cookiesinheaven

Looks like twilight time for the tiki torches in the Fairmont Hotel's famed Tonga Room.

The Nob Hill hotel's owners are looking into a big-time condo conversion in the Fairmont tower, and the Tonga Room - with its tropical decor and Hurricane Bar - isn't included in the plans.

The Tonga Room is one of the nation's oldest tiki palaces, dating back to 1945 when MGM's top set director, Mel Melvin, was brought in to transform the Fairmont's indoor swimming pool into a nautical bar.

The result was a South Seas paradise - with a lagoon and a floating stage for the orchestra, a dance floor built from the remains of an old lumber schooner and even periodic tropical storms, complete with thunder and lightning. - SFGate

Taste of the Nation Santa Barbara
May 31, 2009
Montecito Country Club
920 Summit Road

General Admission 3:00 to 6:00 pm
General ticket price $75.00 at the door.
You save $20 off the regular admission price when you purchase online.

Since 1988, Taste of the Nation has raised more than $70 million. Funds from Taste of the Nation are directly invested in the most successful organizations committed to ending childhood hunger in America.

Restaurants get a bad rap for serving gargantuan portions of food and contributing to Americans' expanding waistlines. But what if something in your home were equally guilty? Something as innocent as . . . "Joy of Cooking"?

The classic cookbook, published since 1931, has done some girth-expanding of its own, a study has found.

Published as a letter Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the report examined 18 classic recipes found in seven editions of the the book from 1936 to 2006. It found that calorie counts for 14 of the recipes have ballooned by an average of 928 calories, or 44%, per recipe. And serving sizes have grown as well. - LATimes

Saturday, February 28, 2:00pm
Ojai Culinary Studio
315 N. Montgomery
Ojai, CA 93023
Phone: 805.646.1124
Menu: Flatbread with Potato and Red Onion, Grilled Scallops Wrapped in Pancetta, Mini-Salmon Cakes, Baba Ghanouj with Toasted Pita Triangles, Stuffed Grape Leaves with Dilled Yogurt, Provencal Tomato and Basil Tartlets, Grilled Baby Vegetables

Labels: Books, Chef, Italian, Olive Oil, Santa Barbara, Wine

Since the late 1970s, Henry's Turkey Service has been shipping mentally retarded men from Texas to Iowa to work in the West Liberty plant. Henry's has acted as the workers' employer, landlord and caregiver — paying the men a reduced wage for their work at the plant and then
deducting from their pay the cost of room, board and care. Payroll records indicate the men are left with as little as $65 per month in salary. - DesMoinesRegister

Peanut Co. owner refuses to testify to Congress. Peanut Co. owner takes the fifth, e-mails show owner told workers to ship tainted products. - AP

The amount of the fruit squeezed in the fall is down about 6% from the previous year, a government report says. That should help keep inventories down and reduce pressure to slash prices.

...The state's wine industry, already struggling with slowing sales because of the poor economy, won't be dealing with a glut of grapes from last year's harvest, according to a report released today.

...Though overall tonnage of red-wine grapes harvested dipped 9% to 1.7 million, the popular pinot noir varietal grew by almost 17%. Fredricks said much of that growth was fueled by demand for the wine by restaurants, which have seen wine sales slide. - LATimes

Joseph Schmidt Confections will stop selling its chocolates after June 30, according to a letter sent to customers by the Hershey Co. subsidiary that operates the San Francisco chocolatemaker. - SFGate

Labels: Chocolate, Hershey, San Francisco

Responding to the economic pressures facing its customers, Starbucks Coffee Company will introduce a selection of pairings each for $3.95 beginning March 3.

Tall Handcrafted Caffè Latte paired with:
Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal, 100% whole grain goodness made-to-order with three conveniently portioned toppings, including dried fruit,
nut medley and brown sugar; or
Reduced-Fat Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake, a moist buttery cake with a cinnamon swirl center topped with a cinnamon crumble.

Tall Fresh Brewed Coffee paired with:
NEW Artisan Bacon Sandwich, a flavorful bakery-style sandwich made with a parmesan egg frittata, smoked bacon slices, and Gouda cheese on a perfectly-baked hand-shaped artisan roll; or
NEW Artisan Ham Sandwich, a delightful combination made with a parmesan egg frittata, three slices of Black Forest ham, and mild cheddar on a perfectly-baked hand-shaped artisan roll; or Sausage Breakfast
Sandwich, a tasty teaming of sausage, egg and mild cheddar on an
English muffin; or Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon Breakfast Sandwich, lighter option featuring reduced-fat turkey bacon, cholesterol-free egg, and reduced-fat aged white cheddar on a multi-grain English muffin. - Yahoo Finance

Local chef Fabio Viviani will host a cooking class, serve a three course gourmet Italian dinner with wines and discuss wine and food pairings from 6 to 9 p.m. Tues., Feb. 10 at Cafe Firenze Italian Restaurant & Martini Lounge, 563 W. Los Angeles Ave., Moorpark. (more info - pdf)

Viviani, a contestant on Bravo's "Top Chef Competition," is a co-owner of the restaurant.

Participants of the class will receive a recipe booklet of the foods and wines served during the evening.

Artiste Impressionist Winery & Tasting Studio and Sunstone Winery will provide the wine for the event.

The cost is $100 per participant. The event is a fundraiser for St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Camarillo. - SimiValley Acorn

Located In The Heart Of Santa Barbara On State Street In The El Paseo Mission-Style Historic Landmark, Sophisticated And Upscale Dinner Guests Enter Through A Secluded Garden Courtyard In To A Dramatic Dining Room Complete With Hand Painted Beamed Ceilings And A Baronial Fireplace. For Years This Restaurant Has Been Regarded As “The Most Beautiful Dining Room In Santa Barbara.” Winecask’s Chefs Use Regional Ingredients To Fashion Imaginative Plates Of California-Style Cuisine. The Executive Chef Hails From A Venue Were He Was An Integral Part Of A Michelin 2 Star Award. The Restaurant\'s Wine Spectator Grand Award And Wine Enthusiast Award Of Ultimate Distinction Places The Winecask Among The Top 100 Restaurants In The World. Current Offerings Are Featured On A List Of Over 2500 Wines, Specializing In Hard-To-Find Selections, With A Santa Barbara County Emphasis.

This Is Actually Two Restaurants In One, With A Smaller, Separate Bar And Bistro Café Featuring Smaller Dishes At Slightly Lower Pricing. The Restaurant Also Has A Private Catering Operation, And Liquor Licenses For On Site Spirits, Wine And Liquor, Off-Site Catering And Separate Wine Store Stales.

This Is A Very Unique Opportunity For A High Profile Gourmet Chef Operator To Acquire A Venue That Must Be Seen To Truly Be Appreciated For Literally Pennies On The Seller\'s Original Investment Dollars. All Inquiries Are Limited To Principals Only, Please.

$517,500

Lawmakers reacted angrily Thursday when told that food makers and state safety inspectors are allowed to keep tests results secret. That keeps federal health officials in the dark even when products have been contaminated by salmonella or other dangerous bacteria.

"I'd like to see some people go to jail," Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said during a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on a deadly salmonella outbreak linked to a Georgia peanut plant that has sickened more than 550 people and killed at least eight. - AP

Labels: Agriculture, food safety, inspection, Peanut Butter, Recalls

The allure of the value meal has long seduced penny-pinchers craving a cheeseburger. Now, as the dismal economy slurps up profits, Starbucks Corp. is hoping to find some sales salvation in its own value meal variety.

Starbucks has yet to offer many details about what Chief Executive Howard Schultz described to investors last week as "several breakfast
pairings" at "attractive" prices. More details are expected as early as later
this week. - AP Yahoo

Local eyewitness news reported that authorities began a criminal investigation into the Peanut Corporation of America’s (PCA) Georgia facility because of the link to the salmonella outbreak.

Throughout their investigation in the Georgia plant, FDA found a complete mess: a leaking roof, mold, and roaches.

This investigation into PCA comes after Minnesota officials found salmonella in an open tub of peanut butter manufactured by PCA. More information led to FDA finding PCA already had salmonella problems; however PCA continued to sell the products! -InjuryBoard.com