The Feed: August 6, 2014

Shiny black eggplant sometimes reminds me of the head of the Alien from the Ridley Scott and James Cameron movies. Some people probably feel it's equally scary, but give it a chance...it's tasty!

Foodie Underground: “Food Trends Two Decades Ago: What if We Ate Like it Was 1994?” by Anna Brones.
Because I’ve been reading The Tastemakers, articles about food trends really interest me, and I’m loving that I came across two articles on historical food trends, both of which look back 20 years to 1994. This was the heyday of “low-fat” eating, which of course didn’t mean fewer calories, since fat was just replaced with sugar. Remember Snackwell cookies? I hadn’t thought about those in years.

Saveur: “Menu: A 1994 Dinner Party.”
Baked brie, mango salsa, sundried tomatoes and pesto-cream sauce. Yup, it’s a 1994 dinner party, brought forward from the past by Saveur, complete with recipes.

Incanto: “Is OpenTable Worth It?” by Mark Pastore.
OpenTable, the online restaurant reservation service, is a boon for customers, but how about restaurants? Pastore looks at how the site’s fees impact proprietors and why they feel they cannot disengage from the service.

Washington Post: “The Lure of Sin Zins,” by Dave McIntyre.
Because it’s so easy to rhyme “zin” with “sin,” zinfandel wine is subject to sexy marketing like no other type of California red. But, as McIntyre discovers, some of these zinfandels are actually pretty tasty, not just racy.

New York Times: “A Round Friend to Everyone,” by David Tanis.
Who doesn’t like eggplant? Well, a lot of people it seems. I recently heard a story about someone who grows them in their garden but never eats them—just passes them around the neighborhood. But they’re good! Fry them, cook them in ratatouille or puree them into Baba Ghanoush. Tanis has several great suggestions.

A La Mode Podcast: “Episode 22: Cocktail Hour,” by Jason Shriner and Jaisyn Markley.
Among other topics, Jason and Jaisyn share their favorite 12 cocktails (6 each) and the stories behind why they’re special, a list that includes the Malibu Bay Breeze (I didn’t realize Malibu rum isn’t actually a full-proof rum), Tom Collins (great summer classic) and Caipirinha (the South American classic).

Bacon & Legs: “Elvis Rolls,” by Fontina Turner.
Heard of the Elvis sandwich? A decadent combination of peanut butter, bananas and bacon. Turner takes the decadence a step further with the Elvis Roll, which that combination into a cinnamon roll. Yum.

Eater: “How New York City's Hottest Bar Was Made,” by Kat Odell.
Odell takes a close look at the recently expanded bar of The NoMad, which looks really great now (it was pretty cool when we saw its smaller iteration a couple years ago).

Eater: “Everything You Need to Open a Hipster Bar.”
You’ve got a handlebar mustache, an affinity for the 1890s and a hatred for vodka, you must be a hipster looking to open a bar. Here’s a checklist of everything you’ll need, including a good theme like “San Francisco before the quake.”

The Impulsive Buy: Putting the “Ew” in Product Reviews
I’m not much of a junkfood junkie, but nonetheless I got a kick out of this site, which covers news and reviews of new junk food products.