Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Carbs and proteins -- lots of steak, potatoes and sauteed veggies; I'll take my fruit in cobblers, thank you very much. I'm not a chocolate eater (gasp!) and don't care for heavy cakes or fried pastries (I once ate a dozen dunkin' donuts at one sitting when I was 18 -- that killed my taste for the fried rings). Seems important that athletes eat nutritiously, rather than just load up on "empty" calories. Gimme' steak and crab over a pair of Big Macs any day. (isn't being able to eat all one wants of whatever one wants when one wants -- without guilt -- the ultimate foodie fantasy?). Go Phelps!

Chuck Oh Latte (Spanish pronunciation, mixed marriage)
Joe Burns (coffee pot left on burner too long)
Coco Berry (Arquette daughter's married name)
Sir Rupp Flowes (what it does on British pancakes)
Phill A. Mignon (short French guy)

PerkyMac wins the prize!

Not much boring about a grilled dog laid steaming hot onto a fresh bun and loaded with mustard, catsup and relish. Been a long time since I've had one like that, or even a good old chile dog, for that matter, with chopped onions and grated cheddar cheese. Heartburn city, but worth it!

Crazy corn, the original one. Salted sunflower seeds. Then move away from the salt affair with a pint of Ben & Jerry's Phish Food.

My 15-year-marriage to a West Texas native paid off in picking up barbecue techniques. In following his lead, I learned to "doctor up" a generic bottled sauce with garlic and onion sauteed in butter. Have leftover apricot preserves? Toss them in, along with some tasty mustard, vinegar and brown sugar. Add Louisiana hot sauce and black pepper to taste. Sear your meat on the grill, then slow-cook, basting frequently, so the sauce builds up and blends with the smoky char from the grill. Serve with grilled corn on the cob, a macaroni or potato salad and chilled beer.

Like chicken, of course!

@Perky -- So true! First time I ever had Spam was at Girl Scout camp -- and I thought it was good stuff! But back to the thread: Think the idea of the dry cocoa mix was that all it needed was water heated over a campfire. At the age of 10, I thought it was the cat's pajamas.

Cinco de Mayo and Margaritas go great together -- make them with fresh strawberries for a yummy treat. Salsa bar's a very good idea -- serve with a casserole of green chile and chicken enchiladas; or, better yet, fill whole, fresh green chiles with cheddar or a white mexican cheese, dip in an egg and flour mixture and fry for chiles rellenos. Or fill corn tortillas with a ground beef mixture, skewer with a toothpick and fry for tacitos. Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole. Your guests will love you!

Too funny, Karen! You're quick with the wit!

Forgive me. Once again I failed to digest the basic question. Pun intended. Avoiding spinach and beef, looking forward to the farmer's market starting back up in the small community I call home.

I grew up in a restaurant. My parents and my mother's two brothers opened a restaurant/cocktail lounge in 1963, and I can tell you that operating a successful restaurant is about much more than the food, which is why I went to work for a newspaper (BTW: a newspaper is second on my list of businesses I never want to own.) When you think about restaurants, think about cooks calling in sick, wait staff calling in sick, health inspectors, liability insurance, the rising cost of food stuffs, and employees with their hands in the till. My favorite restaurant story involves a friend of mine whose parents also owned a restaurant: He was called out of bed to fill in for the breakfast cook who wasn't sick, but had been shot dead by his wife a few hours earlier.