Sampler Platter: Baja Fresh to franchise Calbi BBQ truck, 1,500-calorie Craz-E Burger, world's largest cupcake

Angry dairy farmers dousing police officers in milk, a franchised nouveau food truck and fake restaurant receipts top today's food news roundup.

-- Baja Fresh has acquired the Calbi BBQ truck and will franchise the concept. Nation's Restaurant News
-- Fresh & Easy is expected to end the year with a loss. Fast Food Maven
-- 1,316-pound Guinness World Record cupcake is unveiled at a breast cancer benefit. Breitbart
-- Farmers spray police officers with milk -- from live cows! -- at a protest against falling milk prices in Brussels. New York Times
-- Need to generate a fake restaurant receipt for your expense report? Expense-a-Steak will do it for you. Wall Street Journal
-- Meet the 1,500-calorie Craz-E Burger: beef patty, bacon and cheese on a Krispy Kreme doughnut. New York Daily News
-- Although banning fast-food eateries probably won't reduce obesity rates, some people love the soda tax idea. Los Angeles Times
-- Can an anthropomorphized pickle with skinny legs, high-top sneakers and a baseball cap make frozen pickle-juice popsicles seem cool? Bob's Pickle Pops
-- Can a 20-minute Web-only "rock opera" featuring the exploits of fake rocker White Gold get people to drink milk? Los Angeles Times
-- Six tips to get you the most out of dineLA 's Restaurant Week. LAist
-- The Obamas spend their 17th wedding anniversary at Blue Duck Tavern. Positively Barack

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: A farmer sprays riot police with milk from a cow's udder during a demonstration in front of European Union headquarters in Brussels. Dairy farmers drove hundreds of tractors into the center of Belgium's capital on Monday in the hope of pushing farm ministers into backing more funds to help them survive the milk price crisis. Credit: Yves Logghe / Associated Press

Michelle Obama brings home the kale, eggs, peppers and more from farmers market

I don't know many people who go to farmers markets if what they crave is a celebrity spotting. Unless the celebrity is a chef, or the market is in Hollywood.

But at the market near the White House, shoppers got to see Michelle Obama on Thursday, the market's opening day. A major figure and fresh tomatoes. Not bad.

According to a pool press report, several hundred people gathered at the market, which is run by FreshFarm Markets. Co-director Ann Yonkers said 18 farmers and producers would sell products at the newest outpost, at a corner of Lafayette Park.

Obama has been promoting healthy eating, in public statements and with a garden at the White House, where a group of elementary school students have worked.

According to the pool report, Obama was greeted by wild cheers when she said,"I have to say, I have never seen so many people so excited about fruits and vegetables. This is a very, very good thing, and it's raining outside and everybody's pumped up."

Obama also did some shopping -- black kale, eggs, cherry tomatoes, peppers, pears, fingerling potatoes, cheese and chocolate milk, according to the White House.

Other speakers included U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who noted that there are more than 4,700 farmers markets in the country, and Washington Mayor Adrian M. Fenty.

The new FreshFarm Markets will be open Thursdays through October, from 3 to 7 p.m. The nonprofit organization operates eight other markets in Washington and Maryland.

-- Mary MacVean

Photo: First Lady Michelle Obama at the farmers market near the White House. Credit: Associated Press

It's time for lunch -- school lunch, that is

Thirty million children eat school lunch every day. A pretty big captive audience, and plenty of healthy-food advocates want to see some changes in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program.

So what do food people do when they want to make a statement? They do it with food, naturally. Slow Food USA has organized "Time for Lunch," a campaign to draw attention to school food. Around the country, almost 270 pot luck "eat-ins" are planned on Sept. 7, in schools, community gardens, parks, homes and other spots. One goal is to get 20,000 people to sign a petition to the federal government asking for changes in the school food programs.

“We want to tell the story of America coming together to demand food that’s good for their kids,” said Slow Food’s president, Josh Viertel.

For Viertel and others, that means more fresh fruits and vegetables and more federal money for schools to buy food -- many child nutrition advocates would like to see $1 a day per child more -- reimbursements are now less than $3 for each free lunch a cafeteria serves.

One of the Los Angeles events will be at 4 p.m. at Fancifull Fine Food and Baskets, on Melrose Avenue near Larchmont. Computers will be available for people to sign the Slow Food petition, and there will be cooking demonstrations for children by Homegirl Cafe. People are asked to bring a dish to share.

Other eat-ins are planned in Elysian Park, Culver City, Highland Park and elsewhere around L.A.

Many educators now see the cafeteria as a part of a child’s learning, and food services officials are listening to students’ opinions about food they’re served, said Matt Sharp of California Food Policy Advocates. And decision-makers are tying what kids eat at school to their long-term health and to the costs of treating conditions associated with obesity, including high blood pressure and diabetes.

Obama moves to make food safer

With scares over contamination of cookie dough, peanut butter, peppers and more still fresh in consumers' minds, the Obama administration has announced a plan to keep people safer from salmonella in eggs. The Times' Noam Levey answers some questions about the plan.

For one thing, most egg producers will have to test their poultry houses regularly. And eggs will need to be refrigerated soon after they are laid.

Vice President Joe Biden says these are just the first of many steps that will be taken.

-- Mary MacVean

Photo: Eric Boyd / Los Angeles Times

What does one wear to royal tea?

While jeans and T's might fly at Royal/T -- the cafe and art space in Culver City influenced by Tokyo's cosplay where waitresses are known for their French maid attire -- royal tea with the Queen of England might require a nicer dress code -- but not too nice. You don't want to outshine Her Magesty.

As L.A. Times fashion critic Booth Moore pointed out, Michelle and Barack Obama visited Queen Elizabeth II today during their visit for the G-20 environmental summit. She adds:

"First Lady Michelle Obama arrived for tea at Buckingham Palace ... dressed conservatively in a black cardigan, [and a white and black Isabel Toledo dress] that appeared to have a tulle overlay. She was also wearing her trademark pearls, with her hair half-up, half-down. Because this was not an official state visit, the meeting with the queen was considered informal."

For more on Michelle Obama's fashions, check out the L.A. Times Image section's All the Rage blog.

-- Whitney Friedlander

Photo: President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, April 1, 2009. Credit: John Stillwell / Associated Press

Oh, no! The Kogi Korean BBQ taco truck gets cited in Beverly Hills

Talk about down and out in Beverly Hills: A tipster tells us that the Kogi Korean BBQ taco truck received a citation earlier today while parked in front of the MySpace headquarters in Beverly Hills. "Seeing the police 'take down' the Kogi truck was not cool!" he lamented. When I called Kogi's Caroline Shin she hadn't yet heard the news, but her husband, Mark Manguera, texted her while I was on the phone. "You work fast," she said.

"No, the Kogi universe works fast," I said. Two more tips came into my mailbox before Manguera called me with the details of his hectic day. While parked in front of MySpace (as it has done for the last month without problems), the Kogi truck was cited by police for lacking the appropriate operating permits for Beverly Hills. (All Kogi's food permits are in order.)

"You know how new we are," said Manguera. "We didn't know that we needed 50 million more permits here than anywhere else." Then he added, "You know, Obama is in Beverly Hills today, so there's a huge police presence." True enough.

After making a few good jokes about how Beverly Hills needs to be treated with "tender loving care," Manguera said he planned to file for the necessary permits immediately and be back in the city in the next 14 days, hopefully sooner. "We learn every time something like this happens," he said. "Without these kind of challenges, we wouldn't grow."

-- Jessica Gelt

Photo of Kogi's tacos by Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times

Praise for Obama's USDA deputy choice

Some sustainable and organic farming advocates are happy about the president's choice for the No. 2 spot at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kathleen Merrigan.

"This amounts to a major win for organic, sustainable and local food advocates, since Merrigan is not only well-versed in these issues but has been a tireless advocate for them," Samuel Fromartz wrote on his ChewsWise blog.

The Consumers Union also praised the choice. "We would expect her to be a strong defender of USDA’s organic standards, which have been under repeated attack for the last several years," said Jean Halloran, director of Food Policy Initiatives at the organization.

And on Civil Eats, Paula Crossfield wrote, "While our fight is far from finished, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that finally the interests of eaters everywhere will have a voice at the USDA."

Merrigan is now an assistant professor and director of the Agriculture, Food and Environment Program at Tufts University. She has been administrator of the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service and helped develop the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, which mandated national organic standards and a program of federal accreditation.

President Obama on Monday announced his intention to nominate Merrigan to be deputy secretary at the USDA.

-- Mary MacVean

Photo: Bill Coleman organizes produce at the farmers market in Santa Monica. Credit: Allen Schaben / Los Angeles Times

Calls for improvements in food safety

Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports magazine, is happy to hear President Obama's call for a food safety review, coming on the heels of a nationwide recall of hundreds of items that contain peanut products.

It might help that Sasha Obama is among the gazillions of kids who eat peanut butter sandwiches. (For the record, major brands of jarred peanut butter are not part of the recall.)

The president said Monday that he wants to review the Food and Drug Administration, in light of the recent recalls. “I think that the FDA has not been able to catch some of these things as quickly as I expect them to,” Obama said.

His 7-year-old daughter eats peanut butter sandwiches, "probably three times a week. And you know, I don’t want to have to worry about whether she’s going to get sick as a consequence to having her lunch,” Obama said on the "Today" show.

The FDA declined to respond.

Consumers Union called on Congress to require the FDA to make annual inspections of factories such as the one in Blakely, Ga., that the federal government has linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 500 people. 

The plant was inspected last summer by Georgia inspectors under contract to the federal government. The FDA inspected the plant in January, after the outbreak had occurred, and issued a report citing problems there. But until then, it had not inspected the plant since 2001.

What's for Obama's inaugural lunch?

After Barack Obama takes the inaugural oath of office and delivers his address, he and Vice President Joe Biden and other members of his team will do lunch. It's a tradition-laden affair, held in the gorgeous Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol, and has sparked a lot of interest. Here's a look at the Abraham Lincoln-inspired menu:

First, a seafood stew. The main course,  pheasant and duck served with sour cherry chutney and molasses sweet potatoes. As for dessert, the Obama lunch will end with an apple-cinnamon sponge cake topped with sweet cream glace.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who chairs the committee hosting the lunch, made sure that all the wines will be from California, including the champagne served with dessert.

Read more here.

Don't forget National Cheese Lover's Day

Inauguration Day is barely dawning, and some of us already have Inauguration Fatigue — soon to be added to the DSM-V as a sub-category of Cynical Personality Disorder — thanks to the wall-to-wall "news" coverage.

It's the end of eight years of Republicanism. It's the middle of a horrific recession. Barack Obama is the first African American president of the United States. I get it. But this whole "historic presidential inauguration" thing has overshadowed a lesser-known holiday. Jan. 20, in addition to being Inauguration Day, is National Cheese Lover's Day.

What cheese tastes good with a new president? How about smoked mozzarella, good old American cheese or a thematic array of blue cheese, white cheddar and Edam (covered in red wax, of course). If you want to take the inauguration to a much cheesier level, pick up a brick of Barick Obama (that's not a misspelling), a washed-rind, cow's milk cheese made by Vermont's Lazy Lady Farm. At $24 a pound it's not cheap, but it is fresher than Lazy Lady's Tomme de Lay or Condisend.

— Elina Shatkin
Photo: A supporter of Barack Obama in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Sept. 7, 2008. Credit: Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP/Getty Images)