WYE OAK IF CHILDREN (MERGE) *** Wye Oak's girl-boy, guitar-drums lineup may scream indie rock, but the Maryland duo shows plenty of dad-rock influences, from the Simon & Garfunkel wistfulness of "Regret" to the Pink Floyd narcolepsy of "Archaic Smile" and the "Muswell Hillbillies"-era Kinks feel of "A Lawn to Mow." ...more

June 26, 2008

The sweet e-mail, featuring a wagging dog, read: "I read your May 20 article on 20 Reasons to Love Gordon Ramsay," wrote Suzy Machamer of Brooksville. "We have another reason. Our granddaughter is one of this season's last three finalists, the culinary student Christina." ...more

June 25, 2008

To the uninitiated, the four-day Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival held on a 700-acre farm southeast of Nashville, Tenn., looks like just another Woodstock wannabe. But the event attracts fans as much for the music as the spectacle. ...more

June 18, 2008

TWIST ON FLAVOR I've always been a bit dubious about flavored waters. It's bottled water. How much more can you improve on it? Plus, too many flavored waters, in an effort to mimic sugary sodas, consider sickly sweetness an actual flavor. Which explains why we were more than a little pleased to have enjoyed samples of Twist's lemon- and mango acai-flavored waters. (Don't worry, we had to look up acai, too. It's a palm that produces tasty berries.) Twist has all the requisite buzzwords these days: certified organic, less than 10 calories, artesian. Bottom line: It doesn't make you feel like you're drinking medicine. The lemon flavor, one of six in the product line, was downright refreshing. Go figure. Available at Whole Foods, Albertsons, Circle K, 7 Eleven, Publix. Cost. $1.29 to $1.49 for 19 ounces. ...more

June 18, 2008

Tasty Morsels On TV This Week "Top Chef: Chicago, Reunion," 10 tonight, Bravo ...more

June 18, 2008

Tasty Morsels On TV This Week "Top Chef: Chicago," 10 tonight, Bravo ...more

June 11, 2008

"Everybody Eats Lunch," by Cricket Azima (Glitterati Inc.; $16) ...more

June 11, 2008

DRINK UP AND SALUTE God bless the French. First they teach Thomas Jefferson about cuisine. Then they give us a big ol' statue. (We won't even get into the whole french fries thing. For that achievement alone, we should rename a state. Frenchissippi, maybe.) Now they're celebrating All Things American with POP Champagne in petite red, white and blue, starred-and-striped bottles. The limited-edition bottles retail for $14.95. Available at www.sherry -lehmann.com or on store shelves beginning Fourth of July weekend. ...more

June 11, 2008

Scrawled in black Sharpie, the messages of love and support adorn hundreds of white bags of Starbucks coffee in Bob Williams' Wesley Chapel warehouse. (See above item.) Filling a dozen gigantic bins, the mounds of donated bags of coffee, purchased by Starbucks customers as part of a donation effort by franchisees, are shipped to U.S. troops stationed overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...more

June 11, 2008

Hey, Teacher, Leave Those Cakes Alone The big food news of the week: School board members in Arlington Heights, Ill., voted to ban birthday cakes and cupcakes from classrooms next year as part of a new wellness policy. Birthday parties are still OK. It's just the baked goods that suffer under a new zero-tolerance policy. ...more

June 4, 2008