Got a family favorite or a calorie-laden comfort food classic you'd love to see lightened up? Vote for your favorite, or let us know in the comments below.

Photo: Knopf

In case you were wondering to what extent the mania for "Julie and Julia'" had gripped the nation, Sunday's New York Times delivered the answer.

This August 30, nearly half a century after the book was published in America, Child's classic tome "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" will be listed in the number one spot on the gray lady's bestseller list in the how-to category. The paper reports booksellers selling seven times as many copies in a month as they are accustomed to selling in a year.

This is not a small deal, particularly for the struggling publishing industry. Blogger Julie Powell is of course largely responsible for the surge of interest in the French Chef, and we wonder whether top Knopf execs have been bombarding her with flowers and thank-you notes.

More importantly, we are curious about how many of our own readers have invested in the book because of the blog or the movie. So spill it in our poll: Have you bought Child's cookbook? When? Tell us why in the comments.

Photo: Noble House Wines

Gretchen Roberts writes the wine blog Vinobite, has passed the introductory course at the Court of Master Sommeliers and is studying for her sommelier certification this fall.

A new Wine Spectator survey shows that even hardcore oenophiles are downshifting their vino spending. For those of us with modest budgets, here are five more wine steals. This week's theme is international, because even with our dismal exchange rate with most countries and the additional taxes, shipping and middlemen fees, imports are without question some of the best juice in the wine aisle.

5. Bodega Luigi Bosca "Finca la Linda" Torrontes 2008, Argentina ($11): This wine smells like a Viognier with its powerful orange blossom and jasmine aromas. It tastes of lemon, green apples, flowers and minerals, with a nice backbone of acidity to balance out the rather high alcohol (14 percent).

Four more wine steals plus a wine personality poll after the jump.

A receipt. Photo: Rick, Flickr

Hanna Raskin's first waitressing job was at a small Greek diner in Michigan. In the 15 years since, she's worked at a chop suey joint in Mississippi, an exclusive Arizonan country club, a vegetarian eatery and an Irish pub. She currently picks up odd shifts at a seafood eatery in the North Carolina mountains, where she cracks crab legs for helpless tourists. This is the fourth in a series of posts.

"Writers of almost all the nations in the world have denounced the custom, but there will never be any change, for the reason that there is not enough profit in the restaurant business to allow paying the waiters good living wages," wrote bartender extraordinaire Harry Johnson in 1882.

In the eyes of many, the practice of tipping is inequitable but unavoidable. Some even find the custom downright strange: Outside of restaurants, it's pretty much impossible to procure any goods or services without first committing to pay a certain price. For example, try paying for your next movie ticket after the film.

If a restaurant patron bolts without paying his bill, he's committed a crime. Even if he thinks his steak was overcooked and his salad was soggy, protocol calls for him to ante up for whatever he ordered (unless he's sent it back). But if he stiffs his server, he's exercised his prerogative.

So here's a radical suggestion: Why not make service a menu item?

Absinthe drip and sugar cube. Photo: Alex Van Buren.

So we've been all about Bastille Day for the last 24 hours, from petanque to moules frites, brioche burger buns to a gorgeous vegetable tian and even a Francophile-friendly absinthe-spiked cocktail.

We're not the only ones itching to get out the door and toast our friends in the Old Country (or the wonderful eats and drinks they've sent our way). For those who will celebrating the occasion at home, Chow has recipes for three lovely terrines; Serious Eats discovers the tapenades of Provence; and one of Slashfood's own beer columnists breaks down Saison style beer at Gourmet while his colleague tackles eight great aperitifs, several of which are French.

Perhaps the triumph of the online articles, however, is France Magazine's enormous feature on aperitifs. From Lillet to Suze to Noilly Prat, it's all there, and we'll be printing it out and tucking it into our bag. (They've just unlocked the online files especially for Slashfood.) Happy celebrating!

Oh, man. So this squirrel was caught on film with its head stuck inside a Yoplait yogurt container.

The squirrel attempts to do all of its usual running, jumping, and generally squirrelish activities against the majestic backdrop of a white, elegant gazebo at South Carolina's Furman University -- all while wearing the container on its head. Apparently the videographer, a WYFF photographer, helped the squirrel remove his cap after filming this footage.

Click and come back to tell us:



[CNN via Serious Eats]

Photo: Michael David

Gretchen Roberts writes the wine blog Vinobite, has passed the introductory course at the Court of Master Sommeliers and is studying for her sommelier certification this fall.

With Independence Day just around the corner, we turn our attention to all-American wines for the all-American holiday. I combed through the Slashfood archives to find wines from all around our grand ol' country worthy of an American toast. Here are seven perennial favorites:

7. Before dinner, sip on some New York Riesling like Fox Run Vineyards Dry Riesling.

6. Howdy from Texas: the Becker Vineyards Prairie Rotie is a great barbecue wine, as is the (No. 5) Waterbrook Melange from Washington or (No. 4) Michael David "Sixth Sense" Syrah from California.

Three more grand American vinos and our new poll after the jump.

Gretchen Roberts writes the wine blog Vinobite, has passed the introductory course at the Court of Master Sommeliers and is studying for her sommelier certification this fall.

At Slashfood we're all about saving you moolah on the best food and drinks around. Here are five more Wine Steals to add to your "must-try" list.

5. Bodegas Arzuaga Navarro "La Planta" 2007 ($13): This Spanish red, made from 100 percent Tempranillo, has dusty plum and strawberry flavors with warm vanilla and allspice. With nice, grippy tannins and a lingering finish, it's a real winner for the price and one of best $13 wines I've had in ages.

4. The Sopranos Red Blend 2007 ($15): Its light, earthy bouquet speaks to Italy's terroir, but like Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri, it's fairly soft and round for an Italian mobster vino.

Three more Wine Steals and an ice cube (for wine, that is) poll after the jump.

Photo: Jason Reidy/Flickr

Hanna Raskin's first waitressing job was at a small Greek diner in Michigan. In the 15 years since, she's worked at a chop suey joint in Mississippi, an exclusive Arizonan country club, a vegetarian eatery and an Irish pub. She currently picks up odd shifts at a seafood eatery in the North Carolina mountains, where she cracks crab legs for helpless tourists. This is the first in a series of posts.

The first time I saw a fellow server settle into a booth with her customers while taking orders, I was seriously concerned.

I was a veteran of both high- and low-end cuisine, but had never seen such a thing. I immediately assumed she was too tired to carry on, and never suspected she was angling for a better tip.

As folks who ate out in the early 1990s may recall, researchers discovered in 1993 that sitting down with customers -- like drawing a smiley face on the bill or wearing a flower in one's hair -- was a sure route to a bigger tip.

Read on, plus a poll, after the jump.

Photo: jljjld(away)/Flickr

Is there one food about which you -- despite maybe being a food snob the rest of the time -- are not at all fussy? About which you say, "I don't care who makes it: I'll eat it!"

We realized after chomping down our second ice cream of the day that perhaps, perhaps, we are not so discerning about the stuff. It was late at night, and Häagen-Dazs Five (mint) had us rather over the moon. Then we realized that really, we've rarely met a decently-made ice cream that didn't sway our affections at least a little bit.

It's one of those foods that, as long as its basic components are intact, fails to register on the Picky Meter. Such eats are a relatively rare breed; they exist largely to answer a timeless and bottomless craving, and their combination of ingredients hits the pleasure buttons that in turn short-circuit the ability to criticize -- and to say "no."

Here are five we think might hit those buttons. Vote for yours, and if it's "other," hit the comments to let us know what it is!

These measuring spoons from Beehive Kitchenware are undeniably lovely: their silvery sheen and restrained floral imprint make them the kind of kitchen utensil that belongs on a wall, not in a crowded drawer. And because they're pewter, they've got real heft: these are spoons whose style matches their substance.

But. There are those who would argue that the winsome charms of these spoons are rendered all but irrelevant by the thin copper ring that holds them all together. It's a small detail, yes, but to many measuring spoon users, a polarizing one.

Plenty would argue that the ring is an unnecessary annoyance that makes it all but impossible to keep all of the spoons clean, even when you're only using one. Other, pro-ring users would counter that a couple extra dirty spoons is a small price to pay for the convenience of knowing where all of your spoons are, all the time -- whether they're jammed in that overcrowded drawer or displayed on the wall as proudly as a Picasso. So vote, and hit the comments to defend your pick:

Our wonderful (and similarly food-frenzied) friends at Chow asked a question today that may have some folks bristling: Is it ever OK to ogle a stranger's meal at a restaurant and ask what she's eating?

Etiquette writer Helena Echlin posits that "though it's OK to look, staring at people while they're eating makes them uncomfortable. If you need help identifying a dish, ask the server (avoid pointing if you can). Don't ask the person eating it." She notes an exception in the case of ridiculously close tables -- common in places like New York City and San Francisco -- in which case it would be absurdly formal to summon a waiter. Echlin interviews a restaurant expert who declares he "would never cross the imaginary wall" between tables.

In a crowded eatery with tiny two-tops, it's true that an "imaginary wall" can feel especially important. When a noisy couple are inches away, your demure chatter about the weather quickly turns into an extended dance remix with their loud argument about his mother-in-law.

[Via Chow]

Read more and take the poll after the jump.

Have you ever taken note of the bread you're served at restaurants in the pre-meal bread basket? I suspect that unless you're a bread snob, the answer is no. As a self proclaimed breadie, I actually have had conversations about the bread at restaurants with other bread lovers. Some of my bread friends refuse to eat bread out, just like I had friends in art school who would cover the bad art in hotel rooms so as not to be exposed to the negative vibes.

However, I haven't met anyone who would bring their own bread to nibble on. According to the Guardian, that's exactly what bread scholar Steven Laurence Kaplan does. He even brings his own bread to very high end places in France, the bread capital of the world, because he says that even in France bread is an afterthought in restaurants.

I have had good bread in one restaurant, but that place is directly across the street from the best bakery in town. I agree that bread is usually an afterthought in dining establishments, but would you, or should you, bring your
own? Take the poll below to throw in your own two cents.

A recent WebMD article highlights some of the alcohol-related results of a new Gallup Poll, and it looks like beer is back on top as America's alcoholic beverage of choice. In the sampling of 1,007 Americans, 41 percent ranked beer as their top pick and 33 percent chose wine. It's also interesting to note that the sample group is based on Americans that are 18 years of age or older. While the number of Americans who say they drink hasn't really increased much since the '40s, according to Gallup, the amount those Americans drink has risen. The most recent figures show Americans drinking 4.5 drinks per week, compared to the average 2.8 drinks per week people reported having in 1996. Perhaps people are becoming more wine and beer savvy, or perhaps, as WebMD suggests, the increase is related to all the good press wine has received for its health benefits.

[Via Fark]

A new poll reveals that 80% of Americans say that they read nutritional labels when they purchase food, but half of those people buy the food no matter what the label says. So, why do they bother reading a label when it's not going to influence their decision to purchase?  "I don't know, force of habit" was one woman's response.

This is surprising because, in the past, other studies have indicated that consumers change their buying habits when confronted with an unhealthy food label.

Of those who do check the labels, they look for things like calories and trans-fats, but not necessarily for overall nutrition. Other things that the survey found are the women are most likely to read a nutrition label, followed by men and then single men, and that women are more likely to place importance on what they read there.

It sounds as though people simply don't know what they're "supposed" to be reading, even though there is no right answer on the label. The information for all the food eaten during the day is what should be taken into account, not just for one product.