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Rescuers battled rough seas to reach the stricken ferry that caught fire off the northwestern coast of Greece on its way to Italy.

If you've come to rely on your smartphone as your primary camera, you've probably found yourself frustrated at its lack of zoom or even macro capabilities. Clip-on lenses can vastly improve its capabilities, and taking a cue from those sliding puzzle games that have you re-arranging tiles to form an image, the Puzlook iPhone case has five swappable lenses on the back that slide into position to improve your shots.

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 If one of your New Year’s Resolutions is to limit screen time around the family dinner table, the mobile application Moment can now help. The app, which previously focused on alerting smartphone owners to how much time they’ve spent staring at their phone, has introduced an update that turns Moment into more of a family application. Family members can track each others’… Read More

 Another day, another wearable design. This time it’s something called the Kairos T-Band, a watch band that connects to your normal watch and enables all sorts of exciting things like step tracking and notifications. I’ve seen a few of these sorts of things over the past year – one company hid everything inside a nice leather band and didn’t include a screen – and… Read More

Are you ready for a new level of discomfort in air travel? A major US airline is considering a seating class called Economy Minus, which would offer smaller seats at a lower price.

Now a major airline may be considering another breakthrough idea: "Economy Minus," a seat that offers less legroom at a discount price.

Before you scoff, consider that a new survey found that 42% of airline travelers said they would be very likely or somewhat likely to book a seat with less legroom if it means getting a cheap fare.

See also Why Airlines Want to Make You Suffer. (A: maximizing shareholder value)

Tags: business   flying

Go ahead, have pizza anytime.

Just like White Castle grew up and put away its perforated and steamed beef patties in favor of Dr. Praeger's all-vegetable sliders, Dunkin' Donuts is rounding out its recent upscalification with two new items: a humble chocolate croissant and a more elaborate Tomato Mozzarella Supreme Bagel, otherwise known as a pizza bagel.

The croissant, which is really just a pain au chocolat without all of the fancy French-language stuff, is available nationwide at participating locations and would seem to be the next logical step after the chain's great success with fake Cronuts. If this trend continues, pretty soon people may even be saying, "I'm headed off to the patisserie," when in fact they just mean the Dunkin' Donuts wedged between the Lukoil station and the sad, old Blimpie on the highway.

As you may have guessed, the chain's Tomato Mozzarella Supreme Bagel is a plain bagel loaded with those two things. (A touch of "herb topping" ties it all together and makes it supreme.) It costs $1.79 and is — alas — not available nationwide, but only in select markets.

But that may change. The new, determinedly non-doughnut menu items at Dunkin' Donuts were announced, after all, at the end of a particularly ambitious year in which the chain colonized California. Perhaps not coincidentally, chief executive officer Nigel Travis has announced that he's aiming to have 30,000 shops open in total, up from the worldwide Dunkin' roster of 11,000 locations now. Expansion efforts on the national scale and abroad are set to ramp up in 2015, and a significant part of the model depends on selling things other than coffee and pastries. Cheese and marinara sauce may turn out to be part of the broader plan after all.

[QZ, Brand Eating]

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: the chain gang, dunkin' donuts, pizza bagels

Andy Ricker's fast-casual gem in Far East Plaza is finally open.

The wait is over for Pok Pok fans. Andy Ricker's Phat Thai, which was close to opening as of yesterday, is officially open for lunch inside Far East Plaza, just a stone's throw from Roy Choi's Chego. It's just another feather in the cap for a neighborhood that's quickly becoming one of the hottest in Los Angeles.

While Ricker might be in Chiang Mai, Pok Pok Phat Thai opened today serving a range of fried noodles, from the namesake dish to pad see ew and more. Check out the New York menu here until the L.A. version goes up. While Chinatown's outlet might not have the same dishes, this should at least give one an idea of what Ricker's offering at this diminutive spot in Downtown northern stretch.

No word yet on the final hours, but early pad thai adopters can finally get a taste starting this afternoon. Ricker's two-story Pok Pok, which will sport a full bar and restaurant across 7,000 square feet in the Mandarin Plaza just a few blocks, is still months away from opening.

Be on the lookout.

"Specific wines of specific value" were taken from Thomas Keller's now-closed Napa Valley mothership on Christmas Day, the chef and restaurateur reported in a series of downbeat but decidedly optimistic social-media postings. Of the many thousands of bottles, the culprit(s) singled out Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Screaming Eagle vintages, leaving behind a door that was hacked into splinters during the theft.

A photo posted by The French Laundry (@_tfl_) on Dec 12, 2014 at 6:06pm PST

In all, a staggering 76 bottles were taken. The price points for the Californian and French wines are among the highest on the restaurant's voluminous list, translating easily to a loss that has been estimated at $300,000. Sixty-three of the bottles were from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, including several vintages that sell at auctions for several thousand dollars apiece and up to $15,000. Five jumbo bottles of Moët & Chandon are also gone, and while some of the missing alcohol retails for prices as low as $70, most of it is essentially priceless because overall inventory is so low and out of reach to the casual drinker. A bottle of 1992 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, like the one that was stolen from the French Laundry, can sell for as much as $7,700.

Unlike, say, the still-unsolved Pappy Van Winkle theft, the red wines are not as likely to be floated onto the collector's resale market without drawing significant attention. "We are confident that if and when any of the stolen bottles appear in public, they will immediately raise questions and red flags among the wine knowledgeable," Keller wrote on Instagram. He's asking anyone with tips to contact media@tkrg.com, and while there's no mention of a reward, we're guessing the restaurant may be able to help you out with reservations if any intel ends up paying off.

[Inside Scoop SF]

* This post has been updated throughout.

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: cellar doors, news, the french laundry, thievery, thomas keller

Comcast and Time Warner Cable are once again at the bottom of the American Consumer Satisfaction Index, ranking them as the companies whose customers are most disappointed with the quality of their products and services. The new rankings were reported in MarketWatch, which says that TWC's internet service was lowest on the list, followed by TWC's TV service, and then Comcast's internet service.

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Mixi was a once-dominant social network that Facebook had driven to the edge of collapse — and then it created the mobile game Monster Strike.

The gift-giving season will last until at least January 1, the day that developer Vlambeer intends to give one free copy of Nuclear Throne to "every single person that has ever bought [it]," according to Vlambeer's Rami Ismail. As Nuclear Throne's co...

You can't really go wrong with ranch dressing.

You might not expect "health" to be a top priority at the chain that invented "chicken rings" and urges its customers to buy burgers "by the sack," but White Castle sends word that tomorrow, December 30, it will unveil its very own veggie burgers at all of its restaurants.

This being White Castle, they'll technically be veggie sliders, and this nationwide release comes on the heels of a successful summer test in East Coast locations. The mini patties are, according to the chain, "chock full of lots of vegetables like carrots, zucchini, peas, spinach, broccoli, and more" — which means they could be delicious or they could taste like repurposed mulch. The flavor of the patties probably won't matter, though, because customers will be able to choose one of three sauces: honey mustard, ranch, or sweet Thai.

Of course, now that Brooks Headley has proven veggie burgers can actually be delicious, White Castle might just be the first chain of many to test anew America's tolerance for produce-based patties in its fast-food burgers. And in that scenario, whoever figures out how to get Doritos in there somehow will probably win this particular arms race.

Read more posts by Alan Sytsma

Filed Under: the chain gang, veggie burgers, white castle

One of the keyboard buttons is orange, see, so it’s original.

Update: Maybe it’s a hoax?

Boyd Multerer — the genius Microsoft engineer who founded Xbox Live, helped build the Xbox 360, and led the development of the three-operating-systems-in-one Xbox One platform — announced on Twitter today that he's left Microsoft to pursue new opportunities. Multerer has been on leave since the Xbox One launched; he and his wife Keri launched the interactive erotica site Silkwords back in February, and now he says he's focusing on other new startup ideas.

Goodbye Microsoft. It was a good run. Xbox was Great! Time to do something new.

— Boyd Multerer (@BoydMulterer) December 29, 2014

But more importantly, Multerer's departure means that almost every single person on the Xbox One team we profiled last November when that console...

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Prompted by record low interest rates, the British government is planning to pay off debts it racked up over hundreds of years.

People with no special training are a link in the middle of the fastest, and most high-profile, chain of vehicles in the country.

Hope you're hungry.

When it came time to open its Manhattan flagship, the owners of Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong, a Korean barbecue restaurant mini-chain with a critically acclaimed L.A. location and perpetually packed Flushing outpost, decided to depart from the script. They hired Deuki Hong, who's been cooking professionally in kitchens since he was 15 and put in time with both David Chang and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, to run the kitchen. Having a classically trained chef helming a Korean barbecue place is somewhat unheard of, and while Hong isn't cheffing things up, he is certainly focusing on the details. The menu includes dumplings and sides like stir-fried squid in addition to the main event, but we decided to take a look at a sample spread of grilled meats, along with accompaniments and some banchan.

Here's a detailed look at what's on the table above. Instead of serving the whole leaf lettuce wraps deployed more often at Korean barbecue places, Hong decided to cut romaine into bite-size pieces for smaller, more convenient bites.

Beets and radishes are served for diners to assemble a version of the classic banchan item, in which lime and the crunch of the raw vegetable offset fattier meats.

Kimchi galore.

Soft tofu and soy-chile dressing.

The signature house dipping sauce, with a bit of wasabi.

Beef and aged kimchi stew.

Chilled noodles with a spicy gochujang sauce.

Sprouts and scallions are dressed with a spicy-sweet gochujang dressing.

Steamed kabocha squash with mixed nuts is yet another banchan ideal for nibbling on while the meat cooks.

Dongchimi, or Korean water radish kimchi. It's aged in-house for a month.

Here's the Baekjeong lunchbox. It's shaken in front of customers to mix the kimchi with the rice.

It's got roasted aged kimchi, black beans, rice, eggs, toasted anchovies, and shredded nori.

Meats include several variations of short ribs, and brisket and beef tongue are also available. Pork is in abundance, with skin, collar, and belly cuts. Here's some pork jowl:

Thinly sliced brisket.

Finally, here are some prime boneless short ribs.

The dining room seats 150, but gets busy. Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong has been doing four full turns a night, even though the restaurant is open only for dinner.

Here's Deuki Hong, Baejeong's chef. Hong will open a small restaurant focused on his cuisine by the end of 2015.

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: one of everything, deuki hong, kang ho dong baekjeong, openings, what to eat

"You mean I get unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks?"

A police officer in southwestern Michigan says he was inspired by similar stories when he "went kind of crazy on gift cards," which he's been giving away to motorists who roll through stop signs and those who have only one working headlight. In all, Edward Michela has gifted $100 worth of Applebee's and $90 worth of Subway cards to ten lucky drivers, all of whom seemed unprepared to receive free chain restaurant meals from the law.

Some questioned his judgment. "I know I stopped," one woman told the Battle Creek Enquirer. She initially told Michela she was going to give her card worth $25 of riblets and fiesta lime chicken to someone else, but then changed her mind because she loves Applebee's. Another driver said he was surprised by the gesture, but not so much the prospect a three completely gratis foot-longs. "I don't need it," he told the paper after getting his Subway card.

[Eater]

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: cheer, applebees, holiday

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Loaded with globs of delicious white whateverness.

Here are some things that, in the two decades it's been around, intrepid food writers and recipe tinkerers have determined were a part of the Halal Guys' famed white sauce:

• Half mayo, half Greek yogurt.


• Miracle Whip, not mayo.


• Ranch dressing, Greek yogurt, and sour cream.


• "Powdered heroin."


• And from just last week, tahini.


• 
  

Liberally dispensed from squeeze bottles daily, it has remained a street-cart trade secret on the order of the KFC Original Recipe — the Times most recently said co-owner Mohamed Abouelenein "allows that there's mayo in it; the rest is silence" — until now. An observant Halal Guys-going reporter at DNAinfo noticed the white sauce had moved mediums and now comes in packets instead of from squeeze bottles, possibly to lay the groundwork for that global fast-halal chain they envision. The official ingredients are:

• Soybean and/or canola oil
• Egg yolk
• Vinegar
• Water
• Salt
• Sugar
• Natural flavors
• Black pepper
• Disodium EDTA
• Xantham gum
• Sodium benzoate

The first three are mayonnaise (which we already knew), but outside of the preservatives necessary for packaging and some givens (salt, black pepper, sugar), the veil of mystery largely remains intact — notably, yogurt and milk don't seem to be among the ingredients. Here's to another two decades of theories; it looks like unicorn tears are still a distinct possibility.

[DNAinfo]

Read more posts by Clint Rainey

Filed Under: secret recipes, halal guys, trade secrets, white sauce

Seoul prosecutors indicted Travis Kalanick, the ride booking company’s chief executive, as well as its local unit and car-rental partner, for violating taxi licensing laws.

You still won't be able to recreate it though.

After many years and thousands (perhaps, millions?) of plates of rice and lamb doused in "white sauce," the Halal Guys have revealed one of the greatest secrets behind the cult favorite street cart. The team just debuted packets of white sauce and hot sauce to replace the usual squeeze bottles for takeout orders, and these packets of course have to list what's in those magic sauces. For the white sauce it's:

Soybean and/or canola oil, egg yolk, vinegar, water, salt, sugar, natural flavors, black pepper, disodium EDTA, xantham gum and sodium benzoate.

Oil + egg yolk + vinegar = mayo. So there you have it. Of course, those "natural flavors" are still a mystery, and those are clearly the key to turning ordinary mayo into white sauce of the Gods. The hot sauce, meanwhile, is just the standard red pepper, vinegar, salt, spices and concentrated lemon juice.

But perhaps even better news than knowing these secrets, is that white sauce packets could potentially be pocketed and eaten at a later date, perhaps in private, straight from the packet.

Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of citizens who've been stopped and frisked by police for no reason are black or Latino, the NYPD insists racial profiling isn't an entrenched problem. Some black officers would beg to differ, primarily because they've been victims of it. [ more › ]

Cosmetic surgery, pervasive in South Korea, is now the must-do activity for many Chinese visitors.

The popular Cajun seafood joint will be like catnip for college students.

The Boiling Crab will soon complete its takeover of the former Westwood Brewing Company, making it perhaps the largest branch of the Cajun seafood chainlet. The Koreatown location, which already features some of the most tremendous lines in L.A., is currently the most western location, though this Westwood spot will jump that by a few miles.

Based on the signage and hiring announcements on the front, it looks like The Boiling Crab is firing up the pots and close to completing its overhaul of the divey "brew-co," as it was often referred to by local UCLA students. At the moment, windows are papered up, but spicy shrimp and crawfish will be heading to Westwood within the next few weeks.

The Boiling Crab
1097 Glendon Ave
Los Angeles, CA