P.F. Chang’s Takes On AmericaWhat: Unilever and the Chinese restaurant chain link up to offer frozen entrees across America.

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The Dirt: P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and Unilever have entered an exclusive licensing agreement to develop a line of frozen Asian entrées for the U.S., under the P.F. Chang’s brand. The terms of the agreement were not revealed.
The move is not a new one for Unilever, who launched the Bertolli Frozen Italian Skillet [...]

Vodka 2.0 What: An old name in the vodka business, Smirnoff continues to create new options for purveyors of that age old liquor.

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The Dirt:
Any seasoned drinker knows all vodkas are not created equal. While we are usually accustomed to the standard Russian and Polish varieties, multiple-times distilled and without additional flavors, we decided to give Smirnoff Pomegranate a chance.
After years of sticking with plain varieties geared at the luxury crowd, we gave Smirnoff a real shot and [...]

Audio Obsession = Passion PitWhat: This American alt pop band is the reason we’re smiling this week.

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The Dirt:
A hipster, an activist and a Dalton alumnus enter a Hell’s Kitchen bar, each the king of his own world, but when Passion Pit starts blaring, all of a sudden they are just New Yorkers. This is the kind of subtle but significant impact a new inspiring band like Passion Pit can make. [...]

Viva Cuba What: Lively music with soul is what you’ll get on this double-disc set paying tribute to the music of Cuba.

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The Dirt:Castro, refugees, Communism and sugar are the common modern characteristics of modern Cuba, but others may argue the lack of modernization has kept much of the art community intact. While the freedom of the people has been stifled for too long, the mixture of Spanish and African cultures in this isolated Caribbean island nation [...]

Berlin on a BudgetWhat: A new hotel brand emerges, offering reasonably priced accommodations in one of Europe’s most cultural cities.

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The Dirt:Once a divided city, Berlin is now home to a great film festival, a huge art scene and a great selection of hip hotels. Enter Michelberger Hotel, an 119-room hostel-cum-hotel located near Oberbaum Bridge, set to open in September 2009. Named after its proprietor, Tom Michelberger, the hotel caters to artsy globetrotting travelers. This [...]

Fashion RocksA retailer and an entertainment firm team up to organize an innovative shopping experience.

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The Dirt:Lucky Brand, the makers of the go-to designer jean, has launched a new event series, Lucky Brand Neighborhood Social, a series of grassroots events at Lucky Brand stores. The inaugural event will give Los Angeles residents access to an amazing event with a talented new European alternative pop musician. Enter Bat for Lashes, the [...]

Wearable Art What: Tarina Tarantino taps an art toy made for KidRobot to produce a funky jewelry collection.

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The Dirt:
Jewelry designer Tarina Tarantino has tapped a KidRobot Dunny art toy made by Queens, New York-native Toofly as a pendent for her necklace. While the exposure is great, apparently Toofly, an established graffiti artist, was not contacted to get permission. Still, we love the mix of both artists’ work used to create Lucite necklaces. [...]

Hotel By The City & The Sea What: W Hotels aims to make its upcoming Spanish W opening its flagship property for Western Europe.

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The Dirt:
Starwood Hotels is forging ahead with growth, recession or not, with big plans for one of Europe’s most cultural cities on the Mediterranean. Anyone that doubts Barcelona likely hasn’t been. Barcelona has an amazing soccer team, FC Barcelona, art from legends Gaudi, Picasso and Joan Miro, great dining, fabulous clubs, a beach on [...]

The Hipster Haven What: San Francisco’s hipster haven is The Mission, originally only a Latino neighborhood, but now also home to artists and entrepreneurs enjoying great street art, wonderful cafes and progressive bookstores.

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The Dirt:
Women clad in skinny jeans, artsy tops and gladiator sandals, puffing on fags, and delighting in their spot in the hipster circle—this could be many neighborhoods. This week, we spotted them in The Mission neighborhood of San Francisco. When exiting the MUNI bus on Mission Street, one gets a feel for the area’s original [...]

Budget BoHo What: Forever 21 Inc. expands with two labels that offer Bohemian-inspired clothes and trendy fashions for plus-size women.

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The Dirt: Would you drool over Bohemian-inspired clothes at the price of Forever21 or H&M prices? A trip to the Beverly Center mall in Los Angeles led us to Heritage 1981, a unit of Forever 21 Inc. Upon entering the store, we found clothes that resemble Free People at the H&M prices. Imagine sun [...]

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