When the Detroit Red Wings failed to score hat tricks (three goals by one player in a single game) for parts of two seasons, they weren't only failing to score points. They were disappointing fans who were promised a free box of curly fries from Arby's.
The fast-food chain has kept Detroit-area sports fans satiated with free grub by tying giveaways to sports feats. For Tigers baseball fans, it's a free roast beef sandwich for three or more home-game home runs, says Tina Hering, marketing manager for Arby's in Michigan.
The baseball team was able to achieve that goal 18 times this season. But it's been a waiting game for hockey fans who've dubbed the lack of hat tricks as "the Arby's Curse." The curse was finally lifted last week.
Wahoo's Fish Taco, the West Coast fast-food joint known both for its tacos and California surfer sensibility, celebrated its 20th anniversary in February with a party at its original Costa Mesa, Calif., restaurant. At the party they served 20-cent tacos and the first 200 guests won raffle prizes and an autograph session with professional skater Ryan Sheckler.
But the party isn't over yet. On Saturday, the company's beloved fish tacos will have their own 21st birthday shindig at all 38 California Wahoo's locations.
It's unclear what it means for a fish taco to turn 21, but customers who get free food and prizes, probably won't be complaining. (At 21, can fish tacos now finally be cooked with alcohol?)
The first 21 customers at each restaurant will get a swag box of prizes, including gifts from Tony Hawk Inc., the pro skateboarder's action-sports company. Everyone who eats at a California Wahoo's on Saturday will be rewarded with a free meal or gift card.
Martha Stewart says her five-month prison sentence cost her $1 billion.
Speaking with "Nightline," Stewart says the "legal mess" was devastating to her personal worth.
"Oh, it's inestimable -- probably more than a billion dollars, of course, and if you add in what the company was worth, absolutely," Stewart says. "And I'm a major shareholder in the company. When you are prosecuted in such a way and a great portion of wealth is dissipated, all I could think so much is 'What I could have done with all of that for the good of mankind?'"
"Nightline" followed Stewart for a day in a news piece that aired Thursday. In it, Stewart dishes on Rachael Ray as well as her 2004 legal troubles.
"I knew we had a really good thing going, and I really knew that I was not guilty of anything that could possibly harm my company," Stewart tells Cynthia McFadden. "I was pissed, OK? Pissed that something could actually affect that. The company had nothing to do with anything, but yet because I am the face and the brand -- my person -- it certainly had a harmful effect."
She says she's put that period of her life behind her.
"How can I kick myself?" she says. "There are other people to be kicked. Enough. Let's get on with the future."
While last year's national turkeys pardoned on Thanksgiving by President Bush found homes in Disneyland, this year a farm animal rescue group is petitioning President Obama to send the turkeys to them instead.
Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, N.Y., started an online petition, asking the president to let the national turkeys find homes in their turkey shelter instead of in the Magic Kingdom, Mother Nature Network reports.
"Historically these turkeys have been actually sent to farms where they're supposed to live out their lives, but they don't live very long lives," Farm Sanctuary president and co-founder Gene Baur told Slashfood.
"At Disneyland they don't' know how to properly care for them, and they feed them in such a way that they become overweight, which is what typically happens to these birds," he said. "We're hoping the president will send them to Farm Sanctuary where they will get the best care possible."
Is Ronald McDonald a beloved corporate mascot or a sinister huckster who gets kids hooked on junk food?
Corporate Accountability International, a watchdog organization based in Boston, claims that through television commercials and by appearing at schools, libraries, hospitals and McDonald's restaurants, Ronald is marketing directly to impressionable children. The result they say contributes to diet-related diseases like obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
As part of a larger initiative to fight fast-food marketing aimed at kids, the organization has started the "Where's Ronald" initiative, a Ronald McDonald scavenger hunt in which activists track down the clown by photographing or videotaping him at public appearances.
"We need your help to expose the near ubiquity of the clown and the ways it is used to hook our kids on food that makes them sick," CAI says. The grand prize? A gift certificate to a "sustainable, healthy restaurant near the winning participant's home."
We'll take cue from a master, and agree with Julia Child that the traditional leek-and-potato vichyssoise "is the mother of the family in all her simplicity." The vegetables combine to a delicate smooth soup, and, wrote Child, "a bit of cream at the end is a nourishing touch, but by no means necessary." But dear Julia, since when were you one to go easy on the fat?
Created by the chef of New York's Ritz, Louis Diat, the soup made an appearance shortly after the restaurant opened in December 1910. Debatably a Franco-American hybrid, the soup was inspired by the cooking of Diat's mother: "One of my earliest food memories is of my mother's good leek and potato soup," he wrote. Although similar French potage recipes predate the chilled Vichyssoise as we know it, the temperature is what differentiates the refreshing dish.
And what better way to celebrate National Vichyssoise Day than with Louis Diat's original recipe from 1941's "Cooking a la Ritz"? Check it out, after the jump.
That's the question many lovers of frozen Eggo waffles are wondering following nationwide shortages of the popular breakfast food.
Kellogg's, which manufactures Eggo, blames the short supply on flooding that hit an Atlanta processing facility in September, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
It's amazing what a base of flour and water is capable of. Though breads often take a back seat, as accompaniments to main courses, cheeses or more, today we celebrate bread worthy of standing on its own, the ultimate mobile comfort food -- not to over-toot the French, but gloriously buttery croissants and crunchy, subtly salty baguettes spring to mind.
So get baking! For holiday inspiration, with the addition of pumpkin and spices, bread becomes the complex Pumpkin Spice Bread or a moist Pumpkin Cheese Bread with cream cheese, or can even serve as a worthy Thanksgiving side dish, in our Savory Bread Pudding recipe.
What are your most cherished baked breads? Share your favorites in the comments!
Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.
Ah, baklava -- the unctuous dessert enveloping honey and nuts in buttery layers of phyllo dough. Happy National Baklava Day!
The European-Middle Eastern delicacy actually has quite an impressive history. Dating back to the 8th Century B.C., the Assyrians used to pile nuts into thin layers of dough and top the whole thing with honey before baking it. The treat was considered a luxury, enjoyed predominantly on special occasions, and affordable only to the wealthy.
It has since come a long way, traveling to the Near East, Turkey and Armenia over time, then finally to Greece with the rise of the Grecian empire -- and the rich, buttery cinnamon-walnut treat has today made it over to the Food Network, with a fabulous classic recipe by Alton Brown. If you're feeling adventurous, try a shot at more Americanized versions of the versatile international dessert with Pear Baklava or even Chocolate Baklava.
Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.
A Costco executive told the Associated Press that it is no longer carrying Coca-Cola products in its stores after a dispute over pricing with the Atlanta-based company.
Neither Costco nor Coca-Cola officials returned calls from Slashfood, but a Coca-Cola Co. executive told the AP the company wouldn't comment on the ongoing negotiations. The official said the company wanted to work out its differences with Costco "in a spirit of fairness." In addition to Coca-Cola soft drinks the company makes Sprite, Squirt, Dasani water, Full Throttle energy drinks.
Students at the Colombia's Quindio cooking school have created a dessert made with Viagra for a food fair in Bogota, the Associated Press reports.
The dessert is a pudding garnished with whipped cream and chocolate. Students said the recipe tells you how to use the "little blue pill" as an ingredient.
What do you think of the Viagra dessert? Let us know in the comments below.
Jamba Juice will be giving away free lunch on Tuesday, Nov. 17, to advertise its new California Flatbreads.
From 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., participating Jamba Juice stores will give a free flatbread to the first 150 customers. The flatbreads come in four flavors: Tomo Artichoko, Smokehouse Chicken, MediterranYum and Four Cheesy.
Jamba Juice is also inviting customers to share their favorite "feel good moment" as part of a sweepstakes with a $10,000 grand prize.
Admittedly, we have mixed feelings on celebrating National Fast Food Day. But despite the merited fast-food backlash, there's something to be said for throwing caution and health to the curb and indulging in a fatty fast-food burger and fries once in awhile.
It's a sad state of eating affairs that today, 19 percent of American meals are consumed in the car, and fast food has become not simply a convenience or indulgence but the norm. That being said, fast food isn't all bad -- in a continuing trend, some chains are starting to take a markedly different route in fast yet conscientious cuisine, in the vein of Chipotle's "Food with Integrity" motto or Zankou Chicken's aim for freshly prepared fresh food.
Are you a discerning fast-food eater? Take our poll to reveal your fast-food eating habits, then spill your thoughts on fast food eating in the comments.
Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.
Happy Raisin Bran Day! Most commonly recognized in the dominant Kellogg's Raisin Bran Crunch these days, the raisin-bran combination has actually been around since 1926, when it started as Skinner's Raisin Bran. The "raisin bran" moniker was once trademarked, but usage limitations fell by the wayside as the term became widespread.
Statistics say that the average raisin-bran box of cereal houses 1,000 raisins -- but we think the cereal is best put to use adding extra texture and flavor in creative baking, like this Apple Raisin Bran Muffin by Proof is in the Pudding.
Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.
Happy National Guacamole Day! The culinary cosmos of guacamole and pickles may infrequently overlap, but at least today's national food holidays both celebrate zesty green condiments.
Though the lusciously creamy avocado mash is most often associated with summertime BBQs and beer, there's no reason you shouldn't be eager to make use of your mortars and pestles year-round. Check out our guacamole primer on Slashfood, or venture to AOL food for Rosa Mexicano's classic Guacamole en Molcajete recipe -- their trick is mashing the onion, jalapeno and cilantro into a paste for evenly distributed flavor -- though some consumers prefer their avocados hefty, and take pleasure in the zesty chunks of jalapeno, tomato, poblano peppers, green onion, etc.
What are your favorite guacamole additions? Share your secret ingredients after the jump.
Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.
10 More Dirty Restaurant Tricks
5 Things You Didn't Know About Turducken
10 Catchiest Food Jingles We Love to Hate
