Food & Drink

FRESH

SMOOTHIES

The newest fast food is healthy and fun

WELCOME THE FAST FOOD OF the future-easily portable panaceas that manage to be inexpensive, low in calories and fat, and high in nutrients and flavor. Goodbye, burgers and tacos; hello, fresh-squeezed juices and smoothies.

A staple in the diets of Californians for years, these nutritious drinks are being sipped and slurped all over Dallas as shops such as Juice Island, Juice Stop and Smoothie King spring up next to bagel stores and coffeehouses. The concept is simple: To a base of nonfat yogurt, sherbet or ice milk, add fruit and juice, and zap it in the blender.

Would-be Schwarzeneggers can opt for a Barbados Bulkster at Juice Island or Marathon Man at Juice Stop, while cold-sufferers can try an Immune Builder from Smoothie King.

You can even create your own super-healthful smoothie by choosing from the list of stir-in ingredients like calcium, ginseng, vitamin C and wheat germ. Most smoothies cost less than $4 for a 20- or 24-ounce cup, have less than one gram of fat and hover in the 300-calorie range. For even fewer calories, Juice Island and Juice Stop offer fresh-squeezed juices, from the traditional orange and carrot to trendy wheatgrass (one ounce has the nutritional value of more than two pounds of vegetables).

Speaking of vegetables, you should know that the craze for fruit in California was quickly followed by the popularity of fresh-squeezed vegetables. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried a belt of broccoli-beet juice. Hold the bee pollen.

-Suzanne Hough

LANGUAGE

THE LATEST BRITISH INVASION IS CUISINE



hile Americans were preoccupied with the capers of Charles and Camilla, they missed the really big news: British food has evolved into a world-class cuisine. At a recent conference in Chicago of 1,500 culinary professionals, British food was named the latest trend, and in Dallas, we can verify that by the success of our newest British restaurant, Barclays. To prepare you for the British invasion, I’ve translated some common British food terms. Tally ho! -S.H.

●BANGER: a fat sausage made with meat and bread crumbs

●BUBBLE AND SQUEAK: a fried mixture of mashed potatoes and cooked cabbage

●CHIPS: French fries

●CLOTTED CREAM (DEVONSHIRE CREAM): a rich, thickened cream used on scones and fruit desserts

●CRISPS: potato chips

●COCK-A-LEEKIE: a Scottish soup of chicken and leeks

●CORNISH PASTY: a meat-filled turnover

●CRUMPET: similar to an English muffin, it’s toasted whole, not sliced

●FOOL, OR FLUMMERY: a soft, fruit-based dessert

●SCOTCH EGG: deep-fried, sausage-coated hard-boiled egg

●TOAD-IN-THE-HOLE: a baked dish of Yorkshire pudding and sausage

●WELSH RAREBIT: Cheddar cheese melted over toast

●YORKSHIRE PUDDING: between a popover and a soufflé, often served with roast beef

NEAT STUFF

COOSEMANS OFFERS THE RARE AND UNIQUE

It’s probably a little like buying shares on a freshly launched third-world stock exchange: A big, white board hung from an outdoor loading dock wall lists the day’s produce selections with quantities and prices written In smudged, washable marker. Definitely not the Eatzi’s razzle-dazzle. But then Eatzi’s exotica, either.

Coosemans Specialty Produce offers nine varieties of mushrooms, bell peppers in six colors, five types of asparagus, offbeat fruits (ugli fruit, pepino, white nectarines) and lots of infant veggies including baby gold beets and baby white turnips. Plus, It also sells a range of gourmet cheeses and one of the few full lines of organic coffees available in the world

Since Coosemans is a wholesaler, the prices can be quite good: A one-ounce tin of saffron is $38. But be sure to ask If the posted quantities can be broken down, lt’d be pretty hard to chew through 60 pounds of bok choy or 10 pounds of red Belgian endive unless your dinner guests have a severe roughage deficiency.

The first company to bring Belgian endive Into the United States, Coosemans has 22 offices worldwide. In Dallas, it’s on North Central Expressway across from the Dallas Farmers Market. Open 4:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday-Friday; 5 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday (loading dock traffic is at a minimum); 214-741-7855.

-Mark Stuertz