"A dear friend of mine loves to eat adventurously, and his fiancee doesn't. The running joke is that I'm his late night "Foodie Call" to go to Chinatown or eat offal, or whatever. My friend just moved to San Francisco with his soon-to-be bride and I miss his texts already. I have many friends that are foodie friends, but that doesn't mean we aren't close in other ways as well. Plenty of personal things are revealed and life histories and emotional moments happen over breaking bread." - Cellar Rat

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.

Boston-based Ken Oringer is chef and owner of Clio, Uni sashimi bar, Toro, La Verdad, KO Prime and Coppa. Among his laundry list of accolades, Oringer was named "Best Chef Northeast" by the James Beard Foundation; defeated Cat Cora on Food Network's "Iron Chef America"; and has received praise over the years from 'Gourmet' (Editors' note: RIP), 'Food & Wine,' the Boston Globe, the New York Times and more.

Taking into account the "could you eat bugs?" debate and lunchtime poll on testing food boundaries, it only seems fitting to keep up the whole eating-weird-things theme.

Creepy, crawly and crunchy. Bon appétit?

5 Most Unusual Things I’ve Ever Eaten: Ken Oringer

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Scorpacciata is a term that means consuming large amounts of a particular local ingredient while it's in season. It's a good way to eat.

Zucchini, summer squash, courgette, green, yellow, round or oblong, whatever you call it, whichever shape you choose it’s delicious right now. You think squash, you think savory, but this story ends up sweet. Stay tuned for that.

Some of my most vivid childhood memories are of summers, my favorite season, in my father’s backyard garden. Every year, he tilled the soil and tended to the plants with great care. He planted rows and rows of tomatoes, beans and squash: a lot of squash, specifically the green zucchini.
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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 bloggers and blog:
Who: Robyn Eckhardt and David Hagerman, of EatingAsia
Where: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Twitter: @EatingAsia
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In light of today's insect eating story, we feel compelled to ask:

Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• Heinz ketchup, laden with salt and high fructose corn syrup, is irreplaceable in the artisan-food movement. - CHOW

• The "Louisiana Eat-In" organizers want to show that seafood from the Gulf is, contrary to popular belief, safe to eat. - NOLA.com

• One Disney Channel viewing of "Ratatouille" sparks a discussion of Health Department restaurant regulations. - The New Yorker

• Turn a messy eater into an artist with the "Frame Napkin." - OhGizmo!

Fresh Express is voluntarily recalling certain Romaine lettuce products in the United States and Canada with expired use-by dates of July 8 through 12 and an "S" in the product code.

These include 6- to 32- ounce, romaine-based salad products. Consumer questions can be directed to the Consumer Response Center at (800) 242-5472.

For complete recall information, read the FULL STORY

Some of my longest-standing friendships are rooted in food. This isn't a slight to the quality or level of companionship - it’s merely the savory truth.

Food is the ultimate leveler - no matter how different the culture or personality, a natural bond reveals itself if an exchange of food occurs.

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While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday and the most delicious finds on TV.

Morning, pudding. We can call you that, right? It's about that time again to offer up a (tapioca) pearl of food holiday wisdom.

Turns out July 15 is Tapioca Pudding Day, not to be confused with its non-pudding holiday counterpart, National Tapioca Day.

With this chilled, creamy pudding, you can stay cool all the way through the dessert course. Take that heatpocalypse!

What's on TV?

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