• Eating Our Words gets us ready for the weekend by alerting us to the existence of pocket shots. Finally, an alcohol product designed specifically for endurance athletes.

So stupid it's awesome. (Or maybe vice versa.)

Flickr: tiffanywashko

The underlying principles of the diet -

Baby food usually contains no added fats, seasonings or chemicals, keeping the food in it's purest form.

Lots of veggies and fruits for nutrition.

The dumb things about the diet -

It's BABY FOOD. Gross.

Broward-Palm Beach

Gratify

I've got some major beef with the potato chips served at Gratify. These chips, the bar's equivalent of complimentary bread and butter, are crinkle-cut and fried in-house, which is admirable. But they're also sliced so thick that, in order to get them to crisp, the kitchen has to practically burn them. What you end up with is a basket of potatoes either bottom-of-the-fryer brown, or soggy and limp without any sort of satisfying crackle. More >>

Dallas

Hibiscus

The first taste of the baked Dungeness crab dip provoked a moment of quiescence. The silence, short-lived, was followed by ravenous arm wrestling for more. The appetizer dip, served with shards of unleavened bread--think matzo par excellence--was a reward for the tortuous hunt for non-valet parking in the eatery-heavy Knox-Henderson district. Better suited for a party of four or more, the dip was a portent of the meal to come at Hibiscus, an unabashedly New American restaurant. Praise the West and its ability to meld super-sized portions and exquisite tastes! Here was no affected nouvelle shop. Here was American cuisine--with a Pacific bent--and its knack to push boundaries, be they of flavors or waistlines. More >>

Sara Kerens

"Its chef might have changed, but the food at Hibiscus--in this photo, crispy skate wing with roasted marble potatoes--is worth the price."

• City of Ate keeps the Mother's Day articles rollin' on in with a list of five bizarre food commercials starring moms. Our favorite, the high fructose corn syrup ad below. Because if you can't clearly articulate why something totally unnatural is bad for you, it must be A-okay.

• In case you've been living in a hole, Cafe Society is here to remind you that today is Cinco de Mayo. And, in honor of this Americanized drinking holiday, they're suggesting Cinco de Drinko and other great theme party ideas.

Mmm...margaritas.

bravotv.com

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How much of Top Chef had you seen before this season of Top Chef Masters, and what do you think of the show?

I'd caught a few snippets of the regular Top Chef while trolling through the channels late at night, but I'd never watched enough to even know what a Quickfire Challenge was and, believe it or not, I'd never seen Top Chef Masters before they contacted me. I was on a holiday bike tour in Italy, when I snuck a look at my Blackberry, saw the message and said out loud, "No way!" As in, "No way they're going to get me on that show." My attitude must have offended the TV gods--within half an hour my Blackberry jumped out of my bike bag, crashed in the road and died. For the rest of the trip I fretted over whether I should or shouldn't do it. The consensus of the group was that I should do it.

When I got home, I apologized to the TV gods and humbly tuned in.

I soon realized that although the cooking was great and the competition exciting, the real draw was the people. Top Chef may be a little more rough and tumble than Top Chef Masters, but in both cases, you want to get to know the characters.

1) Key Lime Pie

Flickr: paul goyette

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• Fat City kicks things off with the puzzling news of a new White Castle-scented candle. You know it's a questionable product when the profits are going to charity, and you'd rather just donate money directly.

Is that grease and regret I smell?

The event took place this past Sunday and turned out to be just as heated as one would expect from a jalapeño challenge. In the end, it was Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti who defeated last year's champion, Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas in a double overtime battle of awesomely nicknamed competitive eaters.

You can marvel at the contestants' double-fisted dining prowess by watching the video below, and get more details on the Jalapeño Eating Championship Challenge at the event's website.

There's no denying that eating 275 jalapeños in 10 minutes is an impressive feat, and despite garnering a nice payday for his efforts, this is definitely a challenge we'll be leaving to the professionals. After all, stuffing your face with peppers might not be dignified, but eating one, sweating profusely, and then silently drinking a beer for the next 9-and-a-half minutes is just plain sad.

Flickr: wEnDaLicious

There are lots of burger month promotions at Smashburger, all of which you can check out on their microsite.

The stoner's paradise, Krystal, is also in on the freebie action, and will be giving away $50 a day to loyal fans on Twitter and Facebook as well as a grand day of festivities on May 27th.

White Castle is offering a Slyder®-scented candle to help raise funds for Autism awareness. Expect a "steam-grilled-on-a-bed-of-onions scent" when you purchase one for $10 through the House of Crave store online.

Culver's, home of the ButterBurger, is offering a new variation with barbecue and cheddar to honor National Burger month, complete with an in-house competition between the new burger and their BBQ brisket sandwich.

• Short Order kicks things off by sharing some tips for taking great food pics with a point and shoot camera. The secret is all in remembering to aim your camera at the food.

Jacob Katel

That sure is a pretty looking dish.

Flickr: Phil Sellens

The actual plant, marsh mallow or althaea officinalis

According to the British lady that does voiceover for the show's minute-long game instructions, pharaohs in ancient Egypt enjoyed these puffy pillows of sugar, although they probably weren't pink, green or jet puffed.

The Campfire Marshmallows website states that close to 4,000 years ago, Egyptians discovered that the sap from the mallow plant, growing in the marshes (hence the name, marsh and mallow combined) could be combined with honey to make a very royal and sweet confection. This ancient marshmallow was reserved for kings and gods, and was the basis for our modern day candy favorite, although gelatin has since replaced the mallow sap.