Madeleine’s Reubens help with relief effort

Thank you Reuben lovers.

Madeleine’s Café and Patisserie owners decided to donate a dollar for each sandwich sold for Red Cross help with Japan earthquake and tsunami relief after Madeleine’s was given a nod for serving Spokane’s best Reuben for the second year running by Spokesman-Review correspondent Kevin Finch and his team of tasters.

Sandwich noshers helped them raise $500 over four days.

According to the restaurant’s note on Facebook, they served “8 gallons of sauerkraut, 13 very large sides of corned beef, more than 200 slices of Swiss cheese, 4 gallons of Thousand Island (dressing), and 40 loaves of marbled rye bread” on St. Patrick’s Day alone.

Madeleine’s Café and Patisserie is located at 707 W. Main Ave. in downtown Spokane.

Bittman stops in Ellensburg

New York Times writer and cookbook author Mark Bittman will stop in Ellensburg on his swing through Washington.

Bittman will talk about his latest book, “Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating,” on April 7 during a talk at Central Washington University. His discussion will focus on buying local food, how it can reshape the American diet, environmental impacts of the food industry and how to choose the most eco-friendly food.

The talk will be held at 8 p.m. in the Student Union and Recreation Center Ballroom. General admission tickets are $10 and can be found online at www.cwu.edu.

The event is sponsored in collaboration with the CWU Diversity Education Center and is part of the CWU Performing Arts and Speaker Series. Students are admitted free with their identification.

For more about Bittman, go to markbittman.com for recipes, articles and other information.