THE GURGLING COD

Lifesize chocolate Stanley cup.

It is real, and arguably spectacular. But I keep hearing this. 

Links to the community

This pic of Donald Link throwing down w/ some preschoolers? Sploosh. 

Guiteau Monday -- like cocaine straight from Bolivia

Via Chili, of DFIG fame, sheer terror: 

If a raw food diet makes you look like Ricardo Montalban undercover as the Sweedish Chef, then I will keep my oven, thx. 

That said, the case for this would be a great place to hide your gay porn. 

Let them eat lettuces they have grown themselves, and cultivated using a $60 trowel

So, via Gastropoda, news of a new line from our friends at Williams-Sonoma -- Agrarian. Basically, they've pulled together the resources so that you can roll like a physiocrat, or at least like your typical Brooklyn food hobbiyist circa 2010. That they went w/ Kilner, rather than Ball, as the canning jars they sell, gives you a good sense of the prevailing ethos. (That said, you will want one of these.) A grumblepuss might suggest that an eight hundred and seventy-nine dollar chicken coop sort of takes the Y out of DIY, but a glass half full guy like the Cod will opine that if this is what it takes to get folks outside the 718 and the 919 and places like that involved in their food, then, well, good, I guess. The 'Fesser in me wonders if "Agrarian" is the best name for this line, particularly in light of ol TJ's thoughts on the subject of manufactures. The best part:  "generally speaking, the proportion which the aggregate of the other classes of citizens bears in any State to that of its husbandmen, is the proportion of its unsound to its healthy parts, and is a good enough barometer whereby to measure its degree of corruption."

However, the one big problem with the Agrarian line is the absence of milkmaid costumes, as seen at above. Play us off, Bow Wow Wow: 

Smokra & Vidalia

Noted sports blogger Spencer Hall takes on new gig coordinating the Valdosta chapter of the  Rick's Picks Street Team. See it all here. 

Worlds collide...

So, when the Cod saw the subject line of the recent G&G email about "a cake fit for the Masters" the Cod was all like "sheet, they should have gone w/ Tosi's Arnold Palmer cake, as seen in Lucky Peach II." And what do you know, they did. (Ok, technically a cake fit for the Masters would be one that was sexist, but it's a beautiful day here in the Dirty, so who cares about a little patriarchy?) 

G&G is the hippest Southern lifestyle mag by far, which is undeservedly faint praise, but a props to the Momofuku empire, along with the rapidly proliferating Milk Bars, for this evidence of blowing up not just globally, but nationally. I'd hoped to find a Chang golfing pic, but will settle for an uncharacteristically sexy Arnold Palmer. In the interests of keeping it real, we will have a golf-themed outro: 

In Publish

You don't have to be Buck Mulligan...

To enjoy With Relish. The Times drops relish science, with some nice shoutouts to Rick's Picks new relish, With Relish, as well as the relish they make for Shake Shack. If you are allergic to the Mets, we will be messing around putting it on brisket sammiches at the Spring Game at the day job. Holler if you will be in the area. 

And to conclude, some words on hot dog condiments from  the great philosopher Positive K: 

 

Tigers for Trayvon

Via Jock McKissic.

Guiteau Monday -- in a tube

The good news is that there is only one college basketball game left -- two if you're not sexist. The bad news is via cinetrix, via Andy Richter, bacon frosting. I figured it was a hoax, but no. The Cod is no enemy of bacon, but does not, to crib from Michael Warner, understand the popularity of bacon's popularity. Also! Bike and computer people especially take note: drinking a lot of coffee does not mean you are automatically interesting. 

Food bracket madness, aka chefsmack

So, the Globe, like a million other outfits, (see esp Southern food and drunks) has its own NCAA tournament knockoff, Munch Madness in this case. It's exactly as compelling as a battle of the bands in the gym your sophomore year, except that Tony Maws, Beard awards and all, REALLY wants to win: 

Thanks to you, Craigie has made it to the finals of The Globe's "Munch Madness" Competition. Of course, I want us to win. Who wouldn't appreciate such a vote of confidence?

We've tooted our own horn a fair amount over the last few days - thank you for reading and voting for us - and, yes, I'm asking for your vote again. We know it's "just a contest", but I hope that winning can be so much more than bragging rights.  I hope it will focus more attention on our nose-to-tail, stem-to-root, fin-to-gills approach to cooking and how it enables us, in our small but consistent way, to spread the word about sustainability.

 

A vote for Craigie is really a vote for our suppliers too. I am just a cook; they are the ones who produce the beautiful product that I am honored to work (and play) with. They do this through rain, sleet, and snow. I'd love to win it for them too.

 

Most of all, I would like to win for the proud committed people who work here at Craigie: Sous Chef Matt Foley, Pastry Chef Jessica Scott, and the entire kitchen staff; Our Managers: Carl York, Karin Brudvig, Ted Gallagher, and Mark Grande, and our front of house staff. No way could we do what we do without them. THEY deserve the recognition.

 

No matter what happens in "Munch Madness, we'll all be here the very next day fixing the plumbing, harassing suppliers, and finding new ways to honor our 100% commitment to both sustainability and yumminess.

 

I am humbled and proud to have our family-run restaurant make it to the "Munch Madness" finals. No matter what, I'll be excited to cook for you the next time we see you at Craigie.

But, more important:

NEW ORLEANS – NOLA-based scribe Brett Michael Dykes is a friend to hungry sportswriters. He never steers us wrong when we visit his city. Friday night, a few of us got a direct message on Twitter from Dykes that he would be imbibing at Sylvain. If we were thirsty, we should join him. If we were hungry, even better. The food, he said, was incredible.

I hadn’t planned to eat an official dinner. I had been grazing at some schmoozefest and figured I’d had enough. Then Dykes introduced me to Sylvain chef Alex Harrell. Brett grew up in Terrebone Parish. If you prick him, he will bleed LSU purple and gold. Harrell, on the other hand, grew up in Dothan, Ala. He rolls with the Alabama Crimson Tide, and he did not pass on the chance Friday to remind Dykes of the Tide’s 21-0 win against the Tigers in the BCS Championship Game in January.

The conversation then turned to Dykes’ favorite dish, but it never really left football. Dykes said his favorite meal in New Orleans at the moment is Harrell’s pan-fried pork shoulder with greens and grits. Harrell chuckled. “You know, those grits come from Alabama,” he said to Dykes. “They kind of burned going down, didn’t they?”