Food News Feed

Steven Shaw doesn't like a lot of food criticism and he's not shy about telling you why. In his opinionated new book (which, as a NYC food fan, I enjoyed thoroughly), Shaw devotes much of a lengthy chapter to skewering guidebooks like Zagat's and Michelin, starred restaurant reviews, and the undercover restaurant reviewer.

Strong customer demand for his high-quality vegetables propels this intensive urban gardener to pursue organics even without a premium price...To describe Doudou’s garden as Eden-like would be stooping to a cliché that fails to underscore the sweat and rugged persistence invested in its creation.

The Marin County 2006 Organic Farmers Calendar.

As if I had not gone far enough already, just to be silly, let us consider how many grains of rice might go into a bottle - or a glass - of sake...let us say that they use Yamada Nishiki rice milled to 57%, thereby qualifying it as a daiginjo (as it is 60% or below). Yamada Nishiki weighs about 26.5% per 1000 grains when harvested, which is how they measure the size of rice varieties (i.e. the weight of 1000 grains). This would then mean that there are 1000 grains in every 15.0 grams after milling. The resulting hairy math will tell us that there are about 40,000 grains of rice used in brewing a 720 milliliter bottle of sake made from Yamada Nishiki milled to 57%, give or take a grain or two. Forty thousand. Now you know.

Tens of millions of dollars worth of vintage wine were believed to have been destroyed by a relentless fire Wednesday at a huge Vallejo warehouse that was considered one of the most secure places for wineries and individuals to store prized collections. More news on the warehouse fire.