All The News That's Fit To Eat

Somebody at Wrigley should be fired. In fact, a whole team of hacks need to get canned for releasing the world's most hideously disgusting chewing gum. Just when you thought the extreme flavor revolution had reached its pinnacle, the mad scientists over Wrigley dig deep into their vaults to unearth this wretched beast of a grocery store checkout line impulse buy. Showing that the experience of flavor is a vicious circle, not an unending march in the direction of tastebud pleasure progress, Wrigley's Eclipse team has come up with new maddeningly repulsive cough syrup flavored gum. Actually, the stuff is called Uniquely Soothing Cherry Chill. What's uniquely soothing is that the gag-inducing cherry flavor has a slow-release menthol aftertaste that will cool your throat after you vomit. I encourage you, dear readers, to avoid the stuff at all costs. I also highly encourage the in-house counsel at Robitussin to consider suing Wrigley for raiding their flavor files.

The price of butter is back up. If you've been grocery shopping lately you might have noticed that the price of butter is up near $4 a pound. This often happens in the summer as cows produce less milk but several things seem to be driving the prices up this year. For the past two years milk prices were at historic lows while beef prices soared. Consequently, many dairy farmers sold their cows for beef, resulting in fewer producing cows this year. Replenishment of dairy stocks would normally come largely from Canada but the ongoing Mad Cow scare means imports are banned. Then feed prices went up and supplies of bovine growth hormone went down (bummer?). All of these things have contributed to butter prices that are twice what they were last year. You can expect prices to get higher throughout the summer, too. So when you see cheap butter buy several pounds and freeze what you don't need right away. It'll last until prices come down, probably starting in September.

Heading up to Santa Fe anytime soon? You might want to check out Baleen, a new restaurant that opened a few weeks ago in the Inn and Spa at Loretto (211 Old Santa Fe Trail). The Inn is owned by a group called Noble House Hotels and Resorts; Baleen is a concept that's been successful for them in Florida and California so they decided to bring it here. There's a lot of seafood on Baleen's menu, including an offering called “Huge Shrimp.” An Alibi staffer who attended a preview of the restaurant described them as truly huge. Baleen also serves freshly shucked Blue Point oysters, Maine lobster tails and a selection of meaty dinners like goat cheese and herb-crusted rack of lamb with cuitlacoche truffle tamale, cippolini onions and pomegranate demi-glace. It's not cheap but it's not as outrageously expensive as many other Santa Fe spots. Check it out next time you're up there. Call (800) 727-5531 for reservations and information.