Friday Leftovers and More on Barcelona Tapas

More on BARcelona Tapas: Over at the comments section of Property Lines, Frank Schmitz, owner of BARcelona Tapas weighs in on their situation (along with what looks like a few comments by, ahem, people of interest.) He says there are no problems and that the manager who spoke to the IBJ is no longer with the company. Schmitz says his only current problem is that "three original Andy Warhol Pictures" (not sure if he means illustrations or what) were stolen from the entry way on Christmas Eve morning. I still suspect there's quite a bit more to this whole situation, but there you go.

City Market Updates: Last week, the Star gave us an update on City Market and mentioned six new vendors (only three of whom are are food vendors) who will open in the next few weeks. They're also still trying to fill space with a gourmet food/wine shop. (You'll remember that Corks closed their space at 49th and Penn expecting to open on schedule at City Market until City Market ran out of funding.)

There is some positive news. The board and executive director have been able to secure funding to finish the project and have a small amount of financial stability. They are starting to charge full rents and announce they'll be moving original vendors back into their spaces in the next two months. They've also applied for a liquor license. And, as Ruth Holladay notes on her blog, City Market vendors will be able to validate your parking for some parking garages in that area. She has more details.

Oklahoma City Goes on a Diet: Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett has had it! Last year, OKC was 15 on the list of the nation's fattest city from Men's Fitness magazine. Now they've moved into the top 10. So, he's issuing a challenge. Residents can sign up to help lose weight for the city -- and garner some press as one place doing something about it's weight issue. (If you live in OKC, sign up at http://www.thiscityisgoingonadiet.com/. Even the URL says "we're fed up!") By the way, even as a native, I did not know that Oklahoma has an official meal: cornbread, sausage and gravy, chicken fried steak and pecan pie. I heartily support chicken-fried steak, although, I agree, not for every meal.

Quiz Answer: As one commenter noted, quinoa is indeed technically a seed of a leafy plant related to chard. And that commenter was absolutly correct. As David Kamp notes quinoa is much beloved by raw food eaters and vegetarians who love it as an ideal protein and fiber sources and by "modern chefs, who put it on plates when they feel like serving an 'interesting' starch instead of rice or couscous." Only 29% got it right.