You Don’t Have to Bypass These

They look like dangerously rich pastry, but cinnamon-sprinkled French Twists were developed by a baker after multiple-bypass surgery and are American Heart Assn.-approved, containing no eggs or dairy products. They’re pretty good too. You buy them from plastic dispenser boxes at specialty markets such as Irvine Ranch and Bristol Farms for about 99 cents-$1.10, and also at AMC Theaters ($1.25).

Gosh, Operator, I Forget the Name, but It Was Just the Cutest Little Bistro

Is this the Information Age or what? Fax-A-Menu is a free 24-hour automated service that can FAX you menus from restaurants around the world. You dial 1 (800) 972-MENU, enter the first four letters of your city (or one you’re interested in) and the language you want to hear instructions in (English, Spanish, French, Japanese or Chinese), and then your FAX number. In a few moments, you’ll get a directory of restaurants, each with its own 800 number, which you can dial for a FAXed menu.

And JSTB Stands for ‘Just Sail the Boat’

In case you were watching the America’s Cup and wondered what the word ENZA was doing on the sails of the New Zealand vessel, it’s simple: It stands for “Eat New Zealand Apples.” The New Zealand Apple and Pear Marketing Board was, um, a sponsor of New Zealand’s entry.

A Continental Cuisine

Ghanaian-born Bill Odarty was appalled, some years back, when his American-born wife cooked him a Ghanaian recipe out of a cookbook and it came out “closer to Spanish rice with chopped peanuts.” In pursuit of the real thing, he eventually collected more than 100 authentic African recipes from 20 countries (mostly using their embassies) and compiled “A Safari of African Cooking,” available from Visas Choice International, P.O. Box 815, Flushing, N.Y. 11368; $12 plus $3 shipping and handling. (Surprise, by the way: In Kenya they like tamale pie.)

Italy Enters Ice Age

In Italy you can now buy frozen pre-grilled eggplant slices. The Italian magazine A Tavola headlined its rave review “Eggplant in Record Time” (“Melanzane a Tempo di Record”).

The Dearth of ‘Cots

Who’d have thought it? Nation’s Restaurant News reports a shortage of canned apricots. Canners are all out of restaurant-size cans.

Dine With Dr. Lecter

Old men among the Adzera tribe recall that when cannibalism was practiced in New Guinea, the preferred cuts of human flesh were the feet and the hands, whereas the Keraki are on record as favoring eyeballs and cheeks. Odd choices, it might seem, but who knows? They say the human flavor resembles opossum meat.