For now, kids are the best cooks at Slappy Cakes.
Patrick Alan Coleman
Posted inFood and Drink
Thoughts On a Quarter Pounder
Al Bernardin, the inventor of the Quarter Pounder, died of a stroke earlier this week at the age of 81. Aside from the good he did as a philanthropist, Bernardin will largely be remembered as the man who launched one of the first salvos in fast-food burger excess. Bernardin said he created the Quarter Pounder […]
Posted inDrunk
A Very Viral 2009
No, I’m not talking about last year’s devastating “flu” that ravaged the Mercury after a summer office mixer that no-one seems to remember very well. Although, suffice it to say, in place of mints there was a bowl full of antibiotics on the reception desk for about a month. But, like I said, I’m not […]
Posted inFood and Drink
How to Assemble Your IKEA Meal
IKEA is very well known for smartly designed Scandinavian furniture sold on the cheap. It’s also known for its meatballs. For many, stopping in the IKEA cafeteria to eat a plate of meatballs with a dollop of lingonberry jam is a necessity. How else can you regain your strength after a hard day wandering through […]
Posted inDrunk
Don’t Forget the Metaphysical Hangover
I’ve been reading Kingsley Amis, the famously drunk famous British author, now famously dead. Amongst his essays about booze, liquor, drinking, mixing drinks, drinking while writing, and drinking while making more drinks, there is a fine essay about the care and handling of hangovers. The advice for the physical hangover is the usual stuff: Hair […]
Posted inFood and Drink
This Week’s Mercury Food Section: More Bests
The week’s Last Supper focuses on the best dishes I enjoyed most in 2009. I’ll stress that most of these dishes were consumed during review. I’m more than happy to admit that I’ve probably missed some great food. (I hope you’ll enlighten me in the comments.) Unfortunately, space for these list-heavy columns can be limited. […]
Posted inGeneral
Know Your Decade!
Think You’re a Genius at Remembering Everything that Happened over the Last 10 Years? Take Our Quiz and Kiss the ’00s Goodbye!
Take our end-of-the-decade quiz!
Posted inUncategorized
Best of 2009
The Year in Amazing Dishes
The top dishes from the last 31 reviews. In chronological order, natch.
Posted inDrunk
Drunk Running Intern
Today marks the last day to pick up a paper copy of my patented drunken health and fitness plan. It is by far the easiest way to maintain or gain fitness in the New Year. All you have to do is add a few exercises to the drinking routine I’m sure you implemented long, long […]
Posted inFood and Drink
Last Chance for New Year’s Reservations
Time is running short to make reservations for any of the numerous prix fixe dinners being offered across the city on New Year’s Eve. Remember, packing away four or five courses will give you the fortitude necessary to properly drink your way into 2010. Here are a few dinners of note [price listed is per […]
Posted inDrunk
A Very Seventies Christmas: Part V
Booze! These were the years before the sobering Reagan era and the rise of the Moral Majority in 1979. It was a time that produced a slew of strangely flavored, sickeningly sweet cocktails (some pulled from the obscurity of previous decades), with bawdy names like the Slow Comfortable Screw Against A Wall. It was also […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
A Very Seventies Christmas: Part IV
RANKIN/BASS! While the production company Rankin/Bass produced their best known animated work Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in the Sixties, it was the Seventies that saw some of their more bizarre Holiday specials. I’m particularly fond of The Year Without a Santa Claus. In my opinion The Year (as it’s known in Rankin/Bass fan communities) […]