Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

The Consumer Electronics Show presents electronic devices for all sorts of activities, including cooking. Here are a few things that I spotted during my time at the show. A 3D food printer that produced, among other things, a chocolate pen. This production bread machine can produce over 200 loaves per day. This blender uses a gesture-control system to provide touchless control of the blender. I waved my hand to turn on the blender, then twirled my finger to dial the speed up and down.

When I pulled my Kitchenaid pasta rollers out of the box, I noticed that one roller wobbled as it turned. The wobble was a good quarter inch---totally unacceptable for any sort of rolling. I decided to take apart the rollers to see if I could fix them. I made a little progress but was unable to take off this plate; on the other end, the thickness knob had no set screw and seemed to be tightly fitted. Even if I had been able to take it apart, getting it back together would have been difficult---those tabs are the main supports of the roller box. I have owned these rollers for many years but have used them only infrequently, perhaps a dozen times over the past many years. I am disappointed that they haven't given me more use. I am not completely surprised that their demise came so soon. Just another reason to go back to hand methods.

Restaurant Depot is located in the Westside industrial district. I have driven by many times and finally decided to visit. Its stock turns out to be an interesting combination of equipment and food. These cans of tomato paste are a prime example---compare them to those teeny-weeny cans in your supermarket. If you are an equipment lover, you will pass by a tempting array of eqiupment choices on your way out, a supersized version of the candy/magazines display at your supermarket check out. This industrial version includes a 10 gallon Hobart mixer and a cotton candy machine the size of a washtub.

Lodge seems to be updating all of its factory stores. I visited their new location in Commerce GA, the northeast Georgia outlet district. They had a very nice selection of items and a large factory seconds selection.