Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I guess it has to be SE. I started reading Pioneer Woman for the recipes, but got hooked by the "Confessions" section.

Betty Crocker's Boys and Girls Cookbook. But I only made the chocolate chip cookies from it (which were basically the same as Toll House)

egg in a hole, or egg salad sandwich (is there a pattern here?)

Really hard to say... Probably both Julia's Mastering and Marcella's Essentials...

Ed, you might want to try giving up the soda for just awhile -- I dunno, a week? a month? I used to drink it all the time, but gave it up when I was pregnant. And it's the ONLY thing I did not pick up again after the bundle of joy arrived (this was 16 years ago).

Also the suggestion above to drink room temp water is a good one -- not only does it taste better (to me), but I can also down 8 to 16 ounces in a matter of seconds. And if you aren't thirsty, that might help your soda cravings.

We eat at Fore Street every year on our way to Bailey Island. It is great. You will not have a bad meal.

We did Street & Co. one year --- it was pretty good, but not terrific. There are a lot of other very good restaurants -- Hugo's, Back Bay Grill, etc. Check out the Best Restaurants in Portland in the blog sammie referenced (thanks, sammie!)

For lunch, try Duck Fat for their fries -- out of this world. For breakfast, the sticky buns at Standard Baking Co. (underneath Fore Street) are great.

And if you're near Cook's Corner (it's on the way to Bath), a stop at Fat Boy is a must.

Try Kashkaval, 9th Avenue between 55 and 56.

Get the $12 tapas plate with your choice of 5 items and a big basket of whole-wheat pita.

Ed reviewed it here a while ago

shake shack and Oeust

Freezer pasta: whatever's in the freezer and/or veggie drawer (ground beef, sausage, peas, demi-glace, carrots, broc rabe, etc.) plus onions, garlic and maybe some tomato sauce.

Emeril was so adorable. (And now look at him.)

Bouley.. And I really miss Alison on Dominick

I'm so with you on the sprouts. Can't stand them. And did you know that one of most common sources of salmonella infection is bean sprouts? (This is not necessarily because they are more tainted than other veggies, but more likely that they are almost never cooked before serving, so there's little chance of cooking the critters away.) That's why I always ask for pad thai and other dishes that usually come with the little threads with "no sprouts!"

Sounds like a great sandwich -- a lesson in simplicity.