Sampler Platter: Malt loaves, lobsters, luxury burgers and ‘Food, Inc.’

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Malt loaves, luxury burgers, tobacco regulations and the evils of agribusiness in today’s roundup of food news.

• ‘Food, Inc.,’ an upcoming doc about the influence of agribusiness on America’s food supply, is generating tons of buzz and has so far scored 82 on Metacritic (but based on only four reviews). David Edelstein of New York magazine: ‘The sheer scale of the movie is mind-blowing.... It’s the documentary equivalent of ‘The Matrix’: It shows us how we’re living in a simulacrum, fed by machines run by larger machines with names like Monsanto, Perdue, Tyson, and the handful of other corporations that make everything.’
• Man finds dead mouse embedded in a ‘malt loaf.’ With photo. BBC
• 10 most expensive hamburgers in the U.S. -- includes Spago and Taste. Forbes Traveler
• Sen. Edward Kennedy’s bill giving FDA regulatory power over tobacco products is about to pass. Boston Globe
• Atwater Village Newbie posts rumors that the Atwater Village Farmers Market may be in jeopardy because Wells Fargo may start opening on Sundays.
• Yellow lobster caught in Canada is a 1-in-30-million rarity. Associated Press
• Norman Brinker, who created Steak & Ale and Bennigan’s and transformed Chili’s into a fast-casual juggernaut, dies at 78. WFAA

-- Elina Shatkin