Happy Holidays!
Posted by goodmind on December 24th, 2008
We’ll be off the grid for the next week, but you can track Santa on Twitter here.
Google Cooking
Posted by goodmind on December 17th, 2008
David LaGesse at US News posted a brief piece on “Googling your fridge,” or the practice of finding tonight’s recipe using refrigerator contents as search terms.
This behavior is so widespread at this point that it’s already a business model. Recipe search engines abound, and we’ve personally used the site Cookthink to narrow down our culinary options from time to time.
As helpful as it’s been, it still can’t compensate for those unfortunate nights when all you have on hand are take-out leftovers. Combining chinese food with hawaiian pizza produces less than desirable outcomes.
Frugal Food
Posted by goodmind on February 22nd, 2008
With all the gloom and doom discussion on Wall Street about a recession, it’s easy to overlook what could be a bright spot for consumers. While traditional ‘inflationary logic’ would dictate a rise in prices on par with the rising cost of commodities, many familiar food brands are protecting their margins by listening to consumer preferences. According to a recent article in BusinessWeek;
“General Mills in recent months reduced the number of pretzel shapes in its Chex and other snack mixes to three, from 14. The company had pretzels in the shapes of the letters “H,” “O” and “T.” But research found (not surprisingly) consumers cared more about the variety of pretzel flavors than shapes. That move, combined with other manufacturing improvements, is saving the division more than $1 million a year.” (emphasis ours)
Depending on your penchant for snack food, an economic downturn doesn’t have to leave a bad taste in your mouth.
Coffee and Wi-Fi: The Breakfast of Champions
Posted by goodmind on October 16th, 2007
Starbucks solidified its status as a cultural icon by offering more than just caffeinated beverages and bagels, forever altering our expectations of the coffee shop experience. However, exclusive distribution of Paul McCartney albums isn’t going to cut it if Starbucks wants to remain the golden standard for laptop toting caffeine addicts.
CrunchGear recently noted that coffee shop patronage is ultimately a matter of free Wi-Wi access. What differentiates one coffee shop from the next is not the vast selection of potential beverage additives, and Starbucks clearly knows that its Breakfast Blend alone is not responsible for its dominance. The most loyal coffee customer takes wireless internet access, not milk or sugar, with their daily java fix.
We’re waiting with bated coffee breath for Starbucks to start offering free Wi-Fi access.
Mickey Mouse Liver Paste
Posted by goodmind on February 22nd, 2007
The ultimate in licensing — Mickey Mouse Liver Paste. Seems peculiar to us, but it may the a savvy blending, if you will, of global and local. (via Boingboing)
