McDonald’s Pulls Tomatoes

9 06 2008

McDonald’s and most other fast food restaurants are worried about Salmonella.

McDonald’s Corp., Wal-Mart and some other restaurant and grocery store chains will stop selling some types of tomatoes while U.S. health officials try to find the source of the outbreak, which has sickened at least 145 people.

The FDA issued an expanded warning Saturday, saying raw red Roma, red plum and red round tomatoes have been linked to an outbreak of Salmonella serotype Saintpaul, an uncommon type of Salmonella food poisoning. The first warning went out on June 3.

Last year it was the high price.  This year is possible sickness.  Tomatoes ruin burgers anyway.  Why are people still destroying meat or meat-like patties with vegetables?


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , ,
Categories : Chains, Food News

Modern Day Milkman

9 06 2008

Here’s a great story out of St. Augustine, Florida.

Here’s how the program works: consumers place a pre-order for their milk with (local entrepreneur George) Kristoff.  A family would order a specific number of gallons per week. They choose a payment program that is in place for a period of time and the price of milk would be guaranteed for that specific time frame.

For instance, an 8-week program is $28. A family would receive one gallon of milk per week for that price. Program plans range from 8 to 20 weeks. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : Food News

Traveler’s Club Needs Help

6 06 2008

I was just reading the dead tree edition of Lansing City Pulse and came across this article.

(Traveler’s Club Owner Will) White has placed “for sale” signs on his property along Okemos and Hamilton roads in “downtown” Okemos — or, Meridian Township, if you’re dealing with the local government. He says that he needs to find a partner to help run his businesses — he says that his financier, Comerica Bank, has come to collect on its mortgages.

“They’re viable businesses,” White said, referring to the restaurant (and tuba museum) and music shop. “But the bank wants someone else to take on the mortgages. I can’t find another bank; I’ve been to 50 lenders.”

Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : Food News, Okemos

Press Release – Cadillac Club Restaurant to Close for Summer

4 06 2008

Damn, I haven’t been able to make it there for a meal yet….but they’ll still be open for Sunday Brunch. 

The Cadillac Club, known for it’s delicious dinners and lunches, will be discontinuing that part of the business for the summer beginning the second week of June.  The Events, Banquets, and Catering divisions of the business will remain active, and there are many exciting events coming up. 

The Restaurant has not gotten the support from the community that it needs to sustain a daily food service operation.  Events and Banquets have become the mainstay of the business, proving to be highly successful, and the catering division of the business is booming, but the restaurant has fallen short on the day to day operations.  The Restaurant’s Sunday Brunch d’Elegance offering will remain intact, however, and is developing as a “weekly event”, providing an opportunity for the public to continue to enjoy the delectable dishes of Executive Chef Brett Telder.  Organizers are planning to feature a Summer Spirit Music Program, inviting the spiritual singers in our Greater Lansing Area Churches to perform on the Cadillac Club Stage during the 1o’clock hour during Sunday Brunch. 

           
The Gigantic Kitchen at the Cadillac Club will be offered for rent to catering groups, and the entire facility is available for banquets or events that would involve 50 or more attendees.  Persons holding Cadillac Club Gift Certificates can redeem them at the Sunday Brunch or order Take Out or Catering. 

           

Cadillac Club Owner, David Sheets, and Staff are disappointed that the restaurant endeavor did not get supported as needed to sustain, but are optimistic about the events that are coming.  This weekend will be the final Friday and Saturday night to enjoy the weekly dining and dancing at the club, and the restaurant will go out in style with the amazing Salsa band Ritmo, this Saturday, June 7th.  Pete Townsend will entertain during the Dinner hour Both Friday and Saturday night. 

             

“It would cost more to attempt to keep the restaurant business open over the summer than it will to simply shut down the operation for that period.  The restaurant business is tough in general, but in the summer, in Lansing, in a light traffic area like REO Town, it is a money losing operation.”, says Owner David Sheets. 

           

The Cadillac Club has played a major role in the community, helping dozens of organizations raise funds and awareness for their causes, and will continue to do so.  Also, the Restaurant has fed the homeless, and victims of tragedies, during the Holidays.  The Cadillac Club initiated many great programs for the community like:  The Miss Capital City Scholarship Pageant, The Cadillac Club Community Fundraising Program, Stuff the Cadillacs for the Food Bank, Cadillac Club Idol, The Battle of the High School Bands, etc.  The Club has also hosted many great events such as The Angel House Bachelor Auction, The Addy Awards,  and Breakin’ Bread with the Blues, …it has been all about community.  Club organizers were very involved in creating The REO Town Music Festival, and have produced many great local, Regional and National Concerts that have taken place on the Cadillac Club Stages.   “With the Cadillac Club I have attempted to give back to the community, and do something great for the community….It is a huge disappointment to me that we are going in the direction of scaling back at this time,”  Says David Sheets.

           

There are many great opportunities in June however to still take advantage of the Cadillac Club’s great ambience and delicious food. 

 

These are the upcoming dates that the Club will be offering events in June:

 

Open All June Sundays for Sunday Brunch d’Elegance, 11am – 3pm.

Restaurant will be open through Saturday, June 7th.

June 7th Ritmo

June 11, Miss Capital City Send-Off Reception and Wardrobe Showing 

June 14th The REO Town Custom Bike Show!  

June 18th Tim Barron’s March of Dimes Thank You Party

June 20th Money Ball Comedy Jam  

June 21st Moneyball  

June 24th Virgilitaville!  A Fundraiser for Mayor Virg Bernero

June 27th DeVille Banquet Hall, Michigan Pride Comedy Show

June 27th Sista Otis and the Wholly Rollers, Dining Room Stage

June 28 Elvis, (Ryan Pelton, Award Winning Elvis look/sound alike!)

Please see website for details! 

http://www.thecadillacclub.com

 

            With the exciting events of June, The Cadillac Club will make it’s morph into a Banquet/Event Center for the summer, now with the entire facility available for Special Events.  The Cadillac Club is taking bookings for events of 50 persons or more. 

Call 517 853-1912  Also The Cadillac Club is booking “Spirit Music” entertainment for the upcoming Summer Sunday Brunch Entertainment, call 517-853-1912 to inquire. 


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: ,
Categories : Food News, Lansing

Ann Arbor to allow chickens in backyards

3 06 2008

How bad do you want fresh eggs?  In Ann Arbor, you’ll be able to actually keep chickens in your backyard.  No roosters.  Just hens.  I know most of you city folk are scratching your head right now wondering how you can get eggs without roosters.  Unlike mammals, eggs are fertilized AFTER the hen lays them, so no rooster is necessary to actually lay the eggs.  Rooster’s are not necessary to produce the egg.  They are necessary to produce a fertilized egg.  The eggs you buy at the store are usually unfertilized eggs.  The only place you would ever get fertizlized eggs would be a farm.

I don’t know if this is a good idea or not.  The ordinance will not allow the slaughter of the chicken and there’s no way for your chickens to reproduce so it would be a challenge to actually save money by raising chickens.  Most likely, you’re going to end up losing money.

Still, there are those in Ann Arbor who are excited. 

“I’d like my children to understand where food comes from. This is Ann Arbor, we’re different and we like it. We have dairies that deliver and community gardens. I’d would love to have this local food connection,” said Jennifer Hall.

Other comments during the public hearing that preceded the vote focused on the value of locally grown food and compatibility of backyard chickens with broader ideas about environmental sustainability.

Take your kids to a farm then.  I just can’t see why anyone would want to raise chickens in an urban environment.  Yes, the fresh eggs would be nice, but you’ll never be able to afford enough chickens to meet your demand.


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : Agriculture, Ann Arbor, Food News

Tim Horton’s Camp Day

3 06 2008

If you’re gonna buy a cup of coffee tomorrow (Wednesday, June 4), it may as well go towards a good cause.

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008, is a special day for Tim Hortons store owners, staff and customers. It’s Camp Day – the one day a year when every penny raised from coffee sales at participating Tim Hortons stores across Canada and the United States, will be donated to the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation.

What One Cup of Coffee Can Do

Every time a customer buys a coffee at Tim Hortons on Camp Day they will help send over 13,000 kids – who could otherwise not afford it – on the camping adventure of a lifetime. All children who attend the Foundation’s camp sessions are selected from within the communities where Tim Hortons stores are located. Tim Hortons store owners work closely with local youth organizations and schools to select appropriate children, between the ages of nine and 12, to attend a 10 day summer camp session or seven day winter camp session.

“Each year we are overwhelmed with the outpouring of support that we receive from our loyal customers and special guests on Camp Day,” says Bill Moir, President, Tim Horton Children’s Foundation. “Our customers like the fact that all they need to do to help deserving children is buy a cup of coffee. It’s what they already do every day – yet on Camp Day so many go above and beyond to show their support.”

 


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , ,
Categories : Food News

More Depressing Corn News

30 05 2008

The bad news just never stops for corn growers.

A cold, wet spring put crop planting weeks behind schedule across much of the U.S. Corn Belt and drastically slowed growth where corn is already in the ground.

Now, farmers in parts of Iowa, Illinois and Indiana are replanting corn that either sat under water in flooded fields too long to germinate or can’t break through sodden, compacted soils. And the cool, soggy weather continues, the last thing a heat-loving crop like corn needs.

“It’s starting to look like a very difficult year,” University of Illinois agronomy professor Emerson Nafziger said.

So how does that effect you?  Higher prices yet again.  There’s going to be less corn this fall which means more money for farmers, but it also means higher prices for us.  There’s just no relief in sight!

 


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : Food News

Have Food Prices Peaked?

30 05 2008

I was forwarded an Associated Press article that says food prices have probably peaked.

PARIS (AP) — World food prices are set to fall from current peaks in the coming years but will remain “substantially above” average levels from the past decade, a report said Thursday.

……..

Despite the price hikes, general price levels have remained “remarkably stable,” suggesting that inflation in the coming decade will “remain low,” the report says.

Compared with the previous decade, the report said average prices over 2008-2017 for beef and pork should rise 20 percent; sugar around 30 percent; wheat, maize and skim milk powder 40 to 60 percent; butter and oilseeds more than 60 percent; and vegetable oils over 80 percent.

That’s not really comforting, but the report was really about world food prices, not just US food prices which have seen a spike recently.  What the story is saying is food prices should begin falling in the coming months, but we’re not going to see them fall to what they were five years ago.  Still, it’s a little bit of relief.


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: ,
Categories : Food News

Stupidest News Story This Year…

29 05 2008

I didn’t know what to think when I saw this article.

BOSTON – Dunkin’ Donuts has pulled an online advertisement featuring Rachael Ray after complaints that a fringed black-and-white scarf that the celebrity chef wore in the ad offers symbolic support for Muslim extremism and terrorism.

The coffee and baked goods chain said the ad that began appearing online May 7 was pulled over the past weekend because “the possibility of misperception detracted from its original intention to promote our iced coffee.”

In the spot, Ray holds an iced coffee while standing in front of trees with pink blossoms.

Critics, including conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, complained that the scarf wrapped around her looked like a kaffiyeh, the traditional Arab headdress. Critics who fueled online complaints about the ad in blogs say such scarves have come to symbolize Muslim extremism and terrorism.

I’m a lot more conservatives that most bloggers and even I think this is ridiculous.  If anything, it’s just any ugly scarf.  Why in the hell would anyone think Rachel Ray is a terrorist?  She butchers the English language and annoys the crap out of most of society with her text messaging inspired abbreviations, but to suggest there’s a hidden agenda in this photograph is ridiculous. 

Rachel Ray


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : Food News

Gardening “growing” in Popularity

27 05 2008

It used to be I got depressed watching the news because all they covered were car accidents and murders (hey, I grew up in Chicago’s DMA).  Now, I get depressed watching the news because it reminds me how I rising prices are effecting everything I do. News stories are now starting to focus on people’s changing habits when it comes to saving money.

Adam Lenz has worked at Wenke Greenhouses for the past three years, and says one section of the business has recently seen a major boost.

“We’ve noticed a rise in the last year or so in our vegetable sales,” said Lenz. “A lot of people are trying to see to grow their own to keep the cost down a bit.”

I don’t eat nearly enough vegetables to justify growing a garden.  Oh yeah, plus I live in an apartment complex.  I don’t think management would like that too much.  While it doesn’t make sense for me, it does make sense for some people.

Beudrie says the reason she’s starting her own garden is because she can’t afford to spend $200 on groceries every week for her family.

“It’s getting really expensive and the whole grocery budget is going through the roof,” she said.

To start up her garden, it will cost Beudrie less than a weeks worth of groceries, and over time, it will end up saving her much more.

Gardening is another one of those things that has kind of become a lost art in recent years.  Growing up, my grandma always had (and still does) a garden.  A lot of my friends parents did too.  My family  never did, but we didn’t eat a lot of vegetables either.  In some ways, these rising prices are a good thing.  It’ll bring families back to the table.  Their own table.  Not Applebees table.  We got lazy in the last decade or so when it comes to food.  Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing after all……


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , ,
Categories : Food News, Michigan

« Previous Entries Next Entries »