BEST USE OF DUCK FAT: Bacar's Mesquite Grilled Rib Eye
Bacar
San Francisco, CA
What separates executive chef Robbie Lewis’ prime rib from the meaty pack? A nice, long relaxing bath…in duck blubber. The mesquite grilled rib eye steak ($34) is first slow-cooked in a low-temperature pool of herbal-scented Daffy lard. It’s yanked from the puddle as the steak reaches rare, and is quickly finished off on a mesquite grill. “You get the best of both worlds,” says Chef Lewis. “The flavors of slow-cooked meat, charred and grilled over smoky mesquite.” And he’s not just blowing smoke, friends. bacarsf.com —Tami Von Isakovics

SLICKEST SECRET INGREDIENT: Blood
Nava Thai Noodle and Grill Restaurant
Wheaton, MD
Tucked in a corner of a tiny parking lot, sandwiched between air-conditioning units and a Waste Management Dumpster, Nava Thai’s furtive location is part of its appeal—much like the secret ingredient in their $7.95 Floating Market Noodle Soup: cow’s blood. “It makes the soup thicker and a little bit sweeter,” says owner and chef Ladavan Srigatesook. With spiced meatballs, slices of flank steak, fried pork rinds, bean sprouts, veggies, and a tangle of fat rice noodles in a rich brown broth (that’s the blood), this may be the most complex (and scariest) soup you’ve ever had.—Tim Carmon

MOST KICK-ASS DONUT: The “Grills With”
White Spot
Charlottesville, VA
The $3.25 “Grills With” is the patron saint of hung-over UVA coeds. The premise is simple—two grilled glazed donuts topped with ice cream—but the devil is in the details. The griddle, seasoned by decades of beef patties, bacon, and eggs, caramelizes the donuts’ sugary coating and warms the doughy insides. The finishing touch is an upturned cafeteria cup of vanilla ice cream. Sweet and savory, soft and crunchy, warm and cold, this donut does it all.—Oliver Sharpe

BEST THREE-IN-ONE: The Garbage Plate
Nick Tahou Hots, Inc.
Rochester, NY
If you can’t decide what you want, head to Rochester, where the Garbage Plate lives ($6). A base of any combination of home fries, macaroni salad, baked beans, or french fries is topped by your choice of cheeseburgers, hamburgers, fish, sausages, eggs, fried ham, chicken tenders, veggies, or grilled cheese, and is dressed with mustard, onions, and Nick Tahou’s hot sauce (brown and mysterious). We get indigestion just writing about it. garbageplate.com —Dan Bova

BEST USE OF MASHED POTATOES: The Lobster Shepherd’s Pie
The American Restaurant
Kansas City, MO
James Beard Foundation Award–winning chef Celina Tio has crafted the most divine dish out of the lowly spud: The taters are whipped into a buttery, creamy froth and squeezed into miniature poofs. Add lobster morsels married with gently simmered baby carrots and pearl onions and you’ve got a party in your mouth for $20. theamericankc.com —Lauren Chapin

BEST FOOD-ON-A-STICK BREAKTHROUGH: Deep-Fried Spaghetti and Meatballs
Oodles of Noodles, Minnesota State Fair (Aug. 21–Sept. 1)
St. Paul, MN
American ingenuity at its finest: Servers create a meatball cocoon around a wad of spaghetti, pop it in the deep fryer, and shove a stick in it. The sensation of eating this crunchy on the outside, hot and moist on the inside, $4 monster has been described as “vaguely erotic” and “like heaven, with extra oregano.” Stroll the grounds and, with each bite, metaphorically extend a middle finger to the corn dog old guard. mnstatefair.org —Lizz Winstead

CRUNCHIEST FAUX FRIES: Polenta Fries
Fascino
Montclair, NJ
Eight dollars gets you a stack of “fries” and deliciously heavy gorgonzola fondata dipping sauce. “People don’t order it as an app,” says executive chef Ryan DePersio. “They order it while looking at the menu, midcourse, or with entrees.” We suggest all three. fascinorestaurant.com —Eric Levin  

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Most colognes quickly fade, but Lacoste’s Essential is different. Thanks to futuristic time-release technology, its top-note oils—tangerine, bergamot, tomato leaves, and cassis—ooze out gradually. Which keeps you smelling fresh even after a long night of forcing your way into circles of gyrating club girls.

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QUICK SPECS

Weight: 0.4 oz Features: • Dual-mic AudioIQ noise canceling • Windsmart technology reduces wind noise • In-car adjustable charger • Pairs with two Bluetooth phones • Plantronics QuickPair MSRP: $119.99

The Skinny: Plantronics takes another stab at making the perfect mobile companion for people with no hands. Stab you! Stab you! Stab you!

The Good: From our extensive testing, which consisted of calls made to random people across America (sorry, Americans!), the headset performed well above other, more expensive models. The ear bud fits snuggly into the ear and the soft lining provided a comfortable experience. There weren't any issues connecting the unit to two different phones.

The Bad: Designers weren't really going for looks when they made this thing. The clear, plastic loop that hooks onto your ear is flimsy and doesn't really do much in the aesthetic department. We also tested while playing NHL 09 on the PS3 and ran into trouble trying to get it recognized by the console (it was already connected to a phone). Un-pairing from the phone and re-pairing the 835 with the PS3 worked, but we eventually had to redo the whole process to get it working with the phone again. The volume buttons could have been made a tad bit longer also.

Other Features With Fancy Names: Plantronics' patented AudioIQ noise canceling helped to eliminate much of the noise during conversations we had while walking down a busy New York street, even the sound of the latest stock market crash. Of course, there were the occassional police sirens that made the person I was talking to think I was riding shotgun on Cops.

Verdict: For the price, you're only getting basic headset functionality. If you can find it for cheaper—say $80 or so—it's a decent headset for someone who values function over fashion... like this guy:

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Price: $299

THE SKINNY
After 10 whole months of banging on those old Rock Band drums, it's time to upgrade your skins. There's no better time to do that than with Rock Band 2 now on store shelves and there's no better way to do that than with the Ion Drum Rocker.

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Price: $400

The Skinny: Razer teamed up with THX and creates one of the coolest-looking and greatest performing desktop speaker systems we've ever experienced.

The Good: I can't remember the last time I got this excited about a sound system. It's completely badass. From the stylish look (two small saucer-like satellites and one big saucer-like subwoofer) to the convenient LED touchpad to the supreme sound quality, I was blown away. It's amazing such a small system manages to muster up this power. Whether you're into gaming or just music and movies, it all sounds incredible. If you excuse me, I'm gonna get a room now…

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