Back in 1916, as Prohibition was about to become the law of the land, a group of men had a hunch that the the government-imposed dry spell wouldn’t last forever. Prohibition, they figured, would be repealed and the booze would start flowing as soon as the order was reversed.
All booze, that is, except bourbon.
Bourbon, they realized, was the only distilled American liquor that required aging. So when Prohibition was eventually repealed, years would pass before a new batch of bourbon would hit the liquor stores.
So this group of far-sighted men bought up as much bourbon as they could, had it reclassified as medicine, put the oak casks in warehouses, and waited.

Scott Hunnel, chef de cuisine at Victoria & Albert’s restaurant at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, has been named Culinary Professional of the Year by Sante’, a magazine for food and beverage professionals. The awards are voted on by industry peers.
Also recognized are Gary Kaikaka of California Grill, who received the Service Professional Award for outstanding achievement in food, wine and spririts service. And the restaurant managers and servers at Jiko — The Cooking Place won the Wine Hospitality Award for outstanding achievement in wine service and hospitality.
The winners will be feted at an awards ceremony November 4th at Silverado Resort in Napa, California.

I just drove past a restaurant that had three signs for a presidential candidate out front. I think it’s insane for a business — any type of business — to show partisanship; you automatically alienate half your potential customers. (Or, if current polls are correct, 53 or 42 percent.)
Yes, restaurant owners are entitled to show their support for their favorite candidate. But to do so sends a message to the customer that if you eat there you should support that candidate too.
I commented on this to a friend and mentioned the restaurant I referred to above. I know my friend has eaten there before. “Good,” he said when I told him which candidate the restaurant supports, “now I know not to spend any more of my money there.”
So I’m wondering, would a sign for a candidate you don’t support stop you from eating at a restaurant? Or, would a sign out front that supports your choice for president make you want to eat there?
Click on comments and we’ll conduct our own frighteningly unscientific poll.

If you’ve ever looked closely at a restaurant check, you probably noticed that the food and drinks are all tallied up to a subtotal. So, you’ve got your sweet teas, your stew beefs and catfish, and your lemon pies. The cost of all those items are added up, and at Johnson’s they don’t add up to a lot. Johnson’s Diner was always known for good food, nice portions and decent prices.

But look again at the check. Right under the food and drink tally is the sales tax, calculated as a percentage of the number above. You, as the customer, are obliged to pay that; the business must tally the taxes paid by all its customers and pass the monies along to the state. It’s certain that all of the diner’s customers did their part by paying the taxes.

The problem was, apparently, that the owners of Johnson’s Diner did not then pass those tax collections on to the state. Oops.
Clarence Taylor III, president of the family-owned business, said the family all kicked in personal funds to pay the back taxes. And to make sure it doesn’t happen again, he told Schlueb, they’ve hired an accountant.

That might help, but if they just follow the simple instructions I’ve outlined above they could  save some money.

It was inevitable that the movement would eventually hit Florida. In the last several years, municipalities and states have made moves to ban foie gras, the fatted livers of ducks or geese. The state of California instituted a ban; now it has spread to California Grill at Walt Disney World.

It’s a modern stone age eatery! T-Rex, whose full name states: A Prehistoric Family Adventure, A Place to Eat, Shop, Explore and Discover, opened today at Downtown Disney.
The restaurant was developed by Schussler Creative, Inc. and is operated by Landry’s Restaurants, Inc. The last eatery they gave us locally was the Yak & Yeti at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, so you’ll understand why I’m not rushing right out there to try it. But who knows, maybe this time they’ve put some effort into the food and service.
It would seem a lot has gone into the surroundings. There’s a full-size skeletal replica of a 125-foot-long Argentinosaurus, and a massive animatronic of the restaurant’s namesake beast. There are also fossil specimens and a meteorite found in Argentina. (When the meteorite appears does it mean the meal has come to an end?)The menu has items like Caesarsaurus (Caesar salad), Raptor Ribs ( Asian barbecue ribs), Pterodactyl Wings (Buffalo) and Gigantosaurus Burger (Whopper?).
I’m not scared of the dinosaurs, but the menu has me quivering.
I’ll report back later. In the meantime, here’s the restaurant’s Web site.

Neil Connolly has announced that his Doc’s restaurant in Orlando will become associated with Professional Culinary Institute, a school for aspiring chefs headquartered in California’s Silicon Valley. The school, which will use the facilities of Doc’s restaurant and banquet space as classrooms, will be the institute’s second location.
Connolly told the Flog that the first class will be an 11-week course for sommelier training,  certified by the Court of Master Sommeliers and conducted by master sommelier Andrew McNamara, who will join the school as a faculty member. McNamara is currently the sommelier at the Breakers resort in Palm Beach. 

Tuesday, October 14, is National Dessert Day, which, of course, is at the center of National Dessert Month.
Please don’t confuse this with National Pie Day (December 1), National Raspberry Cream Pie Day (Aug. 1), Sacher Torte Day (Dec. 5), Spongecake Day (Aug. 23) or Angel Food Cake Day (last Friday, Oct. 10).
To kick off the sweetest day events, Laurent Branlard, executive pastry chef at Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort, paid a visit to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer at city hall. Branlard gave Dyer a box of custom-made chocolates. Well, Dyer took the box of chocolates, whether Branlard meant for him to have them or not.
Dyer honored Branlard for representing Orlando as leader of the winning United States team in the 2008 World Pastry Championship.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to the Hallmark store to buy Dessert Day cards.

A Q&A with Michael Eisner on the front of Wednesday’s Business & Money section misspelled the name of the sports network ESPN.

Cheers.

A Brief in today’s New York Times suggests a food fight brewing between Israel and Lebanon over ownership rights to hummus. Yes, they’re arguing over which country first pureed chickpeas, oil and garlic into a tasty treat. Lebanon also says it is responsible for baba ghanouj and tabbouleh. I want to be in on the U.N. briefings that decide this issue.
I think we can all agree that hummus truly belongs to the ages.