Fifteen Minutes of Food Fame

Wasn’t it eight years ago that the celebrity food craze died? Guess again. Scott Adams, creator of the cartoon character Dilbert, is behind a microwaveable food bar called the Dilberito.

For the Gruntmaster 2000 developer on the go, it provides 100% of the daily value of 23 vitamins and minerals, plus fiber and protein. It’s vegetarian and cholesterol- and lactose-free. Comes in four flavors: salsa, chutney, garlic-herb and the ever-popular barbecue. It’s been introduced in California and New York, with plans to roll out nationally (as soon as Marketing decides what “roll out” means, presumably).

The celebrity drink fad is still healthy, too. Rock star Sammy Hagar is promoting his own brand of tequila, named Cabo Wabo after his club in Cabo San Lucas. It’s a double pot-distilled tequila made from 100% blue agave roasted in wood-fired adobe ovens. That goes without saying.

And Korbel Champagne, which is the official champagne of the Times Square Millenium Celebration, has commissioned a limited edition label design from . . . Whoopi Goldberg. The floral design is permanently attached to the bottle by a special baked-enamel process. Goldberg joins the ranks of Tony Bennett, Nicole Miller and Jane Seymour.

The Cream of the Coffee Crop

Go into a Starbucks and look around. How many people are having straight coffee and how many are having a cappuccino or even an iced cappuccino? These days, “espresso” parlors sell far more dairy product than coffee. In fact, the espresso parlor is rapidly evolving into something akin to the soda shop or ice cream parlor of 50 years ago.

Starbucks recently faced this particular music. On top of its seven varieties of coffee-based ice cream (made in conjunction with Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream), it has introduced four flavors--Vanilla Cashew Crunch, Chocolate Almond Chunk, Double Shot Chocolate and Dulce de Leche--that drop all pretense of being about coffee.