When Leah Chase is about to speak, the whole room goes quiet.

Democratic strategist James Carville noted this from his perch at the faraway end of the dining room table at Eatocracy's Secret Supper last Thursday. Ms. Chase, seated at the center, stirred in her seat and Carville, along with the other 14 guests, stopped talking and craned in. When the 88 year old "Queen of Creole Cuisine" has words to share, they tend to be worth hearing.
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Have you seen our salt shaker?

We were so busy teasing our coifs for our "Cherry Pie" rendition (we've been practicing all afternoon) and daydreaming about our next brandy milk punch that we almost forgot to mention (heaven forfend!) that February 22 is ALSO National Margarita Day.

Because of this joyous occasion, we want to know:

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.

There's no place like our concrete jungle home, but we're not ready to bid adieu to our newfound love, New Orleans, just yet - especially with Mardi Gras right around the corner.

Lu Brow is a cocktail book author and bar chef at the Swiz­zle Stick Bar. She puts the bourbon in Bourbon Street - and for that, we are forever indebted.

Five Cocktails I Enjoy Creating and CONSUMING During Mardi Gras: Lu Brow
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"Baby, what's the matter? Is there something wrong with your beer?"

(Sigh.) "No...it's fine. It just could be, I dunno...gayer, I guess."

A colleague guided us to a Time article about Minerva, a small brewery in Jalisco, Mexico brewing artisan honey-ales that "will appeal to gay men and lesbians whose refined tastes have been put on the back burner by beer manufacturers."

Well - that was news to us. We were operating under the wacky assumption that gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people were physiologically identical to straight people and that taste has pretty much zip to do with sexual or gender orientation, but clearly we were wrong. Wrongwrongwrongwrongwrong. Because this is in the news.

Seriously - we are all for gay-owned, gay-positive advertising messaging for all manner of products, but that notion that there is a collective gay palate is just totally goofypants to us.

Read LGBT Libation: Mexican Brewery Introduces World's First 'Gay Beer'

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

• With its new Protected Geographical Indication status, a Cornish pasty can't be deemed "Cornish" unless it's made in Cornwall. - Guardian

• Michelle Obama's après ski short ribs were more like 600 calories, instead of the 1,500 "pig out" as Rush Limbaugh suggested. - NY Daily News

• Wegmans Food Markets has chosen not to increase the prices of 40 products that families buy the most. - WHEC

• Jackpot! Who needs to be paid in coins when a slot machine can pay you in drinks?! - Popular Science

• A restaurant in northern Indiana has taken down its billboards with the saying "We’re like a cult with better Kool-Aid," after the Jonestown massacre reference left a bad taste with some folks. - USA Today

See more at Small Business Success

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 celebrates a dessert that tastes so good, it could “make a grown man cry.” February 22 is National Cherry Pie Day.

The tart dessert is as American as apple pie – just a bit more pucker-inducing. Even the Obamas enjoyed it during their Thanksgiving at the White House.

Bake yours from scratch, but don’t leave it cooling on the windowsill, eh Boo Boo?

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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