Food Court

 

LOSERS: The less prurient Anthony Bourdain fans among us (not to mention the truly squeamish)

When TMZ discovered (and dusted off) nude photos of Anthony Bourdain last week, the Twitterverse fairly buzzed with news of the birthday-suited chef. No one buzzed louder, however, than Bourdain himself, who tweeted the pool pics (taken by his wife 12 years ago during a Caribbean getaway) with comments like, "Please God, I hope the water was warm that day." Houston Press's Eating Our Words blog happily joined the fray with a list of food celebs they'd rather see in the buff than Bourdain (don't we almost see Nigella Lawson naked anyway?) and some they wouldn't (um, maybe Naked Chef Jamie Oliver should rethink the nickname?). If you prefer your food stars clothed – and, in fact, covet their clothes – you have CHOW to thank for putting together a shopping list for the style starved among us. Fire up those credit cards and order your skinny jeans à la Bourdain. At least your bum will be covered.

 

HUNG JURY: Does anyone really win in the fast-food wars?

This week saw news that middle-class diners actually hit the drive-thru more often than their lower-income counterparts. It has long been believed that the high rate of obesity among the poor can be blamed on fast food. But the well-heeled fast foodies have lower rates of obesity (despite their apparent love of a good Whopper now and again). Go figure. Meanwhile, McDonald's trotted out the elusive McRib for its once-every-who-knows-how-often appearance in only some markets. While some among us eagerly await these brief sightings, others not so much, even decrying the treatment those McRibs get while they're still just McPigs. Not to be eclipsed by a sometime sandwich, Burger King fired its own salvo this week, with a move to beef up its kids' meal and take on McDonald's vaunted Happy Meal. Kids everywhere will hail the arrival of the wearable, cardboard crown and games that accompany their burger and fries. Won't they? 

 

 

WINNERS: Foragers (especially those who stroll on asphalt)

While adventurous foodies and fans of sustainable eating have boldly started dishing up grasshoppers and grubs, other scrappy home cooks have hit the backroads and, well, scraped up some dinner. If flattened skunk and raccoon don't get you hungry, then what about marinated venison? In some states, taking your roadkill home to dinner is considered a privilege. One pregnant woman (and professional taxidermist) is so fond of roadkill meals ("It's more gamey than other meat and I love the taste") that she serves downed deer, pigeon, rabbit, owl and partridge at dinner parties. We're all for trying new things, but for now our foraging might be confined to roadside farm stands. Unless we can scrape up the dough to go truffle hunting in Italy (which might be cheaper than buying them here, at this point). 

 

WINNER: Cocktail drinkers 

Even oenophile Alice Feiring wonders: Are cocktails sexier and more sophisticated than wine? And so do we. They're certainly having a moment. Maybe martinis and highballs were never out of style, just pushed to the background while wine became the 'It' drink. But now, thanks to nostalgia network television (and Don Draper – is there anything he couldn't convince us was cool?) a classic-cocktail renaissance has made them hip again. More women are sipping whiskey, and hipsters aplenty are making mixologists the toast of the town. While his Mormon faith may make a Mitt Romney margarita unlikely, the 9-9-9 cocktail inspired by Herman Cain could make primary season a lot more fun. Hey, Bravo, isn't it time for a new show? We humbly suggest Top Shelf.