The FDA said it can’t guarantee that all the contaminated dog and cat food have been removed from store shelves. I’ve been feeding Pokey Pedigree for the last few years (luckily not on the Menu Foods recall list). Regardless, this toxic dog food business has got me thinking of what the hell I’m forcing my dog to eat.

When Matt and I were apartment hunting, we drove by a Merrick truck. I had never heard of Merrick before. I saw there was a picture on the side of the truck of a tin can labeled “turducken” and I flipped out. Matt and I could’t figure out what it was. I was hoping it would be delicious stock or broth. Matt thought it might be gravy. It took us a few minutes to figure out it was dog food. I was kinda jealous.

It just so happens that the New York Magazine’s best pet store in Brooklyn*, Love Thy Pet, is a block away from our new place. So I took Pokey there and they gave him treats and a free can of dog food - Wingalings, made by Merrick ($1.79-$2.38 for a large 13.2 oz can).

This stuff looks good. Like REALLY good. Like if I was drunk enough, I’d probably try it. Hey, don’t judge - it’s free of artificial flavors, colors and preservatives. There are even whole chicken wings inside the can! The label says the bones have been softened and are perfectly safe for your dog to eat. Unlike those tainted Menu Foods dog foods, Merrick uses minimal processing. I figured since I started eating better in last few months, Pokey should too. Especially since he’s become a lazy, fat bastard. I am pretty sure that a can of Merrick dog food is healthier for you to consume than a Hungry Man Dinner - in case you are poor, hungry and/or drunk.

Merrick dog food, cat food and treats are available at better pet stores, some health food stores and online.

Soft food (what you probably call “wet food”) flavors come in: Thanksgiving Day Dinner, Turducken, Venison Holiday Stew, Wild Buffalo Grill, Wingaling, Wilderness Blend, Working Dog Stew, Rocky Mountain Rainbow, Senior Medley, Smothered Comfort, Puppy Plate, Mediterranean Banquet, New Zealand Summer, Cowboy Cookout, French Country Paté, Grammy’s Pot Pie, Harvest Moon, Brauts-n-Tots and a tasting menu called Gourmet Lunch Box which contains eight different flavors ($13.50-23). Hard food (what you probably call “dry food”) also available.

Merrick’s website (You can find cheaper places online to buy it then directly through them - like in bulk on Amazon!)

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*By “Brooklyn” I mean Boerum Hill / Cobble Hill / Carroll Gardens - The only parts of Brooklyn (aside from Park Slope) that that magazine deems worthy of recognition. Unless they are picking on hipsters in Williamburg, which is like shooting fish in a barrel.

Too much bacon can be bad for your lungs?!

I dug up this old article I remember reading in Village Voice over a year and a half ago. It’s about different fats and mentions how now lard is the way to go for your added fat because it has half the amount of saturated fat of butter.

“Grease is Good!: Are lard, eggs, and fish tacos the new health foods?”

New cooking show alert!

Dinner with the Band is hosted by Sam Mason, a well established pastry chef whose resume includes Union Pacific and WD-50 (that posh molecular gastronemy restaurant [you might have seen Wylie Dufresne on Iron Chef America]). And Sam’s a hipster - thought I’d mention that to any of you girls who have a femme-boner for hipster dudes with sleeves and who can cook well.

• Meyer lemons are available at Dean & DeLuca for $8 a pound. (!)
• Duane Reade sells those delightful Japanese treats that not just otakus love - Pocky.
• The organic market, Park, in Carroll Gardens refrigerates their tomatoes - wtf?!

Turn in your fast food restaurant receipt and receive a $2 MetroCard.

I’m wondering if you can scam it: Like if you go to McDonald’s and buy a$.70 hamburger and give it a homeless person and then get your MetroCard. You’d only be scamming $1.30, but you can feel all good about yourself that you gave food to someone.

The world’s stinkiest cheese has been named: Vieux Boulogne.

I kinda wanna try it. I mean, it can’t be worse than getting Dutch ovened, right?

The NPR Food podcast today had a feature on a new up and coming pho chain, Pho 24. Based in Saigon, is expanding rapidly with over fifty locations worldwide.

Owner Ly Qui Trung says fast food pho does well and will continue to do well because it is healthier and tastier than the American fast food franchises, which have recently opened up shop in Vietnam.

He hopes to open the first U.S. Pho 24 at the end of the year in California.

Read the story here

Along with this surge of Vietnamese culture catching on in America, I am anticipating the arrival of dudes who exclusively date Vietnamese girls. They will make halfie babies and then I’ll have someone to hang out with who doesn’t complain about allergies and sunburn.

The James Beard Foundation released its list of 2007 nominees. Among the categories is “Writing on Food”. Nominated is:

Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford (click on the link to read a review by Anthony Bourdain - who seems to be doing a lot of “guest” jobs lately)

The Omnivore’s Dilema: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan

The United States of Arugula: How We Become a Gourmet Nation by David Kamp

Matt’s reading Heat right now and loves it. He says it’s fascinating and captivating. I’m half-way through Arugula and it’s extremely well written and informative (and if you don’t know who James Beard is, it’ll tell you). I’m up the part where Italian food starts to get gourmet and popular in New York. Omnivore is on my Amazon wish list. Maybe one day I will make a post that doesn’t mention Amazon.com.

I don’t remember the last time I wanted to see an animated Disney movie, but “Ratatouille” looks really cute. It’s about a mouse who lives in the sewers of Paris and has a gourmet palate. Disney was nice enough to dumb down the title for us uncultured Americans by spelling it out phonetically on their posters. Maybe it will get pudgy Cartman-like children to eat less crap.

The Trailer