A few food related items from today’s lunchtime news reading:
- New York vs. Los Angeles. First it was Five Guys, coming to Southern California to invade the territory of In-N-Out. Now Pinks needs to worry as New York’s Papaya King Hot Dog Stand is invading Los Angeles. They have even brought in insulting advertising: “We’re 100 percent natural. But we think we’ll fit in L.A. just fine.” Why is Papaya King in LA? Despite LA’s reputation as a health-food mecca, Los Angeles consumes more hot dogs than any other city in the country, followed by New York, according to the latest statistics from the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.
- Gluten-Free… and Loving It. Gluten-Free dining has been increasingly in the news. Those of us who have been involved with Celiacs remember the old days: bread from Ener-G that could serve as styrofoam packing. That’s no longer true, and the NY Times has a nice article on how gluten-free baked goods are sometimes even better than wheat products. Connecting to that is a nice article my manager sent me listing 12 great spots to be Gluten-Free in Los Angeles. He knows one of them very well: Breakaway Bakery, #4 on the list, is run by his wife! We’ll have to go try some of the others, although we’re familiar with Hugos.
What’s On Your Plate. The dreaded food pyramid, which had morphed into something totally incomprehensible, is gone. It has been replaced by the food plate, which I’ll agree is a much more understandable version. “MyPlate” promotes fruits and vegetables, which cover half the circle. Grains occupy an additional quarter, as do proteins such as meat, fish and poultry. A cup of “dairy” rests to the side. There are no desserts. There is an accompanying website. I’m sure those that hate the first lady and her initiative will find something to complain about, but I like this effort. ETA: We can already see some of this: the GOP is complaining that healthy school lunches cost too much
