The alternative to soda is water, and the alternative to junk food is not grass-fed beef and greens from a trendy farmers’ market, but anything other than junk food: rice, grains, pasta, beans, fresh vegetables, canned vegetables, frozen vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, bread, peanut butter, a thousand other things cooked at home — in almost every case a far superior alternative.

First, I boil the water for a minimum of six minutes to kill bacteria. Then I set it in a nonreactive shallow pan in the sun to slowly dehydrate.

If it wasn’t for gravy and coffee, we’d starve to death

Louis Armstrong was a very earthy human being. He got great pleasure out of the simple things: food, women, music. That really sums up the man. And you can’t take food out of the equation. It’s too simple to say, ‘he was just a trumpet player,’ or whatever else he is. The man was all about things that brought him pleasure, and food was very near the top of the list

I think the Detroit Coney should be considered one of the great American “Heirloom hot dog styles” that has stood the test of time—as important a part of hot dog history as the Chicago dog and New York Kosher style, and just as delicious

“You shouldn’t put ketchup on your hot dog,” the president said straightforwardly.