Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Yes! Ham steaks (or minute steaks) with mac and cheese from a box. I despised those dinners. That's probably why I stopped eating red meat at the age of 12.

Madeleine's on 9th ave and 30th something has a nice indoor garden room in case it rains, but it is very pretty and the food is quite good. Also, La Petite Cafe in Carrol Gardens offers a similar room with lots of garden sculptures, etc.

That's adorable! Most cookies sans chocolate chips should mail well. I would vote for peanut butter for a boy favorite + mini m&ms in there and you should be all set.

I love grilling fennel in balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

the buzzer of a timer when some kind of delicious good is finished baking.

I like Otto on 5th avenue and 8th street. It has great little plates of italian delights and wonderful pizzas and pastas.

yelp.com is a great tool for reviews.

Babbo (but I am going tonight finally!) and Shake Shack.

I am a big fan of Franny's Pizza on Flatbush Avenue (near 6th ave) in Brooklyn. Have you tried it? If not, I strongly recommend it. They use all fresh and local ingredients.

When I was a kid my parents would plan our road trips around a Cracker Barrel location/road map they had picked up years earlier. On some trips we would stop 2, sometimes 3, times in a day. Frightening, I know.