A recent story in the StarTribune caught my eye. Columnist John Tevlin goes in depth on the family feud going on just down the road from us in St. Louis Park where we’ve seen Thanh Do (local restauranteur Thom Pham’s cash cow) close and reopen across the street in a larger space; and his adoptive sisters reopen the original location under the name “Wok In The Park”.

In case the Strib link above no longer works (or you are too lazy to go read the article) the short version is that Thom has sued his sisters saying they embezzeled $250,000 from him. Thom doesn’t come off particularly good in the article, and it doesn’t help that Tevlin seems to say that Thom owes money to the wrong kind of people and that’s what led to a beating in 2007.

But instead of trying Thom and his sisters in the press, or in a court of law, my lovely wife Chelle and I decided to settle this dispute once and for all, in our dining room. We ordered the same 4 dishes from both restaurants and brought them home to judge for ourselves.

The order was:

• Cream Cheese Wontons
• Wok in the Park – Puffs in the Park
• Thanh Do – Fried Wontons
• Pork Fried Eggrolls
• WP – Fried Egg Rolls with Pork
• TD – Egg Rolls (Fried) with Pork
• Steak and Potatoes
• WP – Steak and Chips
• TD – Beef with Potatoes
• Pad Thai with Pork with 3 fireballs/stars

Both places told us 15-20 minutes, but as we know unless they are really busy they are typically ready in 10 minutes. When we arrived 12 minutes later at Wok In The Park, our order was ready. Chelle asked for some additionally spicy sauces and peanut sauce. A short drive across the street found us at Thanh Do and Chelle made the same request. It was early in the evening (5:30 on a Friday night) both places had three tables seated inside.

After a quick drive home we saddled up at the table with an excellent bottle of wine, a 2006 Bladen Gewurztraminer which we bought during our trip to New Zealand that same year. It was due to be drunk and I can’t think of a better meal to pair it with.

Down to business, here are our notes from the meal under several categories.

Chopsticks: Both places use the same chopstick manufacturer. Not the kind you have to break apart, which I personally appreciate.

Soy Sauce: Wok In the Park (WP) provided two lonely packets of Soy Sauce. However Thanh Do (TD) didn’t provide any. That was unusual for both. I chalk that up to Chelle throwing them both off asking for spicy sauces.

Spicy Sauces: WP provided three sauces. A fish sauce, red pepper, and peanut sauce. Thanh Do provided a fish sauce, red pepper, sri racha, sweet and sour, and peanut sauce.

Fish Sauce: WP’s was slightly more fishy, but these two were identical in appearance.
Red Pepper: WP’s was far superior. The red pepper flakes were bright and looked very fresh in a small amount of sesame oil. TD’s was drab and look old, and was more of a paste than in oil.
Peanut Sauce: Both were good, with WP’s being more peanutty, and TD’s being more soy based. A slight nod to WP (although Chelle liked WP’s hands down).
Sri Racha: TD’s Sri Racha was standard.
Sweet and Sour: a pretty standard offering when you order cream cheese wontons, so I was surprised WP didn’t provide it. I however don’t use it. With that being said TD’s is quite good as it has a little kick to it.

Pork Fried Eggrolls: TD’s eggroll was gorgeous to look at. Perfectly fried and generously large. WP’s was almost identical, but not fried quite as long; still completely cooked but wasn’t quite as visually appealing. TD’s was very dense with a strong peppery flavor. WP’s was just as dense and looked almost identical in the inside, but minus the peppery flavor. In fact I found WP’s eggroll a little bland. My vote was for TD, although Chelle preferred WP.

Cream Cheese Wantons: I am what you would call, a connisouer, of cream cheese wontons. TD’s were perfectly cooked. Crispy and crunchy on the outside, warm and gooey on the inside with no part of the cream cheese still semi-solid. Quite good. WP’s was equally as well cooked, but the cream cheese tasted far fresher and a little more salty. When you are talking asian food, bring on the salty. While both were good, WP’s were far better.

Steak and Potatoes: On a visit to WP a few weeks ago we decided to give this dish a try, although it seems very wrong to order steak and potatoes at an asian restauant. It was fantastic, so we decided to include it in our takeout showdown. TD’s looked fantastic coming out of the container. It had grilled and crunchy potatoes, well done (but not chewy) bits of steak, and some small chunks of onion intermixed. WP’s was very different. At the restaurant it comes with a sauce (actually both menus say the dish comes with a sweet oyster sauce, but little to no sauce was found in the Thanh Do version), which means the potatoes weren’t crispy at all. The steak was very moist, more tender than TD’s steak, and tasted a little better (perhaps grass-fed beef?). However, overall I preferred the TD version we got for takeout, but since I’ve had WP’s in the restaurant I have to call this one a draw (Chelle agreed). My advice is to ask for the sauce on the side if you order this dish takeout from WP, better yet just go inside and have it at a table. It’s perfectly american with enough asian touches to not make you feel guilty about ordering it.

Pork Pad Thai: Nothing defines a Thai restaurant (or Pan-Asian restaurant in this case) more than its Pad Thai. During the last several months at Thanh Do we noticed the Pad Thai wasn’t as good as it had been. We had heard that Thom had fired the chefs and his sisters from the restaurant (as it turns out it would appear that rumor was probably true). But now that the dust had settled, whose Pad Thai would reign supreme? Both looked delicious upon opening. But one was clearly better than the other. Both were spicy, but one was more close to what one would expect when you say “3 fireballs”. One was a little too dry and the pork was chewy. The other was moist with tender pieces of pork. One was peanutty while the other was just lacking. The TD was the spicier of the two, but WP’s Pad Thai was much better. Not even close.

As we look at the tale of the tape, it was a close and hard fought battle, but in the end it was a unanimous decision that Wok In The Park edged out Thanh Do as the best asian cusine within one block of Minnetonka Boulevard and Texas Avenue in St. Louis Park.

With the battle already won, there was still one last item to cover, Fortune Cookies. I had expected both restaurants to have the same fortune cookies, but they weren’t. TD’s were from a company in Illinois, while WP’s were from right here in the Twin Cities. TD’s tasted a little richer. But WP’s tasted fresher and crunchier. But I think you’ll need to decide which one is better for yourself.

Wok In The Park – http://www.wokintheparkrestaurant.com/ – 952.657.5754
Thanh Do – http://thanhdorestaurant.com/ – 952.935.5005

Enjoy!

I’m not usually a big fan of these advice type articles. I’m of the opinion that diet advice boils down to the following phrase: Eat less. Work out more. That said, I think this is worth a look, both because of the startling badness of some of these concoctions, and the clever imagery with which they’re presented. So go ahead, have a look:

The 20 Worst Drinks in America.

I go to the downtown Target once or twice a week to stock the work fridge with healthy (or relatively speaking ‘healthier’) snacks. I’ve worked my ass off (almost literally) over the last two years, and I enjoy being fitter, happier, more productive. So yeah, nothing too crazy. Stock up on some yogurt, milk, granola bars. Try to pack my own lunch most days, and if not, find a nice-looking sandwich to bring home.

Which is exactly why I’m baffled by my instincts each and every time I pass the rack of 99 cent bags of Doritos. I’m a rational adult. I can pretty quickly make the call that a bag of Doritos is the epitome of ‘empty calories’. If you were to put a Dorito section into the food pyramid, it would be in the group that represents the slave labor that built the food pyramid. Still, I want to buy and eat them, and it’s a fairly intense wanting.

So I resist, and resist some more. But I can empathize with people who just can’t seem to stop eating [problem food x]. Stay strong, friends, you can do it.

Last weekend I was enjoying a nice continental breakfast¹ at a Holiday Inn Express.² As people are wont to do, I inspected the carton of milk in front of me, mostly out of boredom. The ingredients list happened to catch my eye: Milk, Vitamin A, Vitamin D. And underneath that a food allergy disclaimer – Contains: Milk.

Of course it contains Milk! It IS Milk! ‘Milk’ is the single biggest word ON the carton, and it’s repeated several times! Are we really such an ignorant and litigious culture that we need this kind of horrendous intelligence-insulting CYA on a single serving carton of milk?³

And don’t even get me started on how the Feds are gonna start raiding garage sales.

A few weeks ago Alex posted a picture on his Facebook page from the vending machine at work. I laughed out loud because the same item showed up in our vending machine as well: Burger King Onion Rings (Flavored Snacks)

One thing worth noting is that at my job, they cost only 55 cents. Must be that downtown Minneapolis markup.

At any rate, I have a well documented history of eating things out of vending machines, so it wasn’t long before I had to try these things (and I do mean “things”).

Here’s a closer shot of the bag:

So, for 55 cents what did I get? I got .75 ounces of snack, which is markedly lower than the customary 1 ounce snack size of potato chips for the same price. I also got the following ingredients:
Corn meal, vegetable oil (corn/soybean/sunflower/cottonseed depending on which was the cheapest at the time the product was created), salt, rice flour, minced onion, monosodium glutamate, whey, buttermilk powder, caramel color, natural flavors, corn syrup solids, maltodextrin, sodium caseinate, lactic acid, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate, artificial colors, canola oil, and artificial flavor.

Well, there are a number of things I can’t pronounce, but honestly none of them are too terrible. No trans fat, no HFCS, although the inclusion of so many “artificial colors and flavor” leave much to be desired. But who cares what’s actually in these things, how were they?

The serving size of .75 ounces works out to 21.3 grams and “about 15 pieces”.

Careful observers will note that there are only 12 rings present. I guess “about” is a pretty relative term in the snack food industry.

The aroma of the snack is… stale. Not particularly strong or appetizing. Sort of a cross between rice cakes and a faint mix of onion powder and BBQ chips.

Taking a bite the texture is actually quite pleasant. Somewhere between a cheese puff and Cheeto. Firm, crunchy, but a structure the collapses when bitten into, as opposed to breaking apart like a Cheeto. Somewhat similar to a Cheez Ball.

However, the flavor more closely aligns with the smell. Somewhat ashen, stale. Surprisingly not salty given the 200mg of sodium per serving. Nothing remotely “onion ringy” about it in the least.

But fear not folks, our friends at The Inventure Group, you know… those folks who brought us O’Boisies (their O’Boisterous!), and Tato Skins, they have a few other BK items up their sleeves such as: Hot & Spicy Onion Rings (maybe they will at least have some flavor in them), French Toast (mmmm, vending machine snacks aren’t just for lunch anymore!), something called “Flame Broiled” (think potato chip flavored like…well, I’m not 100% sure), and “Ketchup & Fries” (which I’m sure will be an even worse version of any number of ketchup flavored chips I’ve had in the past).

In conclusion: besides the texture, BK’s Onion Ring snacks don’t deliver at all. They are flavorless, artificial, and a terrible investment of 55 (or 60) cents. In the immortal words of Nancy Regan: Just Say No.

So I was watching Food Network the other night and came across a show called “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”. It featured different Food Network “stars” (I put that in quotes because for the most part they were all minor characters from Food Network like Mario Battali’s Sous Chef on Iron Chef, the guy from Rescue Chef, and those were the better known ones… where was I… nevermind…) discussing what the best thing each of them has ever eaten.

They came up with lame things like: a BBQ Sandwich, Eggs Benedict, these pancake balls called Ebelskivers, Bone Marrow and Oxtail Marmalade (yes, that’s right, bone marrow… not only could it contain stem cells to cure our deadly diseases, it’s delicious!), Banana Cream Pie, Gnocchi made entirely of cheese (instead of potatoes), a Cannoli, and a Guinea Hen cooked in a Pig Bladder.

Yes, you read that last one correctly. It was the best thing that Ted Allen (of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame) has ever eaten. Along with Ted describing his experience they had footage of the actual dish at the restaurant in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace. If a quivering dinosaur egg with veins sounds appetizing to you, perhaps you should consider stopping by. The dinosaur egg is in fact an inflated pig bladder, with a guinea hen inside. How he could find that appetizing, especially after the waiter popped the bladder with a knife, is beyond me.

On one hand it made me nauseous, but on the other hand it made me realize that when you say “best” it doesn’t necessarily mean tastiest. Best could mean the experience. For example I would guess that the best drink my wife ever had was the Irish coffee she ordered at the Shangri-La hotel in Bangkok Thailand. They wheeled out a whole cart full of liquors and glassware, there were flames being poured from glass to glass, and well you just had to be there because it was amazing to watch. My point is even if that Irish coffee wasn’t the best tasting in the world, the experience and presentation made it the best in the world.

Anyway, it got me thinking, what is the best thing *I* ever ate? I brainstormed for a couple of days and realized I couldn’t narrow it down to one thing. So here’s my top twelve (see, I couldn’t even narrow it down to ten).

12. Buffalo Wild Wings Spicy Garlic Buffalo Wings – I discovered BW3 (back when it was still BW3) in Dublin Ohio during my stint working for Enron…long story, don’t ask. Anyway, the first time I went to BW3 and had their Spicy Garlic Buffalo Wings it was a moving experience. There was trivia, beer, and sports on TV. What more could a guy want? Cheap and delicious wings, that’s what I guy could want! The Spicy Garlic wings rank relatively low on BW3′s spicy scale, but I maintain that Spicy Garlic tastes hotter than Hot BBQ. Regardless, the buffalo sauce and garlic combination makes for a perfect wing with medium spice. The kind of wing you can eat a dozen (or two) of paired with a cold glass of Leinie’s Honey Weiss.

11. Tom Thumb Donuts – Growing up in Austin, every August brought the Mower County Fair, and the fair brought Tom Thumb Donuts. Those wonderful cinnamon sugar deep fried little nuggets of golden deliciousness. As a child I was fascinated by the machine that spiraled out donut after donut. Oh who am I kidding, I am *still* fascinated by those little mechanical donut makers. The thing is, I’ve had other mini donuts, and I’ve even had Tom Thumb donuts at the Minnesota State Fair, but those donuts can’t hold a candle to those in Austin. I don’t know if it’s something in the water, or the people who own that particular franchise, but they are vastly superior and I have corroborated this with friends who’ve tried both. These donuts are so good that last summer in Austin I ate two and a half bags myself. And I’m proud of that.

10. Paella at Cafe Havana – Sadly Cafe Havana closed on May 31st 2008, but the paella will live forever in my memory. You needed to notify Cafe Havana 48 hours in advance so they could have the ingredients flown in. When Chelle and I went we gave them the proper notice but when we arrived and ordered our waiter tried to talk us out of it. He said it was so large, that we couldn’t possibly finish it. Clearly he didn’t know who he was talking to; we pressed on and out came a beautiful plate of saffron colored rice, vegetables and seafood. Needless to say there was no need for a doggy bag that evening as we devoured it all. I’ve had excellent paellas since then, but none have measured up.

9. Chelle’s Parpardelle and Sausage with Champagne Sauce (a.k.a. heart attack on a plate) – This is a modification of an Emeril recipe for Lobster in a Champagne Sauce that Chelle has made only a handful of times. Its nickname of “heart attack on a plate” comes from the fact that it’s made with a full pound of butter. Replace lobster with Italian sausage, and that’s a heart attack waiting to happen, and one of the most delicious things you’ll ever eat.

8. French Silk Pie from Baker’s Square – Growing up in Austin, where the only decent shopping was Oak Park Mall, there were plenty of trips to Rochester to a “real” mall, like Apache Mall. By the way, how sad is it that Oak Park Mall doesn’t even have a text URL, only the IP address? Was that a decision based on cost, the right name not being available, or just sheer laziness? But I digress… Beyond the trip to Apache Mall there was a trip to the Miracle Mile shopping center, and even to the Target on the north side of Rochester. Just south of Target is a Baker’s Square that my mom and I would often have lunch at. Baker’s Square has fantastic pies but their French Silk is a delectable combination of a light buttery crust, rich chocolate, and a creamy whipped top. Even though it reminds me of weekends spent in Rochester trying on JC Penny Plain Pockets (for the husky young man), I still love that pie.

7. My Mom’s Toll House Bars – Just the simple recipe off the back of the package, in bar form, not cookies. However, my mom must do something different because I’ve made this countless times, and it never comes out quite like hers. Dense with a smooth top, and filled with chocolate chips. Maybe it’s because her baking soda was older than I was, maybe she added more chips, or made less dough. Whatever it is, nobody makes ‘em like mom.

6. Ham from our Pork Guy – Since Chelle and I have been hosting Thanksgiving (every other year) and Easter (every year) for the past several years, we’ve tried many many hams. We’ve tried hams from the regular grocery store, from high-end grocery stores, from Costco, from the Honeybaked Ham Company, and so on. I have been continually disappointed in the taste, texture, and quality of hams I’ve spend over $50 on. This past Thanksgiving with 24 people to feed, we decided to try making a ham yet again. Chelle suggested trying the pork vendor at the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market, who we affectionately refer to as “our pork guy“. We picked up an 18 pound ham, bone in, no spiral cut. We prepared it on the grill (as our two ovens were taken up by a turkey and all of the side dishes) and this was the best ham I had ever had. To quote Linda Richman, “It was like buttah”. How good was this ham? If given the choice between any steak I’ve ever had in my life and this ham… the ham would win every day of the week and twice on Sunday. That’s good ham.

5. Chelle’s Eggplant Parmesan – The first time I ever had eggplant, the only thing I knew about it was that it was purple, and it was what Pit from Kid Icarus would turn into if you weren’t careful around the Eggplant Wizard. I first fell in love with eggplant parm, in hoagie form, courtesy of a small Italian deli in Thousand Oaks California. Years later Chelle made me her eggplant parm for the first time and it was better than any eggplant I had ever had. The combination of textures, cheese, and homemade sauce is phenomenal. One of her secrets (I won’t give them all away) is that she bakes her eggplant instead of pan frying. That gives the eggplant a stronger texture and doesn’t make the final product greasy.

4. My Chili – I make a mean chili… in fact, it’s award winning. Seriously, I won a chili cook-off in my office. Granted, winning a chili cook-off against a bunch of Minnesotans isn’t necessarily something to brag about; but I’ve tried Chili all over the world and I have yet to find one that I like more than my own. The fun thing about my chili is that it’s never the same twice. The downside to my chili is that it’s never the same twice. However, out of all the chili I’ve made, the one that stands out is (oddly enough) the vegetarian one I made for my sister in law. At the time she was a strict vegetarian (no fish, no eggs, etc). Did you know that Worcestershire has anchovies in it? I didn’t; until I scrutinized every single ingredient. I used soy based “hamburger” and faux bacon, skipped the Worcestershire, and produced a chili that was not only vegetarian, but delicious!

3. Cardinali’s Meat Bread – For nearly 50 years, Cardinali Bakery has been supplying the Carle Place area with quality bakery goods. I don’t know if it was the first time I visited my in-laws, but many years ago I was introduced to “Meat Bread“. Much like my chili, it seems that Cardinali’s Meat Bread is never the same twice. The basics are that it is braided black pepper bread with meat generously spread throughout. However, I have had some loaves that seem to have ham in them. Other loaves look and taste more like salami. I’ve even had loaves that I swear had cheese in them. But the common theme is that they have all been delicious. One of my goals for 2009 is to learn to bake my own meat bread. I’ve got the tools, I’ve got the talent… it’s meat bread time!

2. Mom’s Beans – My mom never met a beef roast that she couldn’t over cook until it had the consistency of rawhide, but she could bake desserts and she could make baked beans. To me no holiday is complete without my Mom’s baked beans. They’ve been a staple at family gatherings my entire life. My mom doesn’t cook as much as she used to, so after a few holidays without baked beans I convinced her to write the recipe down for me. This past Thanksgiving I made the recipe for the first time. In her classic style, my mom’s recipe opens up with “Cook the beans”. Now I don’t know if you’ve ever bothered to look up how to cook beans, but there is a surprising variety in how you can cook great northern beans. Some people soak over night before boiling. Others boil once before boiling a second time. Some boil for a specified length of time, others boil until the skin “pops” on the beans. I helped my mom make those beans countless times over the years, but none of those methods sounded familiar. So in the spirit of all great chefs, I winged it. My beans came out a little firmer than mom’s, but the sauce was a spot on match. No matter how many times I’ve had these beans over the years, I never grow tired of them. That’s the sign of a great dish.

1. Thuringer Sandwich with Planter’s Cheez Balls – Growing up in Austin Minnesota meant eating a lot of Hormel products. It’s part of the city bylaws I believe. Even the six Jews in town ate Black Label Bacon… it’s just how things are done there. But out of all the Hormel products, my favorite is Thuringer. It’s hard to find, and in the Twin Cities I can only find the “Old Smokehouse” variety, which is good, but inferior to regular Thuringer. What’s more, you can’t even find mention of Thuringer on Hormel’s website. For those of you who don’t know, Thuringer is a type of summer sausage. It’s salty and has a slightly smoother texture compared to salami. I’d say the texture is halfway between salami and bologna. The taste is almost similar to venison summer sausage (but not gamey), as it isn’t as “sweet” as some sausages are. The perfect compliment to a Thuringer sandwich was a bowl full of Planter’s Cheez Balls… yet another product that is no longer made. Cheez Balls came in the blue tub with the yellow lid. Completely artificial, but tasty. The best part of the tub of Cheez Balls is at the bottom was a nugget of solid cheez ball coating. Concentrated cheezy goodness. But what really made the Cheez Balls great was the texture. Far crunchier than a cheese poof, but not quite as roof-of-the-mouth-shredding as a Cheeto. The two of them together… well, it’s like there was a party in your mouth.

It may seem strange to say the best thing I ate was a summer sausage sandwich with an odd puffed cheese snack. But if you know me you shouldn’t be surprised that a sandwich tops my list. Not only does that combination remind me of my youth, it’s a very personal comfort food. It’s something that belongs to me, and can’t be shared (thanks Planters… you jerks). That makes it even more special.

So what’s the best thing *you* ever ate?

Hat tip right off the bat to Matt Cassamassina’s video games blog over at IGN. Major kudos for finding this . . . ahem . . . gem.

I don’t even know if I can write coherently on this subject. If you’ll simply navigate your way to the website for Crystal Head Vodka (yes, seriously), you’ll be treated to a video featuring none other than Dan Akroyd. He will talk about the paranormal, the crystal heads, . . . he’ll talk a lot. And quite honestly it sounds like the best damn informercial you’ll ever see. Because it is. As Dan pours himself a shot of what he refers to as “Triple-Herkimer-Diamond-Filtered, Newfoundland-Deep-Aquifer-Pure-Spirit Vodka”, I’m sure you’ll agree. Go watch this video. Now.

Besides… IT’S VODKA! IN A GLASS HEAD!

I was watching TV the other day when a commercial came on that caught me eye.

(full disclosure: actually, it was a different commercial from the same group, it was two guys sitting around, almost like a Sunny D commercial, but I digress… the content was essentially the same, and I can’t find the one I saw on youtube)

WHAT??? So the backlash against HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) is so bad “Big HFCS” had to create an ad campaign? The most chilling part of the ad is: “like sugar it’s fine in moderation”. Wait… HFCS is in everything… as evidenced by HFCSFacts.com. But doesn’t the information there contradict itself?

“As HFCS use increased in the United States, it replaced sugar in various foods and beverages on a nearly one-for-one basis, as the chart (below) illustrates. Yet because sugar and HFCS share a common composition, the ratio of fructose-to-glucose in the diet has remained relatively unchanged over time.”

According to this website that isn’t true:
“In 1980 the average person ate 39 pounds of fructose and 84 pounds of sucrose. In 1994 the average person ate 66 pounds of sucrose and 83 pounds of fructose, providing 19 percent of total caloric energy. Today approximately 25 percent of our average caloric intake comes from sugars, with the larger fraction as fructose.”

Another quote from Big HCFS:

“This confirms that the approximate overall sugars mixture in the foods and beverages we consume—principally glucose and fructose—is nearly the same today as it was 30 years ago, before HFCS was introduced.”

Well looking at the graph, it certainly looks like the Total Caloric Sweeteners line (red) is much higher today than in 1978. By more than 10 pounds per person.

Big HCFS also states: “HFCS contains approximately equal ratios of fructose and glucose, as does table sugar, honey and many fruits.”

That’s not true either. Their own website even says: “HFCS is sold principally in two formulations—42 percent and 55 percent fructose—with the balance made up of primarily glucose and higher sugars”… Is a 10% increase really “approximately equal”?

As for Big HFCS’s archrival, “Big Sugar”, they say:
“It is becoming more common to further process fructose-enriched corn syrups to increase fructose content. These enhanced fructose corn syrups contain at least 95% fructose by weight.”

One other thing to consider is Fructose Malabsorption.

With all of this contridictory information, I found a good even-handed site:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-corn-syrup.htm

“Corn syrup is almost exactly as sweet as the granulated sugar (sucrose) it often replaces in recipes. Corn syrup can be naturally light in color which is often used in candymaking or darker which is usually used for general baking purposes. The light form of corn syrup may have vanilla flavoring added, while the dark corn syrup has a stronger natural flavor. The advantage of corn syrup over sugar is its resistance to crystallization. A candy lollipop made with corn syrup will retain its smooth texture, while a similar treat made from pure sugar may turn into a hardened rock candy. Corn syrup also prohibits crystal formation when sugar is added to a cake or fudge mixture.

Light and dark corn syrup both have a balance of dextrose, fructose, malt and glucose to keep them chemically stable, although corn syrup does have a limited shelf life compared to other sweeteners. The most controversial form of corn syrup, however, is rarely sold directly to consumers, although it can be found in a majority of processed foods sold in grocery stores. Welcome to the world of high fructose corn syrup.”

And http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-high-fructose-corn-syrup.htm

“[after a discussion of the expensive and complicated process it takes to make HFCS] Amazingly enough, all of this processing does not significantly add to the cost of producing high fructose corn syrup. Partially because of high tariffs placed on imported cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup is still cheaper than sugar and can be inexpensively shipped in tanker trucks. From an economic standpoint, everyone from the corn farmer to the food processor to the consumer wins with the use of high fructose corn syrup.”
…

“However, not everyone is sold on the benefits of high fructose corn syrup. Some health experts express concern over the level of genetic modification and processing used to create the finished product. Even though consumers associate fructose with natural fruit sugars, the concentration of fructose found in high fructose corn syrup is not necessarily natural. Diabetics and others who must monitor their blood sugar levels may not get accurate glycemic readings after ingesting fructose. Others point out the association between processed foods containing high fructose corn syrup and obesity.”

My take: The key is “processed foods”. It doesn’t appear that HFCS is as much of a health menace as Trans Fats has turned out to be. However there are enough questions that it is worth reconsidering. Three points are important to keep in mind: a) most people find that foods made with cane sugar taste better than those made with HFCS; 2) HFCS is cheaper than cane sugar due to tarriffs; and iii) Fructose doesn’t produce insulin which can prevent one from feeling full (although how much this influences is up for debate).

If you prefer the taste, and can afford making the switch, it’s worth doing. If you can’t tell the difference or can’t afford to pay more… at this point in time the science doesn’t quite support it. One should focus on removing processed foods from your diet (which in turn will lower your HFCS intake quite a bit). Limit or quit drinking soda (diet soda with aspartame is probably even worse than HFCS). And lastly, apparently we should all start eating more liver… or pennies.

Your intrepid SP crew took it upon themselves to tackle the Great Minnesota Get Together last week, and I decided to take a low-quality snapshot tour for everyone’s enjoyment. Click on past the jump to see all of the technicolor goodness.

Click on each picture to see a larger version.

A fresh morning of gluttony awaits, and the crowd is sparse enough to move through with ease.

Ya know... as opposed to those houses that just have walls.

I think Minnekabob was wadE's nickname in high school. Right? ...and that's a big stick.

Was there any doubt that we'd visit the Big Fat Bacon stand?

These are all true words. And the bacon was delicious.

Yes, the Exotic Wood Gallery amuses me. Yes, I have the maturity of an eight year old.

Pork chops are but one of many foods that can be found on a stick. If you look closely, you can see that this stand also sells hog-on-a-log.

Yes, that is chocolate covered bacon. Yes, it was delicious.

The crew makes their way towards the SPAM stand... where the line forms behind wadE.

I don't believe anyone sampled the deep fried gator, but I thought it should be noted for posterity.

Best lemonade at the Fair. Note the super-saturation of sugar at the bottom of the tank.

Drew displays his naked pickle on a stick. (From the phrases that sound dirty but actually aren't file.)

Yes, you can buy lake fish on a stick...

...and of course Wade did. And I want a Got Smelt? t-shirt.

They don't use trans fats to make the cheese curds. . . . Because *that's* what worries me about eating them.

If Joe Cool endorses food-on-a-stick, then you know it's good.

Great. They've turned the kiddie tilt-a-whirl into a revolving nightmare.

Proof that your intrepid photographer can't walk and turn off his cell phone at the same time.

Speaking of nightmares. Note the mascot's handler in the background - he's wearing a t-shirt with the mascot's head on it (which is great!)

Why is the italian beef burger named Gizmo?

Wade is unimpressed by the morons demoing Rock Band (and he was right to be).

Not that I haven't already proven my immaturity, but I was ordered to take this photo.

An unnatural and highly disturbingly large crowd gathers to watch a pitchman sell the ShamWow (as seen on TV!)

The inflatable TC will crush us all! Run!

wadE offers Kent Hrbek's life-sized cardboard cutout a beer.

Someday I want to be the guy who holds an arrow pointing to the semi-famous person.

Finally, with the afternoon crowds starting to pack in a bit tighter, we exit.

If it’s Austin in the news, and it’s not a man trying to jump a sledding hill, or a man robbing a convenience store with a cheeseburger, or a burglar foiled by register tape, or a kid getting stuck in a crane game, or someone desecrating Starman’s grave, or defecating in an envelope, or. . . well you get the idea. But then it must be:

SPAM! That’s right, SPAM sales are up! Way up! We’re gonna SPAM our way right out of this recession, baby! Whoever said Austin never did anything for us?! Besides us.