For Tokyo locals as well as visitors, Tsukiji fish market has long defined the heart, soul and, most importantly, the stomach of this hectic metropolis.

But after 78 years in operation, the beloved Tsukiji fish market will close forever after 2013.

The Tokyo metropolitan government recently released its design for a new wholesale seafood market set to open in 2014.

According to the Asahi Shimbun, the new market will be located in a few kilometers from the Tsukiji market in a complex in the Koto Ward and spread out over 408,000 square meters of floor space.

Read the full story on CNN Travel: "Iconic Tokyo fish market to close, replacement design unveiled"

Ryan Goodman is a generational rancher from Arkansas with a degree in Animal Science from Oklahoma State University in Animal Science, and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at the University of Tennessee, studying beef cattle management. He is one of many farmers using social media to bridge the gap between farmers and urban customers. Follow his story daily at AgricultureProud.com or on Twitter and Facebook.

The term "local" is used frequently in conversations centered on the American food system. Is it 50 miles from your home or 500? Must the food be purchased directly from the farmer? Can the food be sourced by a retailer and sold under a "local" label for stronger buying power?

I have listened to several panel discussions on food topics over the past year and the topic of local food sources normally pops up. Some of these panel discussions have included suburban or urban mothers and restaurant owners. When asked what they considered local food and farmers, a common theme arises, and it bothers me: the urban ideal of what local farmers should look like.
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Editor's Note: Mark Hill is Director of Photography for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

Although I have been in love with photography since I was 12, my first serious relationship with the subject began as a wide-eyed intern in New York City. A well-regarded food photographer took me under his wing and taught me all aspects of the craft, starting with a respect for the food that nourishes us.

For me, the key to good food photography is that whatever you are shooting needs to looks fresh from the kitchen. Not all food is inherently beautiful - a rack of ribs, for example - but if it appears fresh and hot out of the smoker, it will look appetizing.

The plate needs to be composed in the kitchen as carefully as you frame your camera. Look at how the food is plated. Ask yourself if the most important element is highlighted. If not, rotate the plate to make it more prominent. Does the garnish enhance the plate or distract? If it distracts, reduce or eliminate it all together. Don’t be afraid to move things around.

Here are a few tips that will really make food images their best. They all apply if using the fanciest digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) or mobile phone camera.
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Biting into a piece of fried potato dough drizzled with glaze can be a religious experience in Portland, Maine. A visit to a funky new dive called The Holy Donut has become a weekly, or sometimes daily, ritual for customers craving a fix of flavors ranging from sweet potato ginger to roasted pistachio.

“I’m trying to convince myself it’s not a sin to eat donuts,” says regular Nathan Hagelin as he takes the first bite of the shop's seasonal apple cider flavor.

“Everybody wants it. They think they can’t have it, but we tell them they can,” says owner Leigh Kellis. Traditionally the poster child of unhealthy treats, donuts here are made with all natural colors and flavors, local Maine ingredients and no preservatives.
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Ahmed Ferwana has a cookout coming up, one that's been years in the making. The English teacher in Gaza City is excited because his friends will be cooking a fish they haven't been able to buy in years.

Ferwana says the taste of this fish when cooked on the grill with spices is indescribable. He added that this fish, its name is translated as locus, is also a favorite because it has fewer bones than others.

Ferwana has missed this fish because of restrictions imposed on Gaza's coastline. Citing security concerns, weapons smuggling and the desire to prevent attacks, Israel restricted Gaza's fishing to only three nautical miles from shore. That's meant a small supply of fish and high prices for years.
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So, you’ve arrived in the Sceptered Isles and you’re thirsty for some local culture. No use looking in the Tower, the Globe or the British Museum.

Forget about Piccadilly Circus and the London Eye, too: they’re all full of tourists.

To rub shoulders with the folks who actually live there, head for a pub.

For centuries, the pub (short for “public house,” as opposed to a members’ club) has been the heart of the United Kingdom’s social life. People gather for gossip and banter, chatting and flirting or just to drink, whether solo or in groups.

You’re free to sit or stand, talk or contemplate, people watch (careful with that, though) or just mind your own business. All for the price of a beer.

That, however, is where it gets a bit complicated: it’s hard to order when you don’t know the terminology or how things work.
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Dunkin' Donuts' bid to tout their java exclusively as "Best coffee in America" has been refused by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on the grounds that the desired trademark is "merely laudatory and descriptive of the alleged merit of applicant’s services and the goods featured therein," according to the Boston Globe.

For those readers not in the habit of deeply perusing the USPTO's website as part of their leisure reading, "coffee" is defined as "a hot, slightly bitter drink made by pouring hot water over brown powder consisting of coffee beans that have been ground" and "best" as "used for referring to the person or thing that is the most satisfactory, appropriate, pleasant, effective, of the highest quality, etc."
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If you crave fries in San Francisco, Jasper's Corner Tap is a natural choice. But your decisions aren't over yet. Will it be thin, thick, or sweet potato? Do you try the smoked-paprika seasoning or a cheese curd-based poutine, or play it safe with sea salt? There's an entire menu devoted to customizable fries at your fingertips.

French fries are one of the true crowd-pleasers - a food that friends agree upon, that turns up at both five-star steakhouses and roadside dives, and that is familiar but can also surprise you. They can be cut thick or curly, cooked with or without skins, served Belgian-style in paper cones or in a parchment-lined basket with malt vinegar on the side. No matter how you slice it, the deep-fried spud is king.
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Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up.

No matter how hard you try, Thanksgiving is not going to be a healthy meal (if you prepare it so it's enjoyable anyway). If you want to mash your potatoes with fake butter, serve your skinless turkey breast without gravy and have a tiny sliver of non-whipped-cream topped pie, that's your prerogative.

The other option is to just go for it: butter in the mashers, gravy on the turkey and a super insane piece of pie on Thanksgiving. And then wake up on Friday and go to the gym. I vote plan B. here are some suggestions on where to find that insane pie.
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[Editor's note: We ran this post a while back, but because so many people are traveling for Thanksgiving, we wanted to share the great advice in the comments below and ask you to shout out more of your hometown favorites.]

One of Eatocracy's most favored Canadians, CNN anchor Ali Velshi dropped by a while back to film an installment of 5@5 Live.

Our managing editor gifted Mr. Velshi with the signature dish of her homeland - a can of Skyline Chili Spaghetti, in the hopes that it would sway him to accept her offer of a position as Eatocracy's official Spokesanchor/Taste Tester (he has since been named our Senior Junk Food Correspondent). He, in return, waxed rhapsodic about poutine - a meld of fries, cheese curd, gravy, and, according to him, a soupcon of rancidity from infrequently changed fryer oil.
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