Restaurants have had to get creative in the ways that they attract and retain customers, and have been relying on takeout and delivery to keep them afloat.

Meet Hercules, head cook to President George Washington, and almost certainly the first one-name celebrity chef in American history. 

Welcome to dinner-theatre, a relatively recent trend—as trends go—in which the Chicago area has played an important role.

“If you can’t get to paradise, I’ll bring it to you.”

“A good marriage is like a casserole – only those responsible for it really know what goes in it.” – Anonymous

September is National Honey Month, a great excuse to learn more about a remarkably popular, enduring, and versatile product that has quite possibly been around since the dawn of recorded time.

“Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti.” --Sophia Loren

Along with a tinny rendition of “Turkey in the Straw” emanating from an ice cream truck, the sticky sweetness of fresh waterm

“Americans will eat garbage provided you sprinkle it liberally with ketchup.” --Henry James

“Where the Piñon Mesa rolls And the campfire cures your woes Watchin' the sly roadrunner flee On the tail of an autumn breeze…

That's where you'll find me Where the big back country lies There the cowboy's free to ride Out under New Mexico skies.”

  -- “Under New Mexico Skies” (New Mexico’s Official State Song)

“Dream as if you’ll live forever; eat cupcakes as if you’ll die today.” --Unknown

“Coffee makes it possible to get out of bed. Cupcakes make it worthwhile.” --Unknown

For most of us, there is a giant disconnect between us and the food we eat, and we, and the environment, are not better for it.

“There are few things so pleasant as a picnic eaten in perfect comfort.” – W. Somerset Maugham

“A dish of mushrooms changed the destiny of Europe.”

--French philosopher Voltaire, on the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, rumored to have died after eating poisonous mushrooms

“Garlic. A faithful friend for almost any type of seasoning. Use with discretion.” ― James Beard

There has seldom been a more versatile, filling, relatively inexpensive, and universally popular culinary staple.

“Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” ―author/nutritionist Adelle Davis

“All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.” ―journalist John Gunther

“The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday - but never jam today.” --Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass

“Man cannot live by bread alone; he must have peanut butter.”

Today, January 16, is International Hot and Spicy Food Day, an appealing prospect for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere who are curr