Science Bars

by Neil Woodburn on

Are you a traveling scientist tired of random bars where the IQ level is about the same as the alcohol content in a Coors Light?

A new trend is sweeping America where bars are setting aside one night for purely scientific pursuit. Okay, perhaps it’s not “sweeping” the nation, but a surprising number of bars are indeed catering to the Mensa/egghead/geek crowd.

Take, for example, the Crown Room at the Schlafly Bottleworks in St. Louis which hosts Science on Tap the last Wednesday of every month. This month’s topic? Robotic Exploration of Mars and Revisiting the Moon.

According to a recent article in Wired Magazine, the trend began in London with Cafe Scientifique where, “for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology.”

Fortunately, this concept has spread around the globe and the UK site offers a search function to find the one nearest to you. I located two in my hometown of Los Angeles and I just might have to pop on in one night and see what the brainiacs are talking about.

One for the Road (04/10/07)

by Kelly Amabile on

It’s time to throw our first travel-inspired cookbook into the mix, which is an appropriate word for this selection — The Ethnic Cookbook: Bringing the French Melting Pot Into Your Kitchen is not your ordinary French cookbook. This recent release is a unique celebration of the diverse culinary offerings that centuries of immigrants have bestowed upon Paris. The authors selected over 100 recipes from the menus of international restaurants throughout the city, highlighting the best in taste from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Lebanon and Syria. Each regional section contains adapted recipes and stories about the chefs, shops and markets influencing the ethnic Parisian food scene.

If you’re a Slashfoodie, then you may already own a copy of this colorful cookbook, since our sister site gave away a few copies at the end of March. But any cookbook that creatively combines cuisine from such a variety of places surely deserves a mention for our traveling crew too. (We just don’t have any to give away…sorry!)

So now it’s time to get tasting. If you feel like taking a stab at recreating some of these dishes yourself, go get yourself a copy, or, even better, if you’re in NYC, stop by Labyrinth Books on April 15 at 2:30 pm to meet the authors, Charlotte Puckette and Olivia Kiang-Snaije. I wonder if they’ll have any samples to munch on?

Thorntons’ Wall of Chocolate: The World’s First Edible Billboard

by Willy Volk on

In anticipation of Easter — and to the delight of chocoholics everywhere! — UK candy retailer Thorntons invited visitors to London’s Covent Garden to pick away at the giant wall of chocolate it erected. Decorated with 10 hand-crafted chocolate bunnies and 72 eggs, the 860-pound chocolate wall included 128 individual panels.

It took Thorntons’ master chocolatier Barry Colenso — and his 10-person team — three months to plan the wall and 300 hours to build it. Thorntons expected the wall would last for a week. Guess how long it took nibbling passers-by to devour the wall?

According to the BBC, hungry passersby finished off the candy in three hours.

If I’d been there, it would’ve taken just under 2!

[Thanks, Marilyn!]

“Naked Sushi” Arrives on the Shores of America

by Neil Woodburn on

It used to be that you’d have to fly all the way to Japan, and befriend some underworld Yakuza denizen in order to indulge in a bit of nyotaimori.

In case you’re not up on your Japanese Mafia culinary terms, nyotaimori is “body sushi.” Or more precisely, it is sushi placed upon a naked (or nearly naked) woman lying on her back and pretending to be a human buffet.

Somehow or another, a new Los Angeles restaurant has gotten around Health Department rules and is now serving this bizarre specialty at Hadaka Sushi on Sunset Boulevard.

The fine folks over at DeepEndDining.com made a special trip with video camera in hand to watch the festivities, eat some raw fish, and interview the sushi model.

I felt a bit bad for the model, a friendly woman covered in sushi, systematically picked at with chop sticks, and otherwise demeaned. I think I’ll pass, thank you very much.

Portable Sommelier

by Neil Woodburn on

Trying out new wines while traveling, especially local ones, is one of the rewarding joys of spending time in a new place. But, which wines to try? What goes well with that plate of goulash or that baklava dessert?

Those who subscribe to Vinio will know the answer. This portable sommelier is easily accessed on a tablet PC or other portable devices and provides access to everything you need to know in order to pair your wine with the food on your plate.

Apparently, the system is so good, restaurants are using it to build up their wine lists and provide the best experience for their diners, often handing the tablet over in place of a big fat wine list.