Caviar is the new condiment.

From tacos and flatbread to pasta and burgers, caviar - those shiny little balls usually passed on a small spoon by a white-gloved waiter - is shedding its stuffy image and lending a highbrow take to a regular meal.

"It's about sharing in that little taste of luxury," said Wesley Holton, executive chef of "Rose. Rabbit. Lie." at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
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Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Mixing up a refreshing batch of classic lemonade is as cinchy as opening a carton, stirring in some powder or thawing out some concentrate, right?

Well, those may be decent options in a pinch, but no pre-packaged product comes close to the magical meld of freshly-juiced lemons, simple sugar syrup and water. It may take a little extra time and effort, but the result is a wickedly delicious elixir that will spoil you for all other citrus-flavored sugar waters for many summers to come.

Once you master the basic method below, stir things up a bit by adding in your favorite fruits, liquors, and even a hint of wood smoke. Read on.
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We came in search of a classic but modest comestible: the hot dog.

The setting for this hunt was the erstwhile “hog butcher for the world,” as the poet Carl Sandburg put it: Chicago.

Now is the season of the oblong dog : baseball, Fourth of July, backyard cookouts, outdoor concerts.

So, from stand to stand, steamer to steamer, grill to grill, we took a taste of the finest wieners (hold the congressional jokes, please – and the ketchup too!) that the “City of Broad Shoulders” had to offer.

As for criterion, there was only one we sought in the frankfurters: it had to taste tangy, sweet and salty all in one bite.

(And for full disclosure: I’m a native Nort’ Sider, born within earshot of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” of Chicago’s Wrigley Field. So, several North Side destinations are listed below.)
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Nathan Berrong works at CNN's satellite desk and this is the second installment of his beer column. Drink up.

The United States is filled with amazing breweries, but to me, you can’t begin to talk about beer in America without starting out West. Maybe it’s the climate that is ideal for growing hops, or the beautiful scenery that inspires the brewers, or the diverse culture that promotes creativity. Whatever it is, I say there’s no debating that the best region for beer in the United States is the Pacific or West Coast region.

West Coast beers, plainly put, are massive beers. Massive beers that are bursting with flavor, typically high in alcohol, and have unusual names like “Serpent’s Stout” and “Monk’s Blood”. The staple West Coast beer is the hop heavy, India Pale Ale. Commonly referred to as the IPA, it is also a very common beer style across the country, as nearly every brewery in the US has their own version of it. But, no one brews them better than Sierra Nevada in Chico, California, which has been brewing amazing IPAs for over 30 years, long before the craft beer explosion began.
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