Small Bites

Little Vittles

If you love ketchup but find the motion of dipping fries into it repetitive, rejoice — Burger King has teamed up with the aptly named Intensely Different snack food company to bring BK Ketchup & Fries chips to a vending machine near you. And if there are two words perfect for describing Fritos' latest competition, "intense" and "different" are them. From the moment the bag is ripped open and the overwhelming scent of ketchup hits the air, it's clear that the tater is not the star of this snack event. The thin crisps pack a good crunch, but that's the only reminder that you're eating a chip; the taste of the fry part of the duo is all but absent. This is a snack reserved for ketchup addicts who need a more dignified way to get their fix than just sucking it straight from the bottle. —Sara Scott

Pound shots during brunch the way Homer Simpson would — with a whiskey doughnut. Johnny Brenda's glazed treats are the right way to ease yourself out of a hangover. Available weekends, the Jack-infused pastries sell like the hotcakes that they actually are, replacing the tasteless toast and dry muffins that typically accompany your morning meal. The golden rings are kicked up with the spicy tang of whiskey, soused in the deep fryer and plastered with sweet frosting. Don't worry if you're a lightweight — the only pound you'll feel from these will be on your thighs. —Kelly White

After 15 years of exploring China and its feisty food, British food writer Fuchsia Dunlop has proven that her bravery toward all things savory knows no bounds. In her gastronomic autobiography, Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet and Sour Memoir of Eating in China (W.W. Norton), she describes her transformation from a middle-class Cambridge graduate to a foodie Rambo, making her way from one gourmet massacre to the next. Dunlop, who became the first Westerner to train at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine, China's leading cooking school, skips from feasts of snow frog ovaries, fried rabbit heads and pig brain custard to a roast of camel humps and bear paws. In other words, it wasn't until her time in China that she discovered what it truly meant to eat meat. "Back in Britain, people buy their meat safe and sanitized, while the animals languish in battery pens," writes Dunlop. "Here, there's no way avoiding it. You choose to eat it with your eyes open." —Amy Strauss

Last month, Vermont's Magic Hat Brewing Co. launched Lucky Kat, its first new mainstay beer in two years. Billed as an IPA — an "irresistible pale ale" — and thus consistently hoppy from top to bottom, the 5.8 percent ABV brew is a bit more quaffable than it gives itself credit for, thanks to a whimsical mix of four malts (Cara, Crystal, Munich and Pale) that seal up the Kat's have-more-than-one appeal. Look for the beer at a fine six-pack store near you very soon. For more, check out magichat.net/luckykat. —Drew Lazor