6-course mobile gourmet meal served aboard NYC subway car

by Meg Nesterov on



Pop-up shops, hotels, and restaurants are all the rage, and dining cars are standard on most long-distance trains but what do you call a pop-up restaurant on a subway car? Earlier this month, a 6-course mobile gourmet meal was served on board a New York City subway car by supper club A Razor, A Shiny Knife with participation from “culinary collective” and Gadling favorite Studiofeast. Diners rode from Manhattan‘s 8th Avenue station on a Brooklyn-bound L train, feasting on caviar, fois gras, and filet mignon, all in under an hour. Courses from several supper clubs were prepared and plated before getting on the train, and perfectly timed to be served by waiters boarding at specific stops. A maître d’hôtel oversaw the luncheon, refilling water glasses (no alcohol allowed as per the MTA) and helping to stabilize makeshift “tables” tied to subway poles with twine.

The full menu posted on Studiofeast‘s website included:

– Hamchi Crudo, Bone Marrow, Trout Roe, Laproaig, Sweet Lime
– Foie en Brioche, Port Wine, Raisin,
– Ramp, Black Garlic, Cippolini, Morel, Thyme
– Petit Filet Mignon, Pomme Puree, Asparagus
– Pepper Jam, St Andre
– Chocolate & Gold Leaf Panna Cotta, Raspberry

The twelve lucky foodies (including two “walk up” visitors from Argentina pulled in to cover no-shows) were treated to the gourmet meal which cost an estimated $1,600, ending with gold-leaf-dusted panna cotta. The subway authorities were not satisfied customers, though no one was arrested or fined for the stunt. “Subway trains are for riding, not for holding parties,” said Charles F. Seaton from the MTA.

Event organizers have yet to announce their next meal-on-the-go, but the video hints at another unlikely location: San Francisco’s Alcatraz. Hoping for your own moveable feast? The Dinner in the Sky team is available for rent around the world.

Scuba diver sets new depth record exploring New Zealand cave

by Kraig Becker on

An Australian scuba diver set a new record for depth recently while exploring a remote underground river cave in New Zealand. He, and his teammates, braved dark passageways, icy cold water, and treacherous conditions in an effort to find the elusive source of the Pearse River.

Diver Craig Challan descended to a depth of 194 meters or roughly 636 feet, as he cautiously made his way along the submerged cavern. That depth marked a record, but still didn’t finish the exploration of the cave, nor did it lead to the discovery of the river’s source. But it did show that explorers can go to even greater depths than previously thought possible.

In the video below, brought to us by National Geographic, who helped partially fund the expedition, you can see what the divers had to deal with while exploring the cave. As they dove they were looking for new lifeforms, while mapping the cave itself, in waters that hovered around 43ºF. All the while they had to deal with the potential for decompression syndrome, better known as the Bends.

In order to avoid that painful condition, they built a series of underwater bases where they would spend hours at a time, waiting for their bodies to adapt to the changes in depth. Watching the video I was reminded of the series of camps that are built on mountains like Everest, where climbers wait to acclimatize before moving up. This works in reverse, but is similar in concept.

While I’m fascinated by cave diving, I’m not sure you’d ever catch me that far beneath the surface and completely surrounded by water. Scary!


Aborted takeoff testing of the 747-8

by Grant Martin on

Comprehensive testing is at the core of any airframe development, and that means modeling and measuring the worst case scenario. Though likely to never happen in practice, engineers need to know how components will perform in an emergency situation — so they test them to their limits.

The aborted takeoff is one such test that Boeing uses to gauge the performance of a vehicle’s braking system and condition thereafter. At full load and under full take off power, a system is tested by suddenly slamming on the brakes with no reverse thrust. How quickly the aircraft stops and the condition of the landing gear is a reflection of how successful the test is.

In the above video you can see the results of a recent test at Boeing on their upcoming 747-8 freighter. In coming to a stop the brakes glow red hot and the landing gear begins to smoke, but that result is actually good — the fully loaded aircraft stops 700 feet short of the target distance, which means safer, more effective breaking.

Whether or not the passengers onboard have wet their pants is another question. You can read more about the test over at Boeing’s website.

Video of the Day – Journey through Asia

by Stephen Greenwood on

If you have 4 minutes to spare and a virtual tour through Thailand, Cambodia, & Vietnam strikes your fancy; sit back and enjoy this beautiful montage from filmmaker Ivan Vania.

Shot with a Canon 5D Mark II and set to a soundtrack by Yann Tiersen (composer of the score for Amélie), it’s an incredibly vivid depiction of the boat rides, temples, smiles, and landscapes that many travelers to Southeast Asia are familiar with. Ivan does a great job of mixing wide angle shots of the environment with close ups that capture the detail of the locations and the expressions of the people he encountered, which adds to the video’s realism and authenticity.

Do you have a favorite video or photo that lets you escape to another part of the world at the click of a button? Share it with us! Leave a comment below and it could be our next Photo / Video of the Day.

What not to do on your safari

by Grant Martin on

Bet you didn’t experience wildlife like this when you were on your last wildlife safari. Marlice van Vuuren is a Namibian animal conservationist and a woman very familiar with the ways of the African cheetah. She should know, her last 34 years were spent growing up around animals in Namibia, and she currently runs the N/a’an ku sê Wildlife Sanctuary with her husband Rudie.

It’s that sort of experience that’s prepared her for this close interaction with wild cheetahs, no doubt mixed with a healthy dose of bravery and maybe a shred of craziness. Check out this video where van Vuuren gets off of her dirt bike and walks around among the wild cats, often advancing towards them and showing her dominance — it’s a pretty amazing show.Unfortunately, the clip appears to be spoken in English, then dubbed in French, so here is a translation of what Marlice Van Der Merwe is saying about her encounter:

If I lower myself down to their level, they’ll approach as we appear to be be of similar size … I’m doing this to show how cowardly they are, not to tease them … But also, to get a rush of adrenaline … As soon as you turn your back on them, they attack … As soon as you look them in the eyes, they’re afraid of you … If you run, you’re prey. But, if you turn around, they stop … I think they’ve had enough