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.

When crying kids disrupt dinner, who ends up paying the price?

That was the question posed last week, and more than 21,000 readers weighed in saying that restaurants with stated policies about children's unruly behavior would actually entice them to spend money there.

While Firefly executive chef Danny Bortnick has taken steps to make his restaurant more kid-friendly, it is a two-way street - your kids need to act right.

And before you go off thinking Bortnick is some kind of booster seat hater, he is a father - and his restaurant is in the middle of Washington D.C.'s Dupont Circle: a densely populated urban neighborhood often busy with families and young kids.

Five Ways to Make Your Child More Restaurant-Friendly: Danny Bortnick
FULL POST

Marcus Samuelsson and Roblé Ali are two different chefs.

Samuelsson, 41, is an established name amongst foodies and the proprietor of Red Rooster, a renown Harlem restaurant.

Ali, 27, is an up and coming chef and animated reality-show star who works full time as an established caterer.

Samuelsson has made a name for himself embracing his identity as both a black chef and a Swedish immigrant to the United States, but younger chefs like Ali find themselves pushing back against being known simply as a “black chef.” Ali, who’s still building his brand, was frustrated when a blog author unexpectedly labeled him a “hip-hop chef.”

“Who takes you serious when you’re the hip hop chef?” said Ali. “And why am I the hip hop chef, because I’m black? I’m not break dancing.”

Read - A tale of two chefs: Marcus Samuelsson and Roblé Ali

Previously - a Secret Supper at Red Rooster

Nobody would think it’s smart to drink pepper spray, but trying this “almost non-edible” salsa may come close. It’s made with Trinidad Scorpion peppers, which are the same kind used in the spray. The Albuquerque, New Mexico restaurant El Pinto is attempting to create the world’s hottest salsa in a jar. They’re calling it “scorpion salsa” and they’re making it for the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show being held in Albuquerque this weekend.

Watch the brave (or crazy?) KOAT reporter try a spoonful. Would you eat a salsa that could cause burns when it makes contact with your skin? Let us know in the comments below.

Previously - Heat-seeking eater seeks nuclear noshes and 'Chili-heads' seek friendly fire from powerful pepper

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

• A new study shows low income kids are glugging down too much juice. - New York Daily News

• Next time you crave junk food, incorporate it into your cooking instead of eating its processed goodness straight from the bag. - Men's Health

• A Burger King and Olive Garden hybrid, and other imaginary fast food mash-ups. - McSweeney's

• Diet soda has been linked to heart disease - and if you stop drinking it, epidemiologists say, “you are not going to be missing out on any important vitamins or minerals." - New York Times

• Three ingredient tomato sauce! It's awesome! You're welcome! - Gilt Taste

While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

A real chocolate pick-me-up - February 28 is National Chocolate Soufflé Day!

Soufflés may be the only thing to rival the kind of lift many women achieve with gallons of hairspray - not to mention the fact that they taste like heaven.

The flavorful base is usually made with a French crème pâtissière (pasty cream), but the secret to this lightly baked cake is whipped egg whites.   The name comes from a French verb, souffler, which literally means to "blow up" or "puff up," and that's exactly the magic that happens when you bake custard and egg whites together.
FULL POST

Editor's Note: J. Wilson is an award-winning homebrewer and author of “Diary of a Part-Time Monk.”

About this time last year, I set off down a path that hadn’t been traveled for centuries. I fasted on beer and water for the duration of Lent.

While that sounds like a frat boy stunt, my “Diary of a Part-Time Monk” project was actually rooted in the Catholic Church, though that’s not what brought me to the idea.

A homebrewer and certified beer judge who is passionate about the flavors and culture of craft beer, I am what they call a “beer geek,” and so the monastic origins of the doppelbock style of beer had long intrigued me.

Read the full story: What I learned from my 46-day beer-only fast

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