"Okay so tell me if this is odd...one of my coworkers puts salt in her coffee. She will put like 5 or 6 of those small packets of salt in a small cup of very strong black coffee and nothing else. She says it cuts the bitterness out...

I've never seen anybody do that before and I think its just disgusting and very odd but maybe I'm wrong..maybe more people do it and I'm just not aware of it." - Audrey

When you live in New York, celeb sightings at restaurants aren't especially uncommon, but that doesn't mean we don't get all excited and Tweet from under the table.

Eatocracy editors have been especially starstruck over the past couple of days, with a Ruth Reichl spotting at lunch today and Tony Bennett at the next table at dinner last night.

Who's the biggest star you've ever seen out at a restaurant? Let us know in the comments below and spare no details - did you pop over for a picture, or just sit and giggle to yourself and try not to stare? (That's our standard M.O.)

(And we won't pretend we don't get all giddy when we see Anderson Cooper walk across the newsroom, but that's our little secret, 'kay?)

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.

Our managing editor already waxed poetic about the refreshing revelation that is tomatoes and booze. Now, it's Mattias Hägglund's turn to get in the mix and raise up those unsung heroes of the cocktail world. Perhaps we should mention he's the mixologist at elements in Princeton, New Jersey - so let's just say being behind the bar is kind of his thing.

Five Ingredients That You Might Not Think of Including in Cocktails, But Really Should: Mattias Hägglund
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When Saveur Magazine's editor-in-chief and Top Chef Masters judge James Oseland 'fessed up to his fondness for McDonald's Filet-O-Fish in yesterday's 5@5 post, readers came out of the woodwork to wax rhapsodic about their obsessions with that very fishwich, Taco Bell's chalupas, tacos and nachos, Papa John's pizza and plenty of other fast food staples.

For many folks, chain take-out is a way of life; a necessity or a simple pleasure. For others, in light of 'factory farm-to-processing plant-to-the nation's highways-to-freezers-to-local fast food franchise' polemics like Eric Schlosser's 'Fast Food Nation,' Michael Pollan's 'The Omnivore's Dilemma' and last year's eco-It documentary 'Food Inc.', coming out in favor of a McDonald's menu item is an act of culinary, ecological and moral treason.

Where do you stand? We'd love to know why as much as how often, so super-size your stance in the comments below and we may include it in an upcoming post.

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

• A godfather's most precious gift? The bundt cake recipe that won a red ribbon from the county fair. - Salon

• Condé Nast is turning its magazine titles into restaurants. We'll take a table for two at the Vanity Fair Café. - Wall Street Journal

• With council members like Ferran Adriá and Heston Blumenthal, the Basque Culinary Center might just rock the cooking world. - TIME

• More Illinois families are receiving food stamps than ever before. - Bloomberg

• Holy cow! Ice cream is expensive. - New York Times

• High fructose corn syrup keeps getting smacked around. - Francis Lam

We reported earlier that former hot dog eating champion, Takeru Kobyashi, was scheduled to appear in a New York courtroom this morning after causing a scene at the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Now, it seems he's out of hot water so long as he doesn't bark up the wrong tree.

From the CNN Wire staff:

Hot dog eating champion Takeru Kobayashi was sentenced to six months' probation Thursday in New York. The charges against him - resisting arrest, trespassing, obstruction of governmental administration and disorderly conduct - will be dismissed if he successfully completes it.

Well, hot dog! Read the FULL STORY

Today's video interlude: snacks on a train. Amtrak is here to whisk these wieners away, courtesy of our friends at WISN

Make all your most devilish dog puns HERE

From the CNN Wire staff:

A former hot dog eating champion is scheduled to appear in a New York courtroom Thursday on charges related to causing a scene at a Fourth of July contest, authorities said.

Takeru Kobayashi is charged with resisting arrest, trespassing, obstruction of governmental administration and disorderly conduct after the incident at the famous Coney Island contest.

Get the FULL STORY

And we tried...TRIED to resist, but here goes. Puns. Bad ones.

- Kobayashi tried putting it behind him, but he knew his actions would ketchup with him sooner or later.

- No doubt Koby's defense team hopes he'll end up a wiener at the hearing today if their strategy cuts the mustard.

- Frankly, few folks relish the notion of Koby serving time.

Share your hot dog jokes in the comments below. Please. So we don't have the wurst ones.

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.

Aw, shucks. It's National Oyster Day. To commemorate the half-shelled occasion, slurp down a dozen of the bodacious bivalves with a squeeze of lemon and a dash of Tabasco.

No need to clam up - today, the world is your oyster.

What's on TV?
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