Ratatouille

On June 29th, Pixar and Disney premiere their newest film creating an entirely new and original world where the unthinkable combination of 5-star restaurants and rats come together for the ultimate fish-out-of-water tale.

The trailer looks great. Give it a look.

In the new animated-adventure, RATATOUILLE, a rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family’s wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unlikely – and certainly unwanted – visitor in the kitchen of a fine French restaurant, Remy’s passion for cooking soon sets into motion a hilarious and exciting rat race that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down.

Remy finds himself torn between his calling and passion in life or returning forever to his previous existence as a rat. He learns the truth about friendship, family and having no choice but to be who he really is, a rat who wants to be a chef. Directed by Academy Award™-winning Brad Bird (“The Incredibles”) and co-directed by Academy Award™-winning Jan Pinkava (“Geri’s Game”), RATATOUILLE is slated for release on June 29, 2007. (Disney)

Carnivores Unite!

Are you lost? Do you need guidance? NAPRE (National Association for the Promotion of Responsible Eating) is an organization that’ll help you find your way…back to eating meat. If you’re a self-proclaimed vegan or vegetarian, then head over to NAPRE.org and let your quest to find your inner meat eater begin.

James Trambino, M.S.W. is an ex-Veggie who started his Glendale-based corporation with a noble mission: transforming enfeebled vegetarians into big-swinging carnivores. His methodology is firmly rooted in “science” and relies on an escalating series of conditioning exercises, ranging from a forced broccoli pig-out, to the public renunciation of greens as “unnatural and wrong”. At the same time, Trambino works to erode meat-fear, claiming he can fully re-introduce flesh into the patient’s life within a month — first, via photos of it pink and raw, then culminating with a succulent prime rib dinner.

Though NAPRE’s success rate’s impressive, they don’t guarantee a 100% turnaround, and admit that some of his clients have relapsed into the occasional salad binge. Then again you might find a total recovery isn’t in your best interest — when your friend’s newfound predatory instincts overwhelm him and he starts to fixate on your own tasty mortality. (Thrillist)

Dinner with the Band

I saw this on Buzzfeed and I couldn’t figure out why this isn’t on some TV network (well at least not yet its not). Great idea, great concept and pretty entertaining.

Chef Sam Mason cooks and chats with various his favorite bands, who then perform.

Food meets punk rock. Go here to have Dinner with the Band.

Shake them bones.

These bones need a good shaking, over a big salad or a nice plate of pasta. Pull out the cork, fill with salt and pepper, and let the shaking begin.

Made out of fired, hollow, unglazed porcelain, they are dead ringer in texture and color for the real thing. (AplusRStore)

If you like what you see, pick up your own pair of Chris Stile’s Dry Bones for $24.

Gold Restaurant by D&G

When I first read about Dolce & Gabbana’s Gold Restaurant in Milan, I immediately thought of this.

But apparently it’s no joke. It’s D&G’s first attempt at a restaurant.

The ultimate symbol of money and luxury: gold. As a general rule I prefer silver myself, but there’s no denying the impressions of wealth and glamour that gold brings to the picture — whether it’s jewelry, clothing, or restaurant decor?

Yep, Dolce & Gabbana opened a new restaurant in Milan with smooth and shimmering golden accents everywhere. Gold Restaurant serves international Italian food, and has several levels including a downstairs bistro that opens at lunchtime and a more formal upstairs that serves dinner only. According to the website, the golden theme isn’t necessarily intended to represent money and luxury (yeah right), but more importantly gold is “an upbeat, sunny color” that signifies a “taste for beauty and for sensual pleasure.” It is bright and beautiful, I’ll give them that. Now, how’s the food? (Luxist)

The website is much more flashy than the photo above.

SWEET JESUS!

Cossimo Cavallaro is an artist; a very unique artist who uses occasionally uses edible objects in his work. For example, he once repainted a New York hotel room in melted mozzarella cheese and he’s covered a bed in processed ham. This time it’s chocolate.

Man cannot live on bread alone, but if he were to consume Cosimo Cavallaro’s newest creation he could live off of Jesus — for approximately eight months. An oddball artist known for his “eclectic” forms of expression, Cavallaro’s latest contribution to culture is a six-foot tall, anatomically-correct milk-chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ. His confectionary Christ is made with more than 200 pounds of chocolate, containing approximately 480,000 calories. (The artistic endeavor titled, “My Sweet Lord,” can also give you 3,240 percent of the Vitamin A you need each day.) (Esquire)

Click here for a larger pic. And in case you’re wondering, yes, those nutrition facts are accurate.

According to yumsugar, the sculpture goes on display April 1st (no this isn’t a joke) at the Lab gallery in the Roger Smith Hotel in New York.

Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s

 

Mark your calendars. Tuesday, April 17th from noon – 8pm.

Every year since two real guys named Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield celebrated the first anniversary of their ice cream shop by giving away free ice cream as a way to say Thank You to their customers, the tradition has continued. This year, over 350 Ben & Jerry’s shops around the country will celebrate Free Cone Day on April 17th.

Pick Your Nose

You can pick your nose, you can pick your friends, and now you can pick your friends nose, or at least the nose cup they’ll be using to drink out of.

Pick Your Nose Party Cups come with 24 – 12oz. cups, there’s a good mix of both male and female nose, with and with mustaches. They’ll cost ya $7.49.

Head over to Perpetual Kid to purchase these.

Real Kwik-E-Marts?

Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart? I DO!

7-11 is currently in talks to “Simpsonize” 11 of their stores to promote the Simpsons Movie this summer. It’s not known which 11 stores and the deal isn’t final yet, but it’s looking good.

If all goes as planned, the convenience store chain plans to refit 11 stores across the U.S. — Richmond is an unlikely choice — to resemble the front of the Kwik-E-Mart, the convenience store that Homer and other characters frequent in the classic cartoon TV series.

Customers also will be able to buy products inspired by the nearly two-decades-old show, including KrustyO’s cereal, Buzz Cola and iced Squishees (the cup says Squishee, but the contents will be Slurpee).

The chain also will use pictures of Simpsons characters to promote 7-Eleven’s line of fresh foods, such as placing the face of Homer and his classic “Mmmm . . . sandwich” quip on sandwich wrappers. (Times Dispatch)

Ron Mexico Opens Tasting Room

Are athletes natural restaurateurs? It seems like a natural progression. It’s a chance to use their star status for a business venture, expanding their personalities and popularity. Usually it’s just some famous guy lending his name in exchange for some pocket change but sometimes the athlete really believes in it, at least enough to get it off the ground.

Take Shula’s Steak House, for example. After retiring from head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Don Shula was able to spend more time expanding his steak houses. He now has 4 different types of restaurants in 13 states.

And now Michael Vick is getting into the business, with his first venture The Tasting Room, an Atlanta winery restaurant.

Michael Vick was enthusiastic about his new winery restaurant, but the Atlanta Falcons quarterback steered away from questions about other endeavors.

Vick spoke with the media Wednesday night at The Tasting Room in suburban Atlanta for the first time since being cleared of possible drug charges following an encounter in Miami with airport security.

Vick said he was excited about his first business partnership. He had little to say about his new head coach, Bobby Petrino, or football in general. (MSNBC)

Seems like a good move for him. Now he just needs to stay away from the Miami International Airport and water bottles that smell like marijuana.