An Insider's guide to restaurants, wine, spirits and culinary travel

glass half full: 8/23/2017

A roundup of the most interesting food, wine and spirits stories on the web (because even Al Gore, who invented it, doesn't have time to read them all)

Not the King of Nutrition, by any measure.

Yet more proof (if more was needed) on why Elvis died young:

https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/how-eat-elvis-if-you-want

French baker jailed in China for using expired flour.

At least he wasn’t in North Korea:

https://www.thedailymeal.com/french-baker-imprisoned-china-expired-flour/81717

When nothing but a paper umbrella will do.

Here’s a quick roundup of the world’s 15 best tiki bars:

http://punchdrink.com/articles/15-most-important-best-tiki-bars-chicago-london-sf/

Just when you thought it was cool to be a Starbucks barista.

No doubt about it: these guys and gals earn their tattoos and attitudes the hard way. This week they’re outraged about the early introduction of the pumpkin latte, and have formed a support group on Reddit to ease the pain of working in a millennial sweatshop:

https://www.eater.com/2017/8/18/16162142/pumpkin-spice-latte-in-n-out-bounchon-bakery

Are fast-casual restaurants reinventing the wine list?

Most of the growth in the U.S. restaurant industry is taking place in that sector. Using kegs and private labels, the fast-casual operators may be changing the way we drink wine:

https://daily.sevenfifty.com/fast-casual-restaurants-take-on-wine-lists/

The Forgotten History of Black Chefs

African-Americans played a crucial behind-the-scenes role in the development of American cuisine:

https://www.eater.com/2017/8/18/16115524/michael-twitty-cooking-gene-black-culinary-history-ancestry