Cheers to Health and Happiness

No bar will ever own my heart like McGarvey's does

In news that I like because it confirms my core beliefs, Oxford anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar has just released findings from a UK study indicating that people who booze it up (in moderation) at a local pub are happier, have higher life satisfaction and have more close friends than those who do not.

I can't find the original paper, but according to the Campaign for Real Ale, the lobbying group that funded the study, "People who have a 'local' and those patronising community-type pubs have more close friends on whom they can call for support, and are happier and more trusting of others than those who do not have a local. They also feel more engaged with their wider community."

The study also found that drinking a small amount had a positive effect on well-being and some social skills (shocking, I know).

The question is, of course, is whether there's any actual causation here - and if there is, which way does it go? Are people happier because they're at their local? Or are they more likely to go to their local when they're happier? Probably a combination of both.

My guess is that the power of the "local" isn't quite as heady here the US - but I think you'd find other entities/places taking its place.

Take my friends. They're mostly parents in our 30s and 40s, which means it's not likely that most can spend enough time at a bar to consider it a "local." But that doesn't mean we're unhappy or anti-social. Replace "local" with "pool" or "my kitchen" and you're in business.

The ultimate lesson here, I think, is that the more time we spend carousing together, the happier we are - and that carousing is easier when we have a reliable place to do it . And carousing is something that I fully support - whether it's in the pub down the street or my very own living room.

Trendy Trendiness

This article, from Eater, is fabulous. It caught my eye on Facebook today, when Richard Gorelick shared it as part of his "Crontinuing Croverage of the Cronut Crisis." (He's posts a lot about cronuts...or at least he did, back when they were in the news every five minutes. Now it's only ever seven minutes.)

The article is so good that I don't even really have much to add, except to note that it hits all my sweet spots: food + trends + that annoying tension that exists when companies try to use research to simply create trends, without realizing that you can't make fetch happen.

Another reason I love it: use of the "can't make fetch happen" phrase, which is one of my favorites, in reference to Peruvian food, which I have written about here like every other year...and also for the Sun - because it really is a thing here in Maryland.

Peruvian cuisine aside, the article is full of good observations and valid points about how food trends emerge, explaining that to understand what might be the next trend, you have to look beyond the tangible characteristics of the last trend to understand the need it filled. People lined up for cupcakes, then they lined up for cronuts. That does not mean that they will, next, line up for Croissan'wiches, even if Burger King starts making them with artisanal butter, in a converted factory in Queens or whatever. I know how those conversations sometimes go within marketing departments. It might look like pastries that start with "C" are consistent winners - but they are not.

My takeaway, of course, is not that you can't predict or identify trends. It's just that you need better research.

Brazilian Steakhouses: What's Up With That?

Brazilian steakhouses get all the love. Isn't that weird?

Let me back up. I am a huge fan of  Urbanspoon - no surprise since the site is run by restaurant-loving data nerds. Since I am also a restaurant-loving data nerd, I especially enjoy when the Urbanspoon crew mines their data. This week, they evaluated their entire database to determine the 250 high end restaurants that receive the most attention from users, bloggers and traditional media.

And do you know what their results show? Coast to coast, people cannot stop talking about Brazilian steakhouses.

Fogo de Chao received the most attention - it's on the short list in 14 different cities, including Baltimore, where it is the third most talked about restaurant (behind Waterfront Kitchen and Wit and Wisdom). This fits with my own Google stat knowledge - searches for  Fogo drive quite a few people to my 2008 post about the restaurant.

Considering Fogo only has 18 locations in the U.S., the fact that 14 of them show up on this list is pretty impressive. (Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, Denver and Miami are the locations not included.)

In addition to Fogo, seven additional Brazilian steakhouses make the list (maybe even more - those seven have obvious names). In nine of the 70 cities included, a Brazilian steakhouse takes the top spot (that's 13%). Several cities have more than one Brazilian steakhouse on their list - in Washington D.C., where there are a lot of good restaurants, Chima Brazilian Steakhouse is #1 and Fogo is #2 (three out of Chima's four locations make the list).

So back to my original question - what is it about these places?

I have to admit that I didn't love my experience at Fogo de Chao. I didn't hate it, but it was hectic and some of the meat was overdone. We went once four years ago and haven't been back since. For me, going out to dinner is active - I talk and observe and try other people's food. I don't just passively sit, waiting for someone to serve me. But in the end, I usually find dining out relaxing. Fogo was not a relaxing experience. I like relaxing experiences in restaurants.

But apparently I'm in the minority, at least among people using Urbanspoon.

My guess is that most people feed of the energy in Brazilian steakhouses - that's why they like them. I also think people just like being around all that meat.

And, let's be fair, there are worse things than being surrounded by tons of meat.

Aside: Other interesting things about the Baltimore list - Salt is #5 and Woodberry Kitchen is #6 out of 6. I think Salt is great, but Woodberry definitely gets more press - I'm surprised that Salt would even make the top 15 in terms of attention. Woodberry's lower score might be because Urbanspoon doesn't capture all of the national press the restaurant gets. But I'm still puzzled by Salt's high ranking. Good for them - they deserve it. But I didn't expect to see them there.

Made for Me: Gumbo Flow Chart

Cail emailed me this last night:

Illustrated data + food (especially the regionally famous kind) + footnotes = pure Kit Pollard magic.

(via Good.is)

Today is World Statistics Day

And call me a cynic, but I am a market research analyst - more of a stats-lover than most, I'm sure - and even I think this new holiday is lamer than National Chocolate-Covered Insects Day.

"Celebrating the many contributions and achievements of official statistics?" Nice tag line, people.

Beyond that, as valuable as statistics can be, they can also do a lot to harm. They're perfectly malleable, even when they're "official" (maybe especially then) and people will always use stats to support their own agendas, rather than deciding their agendas based on those stats. It's human nature.

So sure, celebrate the statistic. But let's just be realistic about it, OK?

JK Rowling Validates My Behavior

She likes spreadsheets, too. Exhibit A, part of her handwritten spreadsheet for Order of the Phoenix:
How can you not love that mind?

(via Go Fug Yourself)

How Manly Is Your Drink?

The real question is: where would Labbatt Blue Light Lime fall on this chart? I'm sure that's what Cooper's dying to know.

(Via AskMen.com)

Who Are We Drinking?

This format doesn't totally do it justice, but the cluster diagram below is just a gorgeous representation of the fact that only three firms (Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Snapple/Dr. Pepper) control 89% of the soft drinks we drink in the U.S.:

(To look at it up close and read the analysis, click here.)

It's been a while since I've worked on any CSD (carbonated soft drinks, for those of you not in the know) clients, but back in 2004 and 2005, before pharmaceuticals took over my professional world, I was knee deep in sugary bubbles all day long. As a result, I find this interesting, but not surprising in the least.

However, I am almost a little surprised at the sheer variety of choices that still remain in the category. Yes, this includes generics and it also includes the ten zillion new energy drinks that seem to pop up each week. But that doesn't change the fact that - wow, we have a lot of choices.

Baltimore's #15!

I love this Portfolio list of 67 US cities, ranked by 24 separate indicators:

It's sorting mechanism is cool...and I'm always happy to see a list that ranks Baltimore near the top. Especially if it's not a list of STD prevalence or drug-related violence.

(via Chart Porn)