Stories — Food

The World’s Most Famous Meat Product

SPAM is a brand of canned cooked pork made by Austin, Minnesota-based Hormel Foods Corporation. It was introduced by Hormel in 1937 and gained popularity worldwide after its use during World War II. SPAM is sold in 41 countries on six continents and is trademarked in over 100 countries. By 2022 Hormel had produced more than 9 billion cans of this gelatinous pink miracle.

Popular cultural references to SPAM are countless, including a Monty Python skit, which repeated the name many times, leading to its name being borrowed to describe unsolicited electronic messages, especially email.

Functional Pests Not Beyond Redemption

Let's pay homage to the quietly achieving functional objects that make our lives better and get things done; or rather one single thing done ... extremely well.

Oysters, Clams, History and a Secret “Whispering Gallery”

The Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station in New York is as old as the terminal itself. It opened as a 440 seater in February 1913, barely three weeks after the opening of the station. It was an immediate hit. 109 years after it opened, the Grand Central Oyster Bar remains a New York City landmark devoted to serving the finest quality seafood supported by its many long time employees.

The Green Fairy

Never has a drink garnered more mystique.

Absinthe was the tipple of choice for Ernest Hemmingway, James Joyce, Vincent Van Gogh and Oscar Wilde. This spirit, also known as absynthe or absinth, is an alcoholic beverage with a history replete with artistic liberation, violence, defamation and rebellion.

The world’s most famous coffee cup

Fuhgeddaboud any of your other New York City icons; nothing captures the essence of Gotham more succinctly and with more ubiquity than the “Anthora Coffee Cup”, more commonly referred to as the New York Coffee Cup.

So, what’s the story?