Beef Magazine. Yes, it exists.

A different type of post that I mentioned we would delve into. This is a 2002 Beef Magazine interview with Greg Page, now CEO of Cargill, which is one of the largest privately held companies in the world. Cargill would rank as one of the ten largest Fortune 500 companies if it were public (via Wikipedia). Over $120 billion in revenues. That is $100 billion more than Google.

This is interview is must read since I think it is important for us to know about the food complex, their marketing and research.

Two bits of data struck me specifically. First this quote.

Three billion people in the world live on incomes below $1,000/year. They consume almost no meat, milk or eggs. If just one-third of those people increased their incomes by 25¢/hour, they would consume enough meat, milk and eggs to require the entire U.S. grain crop.

Wow, think about that. The world is changing and a stat such as above will force huge changes. A topic for another day. See Cargill wants to change the lifestyle above since it means billions more in profit. Nothing wrong with that. But, who says they need more meat, milk or eggs. Michael Pollan talks about this in his books. Research shows countries with eating habits defined by hundreds of years of culture are actually healthier. Those that adapt the western diet immediately show higher instances of obesity and diabetes (and even cancer).

The second quote of importance.

everything we can do to get people into Outback or Applebee's or anywhere they can use their money to buy a product they obviously prefer. Ten years ago, Cargill spent $500,000 marketing beef. This year, we'll spend $15 million on beef in support of our private brands and in co-support of brands we have in conjunction with Kroger's and other retailers.

Cargill has expanded their marketing budget by 2900% percent in ten years as of 2002. I wouldn't be surprised if it is closer to $20-25 million now. Incredible. Not only that, but Cargill is co-supporting other brands to expand the consumption of meat. I suspect this does not even include lobbying, which is most likely much higher.

I mentioned the data about Cargill earlier since I bet few of you have even heard of Cargill let alone knew about their influence.

Beef is big big business folks. Dont forget it. it even supports a magazine dedicated to meat production and management.

Honey's Sit n' Eat with my Honey

We had our first anniversary this past July 5. It worked out well that it was over 4th of July holiday (like it should be, sort of, every year) so we could celebrate for three straight days. Festivities included dinner at Melgrano (review to come), brunch at Honey's Sit n' Eat, a Phillies game and the a trip to the zoo, not necessarily in the order.

Honey's Sit n' Eat was probably the best brunch I have ever had in my entire life. Period. It's extremely popular so I'd been warned you usually have to wait for a table. Since there was just two of us, though, we only waited about 10 minutes and got a cute table next to the window. Larger groups probably have to wait longer, but if you're just a few people here's a tip: check the "bar" first. There were a handful of open stools there and plenty of room to eat, so if you don't want to wait it's a good option.

Took me about three seconds to pick my food - eyes were drawn directly to the Nutella French Toast, stuffed with pears, strawberries, and some kind of delicious cream sauce. AMAZING. I hadn't had anything "nutelle" in a long time, but had fallen in love with it while studying in Paris during college. Combine that with the pears and strawberries and it was heaven. A little rich and filling though, so I couldn't eat the entire thing. Does this not look absolutely delicieux?!

Bradd got just about one of everything. An omlette, a pancake, home fries, coffee... and then he ate the rest of mine, loving every minute of it.

I would highly recommend Honey's brunch for anyone. They have lunch and dinner food on the menu too, but I've never spoken to anyone who has gone there for anything but brunch. Outside seating is available, too, for nice days.

I haven't been able to find a website for Honey's but here's a version of their menu. Maybe the Nutella french toast was a special? Regardless, everything looked great.

Review of Brauhaus Schmitz

Brauhaus Schmitz was a recent visit. We were excited to try it out after hearing about the launch many months ago and several reviews in newspapers and from friends. We waited many weeks for the right timing where we could get a bunch of friends together and aim to mimic a german beer garden. We've never been to one so this was viewed as start until the real thing.

maybe it was the high expectations, but I was disappointed. First, the layout is not right and no benches. Let me repeat that no benches. Isnt that supposed to be a feature of beer gardens. it really seemed like a normal american bar with girls dressed up in the german skirts and german things hanging on the walls. I was also surprised that the beer is served in smaller pint sizes. we had to ask about the getting big steins (basically double the price on the menu and you get a stein). I say make steins standard and you can half it if you want, not the other way around.

The food was ok. I was not expecting anything special though. I got the Wurstplatte (different types of bratwurst) and it was good, but I could have used some bread. maybe that is not the german way though. kristy got the standard bratwurst and it was a ton of bratwust. it must have been nearly two feet. if i ate it all i would have thrown up.. again, maybe some bread on the side. other people got some sandwiches, which seemed ok. I didnt go for the food though. I wanted steins, benches, etc.

Brauhaus Schmitz does have an outstanding selection of german beers. It is worth stopping by for one drink to check it out especially if you like to try new beers. And the side dish of bread was good.

I'd go back to give it one more shot, but dont have high hopes. Felt like a half attempt at a german beer garden when it is really just a bar that sells german beer and german food. If only they woudl get some benches, mix some groups together, start some conversation, etc. This is not the place if you want to start a beer hall putsch. They have big plans for Oktoberfest so might be worth checking out. http://bit.ly/74SF4. I dont think it will match the oktoberfest that was held on sansom street though.

The Return Part Three.

As we mentioned earlier today, we have returned to blogging yet again. I think we say this every six months, but hopefully this is the last time. We are going to expand the scope of the blog a bit since we do not go out to eat everyday. In fact, we cook all the time. Why not mention what we cook too right?

This coincides nicely with some changes we hope to make after spending the summer reading about food, how it is produced, the food system, what we eat, how we eat, etc. Mucho kudos to Michael Pollan and his excellent books, The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. I urge you to read them. You will hear more about this going forward and our goal is to incorporate some of his ideas into our daily life. We don't claim to be revolutionaries, but hopefully an inside look will help and encourage others.

We will still focus on the 22nd & Philly style of restaurant reviews and also update on all things Philly. Stay tuned for reviews of Honey's Sit nEat. Dimitri's, Amada, Effie's, Brauhaus Schmitz, Meme, Parc, Seafood Unlimited, Q BBQ & Tequila, Max Brenner's, Ladder 15, and others. That's right we have still been out and about.

Also, follow us on Twitter and Facebook (both still in development).

We are back

Ok. This time we are serious. We are going to keep this blog updated and focused. More on that later.

For starters, check out Michael Klein's inside look at Stephen Starr's new pizzeria, Stella. Should be good. I just hope it is not overpriced. After all, it is only pizza.

Hey Stellaaaaaaaa