Los Angeles Slowing the Fast Food Nation?

by Jamie Rhein on

Perhaps you’ve noticed that many trends in the U.S. either start in California or New York and then work their way slowly towards the center. Fashion and food come to mind. Once, I wrote an article on fall fashion in Ohio and did a bit of research by talking to designers and buyers to find out what will trickle to the Midwest from the runways in Milan and Paris. Basically, I was told, designers pick up on trends that will sell in New York and California and then from those will see what will sell in Ohio, but often the designs are more subdued versions.

Here’s a trend that might be starting in Los Angeles that I don’t envision getting many Ohions fired up any time soon. In some parts of Los Angeles the number of fast food restaurants has become so alarming that there is a proposed moritorium on new fast food joints in South Central LA . According to those that want to slow down, it’s hard to eat healthy when fast food is almost at every corner. The debate about whether government should regulate food choices is on. There are some that say if the only options in the neighborhood are fast food, then how are people to eat healthier? (see article) Perhaps, it’s not the fast food that is really the problem, it’s the not enough choices.

Of course, not all fast food is exactly the same. My LA fast food favorite is Astroburger where the garden burgers make me feel healthier with each bite. The Zagat Survey, Los Angeles lists four other fast food favorite options. One of them is In-N-Out Burger that has several locations. The hamburgers in this photo by jslander on Flickr are from one of them.

Portugal, Alaska, Prague and Akron

by Jamie Rhein on

Three of these places have something in common and one does not. I’ve just noticed that two start with P and two start with A, but that has nothing to do with this game. Everyone is going on a major trip but me. That, of course, is a gross exaggeration, but consider this. My father is winging his way to the Czech Republic with a stop in Lyon, France as part of his journey. My mother and my brother also left today. They’re in Seattle awaiting to embark on my mother’s dream trip–a cruise to Alaska. A close friend of mine from college left today for eight days in Portugal. (She left her two children with her husband for her jaunt away.) What does Akron have to do with anything? I’m heading there on Sunday. Actually, I’m going to Stow which is next door. My excitement might come from a stop at Grandpa’s Cheese Barn near the Ashland exit off of I-71. Wheee!!! Actually, the cheese there does ratchet up my excitement quotient.

There is nothing wrong with being closer to home. A good friend of ours who lives in Madrid, Iowa just flew in today on American AIrlines. The plane was early and my husband didn’t even have to pay for parking since he was at the airport for less than 10 minutes. This visit is a chance to show our friend, who has never been to Ohio, some of our favorite Columbus hotspots before my husband and he head to Cleveland for an Indians baseball game and a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sunday is the meet up in Stow for a family picnic gathering. These gatherings are one of the reasons why we are living in the U.S. right now. Still, when I am grazing the samples at the cheese barn, I’ll think of those people I love who are on their mega trips having those adventures they’ve dreamed about.

By the way, the friend who is visiting is the one who took us on the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad mentioned in the fall foliage leaf peeping train post.

Kentucky Bourbon Festival + Maker’s Mark Visitor Center = Good Times

by Catherine Bodry on

The Maker’s Mark distillery, in Loretto, Kentucky, usually sees about 70,000 visitors a year, but it’s hoping to triple that number with its new $2.5 million visitor’s center. The distillery is a National Historic Landmark, and the company was careful to preserve its appearance with the center; the tasting lounge and gift shop are located in a century-old rack house that holds about 1,000 barrels of aging bourbon. Tours are free, but the tastings are not!

The opening of the the center was planned to coincide with the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, a “weekend full of smooth Bourbon, delicious food, and great entertainment, with a healthy dose of Kentucky hospitality.” The motto of the festival is “neat,” but I have a feeling that after a few rounds of neat bourbon, it probably gets a little rowdy.

[via USA Today]

Just Maybe The World’s Most Surprising Beerfest

by Brett Atkinson on

We seem to spend an inordinate time here at Gadling writing about beer, especially when it rolls around to Oktoberfest season. Click here for Justin’s post about the best beer tents in Munich, and here for his video insight into the most exciting funfair rides on offer after a few foaming steins.

My own hazy memories of September in Munich include enduring the “Drei Loopen” roller coaster after a lunch of Lowenbrau and pretzels.

A quieter and altogether suprising alternative to the Oktoberfest is the small scale beerfest that recently took place in the Palestinian town of Taybeh. Brewer Nadim Khoury is a Christian, but out of respect for his Muslim neighbours actually brought forward the start date to avoid clashing with Ramadan.

A range of brews were available for ten shekels (around $1.60) and festivities included the Palestinian rap group DAM and local hip hop crews Boikutt and G-Town. Sounds like a cool place to be.

Click here for an excellent article on the challenges of being a brewer on the West Bank.

Story and pic via the BBC.

Three-Day Wait to Score Shrooms in Amsterdam? Maybe

by Justin Glow on

Looking to score ‘shrooms in Amsterdam? You may have to wait three days.

The Netherlands’ policy on drugs distinguishes different substances as hard or soft. Hard drugs, like heroin and cocaine, are illegal, and possession — even for personal use — is a crime that’s fully enforced. Soft drugs, like marijuana and mushrooms, while still technically illegal, are tolerated.

Job Cohen, Amsterdam’s mayor, is looking to make it a bit tougher to score by enacting a three-day waiting period for the purchase of psilocybin mushrooms — just like Wal-Mart does with guns. The effort stems (haha, stems… get it?) from the death of a 17-year-old French girl who jumped off a bridge while totally whacked out on shrooms, man. Buzzkill.

“Under the proposal, potential mushroom buyers would have to show identity papers when visiting one of the ‘smart shops’ where they are sold in the famously tolerant city. They would then be given a card with the date listed on it, as well as fliers with information on the mushrooms,” according to the AFP. ” Three days later, the mushrooms could be collected.”

Not a bad idea, I guess.