SparkBlog by The Hartman Group

Stuff We Like: Mary & Matt Chocolate Editions

Brooklyn-based designers Mary Matson and Matt Even are making chocolate.

Their motto? Handmade chocolates made in small batches. Always fresh and delicious. We haven't gotten our hands on one of these bars yet, but have already fallen for the whole package.

And what is that package, you ask? Bright colors and clean lines served with a heaping side of nostalgia.

 

The husband and wife team (she's designed for Kate Spade, he's an art director at an ad agency), made sweet treats for friends each holiday for a decade before deciding to make a business of it. They claim to draw inspiration from vintage rugby shirts to Sol LeWitt's deceptively simple canvases to old fashioned Neapolitan ice cream.

It's the celebration of the candy bar as a perfect pop object.

As if the whole situation couldn't get more precious, you can watch the trailer for the bespoke chocolate editions here or take a peek inside Mary & Matt's studio here.

Pop-Tart Pops Up in Times Square

Pop-Tart sushi? Count us in.

Kellogg Co.'s Pop-Tart destination, appropriately named Pop-Tart World, debuted Tuesday to fans in Times Square. The 43-year-old frosted treats join M&M World and the Hershey store as stand-alone food boutiques in the landmark neighborhood.

One may envision a Spears or a Cyrus performing their hits and reveling in paparazzi-fueled antics housed inside a space called Pop-Tart World, particularly in the past few years as gossip blogs have adopted the term to describe such infamous figures. But aside from perky brand ambassadors cheerfully explaining how to use The Varietizer (a sort of mix and match vending machine), the original toaster pastry is the star of the show at here.

Store attractions include a bakery featuring Pop-Tart inspired treats, loads of merchandise, the aforementioned Varietizer, interactive social media portals, and an hourly light show that simulates frosting. Let's pause to absorb the magnificence of a light installation that mimics the production process of the pastries, from frosting to sprinkling to wrapping in foil. After all, Pop Tarts originally got their name the Pop Art movement, a household buzz word thanks to the Brillo box & soup can antics of Andy Warhol.

We suspect Mr. Warhol would be proud, although he may have passed on the sushi.

(via The New York Times)

Nostalgia in a Giant Noodle

For your safety, do not climb on the noodle.

Kraft is tugging at the heartstrings of grown up mac & cheese fans with their latest push for the original convenience food. Measuring 20 feet long and 9 feet high, huge noodle statues are the newest additions to Kraft's nostalgic ad campaign, which also features the smiling noodles in interactive storefront displays. 

The noodles are currently on display at Wrigley Field and Navy Pier in Chicago and Fisherman's Wharf Pier 39 in San Francisco. Other locations will be added throughout the summer.

Not to be the squeaky wheel here, but we'd much prefer a noodle slide that lands us fresh into a puddle of cheese sauce. Anyone?

(via AdWeek)

Hot Heat, Grown-Up Treats

In case you haven't heard, it's hot outside. If you find yourself in need of a little post-work refreshment while soaking up those last-minute rays, may we suggest the following recipe? Think of it as reimagined nostalgia for the 21-plus set.

Watermelon Margarita Popsicles

Recipe via YumSugar

Ingredients

• 2 cups watermelon puree (roughly 1/4 medium size seedless watermelon)

• 1/4 cup lime juice (roughly 1 large lime)

• 3 ounces tequila

• 1 ounce cointreau
• 
2/3 cup sugar
• Popsicle molds

Directions

1. Chop the watermelon into small pieces. Using a Cuisinart, puree the watermelon. Place the puree in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add lime juice and sugar to watermelon puree. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Add tequila and cointreau and stir well.
4. Fill popsicle molds.
5. Place the popsicles in the freezer and wait patiently until frozen.

Makes 10 3-ounce popsicles.

If the thought of mixing and freezing is just too much for you to bear, try a pint of spiked delights from Silver Moon. A four-pack of their signature flavors features Lavender Limoncello, Mojito Ice, Orange Creamsicle, and Mango Mimosa. Yum.

Any way you shake it, summer is more delicious with grown-up refreshers. 

37 Or So Ingredients

Ever wonder what's in a Twinkie? Dwight Eschliman has the slideshow for you. Eschliman has photographed all 37 ingredients that make up the often picked-on dessert, right down to the riboflavin (above). See more here.

(via GOOD)

Recipe: elBulli's Savory Ice Cream Sandwich

This week on HartBeat we're bringing you everything you'd ever want to know about technoemotional cuisine (also known as molecular gastronomy). If our delectable reporting leaves you eager to roll up your sleeves and get scientific in the kitchen, may we suggest elBulli's savory ice cream sandwich?

Chef: Ferran Adrià

Restaurant: elBulli

Ice cream

• Ice Cream
• 5 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 pound finely grated Parmesan cheese

1. Place a fine strainer over a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring cream to a simmer. While stirring with a wooden spoon, gradually add Parmesan. Stir constantly until mixture is smooth, about 10 minutes.
3. Pour mixture into strainer and press any solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Allow to cool to room temperature.
4. Pour mixture into a 9x12” baking dish and cover with plastic 4. wrap. Freeze until solid, about 6 hours.

Marmalade

• 5 lemons
• 1 cup sugar

1. Using a sharp knife, cut all peel (including white pith) from lemons. Dice lemons into 1/2” cubes and transfer to a small saucepan. Add sugar and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
2. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick, about 1 hour. While marmalade is simmering, prepare Parmesan cookies, below.
3. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Tuiles

• 5 large egg whites
• 1/2 pound finely grated Parmesan cheese
• Nonstick cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine egg whites and grated cheese.
3. Spray two 10x15” nonstick baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Spread half of the mixture in center of each sheet. Top with a sheet of wax paper and use a rolling pin to press mixture evenly across each pan. Remove and discard wax paper.
4. Bake mixture until lightly browned, about 7 minutes.
5. Remove pans from oven and trim dark edges. Cut remaining mixture in each pan in twelve 3” squares to make a total of 24. Using a spatula, turn the squares over and return pan to oven. Bake an additional 5 minutes; remove from oven.

Assemble and Serve

1. Remove the ice cream from the freezer and place on top of a warm, damp cloth for about 5 minutes.
2. Using a knife dipped in hot water, cut ice cream into twelve 3” squares.
3. Place a square of ice cream on a Parmesan cookie, top with a spoonful of marmalade and top with another Parmesan cookie.
4. Serve immediately or freeze until ready to serve.

Makes 12 ice cream sandwiches.

Have Your Cake & Wear It Too

Edible fashion from Italian photographer Fulvio Bonavia for his book "A Matter of Taste." We can see ourselves donning the sardine belt in particular. Many more images on his site. 

Seattle's Best Gets a New Look

We can remember way back when Seattle's Best Coffee was still Stewart Brothers, roasted on Vashon Island a mere ferry ride away from downtown Seattle. Purchased in 2003 by our other local coffee giant, Starbucks, Seattle's Best has been quietly growing under the radar. Well, until this morning.

Driving to the office past Starbucks headquarters in the wee hours, more than a few of us at the Hartman Group noticed a big change to the usual Starbucks signage:

It appears Starbucks HQ has been temporarily taken over by Seattle's Best. We smell a relaunch brewing! Indeed, things are happening on the SBC website and Facebook page, including an explanation of the new look and the promise of a forthcoming video of this morning's draped banners:

While our dedication to making premium coffees isn't going to change, we needed a new look to match our optimistic outlook and simplified approach to great coffee experiences...We plan to show up in new ways and different places. Places where great coffee should be. We hope you join us on this journey, starting today.

Blogs are all atwitter with news of SBC's "new look" today. So far it's been received with mixed emotions. One commenter over at Brand New summed up his feelings about the ambiguity of the logo explaining, "makes me want to donate blood." The Seattle Times described it as "an open-mouthed smiley face with a drip of coffee" (just try to un-see it!). Others have suggested it conjures up a paint company or hardware store. 

No matter what you read into it, we're intrigued to see what comes next for Seattle's Best, which is expanding to Subway, Burger King stores and AMC Theatres this year.

The Future Is Now

This week we've been hypnotized by food-sorting robots.

Salami snacks have never been more organized. The choreographed dance of the robot arms is mesmerizing!

These pancake robots stack up to 400 flapjacks per minute. Although we don't have video evidence, we hear they are also quite good with croissants and muffins. 

All of this sausage sorting and pancake flipping reminds us of a simpler time, when Sesame Street journeyed to the Crayola factory and introduced us to the nice men and women who roll our crayons.

Robots: we've come a long way since people poured hot pools of wax nearly unassisted by modern technology.

For more food handling fun, check out robots sorting meatballs here.

(via Kottke)

Doubling Down

 
There's been a lot of talk, shock and awe surrounding KFC's new Double Down lately. Is it really the unhealthiest fast food offering on the planet? If a sandwich has no bun, can it truly be called a sandwich? Is this a sign of the impending meatpocalypse? Never ones to shy away from a trend, we dispatched a few of our Extreme Food Ethnographers to see what all the fuss was about. The verdict?

"Far less offensive than one would have imagined." As far as taste goes, our Extreme Ethnographers assure us it's fit to be eaten, minus a potential steam burn from the breaded patties sans bread.

Sure, the Double Down contains almost an entire day's worth of sodium, but is it really that bad for you? KFC's cheesy meat globule has 540 calories (less than Big Mac's 590) 32 grams of fat (less than Big Mac's 34) and slightly more sodium than its bunned competitors at 1380 milligrams.

Reviews around the Internet began sour and turned a bit more optimistic last week, ranging from "deep fried madness" to "pretty darned tasty." So perhaps the Double Down isn't the dawn of more sinister things to come after all? Only time will tell if the world is ready for the Double Down Squared.