culture, and After Dark. The winners are to be expected: New York won a first-place favorite for diversity, ethnic food, and classical music. Also consistently near the top were Washington D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco. No surprises there.

Missing? Philadelphia didn’t get too many votes — one third place win for its Farmer’s Markets. Miami didn’t fare too well either with no top-three wins, and same goes for Orlando and Dallas.

What’s your least favorite city? (I think that’s a much more interesting question than asking about favorites.)

Check out the results at CNN, and get more info on methodology at Travel & Leisure.