These guys mean war!

​The 49th-annual Christmas on Las Olas is tonight! Time to take a break from the mall frenzy (don't worry -- Target will have the same plastic crap tomorrow) and bundle up the family and friends. 

Bundle up? In south Florida! Yup! Because tonight's forecast calls for snow! And cookies!

Tonight, Las Olas Boulevard will be filled with ice skating, snow, carolers, and Christmas cookies.

The inaugural Christmas Cookie Battle will feature three of Fort Lauderdale's best cookie bakers in a heated battle of gingerbread, chocolate, and butter. The cookies will be judged by a panel of experts... and you!

For a $2 donation to the American Lung Association, you'll be able to sample the competing cookies and vote for your favorite from these participating bakeries:


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Gingerbread men are lovers, not fighters.

​The 49th-annual Christmas on Las Olas celebration on November 29 will turn five blocks of Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale into a winter wonderland, complete with ice skating, snow, sledding, and some serious Christmas cookies battling it out.

If you didn't know those innocent gingerbread men could fight, you've got to come down and see for yourself, as spice drops, butter cookies, and gingerbread men all vie for the top honor of Best Christmas Cookie on Las Olas. More >>

​There's no denying that we're still enamored with meals on wheels at various food truck rallies. And we want to support these fledgling businesses as much as the next person.More >>

Michael Symon just wants to cook for America

​In an interview with Mercury News, Anthony Bourdain was asked what he thought about The Chew, the ABC foodcentric daytime talk show.

Bourdain said, "(Heavy sigh) I'm really shaken. Honestly, I don't know what to believe anymore. Mario Batali is a better chef than I am, a better businessman. And Michael Symon! I can't tell you how much I like and respect those guys. They're the smartest, funniest, best since Julia Child. They had to know what they were getting into. I'm not trying to be funny or snarky -- I'm really shaken. I feel like I've left the mountains, and found all my comrades had joined the Interior Ministry. The whole world has tilted in a way I don't understand. I feel like I'm a million years old and very naive. I just don't know who the fool is. I suspect it's me."

Thing of it is, Bourdain was just telling the truth this time around - no rabble rousing..no feather puffing...just straight up honest confusion as to why two of America's best chefs would want to take on daytime television.

As if reading our minds, Michael Symon replied to Tony on The Chew. Starting with, "Speaking of Prosciutto...", Symon says, A ham friend of ours, Anthony Bourdain took a swing at us." 

Symon then goes on to say that he's on The Chew because he simply wants to cook delicious food for America...Batali, however, chose to remain mute (wise choice). Here's the response:
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Flickr user: NatalieMaynor

We don't need no fresh veggies.

​Green markets, with their mountains of fresh veggies and artisan bread, have long been the yuppie alternative to slumming it with the wilted lettuce at Publix. But in the Town of Palm Beach, where the millionaires roam, fresh kale and organic tea are still no match for blue-blooded snobbery.More >>

Hungry for legal action.

​Well, here's a food-oriented legal proceeding that's more Big Lebowski than Law & Order. More >>

Deen 1, Bourdain 0.

​Former New York Times food critic Frank Bruni sides with Paula Deen on the op-ed page in the aftermath of Anthony Bourdain's calling Deen "the most dangerous person to America" for "telling an already obese nation it's ok to eat food that is killing us."More >>

Among my favorite links today is one brought to my attention by our colleagues over at LA Weekly. Behold Fuck You Yelper, the Tumblr dedicated to collecting jackass comments on Yelp. The company's rendition of online democracy is great in theory but has shaped up to become an abrasive collection of comments that businesses sometimes stack in their favor, or a slew of submissions showcasing utter stupidity. That said, Yelp's legal woes in 2010 led to doubled traffic, to a whopping 50 million visitors a month, reported Huffington Post.

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Don't mess with a southern lady.

​Anthony Bourdain very bluntly tells anyone who will listen exactly what he thinks of Food Network celebrities like Paula Deen, Rachael Ray, and Sandra Lee.

In an interview in TV Guide, Bourdain called Southern Belle and butter aficionado Paula Deen "the most dangerous person in America", partly for her "Lady's Brunch Burger", which is decorated with bacon and a fried egg and served on Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts. 


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Brick House Tavern + Tap

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