"Nuts, grains, beans, twigs rocks, and sand that have been knocked out of the bottom of Birkenstock shoes does not a burger make. Remember that commercial: Where's the beef? It's like, Where's the veg? You gotta make it great and use vegetables, not filler." — Sam Zien, riffing on the veggie burger, while also giving awesome veggie-grilling tips
"I have absolutely no interest in "low-fat." The less processed the food the better. And besides, fat is usually where the flavor is! What's the point in eating low-fat cheese?" —Andrew Goetz of Malin+Goetz grooming products, talking about his love of food.
"As a boy in Sweden, I was told that it was healthy to eat at least 8 pieces of bread per day, just as Americans were told to follow the original Food Pyramid. As we know, this wasn't the best advice." — Marcus Samuelsson, talking about taking part in the announcement of the new MyPlate campaign
"Walk into a bar in Peru and find the drunkest, largest Peruvian man in the house. Saunter up to him and offer to buy him a glass of Pisco. Then, as he takes his first sip, tell him that Pisco hails from Chile." —Jenny Adams on the contentious origins of Pisco, in 5 Piscos To Try Now
"Don't you dare cook for a lady unless you mean it! It's not a casual evening. It's showing a domestic side of yourself that is otherwise lost in a haze of fantasy football and Deadliest Catch marathons. That being said, if you mean it, then you can do no wrong. If you mess up, you're adorable. If you make a 10-course masterpiece, then you're a catch." —Actress Hilarie Burton on men cooking for their ladies in Women We'd Cook For
"The exact mixture of Fernet's 40 spices is kept a secret, à la Coke. Only three people know the ingredients, the legend goes, and only one of them knows the exact recipe." —William Bostwick on the mysterious spirit known as Fernet Branca
"Be somewhere I'd actually want to go for one reason or another. Sorry, Office Space's Chotchkie's, but there is no amount of flair that would lure me into your restaurant. I've been to TGI Friday's, and I'll pass." —Jeff Feuerstein, laying out the ground rules for the 10 classic fictional movie eateries gallery
"I'm a huge, huge tequila fan. Let's put it this way: I had zero idea about what it was until a bartender at a restaurant I was working at offered me a sipping tequila which had the same characteristics as a cognac, and it totally blew my mind. All I knew before then were horror stories about Jose Cuervo, but that experience opened the floodgates of cooking with tequila for me." — Jesse Vega on cooking with tequila
"I don't know that I've ever personally evicted anyone — but I don't have a lot of patience for guests who are deliberately rude to my staff or vice versa." —Jose Garces on whether he's ever 86'd a diner from one of his restaurants in What I've Seen.
"It's the one place we can make a mess, because you can take a hose to it after you're done." —Adam Perry Lang on why men should love their grill area, while giving his 3 basic marinade rules (not to mention a killer baby back rips recipe).
