Your weekly digest of the most captivating food stories, bringing you the latest culinary buzz, Just To Serve You Philadelphia and beyond. Missed the week’s food frenzy? We’ve got you covered, from unique local flavors to global gastronomic oddities.
Pennsylvania’s Own “Steer Party Mix” Creates a Buzz
Forget farm-to-table; Philadelphia chefs are turning heads with a new beef source that’s as Pennsylvania as it gets. Herr’s, the iconic local potato chip company, isn’t just about snacks anymore. Turns out, they’ve been raising cattle on their Eastern PA farmland for years. But here’s the kicker: these cows are feasting on a special diet of potato peels, pretzel remnants, and chip offcuts – affectionately known as “Steer party mix.” This unconventional feed is reportedly producing beef with a uniquely delightful taste, catching the attention of local culinary experts. For a deeper dive into this savory story, Food & Wine has all the delicious details on these “party cows.”
Herr's Chips for Cows in Philadelphia
Mai Tai Mastery: Hawaii’s Best Kept Secret is in a Bank
Craving the world’s best Mai Tai? You might be surprised to find it not on a beach, but in a bank. Nestled in a downtown Oahu bank building, Bar Leather Apron is home to bartender Art Deacons, recently crowned winner of the World’s Best Mai Tai competition. His award-winning concoction is served right there in this unlikely location. Vice’s Munchies offers a fascinating glimpse into this hidden gem. If a Hawaiian escape is on your horizon, Bar Leather Apron should be a definite stop – and then, tell us all about it!
Oysters on Demand: France’s Vending Machine Seafood
The French are known for their culinary innovation, and they’ve taken convenience to a new level with oyster vending machines. Imagine fresh oysters available 24/7, dispensing delicacies for around $8 a dozen. The catch? You’ll need to shuck them yourself. But, as Munchies points out, a shucking knife is practically a standard French accessory. Would you grab a dozen from a vending machine?
Skynet’s Culinary Curriculum: AI Learns Recipes from Food Photos
Are you a serial food Instagrammer? You might be inadvertently contributing to the rise of culinary AI. Computer scientists at M.I.T. are developing an artificial neural network that can generate recipes simply by analyzing food photos. The sheer volume of food pictures online provides a massive dataset, allowing the AI to learn at an astonishing pace. NPR’s The Salt explores this intriguing – and perhaps slightly unsettling – development. Is this the dawn of delicious AI-generated dishes, or the first step towards a food-obsessed robot uprising?
Australia’s Aquatic Arena: Crocodile vs. Shark
Leave it to Australia to deliver nature’s most dramatic showdowns. A video capturing a crocodile and a shark locked in battle has gone viral. It begins innocently enough, with someone feeding a fish to a crocodile. But then, a shark enters the scene, turning lunchtime into Thunderdome. Foodbeast has the wild video footage of this epic clash. Just another day in the land down under!
