Top 10 Filthiest Hotels in the U.S.

January 30, 2009

filthyAnd the “winner” is… For the second year in a row (and three out of the last four), the disinction of dirtiest hotel in the United States goes to Hotel Carter in New York City. With guest comments like “I think it would have been cleaner to sleep on the street,” Hotel Carter continues to set the standard for filthy hotels.

The dubious Top 10 list was compiled by TripAdvisor, and is based on traveler ratings for cleanliness. “We’re running out of new ways to describe the Hotel Carter and other culprits on this list,” said Michele Perry, vice president of global communications for TripAdvisor. “Fortunately, our millions of travelers have not, and have plenty of dirty laundry to air about these disturbingly offensive hotels.”

Not to be outdone by it’s neighbor, the New York Inn has also made the list three out of the last four years. One guest comment: “Roaches everywhere! One so big he could have helped me bring my suitcase upstairs.”

Read the full story.

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President Obama’s Effect on Food Policy

January 27, 2009
obama

"I do solemnly swear to preserve, protect, and defend the food pyramid."

President Obama’s flair for good food will encourage people to expand their horizons when it comes to what they eat. That’s the hope of the country’s top chefs, several of whom traveled to Washington for the inauguration last week. Much of that hope rests on Obama’s ability to change the culture of food production in the U.S. from large corporate farming organizations to smaller farms that sell more natural, nutritious food. Read the full article.

For a background look at how presidents and their families have mixed diplomacy with dining, check out the Cornell library’s copies of The President’s Table: Two Hundred Years of Dining and Diplomacy by Barry Landau or White House Chef: Eleven Years, Two Presidents, One Kitchen by Walter Scheib and Andrew Friedman.

If you’re still craving more information about the president’s eating habits, take a look at Obama Foodorama.

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Wine Corks Perfect for Recycling

January 23, 2009

Future fishing rod handles

There are approximately 13 billion natural cork wine stoppers sold into the world market annually, with the majority of them ending up in landfill instead of in reuse applications. Cork is ideal for recycling – it is biodegradable, renewable, energy efficient, sustainable and 100% natural.

Unlike plastic or metal screw-cap closures, recycled cork can be turned into flooring tile, building insulation, shoe soles, fishing rod handles, bulletin boards, and even soil conditioner, among other uses. Natural cork is biodegradable, sustainable and a valuable source for carbon retention.

ReCORK America is a recycling program sponsored by Amorim, the world’s largest producer of natural cork wine closures, and their U.S. affiliates, Portocork America and Amorim Cork America. ReCORK America is a  program focused on obtaining used and surplus corks from winery tasting rooms, bottling lines and quality assurance laboratories. In addition, collection locations are being established with key retailers and restaurants in larger metropolitan areas.

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More Women General Managers at Atlanta Hotels

January 13, 2009

The hotel general manager profile is becoming more diverse – at least in Atlanta. More than 25 of the top hotels are run by women in a city that has one of the largest hotel industry segments in the country, with 93,000+ rooms. Women general managers in Atlanta include:

Erica Qualls
Marriott Marquis Atlanta
Ruth Benjamin
Grand Hyatt Atlanta
Marylouise Fitzgibbon
W Hotel Buckhead

And the number will continue to grow. Danni Williams, who started her career with Marriott Corp. in 1981, was named general manager last week at the Renaissance Hotel downtown. Valerie Ferguson, a former general manager of the Ritz-Carlton Atlanta, is coming back to the city to become head of the Loews Hotel in Midtown, which is slated to open in spring 2010.

Read the full article from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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New Book: A Taste for Writing

January 6, 2009

A Taste for Writing: Composition for Culinarians combines lessons in composition and grammar with a unique focus on food and cooking. The book’s comprehensive coverage includes the stages of the writing process; rhetorical modes and research; parts of speech; and basic grammar.

The author, Vivian C. Cadbury, is an Associate Professor  in Writing and Communications at the Culinary Institute of America.

A Taste for Writing can be found on the New Book shelf in Nestlé Library (call number TX644 C33).

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Restaurant Stocks Rally

January 1, 2009

Restaurant stocks made a comeback in December to end 2008 down 19.5 percent. In comparison, the S&P 500 fell 37 percent for the year. The Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) stock index tracks all 61 publicly traded restaurant companies. The NRN index, which rose 8.8 percent in December, is heavily influenced by McDonald’s Corporation, which has by far the largest market cap of the restaurant stocks at $69.3 billion. Yum Brands ($14.6 billion) and Starbucks ($6.9 billion) are the next highest companies in terms of market cap.

Read the full article.

Print copies of Nation’s Restaurant News can be found in the Nestlé Library. Cornell students also have electronic access to the publication through one of the library’s article databases.

Leave a Comment » | Research Help, Restaurants | Permalink
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