Staph infection? Fecal bacteria? I've never liked the ubiquitous lemon wedge that's always popping up in my glass of water at restaurants. Now at least I have a damn good reason. Researchers at Passaic County Community College in New Jersey sampled 76 lemon wedges from 21 restaurants and found that a whopping 2 out of 3 wedges had disease-causing bacteria.
Microbiologist Ann LaGrange Loving: "The very first sample we took was loaded with fecal bacteria."
Now if I can just figure out what to do about that lime wedge in my vodka tonics. It's a problem, because a vodka tonic just isn't the same without it. Oh well, maybe the booze kills the bugs before it gets to me. Here's to hoping! (via Slashfood)
With the opening of Elizabeth Falkner's SoMa culinary experiment Orson, the "California Cuisine" debate has sprung up again, pitting San Francisco's longtime ingredient-driven path against more technique-heavy methods. Gastronomie fires the first salvo:
Is San Francisco ready to embrace technique-based cooking? Ours has long been a culture of ingredient-driven food, and with good reason -- just stop in at any Farmer's Market and you can see why. But in that process, we've effectively denied our restaurant kitchens the opportunity to develop and cultivate the use of creative techniques, styles, and flavors.
