Why We Don't Mind Shelling Out for Fancy Foods; Vegas More Expensive Than New York for Diners

Economist and Brooklynite Eduardo Porter explains why New Yorkers are willing to pay for certain things -- like fancy coffee and hundred-dollar meals -- but not others in his new book, The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do.
[NY Post]

Josh Ozersky manages to go all this time as a food writer without understanding hummus or being inclined to eat any Middle Eastern food.
[Time]

Jay-Z has invested in the fast-food restaurant Buffalo Boss, which is co-owned by his cousin Jamar White.
[Sify]

Starbucks, Subway, and McDonald's were listed among the most "social" restaurants -- as in, biggest users of social media networking tools.
[Nation's Restaurant News]

The Parks Department has issued a Request for Proposal for "high-quality, specialty mobile food units" (read: gourmet food trucks) to be installed in city parks.
[NY Post]

Zagat's latest survey results reveal that Las Vegas is the country's most expensive restaurant city, with the average cost of a meal higher than in New York and San Francisco.
[PR Newswire]

Chef Vinny Lauria of 208 Duecento Otto in Hong Kong is trying to achieve certification from l'Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana for his pizzeria.
[Wall Street Journal]

India's food inflation has eased off, but the prices of vegetables, including the much-used onion, continued to soar.
[Wall Street Journal]

Jamie Oliver is having trouble with the latest season of Food Revolution: The Los Angeles Unified School District has prohibited him from using school cafeterias in the show.
[LA Times]

More than 101,000 pounds of Breakfast Stackers Sausage, Egg & Cheese products have been recalled because they contain MSG, which is not declared on the label.
[2Tricities]

The unemployment rate might not be improving at the desired rate, but the food services industry is doing OK. It added 25,000 jobs last month.
[USA Today]

Ever wondered how to tip in every major country? In Canada, it's 15 percent. In Greece, it's just 5 to 10.
[Business Insider]

Have a restaurant tip or other food-related news? Send it to fork@villagevoice.com.