"esquire.com" news and stories

That's according to Mehmet Oz, the doctor who always appears on Oprah in his scrubs, talking about colons, and Joel Harper, in this quick Q and A at Esquire.com.

Oz and Harper (a personal trainer) answer several questions about food, health, and exercise. Besides declaring blueberries the healthiest fruit, they also say that the only good thing about pizza is the sauce, that colon cleansing isn't really worth it, and that a little alcohol isn't bad for us at all. They also answer the question on whether it's ok to eat something that has fallen on the floor as long as we pick it up within five seconds.

As for the pizza advice, I think there's another good thing that they're forgetting: pizza is totally awesome!

I don't know if I could ever be a bartender. I like the idea of being one, but it seems to me it's like the ultimate pop quiz in a very intense situation. People come in off the street and ask you for a Tequila Sunrise or a Negroni or A Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against The Wall, and you immediately have to know how to do them. Sure, you can stop and look in a book (I did that when I was a sorta-bartender at a restaurant), but a real bartender has to know how to make these drinks immediately, especially if it's a Friday or Saturday night. Though I guess it's like any other skill, you learn through practice.

Esquire has the four obscure drinks that every bartender should know how to make. I've heard of (but never had) The Aviation Cocktail, but I've never heard of the other three.

David Wondrich, the drinks guy at Esquire, wrote one of the best cocktails books in the past quarter century, Esquire Drinks, and he says that if you want a proper Manhattan, you have to skip the cherries and add more Vermouth. After the jump, his recipe.

Veteran cocktail guru David Wondrich lists the best bars in the United States in the June issue of Esquire (the one with Tom Hanks on the cover).

The magazine looked at several criteria, including great bartenders, beautiful women, no TV, jukeboxes, really expensive, really cheap, weekdays perfect and weekends too crowded, great for daytime drinking, a little rowdy, rowdy in a different way, good conversation, and war-zone location.

Some of those things are quite random, but it's an interesting list, from The Office Bar in Hoonah, Alaska (population 900) to The Double Down Saloon in Las Vegas to No. 9 Park in Boston, the magazine gives a nice mix of bars across the country. And it lays it out in a helpful West Coast to East Coast format.

The magazine realizes that they might have missed a few bars, so they want readers to write in their favorites as well.

Do people still drink this? It's a classic drink (I remember it was a mainstay in my family years ago, when we had any kind of holiday party), but I don't think I've heard anyone order one in 20 years. Esquire has the classic recipe. It sounds simple, but if you get the mix wrong, it just won't come out right:

• use a tall, narrow mouth glass, at least 12 oz.
• put in two or three ice cubes
• pour in whiskey (you can use something else, but it's what is usually used)
• pour in seltzer or club soda.

Should be served cold so the ice doesn't melt. And don't stir it!