You know the Alice Waters-inspired hunt for truly perfect ingredients has reached its zenith when restaurants are boasting about their designer ice cubes.
Seriously -- it turns out that having the highest quality ice is a huge deal for some high-end restaurants. And we've got the scoop in New Times summer guide, which premiered as an insert to this week's print edition and is also posted online here.
This year's summer guide theme is "hot and cold" -- hence freelance writer Adriane Goetz's interest in the coldest thing of all. Her story explores how Roka Akor's Shochu Lounge and Biltmore-area hotspot Noca get their ice just right.
In other content that may be of interest to Chow Bella readers, Steve Jansen makes home-made ice cream, theater critic Robrt L. Pela meditates on the joy of a good slushee, and your humble correspondent (that's me, Sarah Fenske) writes about learning to eat hot peppers -- and cooling down accordingly.
Did you know that peppers literally cool your body temperature? If you didn't, you really ought to give this one a read. If you did, well, may we recommend some purified ice in a gorgeous 300-pound block?
