Barack Obama, Restaurant Critic
January 2009
Slashfood: Filed under: Television/Film, Comfort Food, Celebrities
While President Elect Barack Obama’s dining budget may have scaled up a tad since ‘01, the then State Senator was already a passionate fan of food. Enjoy this clip of the soon to be Foodie-in-Chief on a never-aired episode of WTTW’s “Check Please,” extolling the virtues of the johnnycakes, peach cobbler and Southern sampler at Chicago’s Dixie Kitchen and Bait Shop.
The “lost” episode will air on WTTW twice on January 16th, again on the 18th and once more on January 20th, the day of Obama’s inauguration.
[via: YouTube]
Think you know how out country’s Commanders-In-Chief like to chow down? Take our Presidential Food Trivia Quiz.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Would You Let this "King" Serve You Cereal?
January 2009
Slashfood: Filed under: Breakfast, On the Blogs, America
Ah, the good old days when cereal boxes were blatantly wacky! I’m curious what cereal advertisers in the ’70s were thinking? Now, you can check out campy, ridiculous, slightly freakish cereal boxes from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s on The Imaginary World’s archive of cereal boxes. Fellow blog, lemondrop, comments on several of the boxes of cereals that no longer exist, such as Fruity Freakies, Crazy Cow, and King Vitaman (to the right).
The names of these cereals alone leave plenty to the imagination. Or do they? The box of King Vitaman cereal is mildly creepy. An old man dressed as a king looks as though he’s going to feed you cereal. The juxtaposition between this odd-looking “king” and the ad for the toy give-away appears slightly perverse. As lemondrop says, “this is not the guy we want feeding us breakfast.”
Then, there’s the absurd Kellogg’s Puffa Puffa Rice cereal box that seems to shout “absurdity!” There’s a volcano exploding with cereal. To think that this past year Kellogg’s reduced the size of its cereal boxes…Where has its creativity gone? The cereal box archive is extremely amusing and I am now trying to figure out different ways in which one can use the images. I foresee trendy retro tee-shirts and posters.Permalink | Email this | Comments
The Foodie Origins of Some of Our Favorite Muppets
January 2009
Slashfood: Filed under: Television/Film, Celebrities
Between Sesame Street and The Muppets, Jim Henson brought a myriad of lovable, furry creatures to our television sets. But did you know that some of them were food-based? My friend recently alerted me to a Mental Floss post that outlines the origins of some of our favorite Muppets, which also happens to reveal some fun foodie tidbits.
The Swedish Chef is, of course, the most obvious. While it can’t be confirmed, there’s a Swedish chef — Lars “Kuprik” Bäckman — who claims that he is the Swedish Chef. I wonder if he borka borka borkas? If not, I’d question his validity. But beyond the crazy chef, there’s also the Cookie Monster, who has food ties that go well beyond his sugar-addicted name; he was a monster created for a General Foods commercial in the 1960s that was never used. The same goes for Rowlf the Dog. He was originally created in the ’60s — this time for Purina commercials.
I wonder … are there any current food commercial characters that will become beloved childhood characters one day?Permalink | Email this | Comments