While scanning the news headlines this week, we happened to see a lot of stories about food. Or maybe we were just hungry. But either way, we've decided to compile a list of the top three must-know stories about food. Namely, lobster, steak and ice cream. Let's dig in.
Like any good French meal, we're going to start with seafood before the meat. The restaurant chain Red Lobster is trying to attract a more upscale clientele with a simple style shift. (Via Random Retail / CC BY 2.0, Mike Mozart / CC BY 2.0)
"Red Lobster will now put food on your plate vertically like many upscale restaurants." (Via KWTV)
This means that unlike plating its food like this — with all the components of the meal spread out across the plate — the restaurant wants to have its plates come out of the kitchen with the foods all piled on top of one another. (Via Yelp Inc. / CC BY NC ND 2.0, Rick Chung / CC BY NC ND 2.0)
This news broke on the same day DardenRestaurants announced it had sold the Red Lobster chain to Golden Gate Capital for $2.1 million. According to the press release, one of the reasons Darden sold the business was so it could focus more of its efforts on the Olive Garden brand.
But in order to get people to see Red Lobster as more of a fine dining experience, the company is planning to cut back on some of its promotions, like two entrees for $25.
Never fear, though. The crabfest and endless shrimp specials are still sticking around. (Via Red Lobster)
Red Lobster is celebrating the completion of the sale and its customers' loyalty by offering a complimentary dessert to everyone from now until Sunday.
Next up, we've got steak ... cooked over molten lava at about 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit. (Via Prof. Robert Wysocki of the Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts)
We just had one question: Where in the world do you get molten lava? That's not something readily supplied in the grocery store. Fortunately, HLN has the answer.
"Syracuse University sculpture professor Robert Wysocki has been heating the salt gravel to make artificial molten lava for almost five years for art and geology experiments."
The brains behind this wacky concept are Sam Bompas and Harry Parr. (Via Getty Images)
Gizmodo reports the duo went straight to Wysocki after they came up with the idea of cooking steak over molten lava, and he granted permission for Bompas and Parr to use his furnace "for cooking for the very first time."
But the two have used unconventional methods to cook steak before. Eater says back in June they heated up some steaks by zapping them with lightning, which was around 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
We couldn't even begin to predict what Bompas & Parr will think up next.
And finally, we're ending with dessert, like all good meals do. (Via sea turtle / CC BY NC ND 2.0)
According to ABC, chef Dominique Ansel, the maker of the cronut, is at it again. (Via Getty Images)
"Dominique Ansel collaborating with fashion designer Lisa Perry on Pop It! ice cream in a sundae. ... It's Andy Warhol-inspired celebration of pop art and culture."
OK, our mouths are watering just looking at that ice cream.
On Instagram, Ansel wrote that the sweet treat is inspired by a root beer float. The can is filled with root beer ice cream, mascarpone, toasted marshmallow and cherries.
But there's one big catch. The Huffington Post says the ice cream in a can will only be available for one day — Saturday in East Hampton.
The New York Post says each can will be sold for $15. One-fifth of the proceeds will go to the nonprofit City Harvest.
We don't know about you, but we've got to go book some tickets to the Hamptons asap. In the meantime, we hope we've made you all sufficiently hungry with all this talk of food. We know our stomachs are now grumbling.
