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.

We don't mean to sound forward but we think we've fallen for you, dearest autumn - what with your richly colored bounty, spicy disposition and warming nature. You've got every delicious thing a guy or gal could want in a season and more.

And it seems Laurence Edelman, the executive chef of The Left Bank Restaurant, is equally as smitten.

Fall for fall - Five Reasons Cooking in Autumn Rocks: Laurence Edelman
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There’s a saying in Brooklyn, New York – Brooklyn bagels are the best because of the water. Connoisseurs of New York bagels will tell you it’s the local water that gives Brooklyn bagels their unique taste.

Click to listen to the CNN Radio podcast:

“That is true,” said Ameen Hamin, a manager at Terrace Bagels, a Brooklyn bagel shop at the top of several lists of the best bagel stores in New York. “We have the best water here so everything is made with water. That’s what makes the bagel taste good and gives it that texture.”
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Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• Kermit was right, it ain't easy being green - especially when he's on the dinner menu. - Garden & Gun

• In the wake of Hurricane Irene, small Northeastern farms are banding together to overcome. You can join them too. - Gilt Taste

• Don't drink from the finger bowl, lose the shorts and other prevention tips for embarrassment at an elegant restaurant. - Food & Wine

• Lose the melting pot metaphor, America is a sandwich. - GOOD

• It's the great pumpkin beer, Charlie Brown. - Boston.com

A colleague recently came to me with a burning food question.

It wasn’t the usual “where should I take my visiting vegan cousin for dinner?” or “what the heck do I do with a butternut squash anyhow?” Rather, the conversation veered toward an edgier topic: kitchen knives.

He was attending a wedding later in the month and wanted to give the future Mr. and Mrs. something more on the functional side; an item they’d actually use on a day-to-day basis instead of some highfalutin punch bowl only brought out once in a blue moon.

"No, no, no! Don't do that. It's bad luck,” piped up a neighboring editor.
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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.

Get your coffee buzz going - September 29 is National Coffee Day!

It's the drink that gets you going and the lifeblood of fine hard-working folks all over the world. It even inspired Johan Sebastian Bach to write "Coffee Cantata" about caffeine dependence - now that's some serious java love!
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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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