Blogger Wonkette is so obsessed with Butterstick, as she calls the baby panda Tai Shin at the National Zoo in the Other Washington that the New York Times even ran a sober report about the phenomenon it calls The Cute Factor. Premise: we're hard-wired to adore helpless, big-eyed babies.
Someone ought to do a piece now about The Sweet Factor, explaining to Starbucks (among many others) that just making something sugary and chocolatey, like Chantico, isn't enough to make it yummy. (Granted, I've been spoiled by a transcendent cup of hot chocolate I had last month in Sicily.) Anyway, Chantico's already been fingered for extinction: there's not enough lush chocolate flavor, just annoying and cloying sweetness. Hopeless, not helpless. Sorry, Starbucks, saccharine ain't cute.
Posted by Ronald Holden at January 4, 2006 8:40 AM
French Chef Sally is my friend Sally McArthur, who hosts luxurious,
week-long cooking classes at the Chateau du Riveau in the Loire Valley.
Local Wine Events.com,
the worlds leading Food and Wine tasting calendar. Spirits and Beer events as well. Post your own event or sign up
to be notified when new events are po
sted to your own area.
VinoLover, Seattle wine promoter David LeClaire's bulletin board of tastings,
dinners and special events.
Wine Educator Dieter Schafer maintains a full schedule
of Seattle-area tastings and seminars
for amateur wine drinkers and professional alike.
Nat Decants, a free wine e-newsletter from Natalie MacLean, recently named the World's Best Drink Writer at the World Food Media Awards in Australia. Wine picks, articles and humor; no ads.
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