• Best article this week in either paper is on the Illinois State Fair Wine Competition. Choice quote: “As my judging panel sailed through the wines at a pace of about four minutes a wine, I learned that we gave a bronze medal to just about any wine that wasn’t awful.” [Sun-Times]
• What kind of budgeting recommendation is this:
drinking tap water rather than bottled water ($3.99 for six bottles of Dasani) or soda pop ($2.99 for six cans) – a savings of $30 to $40 a month if only two bottles of water or two cans of pop are consumed daily. Rather than spending close to $4 a day for two regular cups of coffee, $10 a day for two lattes or $3.70 a day for two iced teas from specialty coffee/tea shops, Fairbanks recommends brewing your own coffee or tea. (A can of Folgers that makes 135 12-ounce cups of coffee costs $10.99; 100 Lipton tea bags that make 20 quarts of iced tea cost $4.09).
While you’re at it, maybe you can drive less and bike more, or shop at H&M; instead of Barneys! Aren’t we helpful? (On the other hand, the tip at the beginning about putting an ice cube in the middle of a hamburger patty to keep it moist is intriguing. Why wasn’t the article about that?) [Sun-Times]
• Caffeinated snack chip a really stupid way to ingest caffeine [Sun-Times]
• An interview with Curtis Duffy, Avenues’ new head chef [Sun-Times]
• Bucking the trend, Potbelly Sandwich Works to refrain from serving tomatoes for now [Sun-Times]
• Is the much-maligned dip back? Or instead of going away, did it simply turn into guacamole and hummus while no one was looking… [Tribune]
• This season’s hottest rosés are from Spain, according to Bill Daley. Should we say “coolest” rosés? [Tribune]
• It’s worth pointing out that this lifestyle piece on what recipe instructions or ingredients are anathema to home chefs came out two weeks ago in the New York Times. Is this a normal delay for syndication? [Tribune]
[Photo: Illinois River Winery, via Illinois Wine]
