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Last week, Mission Street Food got together with some other chefs in the city to re-imagine the McDonald's menu to raise funds for the Campaign for Better Nutrition.

Here's what they came up with..

Smoked Tofu McNuggets with Ancho Barbecue Sauce and Tequila-Agave Mustard $6

Cactus Fries with Habanero-Lime Ketchup $6

McShaker Salad with Sunflower Seeds, Watermelon and Jicama $7

Filet o' Bacalao Fish with Coriander-Cayenne Slaw $10

McRib Sandwich - Pork Belly and Smoky St. Louis Rib Roulade, Cipollinis and Ancho Cress $12

Mac Grande - Shredded Short Rib and Chuck Patty with "Government Cheese" and Spicy Zucchini Relish $12

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Dulce de Leche Sundae with Hot Mexican Fudge and Chile-Cocoa Pepitas $6

Granny Smith Apple Pie $4 / with Malted Vanilla $6

Bing Cherry Pie $4 / with Malted Vanilla $6

McMission Cookie Box $5 


Posted by Ed Cotton Most conversations about interaction these days tend to revolve around the digital landscape. It's especially interesting that the more digital we become the less of a physical connection we have to real money and for many the physical presence of coins has become an annoying obstacle to convenience.

It's therefore surprising to hear that Matt Dent, a 26 year-old graphic designer won a D&AD Black Pencil for a competition entry he submitted to the Royal Mint in the UK.

His coins are not only beautiful, but as Dent explained in an interview there's some real thought gone into the design and in particular, how people could interact with them.

"I thought the six coins could make up a shield by arranging the coins both horizontally, as with the landscape idea, as well as vertically, in a sort of jigsaw style. I liked the idea and symbolism of using the Royal Arms, where individually the coins could focus on specific elements and when placed together they reveal the complete Royal Arms.

I found the idea that members of the public could interact with the coins the most exciting aspect of this concept. It's easy to imagine the coins pushed around a school classroom table or fumbled around with on a bar - being pieced together as a jigsaw and just having fun with them.'

Posted by Ed Cotton Jeff Rubin, is a Canadian economist tells us an interesting theory about how the world is going to change when triple digit oil prices really start to kick in. He believes that the oil shocks will have a massive impact on our lifestyle and define our future. Distance is going to cost money.He suggests that in the near future the ripple impact will be considerable; turning the suburbs into farms and bringing factories back to American citizens. Huge impacts here for everyone from auto manufacturing to public transport and to the goods we buy and import. There's a lot to think about here.
 


Posted by Ed Cotton The recent NYT article on sales trends at Home Depot and Wal Mart has some great clues into how consumers are changing habits in the light of economic downturn.

1. Food stays on the list, clothes and furniture don't
2. People are trading down to private label
3. People trading down the protein ladder from steak to ground beef, others moving from beef to chicken and others moving from protein to carbs
4. The home is the focal point- cheap take out pizza and movies is the new form of entertainment- people aren't going out and they are not cutting back on their entertainment tech. Sales of the more affordable flat screen are holding up
5. Vegetable gardens are booming
6. People are trying to stay healthy on their own with out resorting to experts- this means increased sales of vitamins and OTC medicines.
7. They need relief for these troubled times so they are buying more sleep aids, pain relievers and antacids
8. Home repair is on the increase
9. People are not buying new cars, they are repairing and maintaining the ones they have
10. Parents are not transitioning their kids between diapers and underwear with pull ups, instead they are going straight to underwear


Posted by Ed Cotton The relationship Europe and the United States have with the making and crafting of food is nicely summarized in these two pieces of content.

1. How pizza is made at Domino's



2. What a champion Italian pizza maker feels about making pizza

"The secret of the pizza is inside the blood. You don't wake up one morning and improvise yourself as a pizzaiolo. I've been doing this for over 18 years, and I still don't feel like I've mastered it. You need to know how to touch the dough. You need to know how to deal with the ingredients. You don't become pizzaiolo, you are born pizzaiolo."

From the LA Times

 


Posted by Ed Cotton Great story in Wired that explains why the days of paper money should be numbered.

It's surprising we haven't seen Mastercard, American Express and Paypal exploit the potential "green" angle of digital money.

"Unfortunately, the world's governments remain stuck in the past. To maintain our stock of hard currency, the US Treasury creates hundreds of billions of dollars worth of new bills and coins each year. And that ain't money for nothing: The cost to taxpayers in 2008 alone was $848 million, more than two-thirds of which was spent minting coins that many people regard as a nuisance. (The process also used up more than 14,823 tons of zinc, 23,879 tons of copper, and 2,514 tons of nickel.) In an era when books, movies, music, and newsprint are transmuting from atoms to bits, money remains irritatingly analog. Physical currency is a bulky, germ-smeared, carbon-intensive, expensive medium of exchange. Let's dump it. "


Posted by Ed Cotton