Certain city cafes are getting rid of the comfy chairs and tables in hopes of getting rid of some of their customers, suggests Oliver Strand in the New York Times (8/25/10). Among them is the aptly named Cafe Grumpy, whose latest location features "a counter in the back and a chest-high table in the front." If you want to linger, there's a bench outside. The idea is to discourage people from parking themselves with their laptops -- a practice that Grumpy had already banned at one of its other locations.

"I appreciate the idea of when you go someplace and it feels like a home away from home, but I don't think it should be a home office away from home," says Grumpy co-owner Caroline Bell. Some customers aren't happy about this. "I don't find it relaxing," says Kate Sebbah. "This is a time to sit down, relax, compose my thoughts." But others -- espresso drinkers especially -- like the stand-up approach. "I spent a semester in Rome when I was in college and coffee there is: you come in, you pay, you get it, you drink it, you slam it and you're out the door," says Matthew Schnepf.

Christian Geckeler, of manseekingcoffee dot-com, says less furniture is conducive to more conversation. "It's really lovely," he says. "You have a couple of bar stools and the baristas are right there, so the conversation just naturally happens." Mark Connell of the Bluebird Coffee Shop agrees: "A coffee shop should be a place to meet your friends and hold conversations ... instead of sticking your head in a laptop," he says. Starbucks in SoHo (image) meanwhile is hedging its bets with "a few stools, in addition to the expected tables and chairs."

The nostalgia some Arkansans have for big, heavy, oblong watermelons isn't shared by folks elsewhere around the country, reports Kim Severson in the New York Times (8/18/10). "When I was growing up, the guys were always talking big melons," says Lloyd Bright, who lives in Hope, Arkansas (which, in itself, may explain the comment). He also holds the record for having grown the world's largest watermelon, weighing in at 268 pounds and 8 ounces (image). The trend, however, is toward smaller, rounder watermelons -- without seeds, of course (only about 20 percent of melons sold in the US today have seeds).

Purists think that these "personal watermelons" lack the personality, character and flavor of old-fashioned melons. But for farmers and consumers, the smaller melons make more sense. "You can handle them better and stack them better," says Ernest Brown, a farmer. In addition, the big watermelons might yield just 40,000 pounds per acre, while the personal size might yield up to 80,000 pounds. Others note that the growing process for traditional watermelons is "chemical heavy."

It is also wasteful, as it involves "culling plenty of healthy, unripe fruit to let the vine turn its attention to the most promising watermelon." And as far as consumers are concerned, the smaller melons are more practical, as well: "Most people, particularly urban people, would rather have a small one," says Dr. Terry Kirkpatrick of the University of Arkansas. "With the big ones, you fill up all your Tupperware containers and you're still not done." Terry still prefers the old-fashioned varieties, though: "I grew up in the country, and the ability to spit seeds is something that is an art," he says. "You just have to spit seeds once in a while."

Frito-Lay is making more noise than it would like with its newly biodegradable bag of solar-baked chips, reports Suzanne Vranica in the Wall Street Journal (8/19/10). Frito might have expected nothing but praise for its new bag design for its Sun Chips brand (commercial). After all, the estimated life-span of a traditional snack-chip bag, which is made of "polymers such as polyproylene and polyethylene," could be as long as 100 years.

But the new Sun Chips bag, which was introduced in January, is made of polylactic acid, "which fully decomposes in about 14 weeks when placed in a hot, active, compost pile." The only problem with this is that the new bag is really, really noisy. It is so noisy that J. Scot Heathman, an Air Force pilot, tested its loudness using a RadioShack sound meter. He squeezed the bag and recorded it at 95 decibels (video). That compares to 77 decibels for an environmentally-unfriendly bag.

Indeed, Frito's new bag is so noisy that there's even a Facebook group called, "Sorry But I Can't Hear You Over This Sun Chips Bag," with more than 30,000 fans. The real issue is that the noisy bag may be hurting Sun Chips sales, which have been in decline since its introduction. But Frito is not backing off, and is now posting at-shelf signs reading, "Yes, the bag is loud, that's what change sounds like." However, a Frito engineer admits he's working on developing a quieter, crunch-free, biodegradable chips bag.

Lenny & John's in southeast Brooklyn is like any other pizza parlor, only different, reports Michele Monteleone in the New York Times (8/15/10). It's got pizza boxes stacked to the rafters. It's got those little plastic shakers of red pepper, garlic and oregano. A slice is two dollars and most days a pie is $13. But the one thing it's got that maybe other pizza parlors don't have so much is really powerful customer loyalty.

"Just last week I had 10 guys in here, all grew up in the neighborhood but now live in New Jersey, Staten Island, Long Island," says John Scandiffio, who opened Lenny & John's with his brother-in-law, Lenny Maffie way back in 1969. "They found each other on Facebook," (fan page) says John, "and they ended up over here." Rick Gonzalez says it's because Lenny & John's (video) is like the Cheers bar. "The food is great, the customer service is great, and there's always a friendly face," he says.

But there's more. Shortly after Nine-Eleven, John "hung an American flag on the back wall ... One by one, emergency workers stopping in for a pie to take with them to Ground Zero began ripping badges off their uniforms to hang on the flag. Today, 77 badges are on the flag" and John says he has hundreds more at home. "So many of the customers, I grew up with them, and when they come through the door it's like seeing family," he says. Lenny & John's is located at 2036 Flatbush Avenue near Avenue P.

A book that says America's obesity epidemic is caused by "obesogenic" foods that may seem healthy but that will make you fat has it all wrong, reports Allysia Finley in the Wall Street Journal (8/13/10). The book is called "The New American Diet," by Stephen Perrine and Heather Hurlock. They argue that certain pesticides and plastics, otherwise known as "obesogens" (man, I love that word) are contaminating ostensibly healthy foods, like fruit and milk. The authors say these obesogens "alter our hormones and cause our bodies to store more fat."

Well, Allysia isn't buying this. First of all, she notes that the chemicals in question -- phthalates and bisphenol A (or BPA) -- have been in widespread use for more than 50 years but "obesity didn't start surging until about 1980." She also questions the supporting research, done with lab rats, and quotes biologist Randy Seeley as saying that experiments on rats "can't necessarily be extrapolated to humans."

Obesogenic concerns have already led to a temporary US ban on phthalates in children's products, as well as a Canadian ban on BPA in baby bottles. A few US states have also banned BPA and Michelle Obama's childhood obesity report" lists obseogens as a critical front in the government's battle against the bulge." Allysia counters that obesity's causes are "myriad and complex" and says that "ringing alarm bells based on insufficient and inconclusive evidence" is subverting "serious discussion of the issue."

Kellogg's is turning Pop-Tarts into a pop-up retail experience in New York's Times Square, reports Stephanie Clifford in the New York Times (8/9/10). Among other things, visitors to the 3,200 square-foot store are treated an hourly light show in which they are "virtually" frosted, sprinkled and wrapped in foil. They can also "build their own Pop-Tarts, starting with basic pastry and asking servers to adding frosting, toppings ... and drizzle." They can have their creations "frozen, toasted, microwaved or uncooked."

A "custom-built vending machine," called the Varietizer, meanwhile features 23 kinds of Pop-Tarts and lets shoppers create their own variety packs. "People say, 'Well, what can you really do with a Pop-Tart?" says Scott Schoessel of the Gigunda Group, which developed the retail concept with Kellogg's. "Our chef has come up with some amazing concoctions," he adds. These include a creation called Pop-Tarts sushi, which is "three kinds of Pop-Tarts minced, and then wrapped in a fruit roll-up."

Other confections offered in the store's cafe include "the Fluffer Butter, marshmallow spread sandwiched between two Pop-Tarts frosted fudge pastries." A bank of computers "provide access to PopTartsWorld, social media sites and Pop-Tarts video games." The store is located on 42nd, between Sixth and Broadway, and will remain open at least until January, when Kellogg's will decide whether to keep it open. "Our long-term hope is to strengthen the bonding between the brand and the consumer," says Etienne Patout of Kellogg's.

"The history of junk food is a largely American tale," reports Manny Fernandez in the New York Times (8/8/10). "I look at it as an incredible phenomenon that's changed America, for better or worse," says Andrew F. Smith, author of the Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food." Andrew says that Cracker Jack -- created by Frederick and Louis Rueckheim at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair -- is "America's first junk food." Others include the Tootsie Roll, which is noteworthy for being "the first penny candy to be individually wrapped."

The Tootsie Roll was introduced in 1905, the same year that 11-year-old Frank W. Epperson "accidentally left a powdered-soda soft drink he had made for himself on the porch with the stirring stick still in the cup." It froze overnight, and young Frank was intrigued, but it wasn't until 1923 that he patented the process, calling his product the Epsicle:, but his kids called it Pop's 'sicles." Today, Unilever sells two billion Popsicles in the United States each year.

James A. Dewar came up with the idea for Twinkies in 1930 while trying to think of uses for shortcake pans when strawberries were off-season. Originally, he filled the cakes with banana cream, but when bananas were rationed during World War II, switched to vanilla. Finally, Walter E. Diemer created the formula for Dubble Bubble chewing gum in 1928 while working as an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum Co. He earned no royalties from his invention, but his widow said he was "terrifically proud of it ... He would say to me: I've done something with my life. I've made kids happy around the world."

"With a Cheez Doodle, it's a completely different experience. It's more a textural thing," says Erich Buchrieser in a New York Times piece by Manny Fernandez (8/4/10). Erich is comparing the merits of the Cheez Doodle relative to Cheetos, and Cheese Curls. "I don't really think of them as chips," he says. If you're not from the New York City area, you might not be familiar with any of these salty snacks, which are basically all "bright orange, cheese-dusted corn puffs."

Most of the 15 million pounds of Cheez Doodles produced annually (if laid end to end they'd stretch 72 miles) are consumed by New Yorkers. Sadly, the man who invented the Cheez Doodle, Morrie Yohai, died at 90 last week, which stunned Kevin Miles, 33, who compared Morrie to Colonel Sanders. "A lot of kids grew up on Cheez Doodles," says Kevin. "There's going to be a little hole in their hearts for the inventor."

However, the truth is that Cheez Doodles, which are made by Wise Foods, didn't come along until 16 years after Cheetos, which "were introduced nationally in 1948 by the Frito Company." Further confusing matters, Cheetos were invented by a man named Charles Doolin. The Frito legal department must have been asleep at the time. Herr's, with its Cheese Curls, is a third player. Its president, Edwin Herr, says the "perfect texture is crunchy on the outside, but as it hits the palate it dissolves," adding that the key is in the cornmeal and the cheese blend.

Good Humor's Toasted Almond Bar is "a significantly sophisticated taste experience," writes Ralph Gardner Jr. in the Wall Street Journal (8/4/10). "It doesn't just taste great, it makes you feel privileged," he explains. "Your taste buds congratulate you on your education, whisper into your ear that you possess powers of culinary discernment far beyond those of ordinary pedestrians."

Ralph compares the Toasted Almond experience to that of a classic Bordeaux and says that if it were served for dessert at a fine restaurant, "you'd think it was the most fabulous thing you ever tasted." He denies that his affinity is rooted in childhood nostalgia, in that there were no Good Humor Trucks in his Manhattan neighborhood when he was a boy. And, besides, according to Ralph's informal survey of pushcart vendors, Toasted Almond's taste profile appeals mostly to an over-40 demographic.

In fact, Toasted Almond is not nearly one of Good Humor's best sellers, which Ralph says confirms that "you need taste and class to appreciate its singularity." He admits that almonds are not for everyone (and neither is cilantro) but for those who love almonds, "biting into a Toasted Almond Bar is a mind/body experience," even if the coating is a little soggy. And he denies being a shill for Good Humor, suggesting that Unilever, which owns the brand, has so many other products that it probably "doesn't even realize that Good Humor is under its umbrella."

General Mills creates a "we" brand, one box top at a time.  By Dori Molitor. (more)