Food on Film: What Chunk Ate

Is there any movie more purely enjoyable than The Goonies?

While I love the whole adventure, it’s characters like Mouth, Data, the Fratellis and Sloth that really make this film an undeniable classic.

But there’s one character I hold closest to my heart: CHUNK. The food-obsessed klutz has some of the best lines, by far the most memorable facial expressions and a charm that shines through even the most serious scenes.

Of course, Chunk’s most famous quality is his ability to eat in the face of danger. For a rundown of his edible conquests, keep reading…

Food News Roundup

1. Irvine Robbins, co-founder of Baskin-Robbins ice cream, died at the age of 90.

We used to have a Baskin-Robbins in my neighborhood when I was a kid, and I would always get World Class Chocolate. I have no idea if that’s still part of the “31 flavors” at the current stores (now owned and operated by the Dunkin’ Donuts conglomerate), but going to that B-R for the first time will forever be one of my warmest ice cream memories.

2. Melograno, still the number 1 restaurant on my Philly Top 10, has lost its lease and will move this summer.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Food and Drinq blog:

Melograno, one of the best-received of the recent crop of mom-and-pop BYOs, has lost its lease after five years.

July 28 will be its last day at 22d and Spruce Streets, says Rosemarie Tran, who owns Melograno with her husband, Gianluca Demontis.

They’re relocating to 2010 Sansom St. — same name and concept — and hope to be up and running in September, taking advantage of their usual August vacation.

Although its current neighborhood is much nicer, I can’t complain since they’re moving around the corner from me. As long as the quality stays high, I’ll be there on a regular basis.

3. Who added the extra “r” in shebert?

If you just pronounced that last word like “sherbert,” join the crowd. Thankfully, we have Anu Garg of MSN’s new On Words column to show us the folly of our ways.

The word is from Arabic, but it took a scenic route to English. It stopped by Persian and Turkish before reaching the shores of the English language. In Arabic šarbat is a drink. (By the way, the word syrup is a cousin of this word.)

Don’t worry, his daughter got it wrong too.

Battle of the Pints: Haagen Dazs vs. Ben & Jerry’s

Winter is upon us and nobody is eating ice cream. What a sad state of affairs.

Well, I’m here to tell you that ice cream isn’t just for summer anymore. In fact, it never was. For citizens all over this glorious nation – especially kids and grandparents – ice cream isn’t a seasonal treat. It’s a year-round delicacy.

Though many a “fresh” ice cream stand are closed in this season of discontent, your nearest supermarket or convenience store is still open… right? The war for your hard-earned dairy dollar doesn’t break for cold weather and neither does its Geneva Conventions – me.

For your amusement, I am pitting the two major pint barons (Haagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s) against each other in the ultimate blog-etition. Spoons will cross, packaging will sweat, and the contents will soften. Let the ice cream war begin!

Bee Kind

Do you know about the honey bee crisis?

A phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is decimating the honey bee population, which we rely on for one-third of our food supply. This is a major problem.

I remember seeing something about it on 60 Minutes (or was it Sunday Morning?) but it didn’t really penetrate my thick skull. While researching an article on ice cream (yes, I actually do research), I came across Haagen Dazs’ new website dedicated to the crisis. And when the people who make ice cream recognize a problem, you know it’s bad.

I’m not usually one for advocacy, but I highly encourage everyone to read up on the subject here. This a very important issue for just about everyone who likes to eat.

Oh, and the bees… it’s probably pretty important to them too.

Iron Chef: Phoenixville

This past Saturday night, the wife and I were invited to the ‘burbs for a local Iron Chef throw down between my friend Lou and his boss Darcy. It was pretty much the best thing ever.

The Battle

For more than an hour and a half, the food war raged in the well-stocked kitchen of Darcy’s immense farmhouse. There were dogs, there was wine, there was even a soundtrack countdown, alerting both participants and audience to how much time was remaining. And the humble pine nut (the night’s special ingredient) was everywhere.

When the dust settled, each chef had three dishes.

Appetizer Course

Darcy presented a salad of greens, prosciutto, cooked red onion, shaved Parmesan, pine nuts and dressing. All of the flavors really went well together, making for a nice, light introduction to the meal.

Lou made a signature pizza with pesto sauce and goat cheese, accompanied by pear slices, Gruyere and blue cheese, and honey. Despite my not liking goat cheese, the pizza was solid. And, of course, you can never go wrong with fruit and cheese.

Entree Course

Darcy made a pasta dish combining farfalle, sausage pieces, mozzarella, and pine nuts. I’m sure there were other ingredients , but whatever was there worked. It was a warm, hearty dish.

Lou presented grilled lambchops, over couscous made with apricot, mint, pine nuts and other flavors. I don’t know how he did it (considering pieces were flying this way and that), but the lamb was cooked perfectly and the couscous was refreshing and complementary.

Dessert Course

Darcy sauted figs in a port and spice concoction, and drizzled them with melted Nutella. She accompanied this with cold marscapone custard covered with pine nuts and fresh whipped cream. I’m not usually a port or fig fan, but everybody raved about this combination.

Lou, using a machine provided by yours truly, prepared a honey/pine nut ice cream, garnished with mint. Although it was a bit melty, the ice cream was still a sweet ending.

The Verdict

Too close to call. I was pleasantly surprised that every single dish was successful, and I couldn’t find a soul to disagree. It almost makes me nervous that, some day, my cuisine may not reign as supreme.

Complaining worked for me…

And it can work for you too!

I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but Haagen Dazs has a light ice cream flavor that will melt your soul. It’s called Extra Rich Light Dulce de Leche.

Even with such a reputation for unparalleled smoothness, sometimes a bad pint will find its way into a store. And sometimes, just sometimes, a bad shipment will plague your whole neighborhood. This is what happened a few weeks ago when I purchased two pints from two different stores within a block from each other.

The ice cream, while still tasty, was icy; not at all smooth. Pieces of ice cream would break off as I dragged my spoon across the layers. My keen detective skills told me that this had to be the result of a shipping problem in which the ice cream melted slightly and refroze, making it icy and unpleasant.

After five minutes on the phone laying out my complaints with a Haagen Dazs rep (in which she agreed with my theory), she was kind enough to send me two certificates for free pints. Pretty sweet.

Now, I’m not saying you should abuse this system, but there is a recourse if a normally excellent product doesn’t conform to its prior quality levels.

This is America. You should never have to suffer through inferior ice cream.