“This is a photograph of a Waffle House grill cook’s cheat sheet. The photographs indicate the way in which a cook marks his orders. These secret plate markers allow a Waffle House cook to simultaneously prepare multiple customer orders at once. Let me give you an example. If I were to order three scrambled eggs, dry wheat toast, and hash browns, the waitress would face the grill and yell out loud — ‘Mark: Triple scrambled dry wheat plate.’ The cook would then quickly take a large dinner plate, turn it sideways, and place a tub of jelly upside down at the six o’clock position.” (Thanks kottke.org!)

“…searching over 110,000 recipes and counting. Why search for recipes one site at a time when you can search them all here? We scour the web to find the best recipes on the web’s most popular recipe sites. You can save your favorites in your own personal recipe box.”

“The experience of going to eat sushi in the US is quite nice because it is casual. You probably do not know that many people in Japan are apprehensive about going to a sushi restaurant, especially if they are new to the place. They worry because they are not sure their knowledge about sushi, and their manner in how they eat it, matches the earnest or sometimes rigid ways of the sushi chef who runs the place.” (This is part 5 of 5 — see links to the other installments at the bottom end of part 5.)

“While sitting on an endless stack of work over the past few months, Iíve slowly discovered ways in which to make myself more productive. Or, if not more productive, then at least making the time tick by as pleasurable as possible. One trick when working into the evening hours thatís been successful, is to work with a glass of red wine within arms reach. Iíve slowly been warming up to wine these days, and have found it to be somewhat of a work enhancer.”

“Those irritating ringmarks that mugs and cups leave… well, you can turn them into a nice floral pattern now with a set of Stamp Cups. The pattern on the base of the cup match up so you can join as many marks as you want.”

“After spending quite some time avidly reading food blogs out there, I have decided to start my own. This blog is a way for me to share my passion for all things food-related: thoughts, recipes, musings, cookbooks, ideas, inspirations, experimentations.”

“A Consumer’s Guide to Sustainable Seafood: Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program offers information to help you choose seafood that’s good for you, good for the oceans and information on overfishing, bycatch, aquaculture and habitat damage.”

“Every week I tell you where to eat. But I never say how. I mean, I assume that most of my readers have mastered the cut-chew-swallow basics, and I’m certainly not going near the tines-up/tines-down controversy. But there are simple steps you can take that can make any dining experience a little better — that is, a little more attuned to your personal tastes.”

“Several years ago, you may not have been able to order the minty-fresh Mojito in an ordinary bar. But thanks to the popularity of Nuevo Latino cuisine, the Mojito has become the it cocktail. The Cuban import has a sweet flavor that is reminiscent of limeade, but with an extra kick of rum. Serve with a stick of sugar cane and sprigs of mint.”

“Last year, when Paul Hobbs, a California winemaker, was about to release his 1999 Beckstoffer cabernet sauvignon, lots of things were going through his mind… It was up to Mr. Hobbs to determine a retail price that would let him pay off some debts and draw the attention of serious wine drinkers, yet be low enough that he could actually sell the wine, not just this year but for vintages to come.”

“Beginning on Monday, the Department of Agriculture’s new seal labeling food organic will appear in grocery stores, making clear to consumers for the first time what produce has been raised without conventional pesticides or fertilizers, antibiotics or growth hormones.”

“This page provides access to Release 15 of the USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. You can either view the data here or download the data files and documentation in several different formats for use later on your computer. A search tool is also provided so you can look up the nutrient content of 6220 different foods directly from this home page.”

“The Anthropology Department at the California Academy of Sciences houses the Rietz Food Technology Collection. Containing approximately 1,700 items, this collection was assembled by Carl Austin Rietz, an inventor and businessman in the food industry. His interest in the industry led him on travels around the world to collect objects used in the production, processing, storage, presentation, preparation, and serving of food.”

“First off, you have to bring LOTS of your favorite beverage (something non-alcoholic of course! tee hee) to a Styx show or four, and memorize this list to make the game easier. If you don’t drink the alcoholic type stuff, soda works well as a sugar/caffeine buzz can be just as much fun as, if not more than, an alcohol buzz. Keep in mind that 1 drink = 1 sip/gulp/whatever. Only finish a whole drink if it says ‘finish the bottle.’ Well, without further ado, here are the rules…”

“Fire, they say, is the enemy. They are a small, but increasingly influential group of culinary zealots (mostly in California, of course, but traveling a lot and proselytizing along the way), who have become so extreme in their vegetarianism that they refuse to eat food touched by heat — for fear of destroying the nutrients. They challenge conventional science with the power of their conviction and a gift for persuading even vegetarians that there is still more wrong with food than anyone might have thought. And their persuasiveness is leading some of the best chefs in the country to turn off their stoves.”