Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Wow. This is insane! "Undercuts parental authority"? Really? Maybe parents have changed, but I don't remember my mom being that much of a pushover. If she didn't want to buy me something that I wanted, I didn't get it. End of story. If a whining child so easily gets her way, it doesn't bode well for the future of our country.

Besides, in the end, it's the parents' money, and it's the parents' decision. Banning toys would be treating a frivolous symptom while ignoring the larger disease behind obesity: poverty. Any tactic to "ban" obesity that does not address this undeniable fact is doomed to catastrophic failure.

Personally, I don't like and therefore rarely eat fast food, but I feel better knowing it's there. Why? Because, like freedom of speech, freedom of choice is my right as an American citizen. Food isn't a mind-altering substance. Eating a Big Mac once in a while, contrary to popular opinion, will not kill you. While I do agree that we as Americans have atrocious eating habits and suffer from an acute lack of exercise, the citizens' and the government's only duty on the matter is to educate and provide viable alternatives to that style of life.

Falafel!

My dad used to eat these all the time when he lived in New Mexico. I've had them once when my mom made them many years ago, and if my spotty memory serves me right, they were DELICIOUS. I'm salivating at the memory.

Cookhouse in my hometown in CT! They have great taste in music.

I'd have to go with Alton Brown, because he's the one who inspired me to learn to cook. He made cooking look exciting-- and it is!

Cabbage!

I don't know, maybe I'm an unrefined cretin, but I think restaurants are businesses built upon hospitality. I think charging any kind of "forkage fee" is ridiculous, especially in economic times such as these. It's very off-putting to think that a little reciprocity is so hard to find these days. The best restaurants I go to may not El Bulli-quality food, but their friendliness and willingness to please contribute to their long-term success. I certainly don't appreciate feeling like every last cent is being squeezed out of me.

Pasta e fagioli!

I cook at home because there's no reason not to eat great food, even when you're on a tight budget!

Our grill. We use it all the time, even in the middle of winter!

Hot turkey sausage, spinach, and grape tomato pasta!

Chocolate hot fudge sundae with hot brownies!

Grilled with extra sharp cheddar cheese!