K-Squared Ramblings

Positive Spin

Bumper sticker spotted on a Corner Bakery delivery van:

It reminds me of the warnings you see on cardboard coffee cups that say things like, “The beverage you are about to enjoy is extremely hot.” Though my favorite is still one from the late, lamented* Diedrich Coffee that said, “Of course it’s hot!”

*OK, they’re not completely gone—there are still two stores left in Orange County since Starbucks bought them out and either closed or converted the rest. *grumble*

Eat here—we have no taste!

I’m not sure what annoys me more about this ad: the fact that the joke is tasteless (which is an oddly appropriate phrase, considering it’s about food), or the fact that it’s equating something they serve (the mustard) with urine.

“Come here, our mustard tastes like piss!” Yeah, that’s encouraging.

Spotted on September 10.

Playing with your food

You know how some restaurants always give you a pickle with their sandwiches? Well, at Ruby’s today I finished, picked up the toothpick flag that had been stuck in the hamburger, turned the pickle over and planted the flag, declaring it to be a boat. Katie immediately took her pickle and a leftover onion slice and turned it into an outrigger. A bit more manipulation, plus a napkin for a sail, and it became a catamaran.

Our waiter did a double-take when he picked up the plate, then set it down on the counter. We like to think it was so the other waiters could see it.

Bon voyage, mon appetit!

One look at this, and you’ll say goodbye to your appetite! Wait, I’m sure that’s not what they’re going for…

(On another level, the reflected palm trees fit in with the travel theme.)

Allergy labeling

Congress has passed passed the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, mandating the top 8 food allergens appear on labels in plain English! The voluntary labeling over the past few years has been very helpful. Well, some of it has — the “processed in a facility that also processess XYZ” labels mainly amount to a CYA statement, although I’m sure there are people sensitive enough that it does help.

The NPR story provided some examples of why this matters, including a story of a college student who had a very similar experience to one I had a few years ago: he bought a chocolate chip cookie from a vending machine — a brand he had been eating with no problems for several years — but they had added peanut flour to their mix without labeling the change. He died within 15 minutes. When it happened to me, I had enough medication to stop it. But I don’t eat anything from Famous Amos anymore.

Some other nice provisions include having the FDA do a study on cross-contamination [archive.org], and having the CDC track allergy-related deaths.

Further reading: The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, The Food Allergy Initiative