• If your plate is larger than 9 inches across, you're probably eating too much.
• Many Kansans are quick to turn their noses up at turnips, but it seems everyone wants locally grown sweet potatoes.
• A small-town barbecue-joint bartender made it all the way to the big time -- sort of. He went before Judge Judy in a carding case.
• A mom on a budget hits three grocery stores to find the best deals.
• One writer says the numbers don't lie when it comes to determining our national sandwich -- and he believes the clear winner is peanut butter & jelly.

Barbecue ribs. Photo: biskuit, Flickr.

Oktoberfests are ubiquitous this month. For those not interested in the chug-a-thons and oompah bands, check out this list of alternative options.

Dixon Lambtown USA, Dixon, Calif., Oct. 3: Break out the mint jelly! Attendees can participate in such culinary slugfests as the National Lamb Ribs Eating Contest and Barbecue Cook-Off, not to mention a shearing competition and sheepdog trials. For the kiddies, there's Mutton Bustin' -- a buckin' bronco bruising of the woolly kind.

The Food Network New York City Wine and Food Festival, New York, Oct. 8-11: Hosted by and benefiting the Food Bank for New York City and Share Our Strength, this festival brings the toque and the home cook together. Everyone from sous chefs to casserole queens can attend wine seminars, recipe-creation panels and cooking demonstrations. For the kiddie cook, check out the Kids Get Cooking! series. Your favorite celebrity TV chefs will be there, en masse, including Ming Tsai, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray and Anthony Bourdain, as well as culinary heavyweights such as Sue Torres, Marcus Samuelsson, Odette Fada, Daniel Boulud and David Chang.

How does Georgia barbeque differ from Kansas barbeque? Quiz yourself on barbeque recipes from all different regions of the country.

We're sharing our favorite bottled barbeque sauces and barbecue rubs from around the country. From Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q to Brooks House of BBQ, we've got a sauce to suit your tastes.

Herbs. Photo: Shawn Allen, Flickr

• A whole slew of herb-themed recipes to utilize any tasty greenery kicking around.
  
• Minneapolis' Nokomis neighborhood now has two new shops to feed local wine addictions -- Ken & Norm's and the Cork Dork.
• The Country Lane farm stand boasts delicious, freshly picked berries.
• Wondering exactly how to harvest your home crops? The Star Tribune offers some tips.
• On birds, boys, brews and backyard barbecues.
  
• Advice on how to cook up the freshwater fish brought home after a long day on the water.
• Taylors Falls' The Drive In boasts old-school nostalgia in both atmosphere and menu, while Kramarczuk's offers a cheap brat combo.
• Wine pick of the week: France's crisp, cheap Picpoul de Pinet.
• News Bites: New Zealand's olive oil, Calphalon pans, Iowa's Premier Wine & Food Expo and a benefit for St. Jude's.
  
• Recipes: Grilled Tuna with Parsley-Parmesan Vinaigrette and a slew of sweet corn dishes.
  

Earl Grey teabag. Photo: House of Sims, Flickr

• Could the Earl Grey MarTEAni become the next classic cocktail?
  
• In honor of "Julie & Julia," a look into the culinary highlights and lowlights of ten culinary films.
• Move over, haggis! A Glasgow restaurant claims to have invented chicken tikka masala, and the city wants to make it a local delicacy.
• Leftover sirloin steak? Turn it into part of a tasty salad.
• If looking for wine off the beaten path, investigate quirky LCBO selections such as Vignamaggio Suhaili Syrah 2006, Puglia, Italy and Concha Y Toro Winemaker's Lot No. 11 Riesling 2007, Chile.
• Vancouver's Le Crocodile offers the classic French cooking many restaurants have left behind.
• Backyard barbecues don't have to entail mountainous piles of food; they can be enjoyed bite-sized.
• A dish to "encapsulate the best of British cooking": summer pudding.
• Summer means fresh salads, but are the fast-food versions from spots like Swiss Chalet and Pizza Hut actually healthy?

Photo: Bobbique

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly establishments across the country.

In New York City, August struck for real last Saturday. With the last bastion of summer upon us and only a few more weeks of heat before the weather starts to cool off, all the remaining weekends are "getaway day" musts!

For America's largest city, getting away often means heading to the shores of Long Island. In the waterfront village of Patchogue, patrons at Bobbique can grab great barbecue and great beer all in one spot ... and hear live blues music on the side. Brews, blues and barbecues: If those things don't say summer, what does?

Still, according to manager Jessica Higgins, "Business booms all year round. We have such a diverse selection of beers; we attract a lot of locals." And local patrons like local beers. "We try to stock at least one Blue Point on draft, which is extremely local," Higgins says, referring to the Long Island brewery located less than a mile from their door. "We keep some Brooklyns on too, but we also like to showcase a lot of beers you can't get anywhere else."

The draft list, after the jump.

As promised, we're beginning our recap of the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party this past weekend, featuring 15 of the best pitmasters from around the USA. After you take a dip in the barbecue sauce fountain, courtesy of Mike Mills and Amy Mills of 17th Street Bar & Grill, click on the post to see our photos. "Peace, Love & Barbecue," everyone!

I'm stingy with my smoke.

Not in a "don't bogart that can, man" way. Just that if I'm going to go to all the trouble of stoking a hardwood lump charcoal fire, obsessively monitoring its low-'n-slow-ness for a goodly chunk of the day, feeding its greedy gut with beer-soaked mesquite and hickory chunks at half-hour intervals all for the sake of an albeit fabulous brisket or pork shoulder, I'm gonna want a bit more return on the investment.

Here's where foil pans of salt, cherries and lemons come in.

• One writer searches out the best Chicago-style hot dogs in Kansas City and finds them at Miami Ice, Westport Flea Market Bar & Grill, Fritz's Superior Meat and elsewhere.
• A couple takes their love of cooking and history to new heights by digging up historical recipes for antiquated dishes like World War I Potato Salad.
• New barbecue books from five grill fiends.
• Zuccardi Zeta 2005 , a notable Argentinian bottle of vino is, at $48, as pricey as it is palatable.
• The lowdown on the fast food at five of the city's big sports and entertainment venues.
• "Fresh," a sustainable food documentary that features some local names, will screen next weekend.
• A roundup of notable restaurants serving everything from barbecue to Ethiopian food.
• Recipes: Pork Cutlets with Warm Florentine Bean Salad, Strawberry Pie and 7-Day Menu Planner

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars across the country.

If your definition of summertime doesn't include barbecue, beer and baseball it's time make some serious corrections to your agenda -- like, with a bright red pen.

In Detroit, those properly schooled in brews amble on over to Slows Bar BQ a joint that caters to fans of all three types of fanatic. Just a mile or so down the road from Comerica Park and in the shadow of the old Tiger Stadium, Slows is a popular pre- and post-game stop for Tigers fans. Manager Terry Perrone notes that its primary appeal is the food: "We're a barbecue restaurant first and foremost." Terry isn't stopping suds snobs with a nose for microbrews from slipping through the door, too, though.

With renowned Michigan names like Bell's, Founders and New Holland, Slows has no shortage of local breweries to draw from and stocks as many as possible: of 20 taps Perrone says they try to keep "no less than 14 from Michigan or the region." Some, such as Great Lakes Grass Roots Ale and Dragonmead Corktown Red, aren't readily available anywhere else. So though Slows puts eats first, Peronne admits, "We see more and more [beer lovers] as the notoriety gets out that we are a great destination to find these local beers."

Check out yesterday's complete draft list after the jump. (Got a fave on the list? Let us know what we should be sipping this summer).

• Wyatt McSpadden, author of the recently published "Texas BBQ," leads readers on a tour of the seedy under (pork) belly of Austin's barbecue joints.

• Viva cheap eats! Taco Journalism's Armando Rayo shows a reporter how to negotiate Austin's extensive taco truck demimonde, exploring the good, the bad and the incredibly delicious.

• Andrea Abel considers the many variations of the classic matzo ball soup, with tips on how to personalize a Passover favorite.
  

• Addie Broyles explores the history of Easter eggs and gives tips for natural dyeing.
  

• Charleston Chef Kevin Johnson talks about his favorite methods for going whole hog with snout-to-tail-to-trotter pig preparation.

I'll certainly admit to having one heck of a lot of 'cue country exploration left to do in my lifetime, but thus far I've yet to encounter any venue outside of North Carolina slinging BBQ slaw alongside their meat. It's an essential side for Lexington style, vinegar-kissed chopped pork, and gets its characteristic pink tint from a dollop of ketchup or barbecue sauce. Also -- it's pretty darned delicious, and provides a pleasantly crunchy textural contrast with the rich, soft strands of slow-cooked shoulder.

From Searching for the Dixie Barbecue, Journeys into the Southern Psyche by Wilber W. Caldwell (2005):

"In the central North Carolina Piedmont you will often find what locals there call "red coleslaw" on the plate next to your chopped pork barbecue. This tangy variation replaces the usual mayonnaise-based slaw dressing with a catsup-and-vinegar-based dressing. In fact, it is not unusual for Upcountry slaw all over Dixie to be spiked with a big splash of barbecue finishing sauce. Whether a sweet/sour tomato-based, spicy mix, either right from the store-bought jar or from some dusty bottle of secret brew, this spicy addition turns the coleslaw sauce either red or a rich brown color and creates what most Southerners called "barbecued coleslaw."

Surely food experts and gourmets all over the planet will ... most certainly suggest that this "barbecue on barbecue" presentation robs the meal of balance. ... Southerners will scoff at this suggestion. Everyone down here knows that if a little barbecue sauce it good, then a whole lot is even better."

If you happen by High Point, NC, do stop into Carter Brothers BBQ (from whence the above pictured platter of BBQ came on this most recent Christmas Eve) for some of the finest chopped (regular or coarse -- they're both good) pork BBQ you'll ever have the pleasure of eating.

BBQ Slaw is recipe after the jump. Got one of your own? Might you please be so kind as to kick back with a Cheerwine and share it in the comments?

You can smoke indoors, discovers New York Times writer Jill Santopietro, who's written an essay describing her quest to create smoky barbecue flavors in her ventless oven in her 350-square-foot NYC apartment.

Finding Liquid Smoke unpalatable, she makes her own using a stove-top smoker rigged out of a roasting pan with a trip tray. You can also make your own by lining a wok with foil, adding wood chips, and laying a trip pan with a round rack on top. Santopietro pulls off a successful rack of ribs, then tries smoking corn, pears and tomatoes before deciding to stick to meat. Recipes include apple baby back ribs, smoked gravlax and beer-smoked catfish pâté.

The only thing better than coming home to a home cooked meal is having a home cooked meal that doesn't take two hours to prepare. Thai barbecued chicken is a refreshing meal that tastes like the last days of summer, but with a kick! This isn't your ordinary barbecued chicken. Don't be afraid of all the ingredients, you probably have many of them in your pantry. While the chicken only takes about 30 minutes to cook, it does need to marinate.

Make sure to prepare the marinade the night before, refrigerate and before leaving for work the next morning, add the chicken to the marinade and put back into the refrigerator.