Elina Shatkin

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Country Ham vs. City Ham

Elina Shatkin
That the visionaries at Found Footage Festival discovered this "Mastering the Art of Carving" video in a Detroit thrift store isn't so strange. Scavenging and repurposing campy video treasures is their-stock-in-trade. That they had the fortitude to transform ham-master Merle Ellis' earnest educational video into a comical, ultra "ham"-my montage......
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Pork Belly Futures to Go Belly Up?

Elina Shatkin
Could it be the end of bacon as we know it? Pork bellies, once the iconic commodity of the futures market, are now barely a blip on the trading radar. According to Consumer Affairs: In the 1950s, 60s and 70s, pork bellies were one of the highest traded commodities available......
Cacao Sampaka

Scientists Crack Genetic Code for World's Best Cacao

Elina Shatkin
An international team of scientists has sequenced the genome for criollo, a cacao variety that reportedly produces some of the best chocolate in the world. The results, published in the latest issue of Nature Genetics, could eventually lead to new and improved varieties of high-end chocolates. Criollo, first domesticated about......
Don the Beachcomber in Huntington Beach.; Credit: Caroline on Crack

Waitiki: Cocktails & Ukuleles on New Year's Eve

Elina Shatkin
Tie on a Mai Tai and break out the ukulele. Starting tonight, Don the Beachcomber in Huntington Beach hosts Waitiki, a three-night festival of tiki music and cocktails. Tonight, the Waitiki quartet will play. The two following nights, the Waitiki 7 will take the stage, and only on New Year's......
Meat nativity scene.; Credit: Greg Chow

Meat Nativity Scene: Celebrate Jesus with Sausage

Elina Shatkin
It took two 25-lb. turkeys, two maple-glazed hams, 15 lbs. of potatoes, 6 pints of gravy and plenty more food for Donna Simpson to consume a 30,000 calorie Christmas meal, but the New Jersey mom should have started with this meat nativity scene as an amuse-bouche. Several cocktail wieners enrobed......
Alain Giraud in front of the now closed Anisette Brasserie.

Chef Alain Giraud at First & Hope on New Year's Eve

Elina Shatkin
Aside from an impressive two-night stint at Test Kitchen, chef Alain Giraud has kept a relatively low profile since shuttering Anisette in September. This week, Giraud will step behind the stoves for one night, serving as guest chef at First & Hope on New Year's Eve. A test-run for the......
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JANM Rings In 2011 with Oshogatsu Festival

Elina Shatkin
Break out the mochi. JANM rings in 2011 in Japanese style with an Oshogatsu Family Festival on January 2nd from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Activities include origami-making, bunny-petting, a mochi-pounding demo, a vegan Asian cooking class with Jenny and Heather Goldberg of Spork Foods, zaru soba (buckwheat noodles) with......
Credit: R. E. ~

Bottega Louie Building on the Auction Block

Elina Shatkin
If you've got several million dollars to spare, you could be Bottega Louie's next landlord. Located at the corner of 7th St. and Grand Ave., the 80-unit Brockman Building houses the loudest restaurant in downtown L.A. but not much else. After nearly 20 months in bankruptcy court, the 80-unit Beaux......
Donna Simpson

New Jersey Woman Eats 30,000-Calorie Christmas Meal

Elina Shatkin
When Donna Simpson dreams, she dreams big. The 650-pound New Jersey mom aims to be the fattest woman in the world. And to be the best, you have to make sacrifices. After gaining more than 50 pounds this year, Simpson celebrated by downing a 30,000-calorie Christmas meal. Yes, you read......