When last my better half and I visited Pho Bo Ga, we had an unusually good bowl of pho with thinly sliced but oddly large pieces of perfectly cooked beef tendon. It was great. Alas, it was a spur of the moment outing and I had forgotten my camera.

However, realizing that I haven't posted the business card of one of the first and, to many, best pho noodle house in Ottawa, I snagged one as I paid for our meal.

Business Card

Does anyone else see something familiar on the card? Here's a hint:

La Vache Qui Rit

Otherwise known as the "Laughing Cow", the spreadable cheese product is rather popular in North America as a health-conscious snack. At only 35 calories and 2 grams of fat, and 1 gram of carbohydrates per wedge of the "light" variety, a wedge was paired with fruit in the "South Beach Diet" book as an afternoon snack. The mention actually sent demand soaring, causing a shortage of the cheese in 2004. An estimated 12 million pounds of the cheese was sold that year, necessitating the producer to increase its production in its Kentucky plant and import more directly from France.

According to redorbit.com, the Laughing Cow brand was registered as a trademark in France in 1921. It was used as the insignia of a French Army unit that resupplied soldiers with food during World War I.

What the brand has to do with pho and a Canadian pho noodle house is somewhat beyond me. That is, save for the fact that pho is traditionally served with razor thin slices of beef.

For more information on the dairy, please visit the Laughing Cow's American and French websites.

Ever since my better half and I commissioned another renovation of our humble condo, we have been staying at our very gracious neighbour's place 5 floors above us. She has yet to move in completely, so she has neither phone nor internet access. This is the main reason that new blog entries have been non-existent. However she does have a 30" Sony television. I had a set of rabbit ears that Jenn's sisters gave me for Christmas a couple years back, so we decided to re-immerse ourselves in broadcast news. So far, we have been able to pickup CTV, CBC, TVA, and Global. What I find most interesting is that the news broadcasts from these distinctly Canadian television stations include a suspiciously high number of stories about Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton, or John McCain, American presidential hopefuls. During the past week, the stories have been somewhat supplanted by coverage of Maxime Bernier and his ex-girlfriend Julie Couillard. I'm not sure this is an improvement.

Recipe Thievery
Nevertheless, an interesting thing happened during the ongoing McCain campaign. In what was most likely an intent to portray the McCain family in a Norman Rockwell light, John's wife Cindy posted "family favourite" recipes on the McCain campaign website. They were credited to Cindy's accomplished skills and included such dishes as Ahi Tuna with Napa Cabbage Slaw, Passion Fruit Mousse, and Farfalle Pasta with Turkey Sausage, Peas and Mushrooms.

Sometime mid-April, Jonathan Martin, political columnist and prolific blogger (politico.com), discovered that, at least, three of the recipes were lifted directly from the Food Network. Another, clearly came from Rachael Ray, but included minor modifications. The story was later picked up by David Weiner of the Huffington Post, the LA Times, and CNN. CNN even dubbed it "recipe-gate." The recipes were quickly pulled once their plagiarism became national news. The McCain's then reportedly blamed an intern for the controversy.

Here are two comparison images that capture both recipes from the McCain website and originals from the Food Network. They come from politico.com.

Courtesy of Cindy McCain...erm...I mean Kathleen Daelemans

Was Cindy channeling her inner Giada?

Given how easy it is to source information on the web, this is downright shameful. As a foodie who blogs because of his love of food, I try my best to respect the originators of the recipes I attempt and and take full responsibility for the sometimes less than positive results. This also goes for the blog entries I write. Readers will find my entries littered with either annotations or links to originating sources of information.

Epic Fail
Annotations and links are extremely important when sourcing information on user-generated content-based websites. Speaking of which, I sometimes worry about restaurant owners taking issue with my negative reviews. While I stand by my reviews and base them on fact, I find myself somewhat leary after learning of a restaurateur who took it upon himself to censor a negative online review of his establishment by threatening the livelihood and well being of a reviewer.

The review was originally submitted to Yelp.com, a user-generated content-based website, and it concerned the owner of Beso Mexican Grill & Cantina, Derek Onstott, so much that he determined the identity of the reviewer (aka a Yelper) and embarked on what amounts to a campaign of terror. The following is a transcript from reemabeidoh.com of one of Onstott's telephone tirades.

Hi Rebecca this is Derek. I am calling in one last attempt to have you remove your review, and I spoke to my attorney about the first review you posted. I printed it out. That is defamation of character my attorney and will slap a lawsuit on you if the review is not gone in 24hrs. You never dined here. You don?t have receipt from here. You drank here, no service, no food? I will sue you. Your review has nothing to do with my restaurant? Trust me I will spend $10k in lawyers to win a $100k from you. I will drag your name through the mud, I *&$-ing mean it. I will drag your *&$-ing name through the mud. This is my livelihood. You drag my name through the mud I will drag yours. And mess up your life and job.

The restaurant itself is located in St. Louis. The incident has been tracked on many a blog by bloggers, restaurant-goers, and concerned citizens. This includes the hestreisandeffect.com, dulq.com, and pollsb.com.

I hope that the reviewer, who goes by the handle "anonymous restaurant girl" on reemabeidoh.com, does not come to any harm. Considering the number of people reading related content on digg.com, I've a feeling that Derek Onstott has heaped upon himself some unwelcome attention. Epic fail indeed!

Incidentally, according to the riverfronttimes.com, Derek Onstott isn't an entirely trustworthy businessman. He isn't new to making scenes in the restaurant business or being belligerent.

Ever the web wanderer, I love finding gadget-related innovations that either benefit the environment or make foodie life more interesting. Today, I chanced upon three food-related gadgets from different sources. Two come from YankoDesign. The third comes from DivineCaroline.

A design for kitchen gear from YankoDesign has appeared before on foodiePrints. Of course, I am referring to the computer in a coffee mug, called the Yuno PC. Two other designs are presently linked to popular entries on digg.com; one directly; one indirectly.

The first, is an automated tea steeping device, called the tea cube.

Teacube

How It Works
Souces: YankoDesign

As far as I can tell, the tea cube operates using a mechanical timer that is attached to a spring loaded winch, which retracts a teabag after a specified amount of time. I guess this is a modern answer to the tea ceremony that produces perfect cups of tea using leaves, carefully heated water, specially designed teapots, and a little patience. Personally, after spending a day with automated devices and the Internet, I would lean towards the tea leaves and a traditional cast iron teapot. Life has to slow down sometime.

The second design, is the sunflower solar oven. I found this device along with a DIY version on a Top 10 list of "Renewable Tech Gadgets" on the Cleantechnica website.

Sunflower Oven

How It Works
Sources: Cleantechnica and YankoDesign

Like most solar ovens, this sunflower-inspired one employs concentrated reflected thermal energy from the sun to cook food. The method is completely passive and, depending on the materials used to build the oven, does not carry as heavy a carbon debt as traditional barbecuing using gas or charcoal. I just hope that the collected thermal energy is enough to quickly take raw food out of the "danger zone" (5°C - 57°C (41°F - 135°F)).

If automated tea steeping devices or solar ovens don't peak your fancy, perhaps you may be interested in a vending machine that serves Kosher fast foods. Presenting the "Kosher Café", serving Kosher "Hot Nosh" 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Kocher Café's Not Nosh
Source: divincecaroline.com

And I thought that the automated fresh squeezing orange juice machine on Queen's campus was the height of vending machine technology...

Having blogged about some of the "greatest" food achievements in the history of human kind, a contrasting post about a frightening achievement is due. Again, these are food abominations that defy explanation or logic. Again, these dishes go to extremes. However, these foods incite no inclination to consume them. In fact, they tend to be abhorrent incarnations that invite curiosity, not appetite. To date, I have found one dish that fits this category: the German "Can Burger."

My former colleague and friend, Jack, first brought the can burger to my attention. Like other people who would soon after point me to the can burger, Jack received pictures of a canned confection attached to an e-mail. They follow:

Canned Cheese Burger from E-mail

Cooking the Burger

Opening the Lid

Plating

Inside View

Indeed, this is a burger. It emerged from a can and it was prepared by boiling the can. The result: an unappetizing mixture of bun, meat, pale melted cheese, and discoloured pickles. Its bun is studded with pre-toasted sesame seeds.

Based on the images from the e-mail, the canned cheese burger cost 3.95 Euros. So, the product must have been purchased somewhere from the European union. The url on the can is German (.de). It belongs to Trekking Mahlzeiten, an outdoor retailer that specializes in camping supplies.

Later, I found the same canned cheeseburger on Gizmodo and forwarded a link back to Jack. The image accompanying the entry comes from the Trekking Mahlzeiten website. Jack remarked that it is impossible for the image of the suggested serving to, in any way, represent the burger from the can. The lettuce, cucumber, onion, and tomato look fresh and crisp. The cheese is yellow, not pale white. He's right. The burger pictured is more likely one that was assembled after removing it from the can or one that was put together using artificial ingredients. Gizmodo does however ask the $1000 question, would you eat this?

Regarding the canned hamburger's origins, since the hamburger is said to have originated in Germany, its very name owing to the German city Hamburg, it would be somewhat fitting that Germany originates this rather questionable fork in hamburger evolution.

The mystery of the can burger's origins further unraveled several months later when someone discovered that an artist, named Mike Bouchet, specially commissioned the production of 10 000 "Canburgers" for an exhibit in France. Gizmodo then asked the question if the now infamous can burger originated in an art project. It further determined that the can burger may still originate in Germany as Bouchet reportedly worked with a German canning company to produce the canned burgers. Apparently, they have a 2 year shelf life.

Here are images from the gallery, Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois, housing the exhibit. They come from the gallery's website:

Canburger Exhibit

Canburger Exhibit Close-up

Here are images of the artist and his canburger:

Mike Bouchet

Canburger
According to the exhibit's press release, Bouchet's intention was to investigate the "manifest issues" involved in hamburger consumption.

You will notice that both the cans and burgers are different. Bouchet's burger seems to lack cheese or pickles. Trekking Mahlzeiten's burger has a sesame seed bun.

Regarding its origin, I wonder if the canned burger is an answer to the canned roasted potatoes that I found being marketed in North America. If not, at least we know what to pair the can burger with.

There are some food abominations that defy explanation, logic, or even appetite. These dishes go to extremes, epitomizing sweetness, fattiness, saltiness, or savoriness. They are foods that common sense would have you avoid. At the same time, they incite a bizarre compulsion to seek them out and eat them. To date, I have come across three dishes that fit into this category: angel food French toast, fois gras poutine, and the Luther burger.

Alright, let's start with the angel food French toast. Angel food cake is traditionally seen as a completely guilt-free confection, low in fat and cholesterol. It is a light and airy cake that is made without egg yolks or baking powder. In fact, because it is leavened entirely by egg whites, special care needs to be taken to cut the cake. Straight edged blades will compress the cake before cutting it. A better method involves taking a pair of forks and tearing the cake to portion slices. Once portioned, what do you do with leftovers? One solution is to re-introduce egg yolk in the form of a French toast batter. Both images and recipes are available on the web at the Food Network and Kaboodle. Personally, given how difficult it is to successfully bake a tall angel food cake, I feel that using it to make French toast defeats the purpose. Why not just go all the way and make a sponge cake? Even so, I find my mind drifting to this recipe every time I consider making angel food cake...

Poutine is Quebec comfort food, a signature dish consisting of fries, cheese curds, and thick gravy. In its original form, it is already excessive, starchy, rich, and savory. Sometime in 2004, Chef Martin Picard decided to re-invent the dish at his Montreal restaurant "Au Pied de Cochon." He added foie gras to the dish. According to the New York Times, he also re-invited the gravy, employing pork stock, flavouring it with foie gras, and enriching it with egg yolks and cream.

I first encountered the Au Pied de Cochon poutine in an episode of No Reservations with Chef Anthony Bourdain. During the segment on the restaurant, Chef Bourdain partakes of almost 14 courses of excess. The fois gras poutine was his third or fourth dish. The image of the fois gras poutine comes from the thisisgonnabegood blog, where one contributer and his family decided to partake of the same multi-course meal of excess. When next I visit Montreal, I will definitely make it a point to visit Au Pied de Cochon. However, I'm going to stop at the foie gras poutine course.

The title of this blog entry comes from the March 14, 2008 edition of Greg Dean's RealLife online comic. The strip in question has the character Greg exclaiming to his wife, Liz, that he has found the "Greatest Epicurean Achievement in the History of Man" and he must eat it. The achievement consists of a hot dog that is wrapped in a hamburger patty, deep fried and served on a submarine bun (hoagie roll in American parlance) with chili, cheese, onions, bacon and a fried egg. When Liz responds that she will be taking out a life insurance policy out on Greg, Greg discovers that the same restaurant also serves a hamburger on a Krispy Kreme doughnut bun.

While the "hamdog" and doughnut encased burger sound like foods that are typically served at a carnival or American state fair, both exist and originate in a restaurant called Mulligan's in Atlanta, Georgia. Mulligan's menu lists the burger as the "Luther Burger." It is also served as a unique concession at Atlanta Grizzly baseball games, where it is marketed as "Baseball's Best Burger."

According to wikipedia, a traditional Luther burger consists of a hamburger patty, a slice of sharp cheddar cheese, two rashers of crisped bacon, and a sliced Krispy Kreme "Original Glazed." It is even served in Google's cafeteria in New York.

Apparently, a variation on the Luther burger is being served at county fairs. The "Deep Fried Krispy Kreme Chicken & Swiss" replaces the hamburger and cheddar cheese with a grilled chicken patty and processed Swiss cheese. It was spotted by Jonco, the author of the bitsandpieces1 blog, sometime in 2006 at Charlie Boghosian's "Chicken Stand." There, he also found deep fried spaghetti and meatballs on a stick, deep fried cheeseburgers, deep fried coca-cola (cola syrup mixed with funnel cake batter), and fried Moon Pies.

Here is a how-to video on making a "Los Angeles style" Luther Burger using Krispy Kreme doughnuts and In-N-Out burgers.