Who needs Mobil 1? There’s enough hamburger, bratwurst, and pork chop grease around the infield garages at Daytona International Speedway to lube every pushrod, crankshaft and exhaust valve in the joint.

It may not be 200 mph, but the speed at which pit crews, officials, and media types race around the garage area can be dizzying. There’s little time to lounge and enjoy the warm Florida sunshine, let alone a proper meal. What precious minutes crew members may have between adjustments and repairs are spent refueling themselves. It doesn’t take a keen eye to see there’s plenty of fuel around - and not the Sunoco kind.
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You know you're at a table full of New Orleanians when there's a 20-minute conversation about gumbo.

How dark should the roux be? Do you use file? Can you put meat in a seafood gumbo? (Scandal! John Besh went back and put okra and andouille into James Carville's mother's seafood gumbo recipe because he thought it was too thin! Mary Matalin applauded that move.) Is is really gumbo if there's no okra? Why does any of this matter?
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What kind of cake do you serve at the wedding of the century?

Betty Crocker set to find out, producing four elaborate and elegant wedding cakes, designed with Prince William and Kate Middleton in mind.

“There’s a shared excitement on a global level in anticipation of the upcoming wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton,” said Cheryl Welch, director of Betty Crocker Kitchens and Food Content. “At Betty Crocker, we were inspired by the British phrase, ‘something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue,’ and created four show-stopping wedding cakes that we think capture the spirit of this Royal Wedding.”

Each cake is unique in its own way.
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Fame Bites goes inside the belly of the entertainment beast. We're dishing out where the celebrities are eating, what they're eating and who they're eating with.

Some rock bands subsist on a steady diet of junk food when they're on the road, grabbing lunch at the AM/PM or hitting the nearest drive through on the tour bus - not Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. The refrigerator on their bus is filled with fresh gourmet items and organic greens.

"A well-fed band is a rockin' band," says Potter.

At age 27, the Vermont native plays den mother to her five-piece group - which Rolling Stone named one of the "Best New Bands of 2010." Because GPN spends about 200 days out of the year traveling, Potter says it's really important to create a home-like environment aboard the bus, especially since it's shared by 12 people.
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We're sort of pinching ourselves, to make sure last night's Secret Supper really happened. James Carville, Mary Matalin, Leah Chase, Bryan Batt, Poppy Tooker, Lance Nacio, a CNN Hero, a farmer, food activists, writers - all around the same table eating John Besh's food? Naw, that can't be real...

While we're collecting our thoughts, please enjoy the sweet song stylings of New Orleans musician Trombone Shorty and learn why he thinks it's akin to a big ol' pot of gumbo.

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.

We can already tell it’s going to be a grape weekend: February 18 is National Drink Wine Day. Well, don’t mind if we do!

Today, the glass is certainly half full - with anything and everything from riesling to viognier, malbec to merlot, cabernet sauvignon to syrah. Pair yours with cheese, finger foods, dessert or main dishes.

What’s with the blanc expression? Cork got your tongue?

What's on TV?
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Pssst! Got a sec to chat?

We are utterly thrilled when readers want to hang out and talk – whether it's amongst themselves or in response to pieces we've posted. We want Eatocracy to be a cozy, spirited online home for those who find their way here.

Consider the daily Coffee klatsch post as your VIP lounge – the primary comments thread for readers who'd like to chat about topics not related to the articles we're running. That way, everyone knows where to find each other, and each post's comments section remains on topic.
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