5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

After opening Spago on the Sunset Strip in 1982, Wolfgang Puck quickly spread his chefdom across America. And with a name like his, how could you not build an empire?

Today, at age sixty-one (Editors' note: happy birthday!), Austrian-born Puck is now an award-winning celebrity chef, restaurateur of 16 fine dining restaurants and 80 Express operations, multiple cookbook author and Emmy Award-winning television host.

So go on: Rock us Amadeus.

Five Best Restaurant Tracks: Wolfgang Puck
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Dear Mr. James,

We know you've got an awful lot on your plate right now, what with negotiating your new (or continuing) contract, potentially having to pack and move (remember - lift with your knees) and look for a place with really high ceilings and enough mantel space for all your MVP trophies, Olympic medals and platinum plated baskets full of cash.

Wouldn't that all go down easier if you just had a nice snack?
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Every weekday, we're highlighting a local or regional blogger we think you ought to know about. We can’t be everywhere at once, so we look to these passionate eaters, cooks and writers to keep us tapped into every facet of the food world. Consider this a way to get to know a blog’s taste buds, because, well, you should.

Meet today's featured blogger and blog:
Who: the ulterior epicure
Where: Kansas City, Missouri
Twitter: @ulteriorepicure
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A couple of weeks ago, we asked via iReport for your stories of that person, place, book, restaurant or dish that made you sit up and start to see food as more than just a three times a day chore. You eat every day, and you've got a story to share.

Every so often, we're sharing the most hunger-inducing and heartfelt ones right 'chere.

AC360° Associate Producer Kira Kleaveland producer has deep roots with memoirist and former Gourmet editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl's tales of intrepid eating. Here's how a woman she's never met became a source of culinary courage.
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Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• Forget the attack of the killer tomatoes: beware the foaming watermelon. - Atlanta Journal Constitution

• Can Honest Tea have Coca-Cola as an investor and still remain...well...honest? - New York Times

• Five disgusting foods that keep us coming back for more. Gimme that Filet O' Fish! - KCRA Sacramento

• Osama Bin Laden's former chef pleaded guilty at a Guantanamo Bay tribunal to conspiracy and supporting terrorism. - BBC

• A Sandwich-In-A-Can financier is being sued for fraud. Just say no to Candwiches. - NPR

This just in - John T. Edge's 'Southern Belly' food bible has been turned into an iPhone app.

And as director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, the man knows of what he speaks - and eats.
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"Everything's dying" says oysterman Vlaho Mjehovich, citing 95% casualties in his hauls.

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Eatcyclopedia is our ever-expanding glossary of food terms, and we'll be highlighting a term from it each weekday. The entries include definitions and, where applicable, pronunciations and country of origin - all spelling bee competitor style. Want us this use it in a sentence? Okay, here goes.

Use: Here's all you need to know: zest the rind, juice the fruit, ditch the pith.

Read the full entry for "pith"
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