“Zume, the robotic pizza maker, is now valued at more than US $2 billion, thanks to its latest round of investment. According to The Wall Street Journal, this latest infusion of funds—$375 million—came entirely from SoftBank; and the Japanese conglomerate apparently has another $375 million at the ready should Zume need it. The valuation, in Silicon Valley terms, makes the new company a unicorn, one of the rare breed of startups thought to be worth over $1 billion.
This is just wrong. Because it’s just not good pizza.”
— “Zume, the Robotic Pizza Company, Makes Pies Only a Robot Could Love,” Tekla S. Perry, IEEE Spectrum
In the markets of Yunnan Province in southwest China, you can find more than 40 kinds of mushrooms and fungi. Mushrooms thrive in the mountainous terrain, and so do mushroom hunters. A Goldthread video.
_____________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-sgn
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Durian, the notoriously stinky fruit of the Pacific, is featured at McDonald’s in Malaysia and Singapore in a McFlurry concoction. It’s made with the milder D24 durian, but even so, that’s no pumpkin spice latte. McD’s offers localized menus in many parts of it’s global empire. See ads for more far-flung fast food treats here.
____________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-sdm
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Back in August, Ted Cruz spokesperson Emily Miller called his Democratic political opponent Beto O’Rourke “a Triple Meat Whataburger liberal who is out of touch with Texas values.” The beef (ahem) started when the Fort Worth Star-Telegram claimed the O’Rouke logo looks like a Whataburger Spicy Ketchup packet.
Unlike Emily Miller (Baltimore) and Ted Cruz (Canada!), Whataburger and Beto O’Rourke were both born in Texas. So was film director Richard Linklater (Boyhood, Dazed and Confused, Slacker), who calls out Mr. Cruz for his distinctly un-Texan affection for White Castle sliders:
“Mark Bittman fans, the wait is over. For everyone who’s been bemoaning the absence of regular columns distilling some of the food world’s biggest obstacles into intelligible terms where solutions actually feel within reach, and the approachable—and importantly flexible—recipes from the former New York Times columnist, Monday should be an exciting day. Bittman will launch a new newsletter on October 8, and this, it seems, is just the beginning. Next up will be a podcast, and after that, well, the world is his (sustainably farmed) oyster. “
— “Mark Bittman Will Launch a Newsletter Next Week, and a Podcast Is on Deck,” Alison Spiegel, Food & Wine
Licenses for a New York City hot dog stand can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. There are 3,100 hot dog stand licenses in New York City, and there’s a 20 year waiting list for them. The licenses, not the hot dogs.
A “Half as Interesting” video from Wendover Productions
______________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-rWi
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
California fast-food favorite, In-N-Out Burger, recently dished up something controversial on it’s secret menu: a $25,000 political contribution to the California Republican Party. That’s not all that surprising, given the religious conservatism of the family-owned business, but California Democrats found it hard to swallow, and some vowed to boycott the burger chain.
