Our 12 Most Popular Stories This Week

Believe it or not, our most popular story this week was the easiest wine pairing chart you've ever seen. Who would have thought?

In more complex news, McDonald's in Times Square got flash mobbed by a bunch of Harlem-shaking sugar-addled leprachauns, there's now a video game that does more than eat all your laundry quarters, a grilled cheese you've definitely never had before and the hottest craft breweries of 2013. Here are out 12 most popular stories this week. 

Our 12 Most Popular Stories This Week

This May Be The Most Helpful Wine Pairing Chart We've Ever Seen

That bottle of Syrah just got awesome

Pairing wine with food can be a tricky process. Sure, there are some basic rules, but wine pairings will always be somewhat subjective. We finally have a simple and effective way to pair wine with our meals, thanks to the good people at Wine Folly.

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10 Breweries About To Blow Up In 2013

The ones to watch, the beers to drink

Chicago upstarts, expanding California craft brewers, little guys making amazing beer in the shadows of the giants. Here are 10 breweries poised to make big moves in 2013.

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11 Things You Probably Did Not Know About Brussels Sprouts

Increase your cruciferous vegetable smarts

Depending on where you live, it could be your last chance for Brussels sprouts this year. Like Barbie-sized cabbages, they are delicious when roasted, stir-fried or even steamed, if you don’t overdo it. Isn’t it time you got to know these cruciferous vegetables a little better?

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The 6 Strangest And Sometimes Very Good Celebrity-Owned Restaurants

Book a table with Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Costner

Once upon a time, it was said that all actors wanted to be rock stars, and all musicians dreamed of being on the silver screen. Nowadays, it seems both have their sights set on the food world. Here are six examples with varying degrees of success, just in time for Oscar season.

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5 French Cheeses You Need To Seek Out

Camembert and Roquefort and Brie, oh my!

Martin Johnson knows a thing or two about good cheese. Since 1984, he has worked at and managed several of New York City’s leading cheese counters. We caught up with the man recently featured in the New York Times to tell us the four essential French cheeses to know, and eat.

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Ravioli With Beets, Butter And Poppy Seeds Recipe

A recipe for ravioli from the Culinary Institute

We like cooking our way through as many of the season's great books as we can, but now that the chefs at the Culinary Institute of America have provided us with the ultimate guide to simple yet innovative pasta recipes, game on! First up, ravioli filled with buttery beets and fresh sage. Bet you've never had that before.

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The Last Barfighter: An Arcade Game That Pours You A Beer If You Win.

Call it a cross between Street Fighter and Tapper

We’ve seen some crazy video games in our day, but nothing compared to The Last Barfighter — a collaboration between ad agency McKinney and Raleigh beer company Big Boss Brewery. You win the game, you get the pint. Video and more, after the jump.

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French Montana Is The Boss Of Rick Ross, At Least When It Comes To Dinner

Moroccan rapper is big into food

Moroccan-born rapper French Montana is the founder and CEO of Cocaine City Records and, as his business card implies, is into the finer things in life — which includes his choice of lunch on a January afternoon when we join him in a Midtown Manhattan recording studio. This is how it went down.

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Hecho In America: 8 Tequila Brands Owned By Americans

Finance guys, Justin Timberlake in on the action

Tequila is Mexico’s national spirit. For tequila to be tequila, it must be produced within the country, in specific regions surrounding a town called Tequila and with ingredients — namely agave — grown in those regions. It’s written right into the NAFTA trade agreement. But nowhere in the legalese does it say who has to own the tequila.

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Flash Mob Alert: Harlem Shamrock Shake

Yup, that fine frozen green is finally back!

Which flash mob combines a cult seasonal treat with a viral thing people won't stop doing, PLUS fries? This flash mob right here in Times Square, a bunch of happy little leprachauns getting their sugar fix. 

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As You Read This, Brendan Sodikoff Is Opening Another Restaurant

The man behind Au Cheval expands beyond Chicago

Brendan Sodikoff might be the most intriguing young restaurateur in America. He's opening more spots than Danny Meyer, creating the type of cinematic ambiance last equated with Keith McNally, and, not content to put stakes down all over Chicago, he's moving in on London and New York. Who does guy think he is?

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Building A Better Grilled Cheese: Smoky Jalapeño Grilled Cheese with Tomatillos

Pointers (and a recipe) for grilled cheese success

Designing a grown-up grilled cheese is serious business. The first step lies in figuring out a cheese blend that gives you the perfect mix of gooey texture and complicated, layered flavors. However, cheese alone can only get you halfway: it doesn’t have much to offer in terms of sweet or sour. How to eliminate that problem entirely, after the jump. 

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