PB&J Chocolate Covered Cups || It's About Time

The U.S. may be one of the only western countries to have an obsession with peanut butter. PB&Js are a childhood staple, and peanut butter cups are what make Halloween worthwhile. Now, a Los Angeles based shop, Drizzled and Dipped, is dueling out an dreamy combination of the two- a peanut butter & jelly cup.

It's about time somebody started making these... it's hard to imagine why it's not already a nationwide hit.

In general, peanut butter is making its way around health circles- being praised for its high protein and low sugar. The peanut butter in this cup is probably mixed with loads of sugary goodness, but that won't stop peanut butter fanatics and even LA health nuts from jumping on this small niblet of a treat.

Images: Drizzled and Dipped

Forget Brioche || El Toro Burger Goes Sweet With Raspberry Bun

El Toro Burger of Santa Ana, California serves up a variety of gourmet burgers, but for just 75 cents you can sweeten up your meal with a raspberry bun. Fruity, pink, and definitely photo worthy- this burger is not like anything else around the OC.

If you're not feeling raspberry, go with the black bun. McDonalds and Burger King tried out their own versions in Asia a few months ago, but El Toro Burger has the U.S. market so far.

Or better yet, go Asian and try a banh mi or noodle burger. 

Foodie culture is exploding in Southern California, and El Toro Burger is right at the epicenter of this multi-cultural kitchen creativity. 

El Toro Burger

Taco Bell | Sriracha Quesarito Debuts Today

by Adam Lapetina via Thrillist

Taco Bell's menu-item creation game has been pretty on point in the past year or so, seeing such new hybrid wonders as the quesadilla-wrapped Quesarito and the glorious Sriracha Menu. Now, it seems like the next logical step to combine these two into the ultimate (i.e. surely not literally ultimate, because there's definitely more to come) T-Bell monster: the Sriracha Quesarito, which officially drops today, February 26th. Frankenstein, eat your heart out.

The new Quesarito doesn't come with straight-up Sriracha, per se, but rather an orange Sriracha Crema, which Taco Bell reps are calling "the spiciest" sauce on their entire menu -- could a successor to the late, great Lava sauce be emerging? Other than that, it looks and tastes like your typical Quesarito (you know what one of those tastes like, right?), and is available with shredded chicken, ground beef, or steak.

Also launching on Thursday is the Snapple Lemonade Freeze, which joins their already burgeoning Freeze lineup and will hopefully remind you that a season other than winter exists.

Thrillist

McDonald's New Australian Restaurant | A Re-Branding Experiment

When I was just a little chunk, going to McDonald's was like going to Disneyland. The playground, toys, fries, and cute little burgers were just about as good as anything in life. But at some point, things began to change. Looking at the golden arches now gives me an uneasy feeling- a greasy, fatty, even dirty sensation. I don't think I'm alone in this either- and I can see that I share this attitude with the rest of my Chipotle loving friends and classmates.

Just this past month, McDonald's has seen their largest % drop in sales in the last 10 years. As the nation is choosing to grub at fast-casual and healthier restaurants over the once dominant fast-food joints, and critical media coverage continues to rattle the fast food giant, the McDonald's brand is suffering significant financial and social consequences.

Re-modeling its stores and upgrading its menu has done some damage control, but the McDonald's name still carries a stigma that is crippling its reputation across the globe. McCafe's have become popular abroad, especially in Europe where the stores are the equivalent of our highest end Starbucks' locations- equipped with multiple stories, wi-fi, and luxury seating. But entering a new business segment has not improved the food or the perceptions that people still have of the burgers and chicken nuggets.

But McDonald's has taken its largest leap of faith yet, debuting an entirely new brand of "hipster" food and unordinary bites. The re-branded experiment, The Corner, is based in an Australian suburb and shows off a menu of quinoa salad, brioche breakfast sandwiches, and 3rd wave coffee. While it's technically still a McDonald's... it's not. Kyle Jarvis, manager of The Corner told the Daily Telegraph Newspaper:

“The only association we have is that we are a McCafe, but what we are offering is totally different to what we offer in McCafe. If they’re looking for a Quarter Pounder, they’ll probably be sorely disappointed.”

But does our generation even want a quarter pounder anymore, when we can customize our prepared-to-order burgers at In-n-Out, The Habit, or Five Guys? Part of the equation here is that new food joints are offering better quality food, and the other half is that ordering a quarter pounder just isn't cool anymore. The Corner is McDonald's reaction to the trends of fast-casual and organic dining, and Australia is serving as its "lab".  

Besides the once in a blue moon McMuffin that I'll pick up on a long dessert road trip, McDonald's food just isn't for me. But while I've drifted away from it and other chains such as Taco Bell and KFC, I'm excited to see how these brands will navigate the foodie wave that's defining our consumption patterns. Taco Bell debuted its U.S. Taco Co. in Huntington Beach this past year, and KFC rolled out KFC eleven; it's only a matter of time before The Corner makes its way over here.  

Images: Broadsheet // Business Insider // Huffington Post

Black Burgers Hit the Asian Market

This September, Burger King released an all new "Kuro Burger", which features a black bun, black cheese, and sauce made from squid ink.

McDonald's jumped on the trend in October and started grilling its own black burger. The fast food giant's "Squid Ink Burger" has normal colored cheese and ketchup, so it's a bit more appealing than Burger King's creation.

Why would these companies create such an unappealing item? Who would buy such a thing? It turns out that customers in foreign markets demand much more menu variety than their American counterparts. American fast food restaurants are frequented for their fast service, reliability, and predictability, while the foreign chains are visited for the experience that comes with the meal. A black burger may just be a quirky menu item, but it's sure to get customers talking and mix up the traditional burger experience.

In the states, Taco Bell is making headway with its new breakfast menu and wacky fusion items such as the Waffle Taco. The company just released an all new mobile app as well that allows for increased food customization. So far, Taco Bell's innovation strategy has been propelling them above their competition as the American fast food industry continues to decline and fast-casual spots like Chipotle take over the market.

But then again, places like In-n-Out  are sticking with minimal menus. As the Apple Computer of the burger industry, they know what they do well, and there's no need to diffuse their brand with changing menu items. The family-owned chain serves up honest, juicy, premium burgers which most would argue are tastier than McDonald's or Burger King's sandwiches.

So while food innovation reigns supreme abroad and is becoming the fast-food norm in America, the food traditionalists have no need to fear. You'll still be able to get your Double Double with fries and a shake without worrying that squid-ink is going to ruin your meal.

Hypebeast

LA Food Culture | The Ramnut

Last year, the Cronut drew hordes of people to a little bakery on the streets of New York City. The creation was a hit- the croissant/donut hybrid was praised for its unique texture & complexity, and bakeries across the nation began cashing in on the trend and producing their own versions.

This Fall, a new foodie experiment is catching peoples' attention. It's called the Ramnut, and it's a pastry made up of ramen and filled with sugary goodness. 

The Ramnut might not be as delicious as the Cronut- the UCLA student behind the recipe even says it might not be that good- but it is at the least, thought provoking. Josh Scherer explains that his motives for cooking the ramnut are rooted much deeper than taste.

By recycling the same Pinterest recipe for red velvet kit-kat cheesecake over and over, you’re complicit within cultural stagnation; you’re taking things from the conversation without adding anything new. I’m just trying to spark up a few lines of dialogue. I want to do things that are unique, things that have never been done before, and whether they taste good or not is tertiary to the real goal of progress.

But if food doesn't taste good, then what's the point in eating it? Well, without experimenting it's hard to discover new treasures. Since the beginning of time, our ancestors have done all the hard work for us, trying new foods and establishing the standards for what is right or wrong to eat. But we now have the ability to continue the progress in a multi-cultural and global fashion. 

Modern re-inventions like the Ramnut are expanding the frontier of foodie culture and incorporating ingredients that have originated from around the world. And Scherer isn't the only one who is leading this cultural reaction to the foodie phenomenon. IBM recently developed a culinary app called Chef Watson that allows users to create their own recipes using any ingredients they wish. The app can even do the ingredient selection for you- analyzing the chemical contents of the ingredients that underlie the food's taste.

It doesn't matter if you rely on technology to spark creativity, or have a knack for creating tasty combinations on the fly- anybody can contribute to the foodie movement. If you want to see what the Ramnut takes and maybe get a little inspiration to create something yourself, check out the recipe below. 

RAMNUT RECIPE & INSTRUCTIONS

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6 packs instant ramen
3 whole eggs
64 oz prepared horchata
Nonstick spray
Oil for frying
Various frostings, fillings, and toppings

1) Get that horchata boiling in a large sauce pot. Toss in all your ramen noodles and cook 3-4 minutes or until tender.
2) Strain ramen noodles in colander and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Whisk 3 eggs in a large mixing bowl then add in your cooled ramen noodles and mix thoroughly.
3) Spray down a 7×11 in baking pan with nonstick spray then dump in ramen egg mixture and spread evenly across surface. Add a layer of plastic wrap on top, press the ramen down hard with your hands, then throw it in the freezer for 3-4 hours. You want it to be relatively frozen but still workable.
4) Flip the semi-frozen ramen sheet onto your cutting board, and use something circular and a chef’s knife to shape them into donuts.
5) Heat your oil to 325 degrees and fry the ramen donuts for 4 or 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown on the outside and steamy on the inside.
6) Let the oil drain on a paper towel, then slather the donut in your favorite toppings.

Culinary Bro-Down

The Language of Food & Its Predictive Social Media Power

Foodie culture is infiltrating cities throughout the nation. People are jumping on board the “food truck”, looking to explore the realm of food art and culinary innovation, and they’re taking their experiences to social media.

The strategically placed snapshots of pumpkin spice lattes and acai bowls that fill our feeds do more than just rack up “likes” and make our mouths drool, they give us insights into our society’s culture, habits, beliefs, and health status. A group of researchers from the University of Arizona collected over 3 million food related posts from Twitter to understand how food language can predict regional and national tendencies.

The team analyzed key words and hashtags, and found that usage of certain terms is highly powerful in explaining and even forecasting population characteristics. Terms such as food porn, after work, snack, and drinks are more often used by overweight populations, while posts and hashtags with the words happy, beer, open, and date, represent societies less prone to obesity.

Ideologies can also be guessed by analyzing food language- vegan, yum, brunch, and bacon tend to come from Democrats, while lunch, airport, after work, and delicious tend to be used by Republicans. Food language is commonly associated with geographic location as well. The Midwest sees posts with promotional words like free and off, the Northeast likes using brunch and words about group dining, the South loves their chicken and baked foods, and the West is home to foodporn and Mexican food.

As for the future of food language, the researchers want to be able to predict individual behaviors and potential health risks using social media data. On a commercial scale, such food language analysis may also improve businesses targeted marketing efforts and help put food brands in front of interested and hungry consumers.