Food prices push cash-strapped consumers to, yes, Spam

It's true. Sales of SPAM are up 10% from last year, as shoppers facing unaffordable food turn to more, ah, inexpensive meats. (On average, a 12-ounce can of Spam costs $2.62, and it's dense enough that you can feed several people with one can.)

I should point out that I have, in fact, eaten Spam. For reasons not worth going into, when I was home in May I had fried Spam for breakfast on two different occasions. Now, my sainted father urged me not to spread this following fact around, for reasons relating to my social standing -- but I have always been a rebel at heart -- so friends, as God is my witness, I tell you now that FRIED SPAM IS DELICIOUS. It's like a tender, candied sausage. Greasy and awesome. My blogging purview does not normally include endorsements of food products (only rages against them), but in this case, I wholeheartedly recommend you try some Spam today.

Above: Fried Spam. I am completely serious about this.

(via Daily Kos's irreplaceable Bill in Portland Maine)

Filed under: Consumption • deliciousness • food • food prices • no really • Spam

Markus Kolic's blog • 2 comments • email this

Important advice for people buying food at the Science Center

(We interrupt our political coverage for this public service announcement.)

If you're buying a snack or meal at the Greenhouse Cafe in the Science Center, you may see a package of "Feng Shui" brand Hot Wasabi Rice Crackers. They look like this:

and appear to a healthy, tasty, slightly spicy treat. This is a lie. DO NOT PURCHASE FENG SHUI HOT WASABI RICE CRACKERS. You are better off paying $4 to be repeatedly punched in the face. I am sitting here, at my library job where I am supposed to be helping people; but instead I am struggling not to emit sinus fluid all over everything while screaming "Oh God! My precious head!"

I feel as though someone ground up a Jalapeno pepper into fine powder, then rubbed it into my eyes, using sandpaper.

You know that guy who poured bourbon into his nasal cavity? I know what that's like now.

Long story short: THESE THINGS ARE FUCKING SPICY. DO NOT EAT THEM.

That is all. Continue going about your business.

UPDATE (January 24): It has been a week now, and I still get an unpleasant feeling in my nose and throat whenever I so much as look at this blogpost. I reiterate: DON'T BUY THESE CRACKERS.

Coming back to Harvard after a couple weeks with your family, you notice--

--how utterly repulsive Harvard Square actually is. Jeebus. I guess we get inured to it, but JFK Street seen through clear eyes is a hellscape of fashion boutiques, redundant banks, overpriced restaurants with names like "Z-Square", and all the other hideous blight that comes from living with pretentious wealthy people. You can't walk down those sidewalks without bumping into either a douchebag or a hipster, usually both, and you can't buy a cheap hamburger to save your life. This is supposed to be a college town! What the hell?

I think I would have liked Harvard Square better when it looked like this:

or at least this:

(Dig the tiny snowplow in front of the bus there. That was really the best they could do?) (Both these pictures are from the Cambridge Historical Commission, by the way, and their history of Harvard Square is worth reading if you're bored.)

That's all I have to say. How was your vacation?

Sunday Thought

RE the recent Crimson article about a British noodle chain moving into the Square--

Wagamama—which specializes in ramen-style noodle dishes, udon bowls, and other various stir-fried concoctions—picked the two Massachusetts locations both because of their East Coast proximity to company headquarters in London and because they had found a receptive audience.

Ryan G. Orley ’10 has been counting down the days until the new attraction opens it doors.

“I’ve always enjoyed noodles, and I have been fortunate enough to be in Europe and try it,” Orley said. “It’s just delicious.”

But even with a loyal following and moderate prices—the average meal costs about $11 at the Boston location, according to the restaurant’s Web site—Orley said it would be hard to predict Wagamama’s success.

“I feel like every restaurant that opens in the square is successful initially because its’s new and exciting,” Orley said. “But once you get past that initial ‘wow’ factor, it’s hard to say.”

--my question:

In what bizarro-parallel-universe is $11 a "moderate price" for a goddamn bowl of ramen??

This has been your Sunday Thought.