【推荐1】Kenny Eating House is always crowded in the late afternoons right up to midnight. You will see many people standing around the tables.     1     Once there is the slightest indication that the customers are leaving their table, you will see a few people diving for it. The victor will stand at the table proudly waving his relatives or friends over, while the losers will be down in the mouth.

    2     You next have to get the attention of the busy waiters rushing about to attend to the customers. You will usually hear the words ‘hot water’ being shouted out as they pass, even if they are not holding any such thing!     3     In between trying to catch the attention of the waiters and looking through the menu, you will hear customers complaining about the slow service.

Once the waiter comes to take your orders, he is impatient. Sometimes, these waiters would just walk away from indecisive customers and the latter would have to work hard at getting some attention again. Usually, the waiters shout the orders out to the cooks located deep in the kitchen.     4    

Whenever the crowd gets too thick, the waiters will ask customers to share their tables with those standing. When the tables are shared by two different groups of people, the loudness becomes incredibly deafening. With plates clanking and people talking loudly, you need to shout to be heard.     5     The hardworking waiters can finally sit down for a chat or have their cigarettes. The activity at the eating place winds down, ready to recover before the next day of madness arrives.

【推荐1】Dying for an ice-cream? A hundred years ago, you might have done just that. Until they were illegal in 1926 for their role in spreading tuberculosis (肺结核), ices were commonly sold in glasses, which were rarely cleaned. Scoop A wonderful Ice Cream World, the first exhibition of the British Museum of Food in King’s Cross, London, has a tower of these unlikely killers from the wide collection of experts Robin and Caroline Weir, authors of Ices: The Definitive Guide.

Yet the sweet pleasures of ice-cream were very much worth the risk. In the 17th and 18th centuries, they were regarded as a food only belonging to the super-rich, and a symbol of social position. It’s said that about 1 litre of ice-cream cost ￡50. “You really had to love your guests,” says Robin. Little wonder, he adds, that businessmen tried their best to keep their trade secret: “If you knew how to make ice-cream, it was a meal ticket for life.”

What businessmen wanted to conceal was just how they made ice-cream: with a handful of ingredients (原料), some ice, salt and a bit of effort. “you can create thousands of different kinds of ice-cream, ”Robin says. Yet, for all that, boring old vanilla (香草) remains the most popular. Nine out of ten ice-creams sold were vanilla ice-cream, according to the Ice Cream Alliance.

Whatever kind of ice-cream you like, it is all too easy to overeat, an experience likely to end in the pain known as “brain freeze”. Luckily, the way to deal with it is very simple — place your tongue on the roof of your mouth to help warm the nerve.

【推荐2】Climate change and beer might be two things that rarely appear in the same sentence. But according to an article in the scientific journal Nature Plants, if the Earth gets warmer, your Friday-night drink might get pricier.

The team behind the article modelled the effect of extreme events on production of barley, the main ingredient of beer. “Extreme weather conditions such as drought or heat will impact barley production. Barley is irreplaceable in beer making,” said Xie Wei, first author of the article. “If barley production drops, beer production will also drop, and beer might get more expensive.” When global temperatures rise to their highest, global beer supply will drop 16 percent. Prices will also hike due to drop of supply. For instance, a 4.84-U. S.-dollar price hike for a 500 ml bottle is projected in Ireland, almost doubling the previous price. Quality of that beer might also be affected. If barley cannot receive enough irrigation, quality of the protein and carbohydrate in its grain will drop.

In fact, the effect of drought on beer production has been seen. Bloomberg reported that drought and heat caused a 30 to 40 percent drop in barley production in European barley producing regions during summer 2018, leading to a 35 percent price hike of barley in France.

However, regional fluctuations in barley production are still manageable now. If production in one region fails, beer makers can make it up by importing more from other regions. But if climate change gets out of control, the impact will be global. Agriculture is incredibly vulnerable to climate change.

Xie pointed out the impact of climate change is not only limited to staple crops. “We are only using barley and beer as an example of high-added-value agricultural products,” said Xie. “In countries like China, per person consumption of staple crops is dropping, but that of products such as dairy and beer is rising.”

Beer, not essential for human survival, occupies a major part in culture around the world. That gives people yet one more reason to care more about climate change.

【推荐3】Which of these ingredients have you cooked with or eaten, wild rice, rabbits or roses? Actually, they were part of Native American cuisine in the past. Sean Sherman is a chef from the Oglala Lakota tribe, who is attempting something remarkable. Through his company and his restaurant, Sherman is bringing these ingredients back into the public eye.

Sean Sherman grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation. As a reservation kid, Sherman usually didn’t have access to high-quality or tasty food. His family relied on the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which meant canned goods, tasteless food, and powdered milk. After high school, Sherman started working for the Forest Service. As part of his job, he had to learn the names of the plants, which raised his curiosity about indigenous (本土的) plants and foods.

Sherman started doing lots of research on his own, and he started his company in 2014. A few years later, Sherman opened his restaurant Owamni, where he showed native ingredients and flavors. The most significant feature of the restaurant is the native ingredients, none of which is related to European civilizations.

The vibe in the restaurant is totally unique as well. There, a lot of people are really struck by it, because it’s not typical to be able to go someplace and see their native foods on the menu, see native people cooking the food and listen to native music. Therefore, it’s a wholly unique experience and it’s something that’s really special.

Native cuisine allows native people to explore their histories and cultures. It supports local businesses and comes with a host of health benefits. “We should have native restaurants in every city to show the diversity and flavors of all the different tribes across North America and thus have a future where native cuisine is more widespread, and ingredients are more familiar and well known,” Sherman explains.

【推荐1】EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS

Explore our wide-ranging exhibitions and increase your knowledge when enjoying yourself.

Feathered Ink

Opening on August 27

Across three galleries, Feathered Ink explores how Japanese artists have experimented over several centuries with different brush techniques in their descriptions of bird subjects. Drawing from the Freer Gallery of Art’s extensive collection of bird-and-flower paintings, the exhibition includes hanging scroll paintings, folding screens, ceramics, and printed books.

The Peacock Room

Opening on September 3

In 1876, shipping magnate Frederick Leyland hired his friend, artist James McNeill Whistler, to redecorate the dining room of his London townhouse, and then used it to display his prized collection of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain(瓷器). Then in 1904 Collector Charles Lang Freer purchased the room. He had it taken apart, shipped across the Atlantic, and reassembled in his home in Detroit, Michigan. There, he gradually filled its shelves with ceramics he collected from Syria, Iran, Japan, China, and Korea.

Rinpa

Opening on October 1

The Japanese painting movement now known as Rinpa was a loose association of artists that began around the early 1600s and continued into the 1800s. Their aesthetic(审美观)came to define a typical image of Japanese art consisting of stylized forms in bright colors. We invite you to explore a selection of paintings and ceramics by generations of Rinpa artists from our collection.

Freer’s Global Network

Opening on October 15

This exhibition looks at the interconnected web of artists, dealers, and collectors who helped shape the Freer Gallery of Art’s collection in the early twentieth century. The display of objects in this gallery, which includes American paintings and stoneware, Japanese ceramics, ancient Chinese bronzes, and Near Eastern pottery, illustrates that network in operation.

【推荐3】The Best Art Competitions to Enter in 2021

Check out our guide to some of the best art contests to enter this year.

Acrylic Works 9

Prize: $2,000 first prize, $1,000 second prize Entry Fee: $45

Requirements: Open to artists in the United States and Canada Closing Date: October 18, 2021

For the Acrylic Works 9 competition, the organizers are looking for the best in acrylic (丙烯酸) painting of a variety of styles and subjects. The entries will be judged in two rounds according to artistic technique, design and creative elements, as well as overall impression and impact. Winners’ works will be shown in Artists magazine.

Splash 23

Prize: $2,000 first prize, $1,000 second prize Entry Fee: $45

Requirements: Open to artists in the United States and Canada Closing Date: June 14, 2021

For the Splash 23 contest, the organizers are looking for original watercolor paintings. Each entry must be painted with watercolor. However, some minor use of other mediums may be acceptable. Top paintings of winners will appear in a special edition of Watercolor Artist magazine.

The Lumen Prize for Digital Art

Prize: $4,000 first prize Entry Fee: $48 for two works

Requirements: Open to artists worldwide Closing Date: June 8, 2021

This digital art competition is organized by Lumen Art Projects Ltd, a non-profit organization that’s aimed at providing new opportunities for digital artists around the world. Categories include Still, Moving Image, 3D/ Interactive and Artificial Intelligence.

California

Award Prize: $3,000 first prize Entry Fee: Free

Requirements: Open to artists in California Closing Date: July 31, 2021

Hosted by the Brea Gallery, the competition intends to provide a great opportunity for all artists based in the state of California. All artworks will be considered. And there is also a solo (单独的) show opportunity for artists who submit a body of work containing 5-10 pieces.