Tag Archives: restaurants

Restaurant Charges More If You Don’t Clear Your Plate

adminJune 7, 2010 //

An Australian restaurant, Wafu, has started charging diners who don’t finish their meal 30 percent more, after Chef Yukako Ichikawa got tired of her customers’ wastefulness. More accurately, those who clean their plate get a 30 percent discount, but it sounds less shocking to say it that way. Ichikawa’s dishes are all organic and free of gluten, dairy, sugar and eggs. She warns customers with a sign on the door that reads, “Vegetables and salad on the side are NOT decorations; they are part of the meal, too.” Ichikawa works to make everything as sustainable as possible and says that those who don’t finish everything shouldn’t bother returning. [Newser]

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Human Milk Cheese? Cat Stew? 10 Truly Terrible Culinary Ideas

Kate Torgovnick/Kate-Book.comMarch 11, 2010 //

Chef Daniel Angerer once kicked Bobby Flay’s butt on “Iron Chef.” But if you visit his Klee Brasserie in New York City and try one of his signature dishes, you might be a little surprised to hear about one of the ingredients—cheese made from his wife’s breast milk. “I prepared a little canapé of breast-milk cheese with figs and Hungarian pepper,” he told the NY Post. “It tastes like cow’s-milk cheese, kind of sweet.” All I can say is … eww.

In honor of Daniel, let’s take a look at some other truly questionable ingredients that chefs are pulling off as fine dining. Keep reading »

Eating Green Just Got Much Easier

Lily QJanuary 22, 2010 //

Low-output shower heads kind of suck and fluorescent lighting can make a girl look tragic really fast, so some of us justify our unwillingness to switch over and help the environment out just a little. But when the rare opportunity to stop taking total advantage of the planet while enjoying ourselves comes along, there’s really no reason to say no. On that front, may we present Partnership for the Environment, a website that helps you find environmentally friendly restaurants in your area and even tells you which exact aspects of the restaurants’ practices are treating Mother Earth so well. Given that we’re huge fans both of food and not watching the ecosystem turn into a flaming ball of terribleness all around us, we’ll be visiting often. Keep reading »

Are Fancy Or Casual Restaurants Better For Dates?

Catherine StrawnOctober 28, 2009 //

When you go on a dinner date, do you eat at a fancy restaurant with cloth napkins, multiple courses, and a sommelier on staff? Or do you stop at a hole-in-the-wall that serves what are supposed to be the best hot dogs in town? According to an article in today’s New York Times, stuffy restaurant dates aren’t the preference these days for many people.

In general, people have gotten a lot more casual over the years; this has certainly been reflected in dating. While I like wearing dresses, I’m definitely of the mindset that going to a cheap, hidden gem is usually much more fun and gives you a better chance to get to know someone than dining at a high-class establishment does (unless you want to evaluate his table manners). How can you even concentrate on getting to know someone when you have to think about which fork to use? Keep reading »

What To Order At Celeb’s Favorite Restaurants

Nina CarboneAugust 4, 2009 //

OK, yeah, I know what you’re going to say. Celebs, eat? Whaa? Last time I checked, Jen Aniston was a vegan/vegetarian/all-salad-all-day/raw foodist/no-foodist, that’s how she looks so freakin’ amazing in whatever pencil skirt or jeans-and-belt-combo she’s rocking today. (Or tomorrow, or yesterday…) Well, yeah—many stars have a strict diet they follow as well as an insane personal trainer on call to work off any extra ounce of pudge trying to lay claim to their hips—but I’m talking about what they eat when they make those grand gestures and venture out to the newest hotspot restaurant. You know, the restaurants you and I will never get into without having to eat dinner at 4:30 p.m. or 1 a.m.—places like Wolfgang Puck’s Cut in LA or The Waverly Place (pictured above) in New York City where just last night Sienna Miller, she of the bonkers closet fame, ate. Do you ever wonder what celebs chow on during their dinners out? (Hey, you either do or you don’t.) Here’s a list of celeb haunts and the menu item to order if you ever go on a date with Bradley Cooper and he leaves the “where” part up to you: Keep reading »

Condom-Themed Restaurants In Thailand

Catherine StrawnMay 22, 2008 //

Cabbages and Condoms is a chain of restaurants in Thailand that also promotes safe sex, hence the word “condoms” in its name. The “cabbages” part is there because the vegetable is a staple of Northeast Thailand — and as a website about the restaurants says, “Now, if condoms could be as common and used as often, then some of the population and health problems facing Thailand could be overcome!” All the proceeds from the restaurants are used to fund social development programs of the Population and Community Development Association, which promotes family planning. I’m thinking a location in Times Square, right next to the Hawaiian Tropic restaurant/bar would do quite well. [SLI.UniMelb.edu.au via MentalFloss.com] Keep reading »