"Waffle House is my religion. There's nothing else like it. In what other chain restaurant do you get greeted – every time – with a big, hearty 'Good Morning'? Yeah, you sometimes get to see your cook's prison tatts. Yeah, you leave the place smelling like waffle oil. But you LOVE it." - Jenn

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.

If you live in Houston, Texas, chances are you've eaten some of Chef Bryan Caswell's food.

A native Houstonian, Caswell grew up in the same Gulf Coast region where he now owns REEF, Little Big's and Stella Stola.

Caswell was named one of Food & Wine Magazine's "Best New Chefs" in 2009, and was most recently nominated for a James Beard Award for "Best Chef: Southwest" in 2010.

It's obvious Caswell knows a thing or two about what makes a good chef - and where you find the foundation for a talented cook, according to him, may come as a surprise.

5 Reasons You Always Hire a Cook with Waffle House on His or Her Résumé: Bryan Caswell
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Plans didn't quite work out for that wine tour in Tuscany? Forgot to book that long, summer weekend in Napa Valley? As it turns out, a trip to the local farmers markets is a gastronomic getaway in its own right - where travelers can learn about (and taste) what's grown in the community.

For those vacationers in search of sweet summertime strawberries and juicy watermelon, a trio of food writers and chefs picked their top ten farmers markets across the United States.

Did your local market make the cut? Find out in the FULL STORY

Now that you've nabbed that omnivorous or veggie hottie, what do you feed him or her to seal the deal?

We turned to the chef behind some pretty swoon-inducing food during the Mario Batali Foundation's T-Bones & Tequila Event at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen ask asked him about devising a dinner date d'amour.

Previously – Batali talks more about food love

Now that we know a bit more about diet tribes - vegans, fruitarians and raw foodists to name a few, we're wondering:

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

• Have your cocktail and eat it too, with Jelloware's gelatinous tumblers. Chug and munch! - Mother Nature Network

• Michel Nischan gives an insider's view of Michelle Obama's "Chefs Move to Schools" campaign. - The Atlantic

• Burger King introduces a "Kids Meal" breakfast. - Bloomberg

• Does man's best friend belong with man in restaurants? - Michael Bauer

A number of young, hip and smart people are ditching the city life to pick up organic farming.

The National Future Farmers of America – an organization kids join in middle and high school – now boasts more than 500,000 members, the most since the organization's founding in 1928.

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We'll have a deep dish topped with extra "awwwwwww!"

In cooking, the process of clarification entails straining out extraneous muck from liquids so that they might be pure, clear and ideal for consumption. With this series on the world's dietary tribes, we're attempting to do the same. Previously, we defined dietary restrictions of some of the world's major religions. Up next – gluten free, low-sugar and other medically necessary diets.

Today, we're delving into the do-not-eat lists of all stripes of vegetarians as well as fruitarians, raw foodists and other groups who observe self-imposed culinary restrictions. Reasons for adherence vary wildly from person to person - some for religious reasons, others out of environmental and ethical concerns and others for reasons of health and well being.

In future installments, we'll speak with the people who have chosen these paths, but today, here are the raw (dairy-free, meat-free...) facts.

Omnivore
While the term technically implies a creature who eats everything, in human terms, it means an equal-opportunity eater who consumes both animal and plant-based foods in varying ratios.
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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.

Today's food holiday might just double as a confectionery education course: it's National Penuche Fudge Day!

... Come again?

Penuche Fudge Day, of course!

Still not ringing a bell? According to our good friends, Merriam and Webster, penuche is "fudge made usually of brown sugar, butter, cream or milk."

As it turns out, the brown sugar-based fudge is particularly a New England favorite, and ends up with a flavor profile that is a cross somewhere between maple and butterscotch.

What's on TV?
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