The Evolution of Coke

I stumbled across this image on Buzzfeed showing the history of the Coke bottle. I just thought that it was really interesting to see how the bottle shapes and Coke logos have changed throughout the years. As you can see, the first Coke bottle doesn't even have any of the signature Coke red on it.

The History of Coke Bottles (Buzzfeed)

Deep Fried Fish Still Alive

This is just crazy. Apparently in China, they can deep fry a fish and serve it all while keeping it alive and kicking. In the video, the person repeatedly pokes the fish with his chopsticks to show that it is still alive. He then proceeds to take a couple of bites from the fish's body. I'm no vegetarian or advocate for animal rights, but I don't know if I could ever bring myself to eat something like this.

Top Ads of the Decade

AdWeekMedia has released their top choices for best commercials of the decade. Nominees include iconic spots like the Nike "Freestyle" and the Budweiser "Wassup" ads. Part of the Best of the 2000s feature, AdWeekMedia will be selecting the best marketing, advertising and media performances over the last ten years. While the winners will be announced in December still, you can go vote for your favorite commercial (as well as a slew of other categories) at Bestofthe2000s.com.

Naturally, some of the nominees include commercials from some of the biggest names in the food industry - Coke, Pepsi, Skittles, Cadbury and so on. From the list, I've chosen my own personal top 3 food and beverage related ads (funny though that all my choices ended up being for beverages). What do you guys think? Is there another food-realted ad nominated that deserves to be in the top 3 or are there any other food-related ads that you think got snubbed from the list of nominations?





As an honorable mention, I wanted to include this Coke ad in the top 3 but I figured that I stick to one ad per advertiser. Just goes to show how awesome some of the Coke ads were these past ten years.


See all nominees for Commercial of the Decade (Non-Superbowl) here.
See all nominees for Superbowl Spot of the Decade here.

Eating In: Ginger Cookies

The holidays are right around the corner, so that means it's time to bake up some holiday goodness as well. My favorite holiday baked good recipe is for Ginger Cookies. I use a Paula Deen recipe, but I substitute the shortening for butter (because butter is always better). I like the recipe because it produces an extremely chewy cookie, but not in a way that makes it seem like the cookie is old and stale. Also, the molasses gives it a saltiness while still having the sweetness everyone wants.

The recipe can be accessed through the Food Network website.


On a side note, I recently purchased a pair of Silpat non-stick baking mats (seen in the picture above). I must say that these things are great. Not only do you not have to butter/PAM/wax paper your baking trays but the mats also seem to reduce the chances of burning the bottoms of your cookies. Because of that, it's easier to get nice thin cookies without getting them too crispy.

Street Meat: Biryani Cart

Another 2009 Vendy Award finalist and winner of the People's choice Vendy Award in 2008, Biryani Cart was definitely on my list for street vendors to try. Located on 46th and 6th, it's surrounded by a lot of competition in the immediate area (Jamiacan Dutchy, 53rd and 6th Halal, Kim's Aunt, etc). I went just after lunch and there was basically no line so no trouble getting my food.

My lunch that day was their Kati Rolls. They're made in 4 different styles, each one available with chicken or lamb and wrapped in chapati, an Indian bread that is chewy and and crisp at the same time. I sampled the King Koti Roll - a spicy chicken tikka marinated in yogurt and spices, and the Channai roll - a sweet and tangy roll made with a spicy Thai style chili sauce. You can get any two rolls for $6, which is a pretty good deal. While I must say that they were quite good, I'm not sure if it has won me over to being a repeat visitor. I still think I would choose Halal food over a Kati roll, but I guess that depends on my mood. In any case, you won't be disappointed if you decide to drop by.