Details: Be glad that it’s summertime. More than ever, ice cream has become a field of American innovation. — Jeff Gordinier
The Chuck Cowdery Blog: When and where was that bottle of Old Fitzgerald bourbon bottled? — Robert Simonson
The Washington Post: Yes, the government maintains a national raisin reserve. Objectors call it a cartel. — Julia Moskin
Eater: New York City Council members propose legislation that restaurant owners will welcome. It would reduce health fines by 15 percent and change the reporting of violation data. Christine Quinn, the Council speaker, said, “We’re taking steps to ensure that the restaurant inspection process is fair.” — Maria Newman
The Economist: A hot topic in the French Parliament is a consumer-rights bill that would force restaurants to label dishes that they prepare from fresh ingredients in their own kitchens (“fait maison,” or homemade), instead of merely ripping open packets and heating up the contents. Almost a third of restaurants do so, many claiming on their menus that their offerings are “façon grandmère,” or like grandma used to make. – Glenn Collins
LA Weekly: According to Besha Rodell, vegans should eat oysters … — Jeff Gordinier
YouTube: … And “Oysters,” this poem by Seamus Heaney, might be enough to persuade anyone. — Jeff Gordinier
The Wall Street Journal: As Congress continues to eye farm-bill cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the use of this food-stamp program grew 2.8 percent in April, so that nearly one in six Americans receives such benefits, despite the increasingly positive economy. – Glenn Collins
The New York Times: The owner of a Brooklyn tortilla factory where a worker died in 2011 after falling into a mixing machine gets a jail sentence after he admits to failing to pay his workers adequate wages and to obtain workers’ compensation insurance for them. –Maria Newman
Food & Wine: Recipes for Ramadan. — Jeff Gordinier
The Huffington Post: KFC is threatening to sue a Bangkok restaurateur for appropriating a KFC-ish logo in the signage for his – really — Hitler Fried Chicken shop, depicting a bow-tied Hitler in an apron. – Glenn Collins
The Guardian: Butter is back in vogue; margarine sales are plummeting. Will anyone stand up to defend the lesser spread? — Jeff Gordinier