The Daily Dish: Is This Anti-Unicorn Soft Serve The Newest Food Trend?
The Newest Food Trend: Anti-Unicorn Soft Serve?
Earlier this week we reported on the rumor that Starbucks would soon be announcing a Unicorn Frappuccino, and now it's arrived. The new drink, which is only available April 19 through April 23, changes color and flavor as you drink: it starts out purple, blue, and sweet, but as you blend the Frapp, it magically transforms into a pink drink with a more tart flavor. But if all the rainbows and sprinkles aren't for you, there's a new artisanal soft serve shop in California that may have just what you need to satisfy your anti-unicorn sweet tooth. Downtown Los Angeles ice cream shop Little Damage has "goth" soft serve on the menu, and it's just as Instagram-worthy as any unicorn treat in the food scene. If the black soft serve looks intimidating, don't fret — it's a sweet almond charcoal flavor, Los Angeles Magazine reported. The soft serve gets its black color from activated charcoal, which is claimed to have purifying health benefits.
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This Is How Eataly Is Saving One of the World's Most Famous Paintings
The Last Supper — one of the world's most recognizable paintings — is in serious danger of falling apart. The Da Vinci classic is not in good shape thanks to centuries of humidity, wartime bombs, and a brief stint in prison, and if it continues down its current path, the fifteenth-century mural could disintegrate altogether sooner than you'd think. But don't despair, because help is coming, albeit from an unusual source: Eataly. That's right: The mega Italian market partially owned by Mario Batali with locations in numerous cities worldwide (and more on the way), has sponsored a revolutionary new air filtration device that will preserve the artwork for another 500 years or more, according to Art News.
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Bangkok Banned Street Food and People Are Outraged
Street carts and food trucks may be universal cultural phenomena, but few places in the world are as synonymous with street food as Bangkok. However, the Thai capital has just outlawed street food vendors and stalls as part of a "clean-up effort" meant to target air pollutants, as well as sanitation and food safety concerns. City officials also cited a need to reduce pedestrian traffic and decrease black market activity like prostitution. Many vendors have insisted that because of sky-high rents, they would never be able to sell the same fare (often for the low price of $1 or less per plate of food) indoors. The newly announced measure has caused outrage all over the world.
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Starbucks Plans to Plant 100 Million Trees for the Future of Coffee
Starbucks is stepping in to help ensure the safety of coffee in the future by pledging to plant 100 million coffee trees by 2025. According to the company, healthy trees will be provided to coffee farmers to replace trees that are impacted by disease from the warming climate. "We have heard directly from farmers that healthy trees are what they need now, more than ever, so this long-term approach coupled with the right resources directly correlates to the stability of their family as well as the future of coffee," Cliff Burrows, group president of Global Coffee at Starbucks, said in a statement.
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There's a New Crackdown on Sexist and Offensive Beer Labels
Before it became mainstream, craft beer was something of a rebellious drinker's territory, and with that rebellion came a whole slew of beer names and labels. But the days of potentially offensive, lewd, and sexist beer names and labels are coming to an end thanks to a new initiative by the Brewers Association. The trade group made the announcement at the Craft Brewers Conference this week that breweries that use offensive or sexist names will be banned from celebration at the World Beer Cup and Great American Beer Festival awards and medals. The breweries will still be able to make the beer they want and enter competitions but will not be announced or allowed to advertise their awards, according to Brew Bound. "We want our members to be responsible corporate citizens," Brewers Association president and CEO Bob Pease said at the conference. "It's not going to be black and white...It's going to be hard."
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