Apparently some of the French have decided that restaurant menus should note when items have been prepared from frozen, processed and canned goods versus fresh. A very interesting, and curious concept. I'm pretty sure if something similar were proposed in the US, chain restaurants would be up in arms as so very little of their products are prepared fresh and on site. This is to keep costs down and maintain equivalent quality. But there are also very good preserved foods that come out of jars (and some cans) - sardines and olives for example. For the non-Francophones in the audience, a translation can be found here.

If you haven't heard, the FDA decided first to not regulate antibiotics use in the meat packing industry. They then reversed their position and decided to regulate an entirely small group of antibiotics used in animal agriculture. Mark Bittman has more at his blog over at the New York Times.

Would you dumpster dive for your breakfast?

The couple(s) having sex in the restroom at Per Se doesn't surprise me. The lady who yakked at the table does. More tidbits from a waiter at the 3 Michelin Star restaurat at New York Magazine.

Jonathan Kauffman is wondering what happened to lard over at SF Weekly. Lard really does need a new PR person. Any takers?

Ever wonder about the mathematics of pasta shapes? Other people did. I wonder if this will be a new avenue of gastronomy to explore? Anyone using Euler's formula to determine ideal temperature for soups, tea or coffee?

Finally, it doesn't surprise me that BigAg is nervous about the EPA's upcoming dioxin report. You'd expect them to want to work out a way to minimize dioxin exposure in customers. Unfortunately, it also doesn't surprise me that BigAg has instead decided criticize the EPA. I know corporations have to think about bottom line, since they're beholden to a faceless mass of shareholders, but it would be awesome if they'd Man the Eff Up once in a while.