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Dry county. Stock up!

Put some dried chilis in a food processor with sea salt and some dried lime zest to make some nice smoky/spicy seasoned salt to rim your jicama flower margaritas.

Pho Grand for sure - the crispy squid alone gives them the top spot, although the beef rolls and pho aren't too shabby, either.

Porterhouse.

bouquet garni - define please? thanks!

The Hawaiian version is good stuff - a bacon-wrapped dog with teriyaki sauce, pineapple, and green onions. Good tots, too.

Stamey's BBQ in Greensboro, NC. Make sure you go to the one on High Point Road, not the one on Wendover Drive.

Porterhouse, fo sho. Although you can't deny a steak is a beautiful thing, no matter the cut.

My weimaraner's claim to fame is eating a can of soup. Like, an unopened can. He also likes soap. Maybe he got it confused with sopa, but I doubt it.

The "cheese" for Kraft mac n' cheese came in a pouch. Does that count?

I walk past the 79th Street location every day after work, and it's still open.

For the record, NO ONE should feel guilty about Levain, Shake Shack, or Beard Papa. By that rationale, every dessert is a guilty pleasure. When I think guilty pleasure desserts, I think of things wrapped in cellophane, with ingredients you can't pronounce. Yes, my friends - I speak of Little Debbie, peddling her unnatural yet delicious baked goods in gas stations, vending machines, and drug stores around the country... Swiss Cake Rolls, Oatmeal Cream Pies, Fudge Rounds, and Zebra Cakes!

My favorite frozen treat is definitely the Basil custard from Shake Shack - it's perfectly sweet and fresh, and the creaminess really complements the basil.

My favorite cookie is hands-down from Levain Bakery - you can't go wrong with whichever of the four you order, although my girlfriend and I usually split a chocolate peanut butter chip and a chocolate chip walnut. And how could you possibly say no to a nearly half-pound hunk of molten, not-quite-cooked cookie?

And as far as the cupcake wars are concerned, you can have your Magnolias and Cupcake Cafes. I'm headed straight to Batch to get Pichet Ong's Strawberry Rhubarb cupcake, with coconut cake, rhubarb compote filling, and strawberry buttercream icing. He serves them just a little cold - the cake is so moist and dense, the complete opposite of the fluffy stuff you find everywhere else. And the flavors are perfectly balanced - not the cloying sugarfest that you get from all those other cupcakeries.

If we're talking restaurant desserts, I'm in love with Vera Tong from Dovetail, who, along with Levain, is giving my UWS neighborhood some dessert cred. Her brioche bread pudding with bananas, bacon brittle, and vanilla rum ice cream is amazing.

Tiffany MacIsaac, the pastry chef at Allen and Delancey, is pretty fantastic as well - her presentations are so playful and fun. I recently had a Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart, Whole Milk Sorbet, and Whiskey Vanilla Shake. My girlfriend had the Cashew “Snickers”, Devil’s Food Cake, Honey-Stout Ice Cream, and Pudding Pop. I really enjoyed all the small bites on the plate, and her reimagining of mass-produced and/or common flavors. It was smart without being snobbish.