​In the last two months, eight people have been sickened by drinking raw milk tainted with the E. coli bacteria, which was traced to a farm in Gibbon, Minnesota. It's been known for some time that anyone who drinks raw milk is essentially playing craps with their health--that's why they invented pasteurization--but raw milk is only one of many dangerous, and potentially fatal, foods people commonly eat. Here are 10 of the deadliest:

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​A Chicago Magazine food writer hilariously recounts in the September issue of the mag what he thinks eating burgers every day for more than two months did to his brain and ability to function properly: cognitive dysfunction.

[T]he onslaught of red meat did what drugs and alcohol and fatherhood could not: It made me stupid. Since my "research" began back in April at Flub A Dub Chubs, a hole in the wall on North Broadway, I've spaced my grandmother's 90th birthday, hit a parked car across the street from Jury's, and spent an entire workday with my fly open. Then there was the little incident in Indiana involving sunscreen and a toothbrush. But let's not get into that.

Maybe this helps start to unravel where the terms "meat coma," "meat sweats," and my personal fave, "meatmare" come from? Stay tuned ...

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Is it just me or are people alarmingly ok with risking their health and dignity for a mere t-shirt or their name on a wall of a lesser-known restaurant? (Remember when Homer gave it a shot? Read on ...)

A new website called Eat This and Die celebrates this pathology with reader-generated submissions of where you can go to attempt eating, say, five pounds of beef, 20 slices of cheese, 20 pieces of bacon, five pounds of fries, one half of a sour pickle and a fountain drink. (This all for your picture on the wall at Eagle's Deli and Restaurant in Brighton, Mass.)

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The so-called "Ziploc Omelet" has been migrating the Interwebs for a couple years now and yesterday rewormed its way into my inbox on the heels of Michelle Leon's Hot Dish post on walking tacos aka "Tacos-in-a-Bag." Oh how apropos.

In order to preserve the entertaining original enthusiasm for this quasi-monstrosity (you really probably shouldn't try this at home, the whole hot plastic = carcinogens = cancer thing is rather well-documented), here's what I was sent, in its entirety. Enjoy (or not):

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While I truly appreciate the work of doctors and nurses, in my mind, hospitals are one of the least hospitable places. Why anyone would choose to spend her leisure time in one is beyond me. Plus, why would a restaurateur want to associate himself with a place known explicitly for having *bad* food? That'd be like having an airline-themed restaurant.

In any case, a hospital-themed restaurant, Hospitalis, has sprung up in Latvia, serving food resembling body parts which can be eaten with surgical utensils.

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For those seeking up-to-the-minute foodie tidbits, click here to get The Hot Dish via text or twitter.

A clearinghouse for photos of disgusting food surfaced this week.

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When I first saw the headline "Worst Foods in America," I thought, alright, this is going to be good -- funny descriptions of grotesque creations involving, say, okra (snotty snotty okra) and candid commentary about revolting regional delicacies. But no.

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Are you a musician who also rocks the kitchen? Here's a great idea on how all you can make some extra dough (no pun intended)--just like the guy from the post-punk band Liquid Liquid.

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If you already know what durians are, you know that the prospect of paying money for a jar of durian jam is a dubious one.

If you're not familiar with the Asian fruit, they're worth looking up or visiting in person, in one of the numerous Asian grocery stores on Nicollet Ave. These spikey monsters regularly kill unsuspecting passerby, are banned from various subway systems for their odor, and taste something like old leathery feet dipped in garlic, onions and mango puree.

On to the trying.

With all the emotional and odor-related freight hauled by this positively interstellar-looking fruit, it was hard to pass up a chance to buy and sample the durian jam for sale at United Noodles. The stuff doesn't come particularly cheap; a 12 oz. jar costs $5.99.

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