The magazine Zymurgy surveys their readers to rank the best beers and breweries in America with some Some midwestern favorites made the list. I was glad to see Bell's Two-Hearted at #2 and recent addition to the Chicago market, Stone Arrogant Bastard and IPA at #3 and #6, respectively. I can't say I've had anything from #1 ranked brewery, Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. out of Texas, but their Ugly Pug schwarzbier sounds right up my alley.

Notables: Bell's #7, Goose Island #21, Three Floyds #23.

Check out the full list here.

Foodies, what are your thoughts?

This is a no-brainer. As we all know, groceries like Dominick's and Jewel have customer service counters. One of the things you can do there is put in a paper request for a particular item. I've asked for lactose-free ice cream among other things. Here is one suggestion to make the store truly better.

Ask them to give you the option of grass-fed beef. Currently this is NOT an option. It's healthier, lower in cholesterol. Pastured beef is more ethical. It's more sustainable and it simply tastes different. I won't even say it's better, just different. Why shouldn't we have another option in the meat case.

It takes a minute and it would be a great addition to our most commonly attended chain groceries.

What else are they missing?

Stolen from Politico:

WOLFGANG PUCK is in town from Beverly Hills to cook for YOUSEF AL
OTAIBA, ambassador from the United Arab Emirates, where more U.S. Navy
ships are ported than any other foreign country. The ambassador (who
was G’town classmates with Norah O’Donnell and knows the Morrells)
hosted 14 young Washingtonians for dinner and convo at his McLean home,
followed by Game 7 (and a life-size Kobe) on his 103-inch TV screen.
What Puck whipped up: 1) terrine of foie gras with toasted brioche,
seared foie gras with cherry chutney, and mousse on apricot tartlet
(Riesling, Hirtzberger, “Singerriedel,” Austria 2004); 2) seared wild
salmon with cucumber raita and sweet pea puree (Chardonnay, Littorai,
“Mays Canyon,” California 2006); 3) risotto with porcini mushrooms
(pinot noir, Clos De Tart, “Grand Cru,” Burgundy 1995); 4) veal
Milanese (Barolo, Oddero, Italy 2000); 5) slow braised Kobe short ribs
and grilled Kobe New York (cabernet sauvignon, Beaulieu Vineyard,
“Georges de Latour,” Napa 2001); 6) strawberry shortcake, chocolate
raspberry soufflé and peach cobbler (Grüner Veltliner Eiswein, Anton
Bauer, Austria).

Here's the official Restaurant Guide! Click on it to view it at a larger size.

In addition to America, Columbus was one of the first to bring back reports of the Sargasso Sea. In the middle of the ocean is an area of water that's surrounded by opposing currents. It results in an enormous stagnant, elliptical pocket that is 2 million square miles in area. Think of it as liquid land. The currents deposit on to it. Until recently it's been mostly seaweed and has always been a refuge for turtles, a migratory stop for eels among other species, and a source of literary fascination. Sargassum seaweed gets its name from this sea. It's the seaweed that's also found floating in the Gulf of Mexico.

One of the tragedies of the BP spill is that the 'floating land' is bearing a significantly larger brunt of the ecological impact. Mucked up seaweed floating around in the gulf doesn't get the reaction that oil-soaked marshes do, but in a way it's 'land'. It has an indiginous population that have evolved to match the brown seaweed color. Sargasso seahorses, pipefish, file fish, anenomes, crabs, shrimp. Butterfish, and hake use the seaweed as breeding ground.

The organisms and species that use it are consumed by what we consume. It is the ecosystem. It is part of our food chain. When you see piles of rusty seaweed on the news, this is what it is. It is our food.

The biggest irony is that Mitsubishi is working to develop biofuel from seaweed. While we are dealing with fossil fuels that work in spite of our ecology. The Japanese are trying to develop fuel that works because of it. From the Sunday Times UK, From 2005 (!)

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On June 4th 10,000 Haitian peasants burned corn donated by Monsanto. Ana Jones at the Huffington Post has an article about it. They cite Farmer Leader Chavannes Jean-Baptiste of the Peasant Movement of Papay first hand. Right or wrong, here are his reasons why they chose to do this.

• Hybrid seeds are a poison gift. They don't reproduce,
  and therefore cannot be shared among a community. Haiti does not yet
  view seeds as a commodity like the US does. These hybrid seeds threaten
  the cultural fabric in Haiti because they break the cycle of food
  sharing.
• Jean-Baptiste believes that Monsanto has taken
  the opportunity of the recent earthquake in Haiti to intentionally
  introduce the seeds and destroy Haitian agriculture, creating a
  dependency on Monsanto each season for new seeds.
• If the
  Haitian government accepts Monsanto's seeds, rather than trying to
  build a system of food sovereignty, the Haitian farmer will become a
  day laborer, working for industrial farms. This would completely
  transform the economy to an industrial system instead of working to
  support farmers through a local economic system.

When it comes to concocting the perfect cocktail according to industry standards, I’ve never seen myself as much of a pro. But when it comes to crafting a cocktail that my girl friends will drink, I opt in as quite the connoisseur.  (In other words, I’m pretty good at adding enough ingredients to make the drink taste delish, but not great at bringing out the true essence of the liquor being used).

So when I was among the food and drink writers lucky enough to participate in the 2010 Next GINeration Cocktail Challenge (hosted by New Amsterdam Gin), I decided to go into it with an open mind, and hope to come away with new insights for crafting the perfect cocktail.

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It was Father's Day and on the way back from our trip to the Midwest Renewable Energy Association seminar we stopped by the Glacier Ridge Animal Farm  in Van Dyne, Wisconsin. Here we encountered the most exotic animals we've ever seen in the Midwest – peacocks, porcupines, llamas, miniature horses, bison, and ostriches. Walking around we enjoyed feeding the animals from the docile deer to the somewhat-scary bison. Speaking to the farmer… we learned that meat from the bison and ostriches are available for sale (talk about being close to one's food chain! One moment you're feeding the animals, next you're buying the meat). Rest assure the peacock is off limits (only bison and ostrich meats).

I’m always amazed when people don’t know this Seuss book. If you haven’t read it, read it. If you won’t read it, at least watch it. Bear with the musical numbers but realize that this was a prediction. Considering all the eco-impact of the unchecked/unregulated growth of business, it’s appropriate.

The truffula trees are sargassum seaweed.