From Hotel Chatter:

Real Simple magazine recently released a travel issue, which turned out to be mostly pages and pages of lists. Some of these lists were routine, but we liked this one: “Off-the-wall Minibar Amenities.” Kudos to these hotels for creativity.

Harmonica (Hotel Allegro, Chicago)
Moon Pies (Westin Buckhead, Atlanta)
Licorice whips (the Standard, Los Angeles)
Gourmet dog biscuits (the Loews, Denver)
Rubber ducks (Triton, San Francisco)
Oxygen dispenser (Westin, New York City)

Here’s an interesting idea: British restaurant Fat Duck is enhancing the taste of its Sound of the Sea dish (”seafood and edible seaweed served on a sand-like tapioca mixture”) by having diners listen to the sounds of breaking waves while they eat.

“I did a series of tests with Charles Spence at Oxford University three years ago, which revealed that sound can really enhance the sense of taste,” Blumenthal told Square Meal magazine…”We ate an oyster while listening to the sea and it tasted stronger and saltier than when we ate it while listening to barnyard noises, for example.”

OK then, anyone up for sound-enhancements for their next banquet? I can see breaking waves for seafood, but it’s hard to imagine listening to barnyard noises would make beef or chicken taste any better…