Tomorrow is the first day for both the Tower Grove Farmers' Market and the Land of Goshen Community Market in Edwardsville, Illinois. The Tower Grove market opens at 8:30 a.m., the Goshen Market at 8 a.m.
Remember: The earlier you go, the more likely you are to get the good stuff!
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Myanmar's government seizes food aid from the United Nations. (CNN)
The costs of commodity foods may have reached a plateau, but cheap food isn't returning any time soon. (New York Times)
Because Gut Check really doesn't mention Gordon Ramsay enough: Ramsay thinks chefs who use out-of-season produce should be fined. (Evening Standard)
The psychology of enjoying wine: Is Two Buck Chuck really better than a $50 cabernet? (New York Times)
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Big changes in store for your restaurant options at Lambert thanks to a $16-million contract extension between the airport and its contractor HMSHost. From the press release:
The new agreement lays out an ambitious plan to build or renovate about two dozen food and beverage locations at Lambert with the majority of work complete by 2011. HMSHost will introduce eight new food concepts with an emphasis on adding popular St. Louis food brands including Mosaic, Fitz’s and Imo’s Pizza. It also includes a new concept called, Missouri Vineyards, which will emphasize local wines and food. The plan will also bring Lambert popular brands now at other airports including Brioche Doree, a French bakery and café, Freshens, Baja Fresh and an enhanced Budweiser themed restaurant/bar.
What? That one Chili's express isn't enough?
The full press release after the jump.
Illustration courtesy Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
]]>Lambert unveils major restaurant makeover plan HMSHost to invest $16 million if new concession agreement gets final approval
(St. Louis) Lambert-St. Louis International has unveiled a $16 million plan that will give passengers and airport visitors more upscale and local food choices, more seats and better services. The restaurant makeover plan is part of a 7 years, 11 months contract extension with HMSHost approved by the St. Louis Airport Commission Wednesday. The agreement now awaits final approval by the City of St. Louis.
The new agreement lays out an ambitious plan to build or renovate about two dozen food and beverage locations at Lambert with the majority of work complete by 2011. HMSHost will introduce eight new food concepts with an emphasis on adding popular St. Louis food brands including Mosaic, Fitz’s and Imo’s Pizza. It also includes a new concept called, Missouri Vineyards, which will emphasize local wines and food. The plan will also bring Lambert popular brands now at other airports including Brioche Doree, a French bakery and café, Freshens, Baja Fresh and an enhanced Budweiser themed restaurant/bar.
Lambert’s pending deal with HMSHost would extend their concession agreement to 2020 with a requirement that it spends $13 million by 2011 and another $3 million spent on refurbishing existing restaurants by 2015. Just as important, the new deal provides Lambert flexibility to coordinate new construction and renovation of the food and beverage locations with the Airport Experience Program. The $105 million renovation plan for the Main Terminal and three concourses begins later this year.
Lambert projects the new choices, additional seats and capacity will bring an additional million dollars in revenue to Lambert in just the first full year of improvements. Plus, the deal eliminates an exclusivity clause now held by HMSHost with its current contract.
When the new agreement is completed, Lambert will be able to seek other food and beverage concessionaires for unoccupied spaces at the airport
“Through our Lambert Advantage program, we have been focusing on giving our passengers and visitors more choices, amenities and services,” said Dick Hrabko, Director of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. “We’re excited about the opportunity to bring more upscale and unique dining choices for local travelers and our visitors from outside the region.”
]]>Friday is the last day you can get pizza by the slice in the Loop. That's when Racanelli's location in the Market Building (6655 Delmar Boulevard) closes down for good. The other stores in the Market Building have all since closed, and Racanelli's is the last holdover.
Don't bother ordering any garlic bread, they're out.
The building will be transformed into a big Racanelli's pizza joint in the coming months with far more seating than the cafeteria-style tables that have been a presence in the main hallway for the past few months currently offer.
Hopefully, they will still yell out your order when it's finished, several times in some cases, in the time it takes you to walk to the counter.
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Survivors of Myanmar's devastating cyclone face severe food shortages. (CNN)
Restaurants are feeling the pinch of the higher cost of rice. (AsianWeek)
Irvine Robbins, co-founder of Baskin-Robbins ice cream, has died. (New York Times)
Häagen-Dazs is trying to educate the public about collapsing honeybee populations. (Guardian)
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Jeanette Kozlowski returns to review the new season of Hell's Kitchen, starring her favorite bad-boy chef, Gordon Ramsay.
8:03 p.m. The big question this week: Can the guys finally get it together? Their mounting issues have become almost as painful as Vanessa's injury and unexpected departure last week.
8:06 p.m. Corey and Christina are still feuding; Bobby and Ben are getting closer and closer. Ho hum. Where’s the real drama? Known for its over-the-top editing and redonkulous production music, FOX hasn’t really thrown us anything new with season four of Hell’s Kitchen.
8:08 p.m. "Finicky and mommy's little girl." That's how Gordon Ramsay describes the restaurant’s newest customer: 15-year-old Melissa. Her sweet-sixteen soirée will be Hell’s Kitchen’s first. Ramsay gives each team 45 minutes to cook up one appetizer and two entrées for her to sample.
After the jump: It's Gordon Ramsay's party, and you'll cry if he wants you to.
]]>8:10 p.m. If anyone should be leaving this week, it’s Matt. His negative attitude is tiresome; he thinks no one is listening to him. They are listening -- but only to his whines and cries. "I have no faith, no confidence in any of the shit we are doing now," he confesses to the camera.
8:12 p.m. Ben takes control of the men’s team, while Corey does the same for the ladies. For the appetizer, the red team selects a more highbrow dish, Tuscan shrimp scampi. While the blue team serves up good ole stuffed chicken wings.
8:16 p.m. Melissa’s mother politely describes her daughter’s taste as “simple.” Unfortunately for the women, that means Mel’s never tasted the wonders of shrimp. She picks the men’s dish “hands down.”
8:18 p.m. The red team’s Caribbean halibut doesn’t receive a stellar review from the mother: “The rice is undercooked; the fish is dry.” And at the same time, Melissa turns her nose up at the men’s next dish. “I don’t like asparagus, and I don’t like shrimp.”
8:19 p.m. It comes down to Corey’s grilled flank steak versus Petrozza’s filet mignon. Mel chooses the guy’s dish, and holy cow are they happy. It’s the blue team’s first-ever victory, and it’s already episode six. What a joke.
8:21 p.m. As a reward, the men go act like rowdy teens for the day. And the women get stuck with obnoxious Francisco preparing the party decorations. "The room is going to be sweeter like the sweetest dessert," Francisco says, as the ladies look on in horror.
8:22 p.m. Jen dubs Melissa’s mother "The wicked witch of the west coast" when the mommy crashes the pre-party. According to her, it’s totally wrong.
8:24 p.m. Out of nowhere, the editors tease a romance spark between Lourous and Corey. "Like filling in a Twinkie ... I heart her, man," he says of the golden-haired villain. Her reply to the rumors: "He's seriously like four feet tall, I'm six feet tall, and I have a boyfriend.” Dang, that’s a shame. Something more thrilling needs to happen than pseudo relationship to hold my interest any longer!!
8:30 p.m. Ben completely disrespects Shanya's mango salsa. "It's so elementary,” he scoffs. “She's so proud of that salsa -- wooo!" Corey and Jen validate his observation and say the 28-year-old needs to speed it up and spend less time drooling over her own creation.
8:32 p.m. The Gordon Ramsay in Bobby bubbles over when he sees Matt stumbling at the entrée station. "I'm not losing another service even if I have to single-handedly cook it myself," he says boldly.
8:33 p.m. Christina messes up the risotto! Three times! After Ramsay’s voice rumbles through the kitchen, she’s able to find her footing and whips it up -- on the fourth try -- flawlessly.
8:33 p.m. It’s evident to Petrozza that "Matt's hanging by a thread with the fire of hell looming below him." And from the furrows in his brow, it’s obvious Matt is aware he’s in for it.
8:35 p.m. Rosann holds up Hell’s Kitchen tradition by undercooking Melissa's steak. Matt gets the foreshadowed slap in the face when the birthday girl’s mom sends back the risotto.
8:39 p.m. "Matt, look at me! Wake up!" spits Ramsay in his the usual fire and brimstone mentality.
8:40 p.m. He turns to Rosann with even more disdain and kicks her out of the station. Bobby does the same to Matt. Why doesn’t he fight back? "I don't want to mess with someone who is crazier than I am," Matt says. What is he talking about!?
8:42 p.m. On the other hand, Shayna takes her sweet time with the mango salsa. Corey describes her teammate: "Shayna is slow; she is overweight, and she can't move fast.”
8:43 p.m. Ramsay accuses Matt of hiding from the competition. And, hold up: Did the narrator's voice just change? It sounds, like, higher.
8:48 p.m. Melissa’s final surprise is The Pink Spiders, some emo band that’s been featured on (gag) MTV’s The Hills.
(OMG! The Pink Spiders are playing the Creepy Crawl tomorrow night! Synergy! -- Ian)
8:49 p.m. Survey says: 98 percent of the men’s customers said they’d dine again; 99 percent of the women’s customers said the same. For Ramsay, it’s too close to call.
8:50 p.m. Matt awkwardly blurts out: "Thank you for your generosity." Ramsay fires back: "Fuck generosity, Matt!"
8:52 p.m. Shayna and Matt are up for elimination. When asked by Ramsay who she would’ve picked, Christina says Rosann. Seems like Gordon always goes to Christina for a second opinion (i.e. the truth).
8:53 p.m. "Chef, I should stay because I was bullied off my station," Matt whines. Ramsay, of course, doesn’t buy it.
8:56 p.m. Shockingly, Ramsay lets baby Matt go back in line. He sends Shayna home instead because she’s “a little too slow.”
8:58 p.m. As for Rosann, he says, "You just turned a 16-year-old girl into a vegetarian." Sounds as if she did a good job to me!
Next week: Matty starts playing for the other side. "I am ready to kick ass on the right team,” he says. Heh. Like that’s going to make a difference.
-Jeanette Kozlowski
Photos: www.fox.com
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My review of Basil Spice is now available online. Click here to read. Also in this week's issue: Malcolm wonders whether pork pattie loaf is a pattie or a loaf, while Kristie chases the hair of the dog with SmartWater.
Photo: Jennifer Silverberg
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The Maplewood Farmers' Market opens for the season at 4 p.m. today. The market is open every Wednesday from 4-7 p.m. at the Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Avenue).
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Another article on how restaurants are dealing with rising food costs. (AP)
New York City begins enforcing its new law requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts. (International Herald Tribune)
Actual medical studies of competitive eaters: nature, nurture or nausea? (Los Angeles Times)
Robert Parker doesn't much like the 2007 Bordeaux vintage. (AFP)
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The aforementioned June 2008 issue of Food & Wine, featuring a recipe from Mathew Rice of Niche and Veruca.
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