Cannibals Everywhere

What a week for Cannibals.

Every now and then we share with you the latest cannibal events, but this week there are three stories, and honestly, it's the same old song and dance with these people.

You already know about the one in Miami and now there are two more.

Instead of the horrid details, above you can see the two newest cannibals.
You fill in the blanks.

Bloomberg and his soda ban

The Mayor of New York is at it again.

Yet another proposed ban would affect virtually the entire menu of sugary drinks sold in delis, fast-food places and even sports arenas.

This covers everything from energy drinks to pre-sweetened iced teas. The sale of any cup or bottle of sweetened drink larger than 16 fluid ounces — about the size of a medium coffee, and smaller than a common soda bottle — would be prohibited under this plan, which could take effect as soon as next March.

The measure would not apply to diet sodas, fruit juices, dairy-based drinks like milkshakes, or alcoholic beverages; it would not extend to beverages sold in grocery or convenience stores either.

Mayor  “Bloomberg said, I think that’s what the public wants the mayor to do.”

The New York City Beverage Association criticized the city’s proposal saying, “The New York City health department’s unhealthy obsession with attacking soft drinks is again pushing them over the top, It’s time for serious health professionals to move on and seek solutions that are going to actually curb obesity. These zealous proposals just distract from the hard work that needs to be done on this front.”

Mr. Bloomberg has made his vision of public health one of the top priorities of his tenure, and has proposed a bunch of aggressive regulations, including bans on smoking in restaurants and parks, a prohibition against artificial trans fat in restaurant food and a requirement for health inspection grades to be posted in restaurant windows.

The ban would not apply to drinks with fewer than 25 calories per 8-ounce serving, like zero-calorie Vitamin Waters and unsweetened iced teas, as well as diet sodas.

Restaurants, delis, movie theater and ballpark concessions would be affected, because they are regulated by the health department. Carts on sidewalks and in Central Park would also be included, but not vending machines or newsstands.

At fast-food chains, where sodas are often dispersed at self-serve fountains, restaurants would be required to hand out cup sizes of 16 ounces or less, regardless of whether a customer opts for a diet drink. But free refills — and additional drink purchases — would be allowed.

Corner stores and bodegas would be affected if they are defined by the city as “food service establishments.” Those stores can most easily be identified by the health department letter grades they are required to display in their windows.

The mayor, who said he occasionally drank a diet soda “on a hot day,” argued against the idea that the plan would limit consumers’ choices, saying the option to buy more soda would always be available.

“Your argument, I guess, could be that it’s a little less convenient to have to carry two 16-ounce drinks to your seat in the movie theater rather than one 32 ounce,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a sarcastic tone. “I don’t think you can make the case that we’re taking things away.”

He also said he foresaw no adverse effect on local businesses, and he suggested that restaurants could simply charge more for smaller drinks if their sales were to drop.

In London, Supersize drinks should be banned from cinemas, restaurants and sports grounds in London to curb obesity, health experts say.

Anti-obesity campaigner Tam Fry told Mayor Boris Johnson to copy New York, banning the 16oz limit on the sale of sugary drinks.

This ban would apply to restaurants, cinemas and sports stadiums, and includes Coca-Cola, Pepsi and some iced-coffee drinks sold in Starbucks. Starbucks’s largest iced coffee in the UK is the Venti, which is 20oz. The equivalent is 22oz in the US, where the largest offering is the 31oz.

But all is well, Bloomberg is still supporting ‘National Donut Day’ tomorrow.

The World's Most Expensive Burger $295.00

New York City restaurant Serendipity 3 has the world’s most expensive hamburger, and now it's in the Guinness World Records.

Called ‘Le Burger Extravagant’, the burger costs US$295—and is made from “a mix of Japanese Wagyu beef infused with 10-herb white truffle butter, seasoned with Salish Alderwood smoked Pacific sea salt,” topped with cheddar cheese by famous England cheesemaker James Motgomery, black truffles and a fried quail egg; and “served on a gold-dusted campagna roll spread with white truffle butter”; and topped with blini, crème fraiche and Kaluga caviar.

The burger also comes with a solid gold “Fleur de Lis” toothpick encrusted with diamonds and designed by world-renowned jeweller Euphoria New York.

The burger can be pre-ordered with a 48-hour notice; profits would be donated to the non-profit organization, The Bowery Mission, that feeds and assists homeless in New York. 

JAPANESE CHEF COOKS UP HIS OWN GENITALIA

22-year-old Mao Sugiyama (above photo) a chef in Tokyo,  had his entire genitalia surgically removed . . . then held a BANQUET where he cooked and served his own genitalia (see the photos below) as a gourmet meal.

The cost of the dinner was $250.  Six people actually took him up on the offer, and five actually showed up.  And yes, they ate his frank and beans, as it were. 

Since there’s no law against CANNIBALISM in Japan, it was on with the show, and the dinner was allowed.

As for us? We find chef Mao Sugiyama's meal selection hard to swallow.

Anthony Bourdain is leaving Travel Channel for CNN

Anthony Bourdain will get his own program on CNN in early 2013. 

As most of you know, No Reservations is in its eighth season on theTravel Channel, but that journey will soon be over.

His untitled CNN program will air Sunday evenings and repeat on Saturdays. It will follow a similar format to No Reservations, but with the support and apparatus of an international news organization behind him, Bourdain will be able to visit even many more global locations.

The CNN deal, which officially kicks off this fall when production on the first season of eight episodes begins, also Bourdain's blog also will move to the CNN web site.

His CNN show will be produced by Zero Point Zero Production, which also produced Travel’s No Reservations with the goal is to do two seasons of eight episodes each year. 

Police shoot, kill naked man who was EATING A MAN'S FACE

One man has been shot to death by Miami police, and another man is fighting for his life after he was attacked, and his face half eaten, by the naked man.

Police say a road ranger saw a naked man chewing on another man’s face and shouted on his loud speaker for him to back away.

Meanwhile, a woman also saw the incident and flagged down a police officer who was in the area.

The officer, approached and, seeing what was happening, also ordered the naked man to back away. When he continued his meal, the officer shot him.

The attacker failed to stop chewing even after being shot, forcing the officer to continue firing. Witnesses said they heard at least a half dozen shots.

The naked hungry man was killed and as you can see in the photo, laying face down on the pedestrian walkway.

The other man was transported to the hospital with critical injuries.

Police theorize the attacker might have been suffering from "cocaine psychosis," the cocaine  drug-induced craze bakes the body internally and often leads the affected to strip naked to try and cool off. (and eat, just like zombies do)

She punches, pepper spays and spits

Meet Lonneshia Shafaye Appling.

This 340 pound woman, 26, was downright hungry, so much so she did everything in her power to shoplift beer, bacon, cheese, and chicken wings.

She made her attempt at a Piggly Wiggly, where she punched, spit at, and pepper-sprayed store workers who confronted her as she tried to flee the supermarket Wednesday afternoon.

Apparently she had $88.27 worth of stolen goods in a canvas bag. She “attempted to check out, only putting one item on the counter."

When a Piggly Wiggly employee--who had been informed of the shoplifting asked Appling about the concealed items, she tried to exit the store. After the employee tried to stop Appling, she “pulled out some pepper spray and sprayed him in the face.”

Appling kept spraying as several workers tried to keep her from fleeing. The heavyweight Appling also allegedly punched Orr in the face and spit on the 28-year-old employee. As she successfully exited from the store, Appling “was dropping beer cans out of her purse.”

Responding to a 911 call, a cop reported spotting “a very large black female in a purple dress standing there screaming at two store employees” who followed her outside the Piggly Wiggly, which was filled with a choking cloud of pepper spray. Police then arrested Appling, whose rap sheet includes several prior shoplifting convictions and outstanding arrest warrants in three Georgia counties.

Cops prepared an inventory of the items Appling sought to steal and consume: five packages of cheese; eight cans of Coors Light; vegetable oil; chicken wings; and five packages of bacon. 

While in police custody, Appling told a cop to add whatever charges he wanted “because she was going to plea bargain and half of the charges would be dropped anyway.” 

The unemployed--and now jailed Appling “also commented that store personnel shouldn’t chase people like that because they could get themselves hurt.” 

You Are Being Watched

There is this new app called SceneTap which scans the faces of customers to determine age and gender.

The new smartphone app SceneTap also employs facial-detection software and cameras placed in bars and nightclubs to reveal the age and gender makeup of an establishment.

So, if you plan an night on the town you can check your app and see if this is your kind of crowd.

The issue is however, customers being scanned by cameras don't always know that they're being monitored. Some privacy advocates call it "creepy," saying it's an invasion of privacy.

How does the app work?

The people behind SceneTap have installed cameras in bars in San Francisco; Austin, Texas; Athens, Ga.; Bloomington, Ind.; Chicago; Gainesville, Fla.; and Madison, Wis. The cameras use facial-detection software, which unlike facial-recognition software, only picks up on basic data about people and can't specifically identify faces. SceneTap uses this information to come up with a rundown of ages and sexes, so the app can give users real-time updates on which nightspots are full of women, or men, and how old or young the crowd is.

While we were discussing SceneTap we remembered that science fiction writer Elizabeth Moon believes that everyone should be given a barcode at birth.

“If I were empress of the Universe I would insist on every individual having a unique ID permanently attached - a barcode if you will; an implanted chip to provide an easy, fast inexpensive way to identify individuals."

"It would be imprinted on everyone at birth. Point the scanner at someone and there it is."

"This could prevent mistakes in identity..."

"Anonymity would be impossible as would mistaken identity making it easier to place responsibility accurately..."

In the novel 1984 George Orwell describes that everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities. The people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase "Big Brother is watching you."

Man Arrested for OWI with Zebra, Parrot in front seat of his truck

(The zebra and parrot and the wife)

Did you hear the one about a man, a zebra, and a parrot walking into a bar?

Yeah, it sounds like a joke but a man from Iowa was arrested outside of a Dubuque bar with his pet zebra and a macaw parrot in the front seat of his truck. 

Officers charged Jerald Reiter, 55, (photo above! YIKES) with OWI. (operating while intoxicated)
Police officers stopped him in the parking lot of the Dog House Lounge as he drove away in his truck. Sobriety tests showed Reiter had a blood alcohol level of .14. The legal limit in Iowa is .08. 

Reiter says that he and his girlfriend, Vickey Teters, see the animals like their kids and often take them for rides. On Sunday night, they say they took the zebra and the macaw to the bar because it often lets people bring their animals inside. 

Reiter says the owner told him they were serving food that night and he couldn’t bring a zebra inside the bar. Bar owners claim that no animals are ever allowed inside the establishment. 

At that time he went outside to put the animals in his truck and several people were in the parking lot taking pictures. He believes one of those people called police. 

Reiter disputes the charges and says he realized he was too drunk to drive and was about to let the zebra take the wheel when he was arrested. (just kidding)

 

Really, what's going on at Diamond Pet Foods?

And so it continues.  Diamond pet foods just can't get it right.

This time the Diamond issues involves cat food.

This food was manufactured in the Gaston, SC facility between December 9, 2011 and April 7, 2012.  Salmonella contamination is the cause...again.

The Calgary Herald in Alberta, Canada divulged last Friday that 2 cats in a Montreal animal shelter have died due to the Diamond cat food recall and 1 more is very ill.  

Another recall was also announced last Friday which affected certain sizes of Diamond naturals lamb and rice dog food which was manufactured on August 26, 2011. 

The FDA began an investigation on April 12, 2012 and after investigating the Gaston location, discovered numerous violations.  Some of the violations include factory workers not covering hands when handling equipment; factory uses damaged equipment making cleaning of tools challenging.  There also were not enough hand washing stations throughout the plant.

Even after the FDA results, Diamond didn't issue a recall until a week after the FDA inspections. 

Diamond isn't returning calls these days, but the best way to find out if you have any of the recalled foods is to check the 'best by' dates and codes.  

Affected brands manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods are:

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul

Country Value

Diamond

Diamond Naturals

Premium Edge

Professional

4 Health

Taste of the Wild

Apex

Kirkland Signature/Kirkland's Signature Nature's Domain

Brands manufactured at the Gaston facility that have issued separate recalls are:

Natural Balance

Solid Gold

Wellness

The Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Challenge

With Halloween not far away, HALF MOON BAY organizers (California pumpkin weigh-off championship) said a $25,000 prize will go to the person who grows the world's first 1-ton pumpkin.

The winning pumpkin at the Half Moon Bay, Calif., competition must break the 2,000-pound threshold and be the heaviest pumpkin weighed in at the October 8 weigh in.

The world record for heaviest-recorded pumpkin is 1,818.5 pounds, grown by Jim and Kelsey Bryson, of Wellington, Ontario.

(photo above)

"It's only a matter of time before someone grows the first one-ton pumpkin, and it would be incredibly exciting to have that monumental landmark established right here," said Cameron Palmer, chairman of Half Moon Bay's Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off. "With Half Moon Bay's proud tradition and legacy, it would not only be fitting but also a tremendous honor for our weigh-off."

The Bacon Turtle Cheese Burger

Alright, let's get to the ingredients before we do anything else:

Ingredients:

4 oz. Ground beef (or more if you wish)

1 pack of Hot Dogs

1 package of Bacon (at least ten strips)

Any cheese of your choice

1 egg white

Spices (salt, pepper, garlic salt, Worchestire sauce)

We also add grilled onions when we make ours.

The Bacon Turtle Cheese Burger is a delicious gluttonous feast. The Bacon Turtle Burger is something that combines hotdogs, ground beef, bacon and cheese all in one.

1. Start by weaving the bacon just like a basket. Cut some of the fat off the outside of the bacon if you need to in order to make it straight. Make it into a square. (5X5 strips of bacon usually work.)

2. Mix the ground meat, spices and egg white together in a bowl. (The egg whites are used to help hold things together.)

3. Make a thin, flat ground meat patty with part of the meat.

4. Place the meat on the center of the bacon weave.

5. Place some cheese slices on the center of the patty. Make sure there is a “crust” of burger meat around the cheese.

6. Place another thinly formed meat patty on top of the cheese and form it into one meat patty. (Form the edges of the meat together- causing the meat patty to be “filled” with the cheese.)

7. Fold the bacon weave over it.

8. Take out three hotdogs. Make 2 cuts on both ends of two of the hot dogs (acting as the “feet”.) Cut the two hot dogs directly in half. Now you have the feet.

9. With the other hot dog, cut it in half, and on one end, cut the hot dog into a point to act as the tail. The other end will be the head.

10. Make holes in the bacon weave, (one each for the head, tail, and four legs), poke hot dogs into the body- embedding them into the meat by about 1/2 and inch to 1 inch.

11. Use extra bacon to cover the gap and bring stray ends of bacon into the weave.

12. Use a spatula to get it onto the pan.

13. Put toothpicks (that have been soaking in water) into the body to secure the hot dogs and keep the bacon ends secure.

14. Cook the Bacon Turtle at 400 degrees (depending upon oven)

*Cooking time will vary so check the turtle to see how well done you want your burger to be. For less cooked, make sure it’s still juicy. If juices aren’t flowing, your turtle will be well done.

Now all you have to do is enjoy.

In Thailand, roasted fetuses found in luggage - again

Here's something you don't hear about everyday...

A British citizen in Bangkok has been arrested after Thai police found six roasted human fetuses (above photo) tucked away in his luggage.

Chow Hok Kuen (above photo) who is 28 and of Taiwanese origin, was held by police after the discovery was made in Bangkok's Chinatown district.

The six fetuses had been covered in gold leaf after being roasted as part of a black magic ritual.

It is not clear where the bodies came from but Mr. Chow is believed to have been attempting to smuggle them into Taiwan.

The bodies were reportedly found in a different hotel from the one Chow Hok Kuen was staying at, but were in his luggage. 

Police made the arrest after receiving information saying that infant corpses were being offered to wealthy clients through a black magic services website.

"The bodies are of children between the ages of two and seven months. Some were found covered in gold leaf," Wiwat Kumchumnan, sub-division chief of the police's Children and Women Protection unit, said.

For being in possession of the foetuses Chow Hok Kuen could now face a 2,000 baht fine and a year in prison.

It is believed the corpses were bought from a Taiwanese national for 200,000 baht ($6,400) but street value could be six times that amount in Taiwan.

We say again because back in January customs agents at Miami International Airport discovered a pair of human fetuses in the luggage of two women returning home from Cuba.

One fetus was found when a sealed jar carried by the women was X-rayed; the second was discovered when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents opened the jar.

Why do we tell you these stories?

Well, while federal food safety officials say their agency has never gotten any reports of fetuses being used in food production, state Sen. Ralph Shortey, Oklahoma lawmaker has introduced a bill banning the use of human fetuses in food.

The bill reads: "No person or entity shall manufacture or knowingly sell food or any other product intended for human consumption which contains aborted human fetuses in the ingredients or which used aborted human fetuses in the research or development of any of the ingredients."

Hmm? Just some food for thought.

 

School fined for accidentally selling soda

A Utah high school is being punished by the government.

Davis High School in the Salt Lake City area is having to pay over a whopping $15,000 in fines to the Feds because it accidentally sold soda through a vending machine during lunch.

Federal law requires the school to turn off its soda machines during the lunch period, which is 47 minutes a day. Davis High school did turn off the machines in the lunch room, however, the school didn‘t realize that there was another machine in the school bookstore that wasn’t being turned off, that's when the food police realized it and the school was hit with a $0.75 fine per student for the duration of the offense.

As a result, the school is going to cut money to fine arts programs to make up the cost.

Does Sugar Make Us Stupid?

Eating too much sugar can kill your brain, that's according to US scientists who say a steady diet of high-fructose corn syrup destroys lab rats' memories.

Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) fed two groups of rats a solution containing high-fructose corn syrup as drinking water for six weeks.

One group of rats was supplemented with brain-boosting omega-3 fatty acids in the form of flaxseed oil and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), while the other group was not.

Before the sugar drinks began to flow, the rats ran a five-day training session in a complicated maze. After six weeks on the solution, the rats were then placed back in the maze to see how they did.

"The DHA-deprived animals were slower, and their brains showed a decline in synaptic activity," said Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

"Their brain cells had trouble signaling each other, disrupting the rats' ability to think clearly and recall the route they'd learned six weeks earlier."

Without boring you with all the details, the bottom line was, eating too much fructose may interfere with insulin's ability to regulate how cells use and store sugar, which is necessary for processing thoughts and emotions.

"Our study shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new."

High-fructose corn syrup is commonly found in soda, condiments, applesauce, baby food and other processed snacks.

Of course, the study did not say what the equivalent might be for a human to consume as much high-fructose corn syrup as the rats did, but this might explain why we had such a difficult time getting through the corn maze last fall...

Oregon norovirus traced to reusable grocery bag

There is an outbreak of norovirus and it's traced to a reusable grocery bag that members of a Beaverton girls' soccer team passed around when they shared cookies.

The soccer team of 13- and 14-year-olds traveled to Seattle for a weekend tournament way back in October 2010.

At the tournament, one girl got sick and  spent six hours in a chaperone's bathroom. Symptoms of the bug, often thought of as the "stomach flu," include vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps. 

The next day, team members had lunch in a hotel room, passing around the bag and eating cookies. 

And then, the next day after that, six girls got sick.

Oregon scientists say they had picked up the norovirus from the grocery bag.

Tests turned up the virus on the sides of the bag below the polypropylene handle.

 

The germ can spread quickly in places like day care centers, nursing homes, and cruise ships, and reusable shopping bags

Usually, it's transmitted by direct human contact, but can contaminate surfaces. Leafy greens, fresh fruits and shellfish are commonly involved in these outbreaks.

An epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the norovirus is very difficult to control, and the best way to fight off the virus is thorough hand-washing and cleaning contaminated surfaces with a bleach-based solution.

The article by Benjamin Radford looked at reusable grocery bags in California and Arizona. They picked the bags from patrons as they entered the stores. Public unawareness of cross contamination was found to be almost universal. It is estimated that there are about 76,000,000 cases of food borne illness in the United States every year! And most are from improper handling or cooking of food.

Their conclusions and recommendations are as follows:

Consumers almost never wash reusable bags (97% do not!)

Requiring printed instructions on reusable bags that they be washed between uses or the need to separate raw foods from other food products. 

Hand or machine washing reduced the numbers of bacteria in reusable bags by 99.9%

A potential significant risk of bacterial cross contamination exists from using reusable bags to carry groceries

Bacteria were capable of growth when stored in the trunks of cars.

Large numbers of bacteria were found in every reusable bag, but none in new bags or plastic bags.

Coliform bacteria including E. coli were found in half of the bags tested.

The King of Pop

Pepsi has decided to resurrect Michael Jackson for the 25th anniversary of the album "Bad,"

in hopes to boost sales.

Don't misunderstand, we love Pepsi, but really, is using a dead Michael the best idea the Pepsi people could come up with?

Anyway, Jackson will be dancing and marketing for Pepsi at a store near you very soon.

These cans will hit shelves in China first and are set to appear in the US sometime this month.

In the U.S. market, Pepsi will have a special edition can featuring Jackson. The can will come with a bar code that can be scanned to download remixed songs from the "Bad" album.

Yes, the "King of Pop" has returned, but does anyone really care?

Salmonella in dog food sickens 14 people

Fourteen people in at least nine states have becomes ill by salmonella after handling contaminated dog food from a South Carolina plant that just a few years ago produced food tainted by toxic mold that killed dozens of dogs.

At least five people were hospitalized because of the dog food, which was made (yet again) by Diamond Pet Foods at its plant in Gaston, S.C., the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. No pets were sickened.

"People who became ill, the thing that was common among them was that they had fed their pets Diamond Pet Foods," said CDC spokeswoman.

Three people each were infected in Missouri and North Carolina; two people in Ohio; and one person each in Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia, the CDC said.

"Our folks are really wanting people to be aware of it. They want to be aware that this is causing people to get sick because they may have product in their homes. For every one that is reported, there may be 29 others," the spokesperson said.

People can get salmonella by handling infected dog food, then not washing their hands before eating or handling their own food, health officials said.

The South Carolina plant temporarily was shut down April 8. 

Diamond Pet Foods has issued four rounds of recalls for food made at the plant, located outside of Columbia, S.C., between Dec. 9 and April 7. 

"We took corrective actions at the plant, and today the plant is up and running. Our mission is to produce safe pet foods for our customers and their pets in all Diamond facilities," the company said in a written statement.

In 2005, a toxic mold called aflatoxin ended up in food made at the same Diamond Pet Foods plant in South Carolina and dozens of dogs died. The company offered a $3.1 million settlement. The Food and Drug Administration determined the deadly fungus likely got into the plant when it failed to test 12 shipments of corn.

Agriculture officials in Michigan found the strain of salmonella during routine testing of dog food on April 2 and health investigators noticed there was a possible link to the food made by Diamond Pet Foods. 

The recall covers pet food brands made at the Gaston plant, including Canidae, Natural Balance, Apex, Kirkland, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul, Country Value, Diamond, Diamond Naturals, Premium Edge, Professional, 4Health and Taste of the Wild.

Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition

Just what is Cinco de Mayo?

Well, here's what most Americans know: it's a celebration of all things Mexican, Mexican music, salsa, chips, sombreros and beer.

And one thing Cinco de Mayo is not,  Mexico's Independence Day, that's on September 16th.

It's hardly celebrated in Mexico, except in the state of Puebla, where there was a short-lived 1862 military victory over the French.

In Texas ballet folklorico dancers will be dancing and New York City will close parts of Spanish Harlem and Queens for Mexican street fairs.

Cinco de Mayo is more about Coronas, Dos Equis XX and tequila than history, but that's okay.

Even though Cinco de Mayo commemorates the 1862 battle between the Mexican soldiers and the French forces, beer companies have taken over.

The story of Cinco de Mayo may be lost to advertisers who sell a lot of beer, (Cinco de Mayo is now the second largest beer consuming day of the year just behind St. Patrick's Day) it is nevertheless a celebration.

And so with heavy marketing campaigns promoting the Cinco de Mayo, which includes dancing, eating and especially drinking, people embrace this holiday, even though they have no idea what it's about.

But who cares as long as the beer keeps flowing.

Noma voted World's Best Restaurant

 

Noma, in Copenhagen (photo above) where chef Rene Redzepi prepares Nordic dishes such as poached sea urchin and powdered cucumber, was named the World's Best Restaurant for the third straight year.

The Fat Duck, which came first in 2005, slid down to 13th from fifth last year. It was overtaken by the chef's new venue, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, came in ninth. 

"There is no doubt the World's 50 Best Restaurants has changed the history of gastronomy," El Bulli's chef, Ferran Adria, said in a message to the organizers. "Today, it is the most important event in world cuisine." (El Bulli won the best restaurant title five times before closing last year.)

Surprisingly, there were no French restaurants in the top 10.

Here's the list of 'The World's 50 Best Restaurants.'

1.    Noma,  Copenhagen, Denmark  - no change

2.    El Celler de Can Roca, Girona – Spain -  no change

3.    Mugaritz, San Sebastian – Spain – no change

4.    D.O.M – Soa Paolo, Brazil – up three spots 

5.    Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy -  down one spot

6.    Per Se, New York, USA – up four spots

7.    Alinea, Chicago, USA – down one spot

8.    Arzak, San Sebastian , Spain – no change

9.    Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London, England – new entry

10.    Eleven Madison Park, New York, USA – up 14 spots

11.    Steirereck, Vienna, Austria – up 11 spots

12.    L'Atelier Saint-Germain de Joel Robuchon, Paris, France – up 11 spots

13.    The Fat Duck, Bray, England – down eight spots 

14.    The Ledbury, London, England – up 20 spots

15.    Le Chateaubriand, Paris, France – down six spots

16.    L’Arpege, Paris, France – up three spots

17.    Pierre Gagnaire, Paris, France – down one spot

18.    L’Astrance, Paris, France – down five spots

19.    Le Bernardin, New York, USA – down one spot

20.    Frantzen/Lindeberg, Stockhold, Sweden – new entry

21.    Oud Sluis, Sluis, Netherlands – down four spots

22.    Aqua, Wolfsburg, Germany – up three spots

23.    Vendome, Bergich Gladbach, Germany  - down two spots

24.    Mirazur, Menton, France – re-entry from 2009, was at 35

25.    Daniel, New York, USA – down 14 spots 

26.    Iggy’s, Singapore – up one spot

27.    Narisawa, Tokya, Japan – down 15 spots

28.    Nihonryori RyuGin, Tokyo Japan, down eight spots

29.    Quay, Sydney, Australia – down three spots

30.    Schloss Schauenstein, Furstenau, Switzerland – down two spots

31.    Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo, Spain – up 19 spots

32.    Le Calandre, Rubano, Italy – no change

33.    De Librige, Zwolle, Netherlands – up 13 spots

34.    Faviken, Jarpen, Sweden – new entry

35.    Astrid y Gaston, Lima Peru – up seven spots

36.    Pujol, Mexico City, Mexico – up 13 spots

37.    Momofuku Ssam Bar, New York, USA – up three spots

38.    Biko, Mexico City, Mexico – down seven spots

39.    Waku Ghin, Singapore – new entry

40.    Quique Dacosta, Denia, Spain – new entry

41.    Mathias Dahlgren, Stockholm, Sweden – re-entry from 2009, was at 50

42.    Hof van Cleve, Kruishoutem, Belgium – down 27 spots

43.    The French Laundry, Yountville, USA – re-entry 2010, was at 32

44.    Amber, Hong Kong, China – down seven spots

45.    Vila Joya, Albuferia, Portugal – new entry

46.    Il Canto, Siena, Italy – down seven spots

47.    Bras, Languiole, France – down 17 spots

48.    Manresa, Los Gatos, USA – re-entry 2006, was at 38

49.    Geranium, Copenhagen, Denmark – new entry 

50.    Nahm, Bangkok, Thailand – new entry