Free Republic

Everyone has that go-to food spot that your significant other is sick of (if not grossed out by) but will go along just to appease you. For me, that place is Wingstop. Maybe it's because Wingstop is nowhere near my house in Telegraph Hill, so those sauced-tossed wings always taste deliciously novel to me (someone could make a boatload if they opened one in the center of the city). Perhaps I just love that the aviation- themed decor makes me want to pretend my chicken wing is a steering rod for my imaginary fighter jet (sound effects included). More likely,...

Forget the possible heat and inevitable crowds, it's time for another edition of the Ramen Yokocho fest. The massive noodlepalooza is coming to Santa Anita Park on the weekend of March 28-29, and this time the Ramen Yokocho Assn. is not only bringing you 11 ramen-yas but, for the first time, they're holding a ramen championship. When you buy a ticket, you'll also be given a ballot so that you can vote for your favorite ramen. Only the U.S. ramen shops are eligible (the Japanese shops are considered guests), thus seven of the 11 shops are in the running to...

Not healthier than Western foodBian Huawei, head nutritionist at The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, said that it was a common misconception that Chinese food was healthier than Western food. In a November 2013 tencent.com report, Bian noted that although traditional Chinese food uses fewer animal fats compared to most Western dishes, many Chinese restaurants nowadays use excessive quantities of oil and salt to make dishes more flavorful. "Most cooking methods used in Chinese cuisine, such as deep-frying and roasting, use an excessive amount of oil," said Bian. "Even for the dishes that are cooked in a healthier...

The items for trade during my SHTF very often changed value, and some of them became unavailable for some period of time, just to suddenly show up again much more expensive. Yes, situation in the city dictated that, but also people, the black market lords made this happen. The whole situation was always changing where and if you can find what you were looking for. Some of the items that were circulating in the city were completely new to everyone, one of the reasons was that all sorts of stuff from humanitarian aid was coming to the city through different...

Have you noticed we are bickering and arguing more lately? Is it six years of obama, or should we blame Bush? Pour yourself a drink, hard or soft, and tell us a good joke. Cheers, to the best people I know!

Xiasha variety of popular Shanghai snack is still going strong, despite pale imitations Editor's Note According to UNESCO's definition, an "intangible cultural heritage" includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts. It has to be traditional, contemporary and living at the same time, inclusive, representative, and community-based. The safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of...

Starbucks is in hot water after launching a new campaign that encourages baristas to talk about race relations with customers. Critics have been lashing out at the company on social media, saying Starbucks is trying to capitalize on racial tension in the US. Following the backlash, Starbucks' senior vice president of communications Corey duBrowa appears to have deleted his Twitter account, which has only added to critics' outrage.

Full headline: Huh? Mother Jones Explains Why Eating 3 Square Meals A Day is Actually Racist.According to an essay by Mother Jones Senior Editor Kiera Butler, eating three meals a day is “anti-science, racist, and might actually be making you sick.” Butler’s astounding proclamation that three square meals is “racist” is supported by her interview with Historian Abigail Carroll, who wrote the book Three Squares: The Invention of the American Meal: When European settlers got to America, they also imported their meal habits: a light meal—maybe cold mush and radishes—in the morning, a heavier, cooked one midday, and a third...

Passengers on the South West Train service from Basingstoke to London Waterloo were left in shock after an announcer took to the tannoy to say that fat people should remain standing because of lack of space, the Daily Mail reports. On the packed commuter service, a member of staff reportedly said: “We are going to be like sardines on this train, so can I ask that only slim people sit on the three-seaters. If you are fat then it is simply not going to work.” One passenger was left furious by the announcement, saying: “I am not necessarily a big...

Yes, greek yogurt is delicious, nutritious, and surprisingly cost-effective. But, we admit we’d never really thought about this consequence of making it our go-to breakfast snack. It turns out that one of the byproducts of greek yogurt production is a little thing called acid whey. It’s a runny substance that is remarkably bad for the environment: If acid whey is dumped, its decomposition can deplete ecosystems of oxygen, killing fishy inhabitants. But, with the continuously growing popularity of that delicious yogurt — it now accounts for $2 billion of the $6 billion yogurt market — finding an ecologically responsible way...

On deck will be three dishes. You can get a crispy bacon-pastrami sandwich with gruyere cheese sauce and 1001 island slaw on grilled King's Hawaiian bun, bacon-pastrami poutine, or a salad of smoked chile glazed bacon-pastrami, cabbage, Oaxacan string cheese, pickled corn, green onion, sesame seeds and garlic-cilantro dressing. The menu will be available tomorrow at MainPlace Mall starting noon until 6 p.m. You'll also get a chance to meet Dog Haus Culinary Director Michael Brown and Würstmacher (sausage maker) Adam Gertler.

Japan is the de facto world capital of odd flavors for popular American snacks. From 'salty watermelon' to 'clam chowder' here are 12 flavors of Pepsi, Doritos, and more too wacky to dream up if you tried.Wasabi Kit Kats? Tuna Mayonnaise Doritos? Cucumber Pepsi? No, these aren't the results of manatee idea balls (we think). These Franken-snacks actually exist (or have existed) for public consumption in Japan. Although other countries in Asia, like Taiwan, have their own interpretations of Western-style snack foods, the de facto world capital of odd flavors is considered to be the Land of the Rising Sun....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7UW5AkWqOY

A British couple made a shocking discovery a few days ago after buying bananas from their local grocery store. The bananas were infested with spiders. And not just any spiders. When a Brazilian Wandering Spider bites a man, its venom can cause a painful four-hour ****, and can even lead to death. The woman who bought the bananas recognized the spider cocoon and put the bananas into her freezer to kill all the spiders.

Archaeologists have made a remarkable - and delicious - discovery in Bavaria, where during an excavation they dug up a 250 year-old pretzel. Silvia Codreanau-Windauer from the Bavarian Bureau for the Conservation of Historic Monuments confirmed that: "this is definitely the oldest pretzel ever found" - although she would give no word on whether it was past its expiration date. Alongside the remains of the pretzel, archaeologists also found the charred remains of a bread roll and a croissant - suggesting that someone missed out on quite the historical breakfast buffet in the 18th century, the period the find has...

TEL AVIV/FRANKFURT, March 12 (Reuters) - Two years after scientists cooked up the first test tube beef hamburger, researchers in Israel are working on an even trickier recipe: the world's first lab-grown chicken. Professor Amit Gefen, a bioengineer at Tel Aviv University, has begun a year-long feasibility study into manufacturing chicken in a lab, funded by a non-profit group called the Modern Agriculture Foundation which hopes "cultured meat" will one day replace the raising of animals for slaughter. The foundation's co-founder Shir Friedman hopes to have produced "a recipe for how to culture chicken cells" by the end of the...

Gazpacho: Drink your Salad! This is one of my husband's favorites of the things that I make routinely. I first learned the recipe when one of my Virginia cousins served it as an appetizer at a Christmas party. I was surprised to learn that it is an old Virginia favorite, found in many old cookbooks and served at Williamsburg restaurants. I've never made it in the authentic Spanish fashion, with bread; but here's a link to a somewhat different recipe that does: http://www.history.org/almanack/life/food/fdgzpcho.cfm When I can't get good tomatoes for this, I use a can of tomatoes for the part...

At 25, Russ Crandall was the picture of health. In 2005, the Navy translator—fluent in Russian and Indonesian—was so fit that he was often enlisted to whip out-of-shape recruits into, well, shape. And then, out of the blue, everything changed. "I had a stroke, and my body just stopped working the way I was expecting," the force behind paleo blog The Domestic Man told Yahoo Food. “The doctors couldn’t figure out why. They were like, ‘Figure out how to write again. Figure out how to walk.’” Within six months, Crandall had relearned both—he credits the speedy recovery to his youth...

BRIDGING a gap in the market between fast-food joints and full-service restaurants, fast-casual chains such as Shake Shack, Nando’s chicken restaurants and Chipotle Mexican Grill are enjoying success across the world. The combined sales of American fast-casual outlets rose by 10.5% last year, compared with 6.1% for fast-food chains, according to Mintel, a market-research firm. There are four main reasons why these outlets have been winning customers. First, they promise “fresh” food, meaning at the very least not frozen. Chipotle also says it uses, where possible, meat from animals raised without hormones or antibiotics, and organic and locally grown vegetables....

Black Eye Peas - and Cilantro! When I was growing up, we always had black-eye peas on New Year's Day, a tradition from my Southern Granny. But we had them throughout the year as well, and I grew to like them very much. I found this Sara Moulton recipe for Black-Eye Pea Cakes with Salsa Mayonnaise many years ago, and it's become a favorite. I think it was my first introduction to cilantro; they say one either loves or hates cilantro, and I'm one of the lovers. Sometimes, if I don't want the mess of frying, I make these a...