So what we're saying is, so long as our spatula isn't actively frozen or melted to our hands, and monsoon spray does not prevent us from lighting a charcoal chimney, we're going to be outdoors, putting flame to food. Why don't you just come along and join us?

Catch up on the rest of our great cookout and picnic tips below, and if you run into a sticky grilling situation - we're here to help. Share your burning questions in the comments or Tweet us @eatocracy and we'll have your festivities back on track in no time.

Achieve Grilling Greatness

- Grate balls of fire? Not on our watch.

- Help! My neighbors stink at grilling!

- C'mon baby, light my fire – just don't skimp on the flavor

- Up your grilling game

- Red hot grilling tips from Eatocracy readers

- 5 grilling mistakes – and how to fix them

- Advice from killer grillers

- Why girls should grill

Brilliant Burgers

- Burgers – a step-by-step guide

- Best. Burgers. EVER and Best. Cheeseburger. EVER

- Dean Martin's Bourbon Burgers

- Buffalo sliders and fried chicken that raises the bar

- Slider battle!

- Big, bad burgers from around the country

- Food & Wine's favorite burgers

- Top 10 burgers in the United States

Monumental Meat

- Five slices of barbecue wisdom

- Five tips for hot dog success

- How to smoke a brisket in your backyard

- Take a stab at a slab – an intro to ribs

- Five steps to steak supremacy

- Hearts afire! Liver, marrow, kidneys and more great offal for the grill

- Whole hog BBQ - the Mount Everest of Meat

- Five cuts of meat to buy and grill

- A prime rib primer

- Lobster roll 101

- What every carnivore should know

Stellar Sides

- Best potato salad we've ever had

- How to grill corn

- Grilled pizza basics

- All about cole slaw

- The art of the deviled egg

- Ultimate grilled okra

- The only salad that matters right now

- A vegetarian may show up at your cookout. Do not be alarmed.

The Art of Outdoor Dining

- Make your tailgate a touchdown

- 5 picnic no-nos

- How to use grilling leftovers

- Bring your indoor favorite to the great outdoors

- Make a Mexican-inspired outdoor feast

Divine Drinks

- Iced tea awesomeness every time

- You need to stay hydrated, might as well make it interesting

- Make perfect lemonade

- Ideal wines for grilled burgers, steaks, chicken and seafood

- Best burger-friendly wines

- The right wine for that burger you're eating

- Wine + BBQ = Heaven

- Chill out with wine

- Drink this with summer seafood

- The United States of Lemonade

And feast on the results of The Picnic Poll to find out what your fellow chefs like for a main dish and drink, burger topping, side dish and dessert.

Read all about barbecue

The beer world has been up in arms this week as word spread that established brewery, Magic Hat, was filing a lawsuit against newly formed West Sixth Brewery, out of Lexington, Kentucky. Both breweries have weighed in and countless others have opined online.

The storyline sounds like a typical one: big corporation bullies the mom-and-pop little guys in order to get their way. But, when you look at both sides, it’s not so black and white.

Here’s the Cliff's Notes version of the story. Magic Hat out of Burlington, Vermont, has been a brewery since 1994 and makes a beer, their flagship, called #9. West Sixth has been brewing beer for about a year in Lexington, Kentucky. The brewery and beer names have little in common but, you don’t have to be a graphic designer to realize the labels are similar.

Magic Hat, via their attorney, wrote a letter to West Sixth last fall asking them to change their logo and account for royalties from sales or face legal action. West Sixth responded with a rebuttal letter and denied the similarities but also agreed to alter its logo and phase out the existing inventory of the design in question. Then a series of back-and-forth letters were exchanged between the two breweries and it almost seemed like a resolution was forthcoming.

But, West Sixth reneged on their offer, arguing that replacing their logo entirely would be too costly and thus, would remain to use the logo in question. And so Magic Hat filed a lawsuit. And West Sixth countered with a social media campaign encouraging people to sign a petition and pledge “No More Magic Hat.”

And then the small percentage of the internet reserved for arguing beer geeks, exploded.

Reading the attorney’s letters to each respective brewery is a total bore and I wouldn’t recommend reading them unless you enjoy punishing yourself.
But, I really wish the dialogue between the breweries would have continued. I wish it didn’t get to a breaking point and cause a lawsuit followed by a social media campaign engineered to raise a stink.

The craft beer world is better than that. (It’s worth noting that many do not consider Magic Hat a craft brewery due to their ownership by a foreign corporation, Florida Ice & Farm, based in Costa Rica.)

I’ve heard countless stories of breweries in the same town, competing for the same customers, borrowing ingredients from each other. Or breweries coming together to raise money for a worthy cause.

And then there’s the story of Russian River and Avery, two breweries that realized they were brewing a beer with the
exact same name – Salvation. Instead of legal action, which applies much more in this case than the one mentioned above, the two breweries decided to blend the two Salvations together and release one beer appropriately named, Collaboration Not Litigation.

And that’s my humble advice to Magic Hat and West Sixth: work this matter out, outside the walls of a courtroom, and then brew a beer together that shows solidarity, not separation. In fact, you can even name it that. Plus, I don’t think the obvious choice of “69” is going to get the green-light in the marketplace.

I tweeted this proposal out to both breweries yesterday and West Sixth seems to be on board:

Sure! RT @nathanberrong Hey @westsixth and @magichat, when all of dust settles, how about a collaboration beer? RT if agree #craftbeer #beer

— West Sixth Brewing (@WestSixth) May 23, 2013

That’s a start. Now it’s your turn, Magic Hat. Once everything’s sorted out, is there a chance of a collaboration beer with West Sixth? The beer’s in your court.

Collaboration beers have become somewhat of a trend recently. Most are collaborations between friends or craft breweries that admire each other’s work. And then others collaborate on a beer to signify unity instead of division. Which, for me, is a big part of why I drink craft beer.

Regardless of the reasons, here are eight brewery collaborations worth checking out:

Avery (CO) and Russian River (CA) Collaboration Not Litigation (pictured)

New Belgium (CO) and Red Rock (UT) Paardebloem

Jester King (TX) and Mikkeller (Denmark) Drink’in The Sunbelt

Green Flash (CA) and Founders (MI) Linchpin IPA

Sierra Nevada (CA) and Boulevard (MO) Terra Incognita

Stone (CA) Aleman (IL) and Two Brothers (IL) Dayman Coffee IPA

Maui Brewing (HI) and Lost Abbey (CA) Lemongrass Saison

Yazoo (TN) and Calfkiller (TN) The Beacon

What is your favorite collaboration beer and what advice would you give on how to resolve the Magic Hat-West Sixth snafu? Weigh in with your comments below.

Previously
Now in session: lower-alcohol beers
Why I drink good beer
Building a better drinking vessel

As the weather warms up, burger eating is pretty much mandatory. If you’re not working a grill, you’ll probably be standing near someone wielding some patties and a metal spatula. But, I generally look to the professionals for my burgers. I asked the top burger judge I know, Josh Ozersky, for his top 10 burgers around the country. (For a list of the 25 best burgers around the country, look out for Food & Wine magazine’s August issue, which features picks from Josh, among others.)

A little about Josh: He’s the author of the phenomenal book, "The Hamburger: A History." His website, Ozersky.tv, frequently includes entries like “The Burger That Made Me Whole.”

And he only likes hamburgers with squishy, unseeded white buns and American cheese.

Take it away, Mr. Ozersky.

Pie ’N Burger (Pasadena, California)
To me, this tiny, family-owned diner produces the consummate old-school, small-scale, traditionally orthodox hamburger: salted, griddled beef, capped with American cheese and nestled on a squishy white bun. The fact that it is located in the same city in which the cheeseburger was reputedly invented weighs heavily on me as well.

Company Burger (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Company has the highest and noblest aspirations of any burger restaurant I know, and comes closest to attaining them. The young chef learned to make the legendary burger at Atlanta’s Holeman & Finch and transported it to New Orleans, where he is constantly tinkering with it and trying to make it better. Like New York City’s Shake Shack, which I also admire immensely, it represents the best instincts of high modern gastronomy, grappling with something humble and traditional.

Brindle Room (New York City)
The best hamburger in America, in my professional opinion, is served at a small, unassuming restaurant in New York City’s East Village called the Brindle Room. Compact, flat, aggressively seasoned, seared in the flares and flames of an old cast-iron pan and composed entirely of dry-aged rib eye deckle, its simplicity and suppleness and beefy, crusty oomph put it in a class by itself. And, of course, like all great burgers, it is highlighted, rather than hidden, by its white, seedless, enriched bun.

The Fat Cat, Bill’s Bar and Burger (New York City)
Two crispy, greasy patties of rich Pat LaFrieda meat, cheesed, topped with caramelized onions and butter and served on a toasted English muffin: This sandwich isn’t technically a burger, and nobody goes to Bill’s for authenticity or atmosphere, but I don’t care. It’s the only burger in America I like that doesn’t come on an enriched bun.

Keller’s Drive-In (Dallas, Texas)
The quintessential old-school drive-in restaurant, Keller’s serves a thin, flat, wonderfully flavorful patty on a poppy seed white bun. I’m not sure why it’s so good, if the truth be told, maybe there is some MSG in there somewhere? Don’t say it’s the atmosphere, though. This burger would be a great in a Trailways bus bathroom.

Schoop’s (Multiple Indiana and Illinois locations)
Schoop’s takes the best part of the hamburger - the salty, brown crust - and essentially serves it by itself. This is a radical reimagining of the hamburger; it’s like a chicken that’s all thighs, or a brisket that is all burnt ends. I wish I were there right now.

Mar’sel (Palos Verdes, California)
I was completely opposed to this upscale California gourmet burger until I took one bite of it, at which point I became totally in support of it, and found myself doubting my own identity. It was that good.

Au Cheval (Chicago, Illinois)
This wildly hyped burger is so rare, in that it: (A) conforms to what a hamburger is meant to be (griddled, salted, four ounces, squishy bun), and (B) lives up to the hype. I prefer it with the copious mustardy dressing on the side, as one pinky smear on the bun is all anyone needs, but it’s a genuine fabulous burger. I love that they start with preformed patties.

Husk (Charleston, South Carolina)
Husk’s double cheeseburger is just fabulous. The meat, like everything else there, is made from local animals and has its own unique character. But the American cheese bonds it with our great hamburger union.

The Little Owl (New York City)
There’s not much to say about the Little Owl’s bacon cheeseburger (pictured above and recipe below), except that it is perfect in every way. It’s not too big, and it’s not too round, and it’s not oversalted or seasoned (although a whiff of curry and Old Bay add a piquant X factor). My first bacon cheeseburger wife was Veselka, also in New York, but I left it for the Little Owl, to which I have been married for years.

More from Food & Wine:

Best Burgers in the U.S.

America’s Most Over-the-Top Burgers

America’s Best BBQ Cities

Ultimate Burger Recipes

Summer Grilling Recipes

Do you agree with this list? Post your favorite burger joint in the comments below.

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.

There is something about barbecue that brings out the best in humankind. It's an inherently generous undertaking. No one makes just enough for a couple of plates; the time and effort just wouldn't be worth it. A giant hunk of meat - a shoulder, brisket, slab or ribs or even a whole, delicious beast - is cause for celebration and camaraderie.

It also presents a built-in invitation in the form of a smoky, meaty scent that acts as a homing beacon to your backyard. If you 'cue it up, they will come.

But after tornadoes laid waste to the town of Moore, Oklahoma, earlier this week, many residents were left without a backyard to call their own - let alone a smoker, tongs or even a plate from which to eat. That's when Operation BBQ Relief rolled in.

The all-volunteer army of competitive barbecue teams and backyard enthusiasts banded together in May 2011 when similarly destructive tornadoes devastated the town of Joplin, Missouri, killing 140 people and injuring more than 1,000. Founders Stan Hays, Jeff Stith and Will Cleaver - all veterans of the competition scene - put out a call to their barbecue brethren: it's time to hit the road.

Competitive barbecuers are accustomed to spending their spare time, cash and passion on cooking food in quantity, many miles from home. Trophies, prizes and bragging rights are the common goal, but this time, the stakes were even higher.

Teams from eight states hauled their rigs, smokers and supplies to an empty parking lot in Joplin, set up camp and served over 120,000 hot meals to first responders, rescue workers and displaced families. If tornado victims couldn't get to them, the volunteers trucked food directly to wherever they were staying within the footprint of the storm.

It felt good. It felt right. And sadly, they've had to do it over and over again.

Under the leadership of Hays, Stith and Cleaver, the group officially formed as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation across 50 states. With the help of cash and supplies donated by private citizens and businesses across the country and partnerships with local churches and disaster organizations like Red Cross and the Salvation Army, Operation BBQ Relief has mobilized to many other disaster zones like the Colorado wildfires, the paths of Hurricane Isaac and Superstorm Sandy and the site of the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas.

A "Founders Club" and "Grand Champion Club" of around 100 people provide yearly donations to cover administrative costs and the ground throws occasional fundraisers. All donations from the public go directly toward feeding victims and first responders.

On the road to OKC to set up and start cookin' #operationbbqcares http://t.co/j7aLgfzxPP—
Operation BBQ Relief (@OpBBQRelief) May 21, 2013

Volunteers take vacation time from their day jobs to participate, and as soon as word goes out over the group's Facebook page and Twitter feed, they're ready to mobilize. Over 77 days of deployment, OBR has served up around 327,000 hearty, hand-crafted meals since the fateful decision to head toward the chaos in Joplin - and earned at least that many smiles, hugs and heartfelt thank-yous in return.

Amy Mills is the daughter of barbecue legend Mike Mills and co-author of "Peace, Love and Barbecue." She pitched in alongside the group's volunteers last year in the aftermath of tornadoes in Harrisburg, Illinois, and said that, "Operation BBQ Relief provides comfort in its most basic form: a lovingly prepared meal. I saw firsthand the profound impact a simple, delicious, hot meal can have during a time of overwhelming crisis."

That's what keeps Stith going. In addition to his competitive barbecue brothers and sisters, he has seen some familiar faces in the crowd. "What are also incredible to us are the storm victims themselves who often show up to volunteer so that they can pay it forward to others," he shared in an e-mail. "We have made some lifetime friends from some of these people."

But man cannot live by barbecue alone (though surely many have tried). While pulled pork barbecue is usually at the center of the menu, volunteers try to add a starch and vegetables to every meal and fresh fruit when it's available. Cooks may also feel free to get creative with the ingredients at hand. In Joplin, volunteers took pre-sliced apples donated by a local Sam’s Club, put them into foil pans with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and crafted impromptu baked apples in their smokers.

On the ground in Moore, brisket, pork and vegetables are on the menu. While victims of the storm don't know what the future holds, at least tonight, they won't have to face it alone or on an empty stomach.

Learn more about Operation BBQ Relief and visit CNN Impact Your World for more ways to help.

More on food, grieving and comfort:
Chefs with Issues: 'People hurt, we feed."
Serving up comfort food after a tragedy
Boston restaurants suffer loss in wake of bombing
Serving up gratitude in troubled times
Bringing healing to Newtown, one pie at a time
Filling the void – eating after a funeral
Roasted chicken soup for the banged-up soul
Pouring whiskey in the wound – eating and drinking after 9/11

However, for the millions of Americans with severe life-threatening food allergies, dining out can feel like a minefield.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the top eight foods that cause 90% of food allergic reactions are: dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, peanuts and tree nuts. However, anyone can be allergic to anything at any time.

So how do you avoid your allergens without avoiding your life? Here are my top strategies for dining out with a severe, life-threatening food allergy - keeping in mind that if at any point you don't feel heard, understood or safe, don't eat; never risk it.

Read - Dining out with food allergies

Previously:
Allergy-friendly grocery shopping without breaking the bank

You could call this a case of an early bird not wanting to catch the worm.

All high school student Derrick Holt wanted was a quick bite to eat when he purchased a Sausage McMuffin at a McDonald’s in Buckeye, Arizona.

What he says he got was a disgusting surprise, a stomach problem that’s kept him out of school and mixed messages from the restaurant that served him.

Holt took a picture of the mystery object and posted it on Facebook. As you might expect, the photo has gone viral and sparked debate.

Watch the video to see the surprise Holt said he found in his sandwich, as well as McDonald’s response to the controversy.

Do you think the worm is the real deal? What's the worst thing you've ever found in your food? Let us know in the comments below.

Previously:
Where to eat insects in the U.S.
Eat insects, save the world says U.N.
The case for eating insects
Health department bugs out over grasshopper tacos
I scream, you scream, we all scream when there are cicadas in the ice cream

Peru's bounty of fresh fish, roasted chicken, fiery chiles and sumptuous cacao packs so much flavor, it would be cruel not to share. Anthony Bourdain invited his best friend, world-renowned chef Eric Ripert to join in his culinary journey across this vast, varied and distinctive land.

Here's where they feasted:

Mercado Modelo (Chiclayo Market)
Ave Jose Balta and Arica
6.766272 S, 79.839075 W

Chez Wong
Calle Enrique Leon Garcia 114, Lima, Peru (San Isidro)
+51 1 4706217

Anticuchería Doña Pochita
Av. Ignacio Merino Cdra.23, Lince, Lima

Amaz
Avenida La Paz 1079, L18 (Miraflores)
+51 1 2219393

Canta Rana
Genova 101, Barranco, Lima, Peru
+51 1 2477274

Catch up on Eatocracy's previous adventures in Peruvian food:

– Peruvian food is having a moment

More and more Americans are flocking to Peruvian food and discovering a world of flavor beyond pollo a la brasa (rotisserie chicken). This diverse cuisine, with influences from Andean to Spanish, Japanese and Chinese to African and Italian, is quickly finding its rightful place in the national food scene.

Credit is due in part to Gastón Acurio, the country’s most recognized chef, who acts as the unofficial ambassador of Peruvian cuisine with 34 restaurants in 14 cities worldwide, including the recently-opened La Mar Cebicheria in New York City. In 2008, Acurio, together with Apega, the Peruvian Society for Gastronomy founded Mistura. This 10-day food festival brings together street vendors, herbal stands and high-end chefs showcasing their most popular dishes and attracts over 300,000 every year.

Now, scaled-down versions of this event – complete with quinoa desserts, fresh bread, and traditional herbal drinks – are popping up outside of Peru. Read more.

– South America's pisco enjoys North American revival

Long a fixture in liquor cabinets and bars in Peru and Chile, pisco is popping up in the United States amid an obsession with craft cocktails. From January to July 2011, export sales of the South American grape brandy grew to $2.3 million, up 139% over the same period in 2010, fueled by increased sales in the United States.

As pisco's popularity grows in the United States, its country of appellation remains a topic of dispute in South America. Pisco grapes are grown in Chile and Peru, and both Andean nations have adopted it as a national spirit. The dispute has played out in numerous decrees and regulations from both countries, with Peru claiming the historic upper hand and boasting a commitment to making it the old-fashioned way. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine has urged the two countries to make nice and work together toward a common solution. Mainly, the outcome has been aggressive international marketing campaigns from both countries. Read more.

– Make perfect pisco sours and ceviche

Peru won its independence from Spain in 1824. Every year on July 28th, Peruvians gather to celebrate that independence and they will very likely do it with two of their staples: a citrus-cured seafood delicacy called ceviche and the national drink, the Pisco Sour. We visited a Peruvian restaurant in Washington to see first hand what goes into making the perfect ceviche and Pisco sour. Watch a video tutorial.

Previously on Parts Unknown:
- Peru
Peruvian food is having a moment
Make perfect pisco sours and ceviche
South America's pisco enjoys North American revival
- Libya
Breakfast in Libya
Where fast food tastes like freedom
- Morocco
iReport: In Morocco, eating is the spice of life
Street snacking in Morocco
- Canada
O Canada! Our home and delicious land
Come for the strip bars, stay for the poutine
- Colombia
Colombian cuisine – from aguardiente to viche
Americans just don’t understand the potato. Colombians do.
- Los Angeles Koreatown
The ever-changing flavor of L.A.'s Koreatown
Bridging generations and cultures, one blistering bowl of bibimbap at a time
Los Angeles food trucks are in it for the long haul
- Myanmar
Fall in love with Myanmar's cuisine
In Myanmar, drink your tea and eat it too

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.

Talk about your potted pork! Bucking Boars Ranch, a longtime vendor at Seattle's Pike Place market is now selling meat from pigs that have been fed with marijuana plants.

Proprietor William von Schneidau told Seattle's KOMO that while he himself does not smoke pot, he partnered with a medicinal marijuana grower, Top Shelf Organic, to get plant remnants to feed to hogs on a nearby ranch.

"All we're trying to do is to help the local ranchers and to figure out some ways to shorten the carbon footprint," von Schneidau said.

Cannabis farming is legal in the state of Washington and the so-called "pot pigs" are fed on the stems, root bulbs and oversized leaves of marijuana plants that aren't ideal for smoking.

"[We are] putting some weed to the feed, if you know what I mean," von Schneidau joked in a video advertising a "Pot Pig Gig": a multi-course meal featuring Pike Place produce and the marijuana-fed meat.

And how does it taste? "Savory," reports von Schneidau.

The meat is out of stock for now, save for a small amount he plans to turn into proscuitto. But bacon lovers hungry for their next fix will be happy to know the butcher is planning to experiment with another batch of ganja-gorged swine soon.