seaview home sold for just £30,000

How a £400,000 seaview home sold for just £30,000

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  Yahoo! Finance UK/SWNS - Tor Cottage comes with four spacious bedrooms, a huge garden and breathtaking views of the English Riviera

A stunning four-bedroom property with panoramic views across the ocean and the English Riviera worth £400,000, has been sold at a bargain price of just £33,500.

There's just one slight problem: it might fall into the sea.

It was available at a knockdown cost because it sits just 150 yards from a rapidly eroding cliff and could fall into the ocean at anytime.

Sadly the new owner won't be even be able to wake to the sound of the waves, because there is an order in place preventing any potential purchaser from staying overnight until they can prove it is safe.

[One homebuyer in three could end with nothing but rubble]

The buyer paid just over the £25,000 guide price and was not put off by the ruined state of a neighbouring home, which has already collapsed into the sea.

The home in Torquay may fall into the sea at any time.

Auctioneer Graham Penny admits the new buyer has taken a risk and could either get a bargain - or a flop.

He said: "The property's enviable sea views does mean it's relatively close to the cliff edge and other neighbouring properties have experienced substantial subsidence.

"It’s impossible to say whether Tor Cottage will be subjected to subsidence itself. A buyer could get a return on their investment if Mother Nature is kind to them."

As recently as November 2011 Tor Cottage, located atop the quickly eroding Oddicombe Cliffs in Torquay, Devon, was on the market for £365,000.

Boasting an open-plan living room, dining room, 27ft x 20ft fitted kitchen, a study, four double bedrooms, a huge garden and parking, it should be worth around £400,000.

The balcony of Tor Cottage in Torquay has gorgeous seaviews

But after watching their dream home lose almost all its value the previous owners sold up to a firm which specialises in selling challenging dwellings.

The brochure for the auction described it as "an interesting opportunity to acquire a superb four bedroomed detached fully refurbished house with balcony enjoying fine sea views in a cliff top cul-de-sac position".

But it also warned prospective buyers that no survey has been carried out and the neighbouring home had suffered from "severe subsidence".

That property, Ridgemont House, looked like a similar bargain when it went under the hammer in 2010, but has since disappeared almost entirely over the cliff edge

Retired policewoman Sue Diamond bought Ridgemont for £154,000 at a blind auction but it was condemned one week later after a landslide.

Reading Body Language

5 Hidden Signals You May Be Sending

 Whether you (or they!) know it, other people are always reading your body language for secret clues about you. Find out what your gestures and movements are saying with these expert insights.

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1. Eye contact

If you want your body language to show you're listening to another person, make eye contact. But limit it: An overly aggressive eye lock can be read as threatening. "When you give more than 80 percent, the person you are communicating with will feel uncomfortable," explains Janine Driver, author of the New York Times best seller You Can't Lie to Me. Give too little (40 percent or less) and it can be a sign of deceit. The magic number? 60 percent, or a little more than half. "Give them eye contact, then slightly glance away."

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2. Crossed arms

Crossing your arms? Others may read that to mean you're distant, insecure, anxious, defensive, or stubborn, according to Barbara and Allen Pease in The Definitive Book of Body Language.

But arm crossing has its pluses, too. Driver points out that it can make someone better at sticking to a difficult task, citing a study that found adults who crossed their arms and then were asked hard math questions were 30 percent more likely to keep trying to solve them than those who kept their hands on a table. "The act of crossing your arms utilizes both your left and right brain, creating higher cognitive function," says Driver.

So the next time you confront someone with a tough question and they cross their arms, don't assume you've made them mad; they might just be trying to come up with an answer.

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3. Sitting with legs spread

Driver says when you sit like this you're marking your territory and exuding dominance. "People with power are seen to take up more space," she says.

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4. Crossed legs

If you sit with your legs crossed, ankle over knee, you're confident and dominate, says Driver. Known as "figure four" in body language circles, Driver says when you sit in this position you're opening up your "power zone," or the nether region. "We have three areas on our body where we open up when we are stress-free and relaxed: the neck dimple, belly button, and 'naughty bits,'" she says. It's a predominantly male movement but Driver says women are beginning to sit like this more and more.

Crossing your legs at the ankles while seated is known as the "ankle lock" and can mean you're holding back, uncertain, or fearful, making it common in interview situations.

And ladies, if you want to appeal to a man, cross your legs at the knees. According to the Peases, men voted this their favorite position for seated women.

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5. Standing with hands on hips

You might think the "Superman pose" shows off your confident side, but beware, because Driver says this stance can often come off as aggressive. That's because you're taking up more space and "threatening" with your pointed elbows, preventing others from getting by you. Even propping just one hand on your hip can give off an intimidating vibe, say the Peases. 

Tired of Being the 'Fat Mom'

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Me with my son

Editor's note: Americans may be living longer and even exercising a tad more, but they're not necessarily healthier, a study released Wednesday shows. Myriad reasons exist: too much bad food, too little good food, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, drinking and just plain living in the wrong area of the country. Yahoo asked readers: What is your biggest obstacle in the way of a healthier you? Here's one response.
Tell us in the comments about your biggest health hurdle.
 
FIRST PERSON | Living a healthy lifestyle appears to be easier said than done for some, including myself. I have struggled with weight issues for the majority of my life. After turning 29 in May, I decided it was time to make the changes not only for myself, but for my children. I lost my own mother when I was only 8, and I don't want my babies to suffer the same heartbreak I did.
I live in a rural town roughly 80 miles southwest of Chicago. There is not much to do out here, so getting enough exercise throughout the day is a challenge. I walk with my children around the community, but even that isn't enough. Working as a freelancer causes me to be sitting for the majority of the day, and after years of doing it, it has affected my ability to get up and move. I sit anywhere from five to 10 hours a day.
Eating better has been a struggle as well, but I am on my way. I have been teaching myself how to eat properly again. There is a noticeable difference in my appearance from just two short months ago, but it seems like it isn't happening fast enough. Drinking a lot of soda is what helped me pack on the pounds, and while I have cut back (I used to drink a 12-pack of Coke or Pepsi a day, and I'm now down to one to three cans a day in the last three months), I can't seem to give it up. The changes I have made in my diet are helping, but it is the long term commitment I need to work on.
At the height of my weight issues I was approximately 150 pounds overweight. That happened over the course of four pregnancies, resulting in three children, my 9-year-old daughter and my 3-year-old and 13-month-old boys. My last two babies were just over two years apart, and my body didn't bounce back quickly at all.
At 5-foot-3, I am short, which doesn't help when calculating BMI and all the other tests you have done when completing a physical. The doctors were concerned about many factors and that is when I decided it was time to fight back.
This will always be an ongoing battle. I have never been able to be comfortable in my own skin, but there is a difference between being 20 pounds overweight and being morbidly obese. I am tired of always being the "fat mom;" I just want to be Tiffany. My insecurities about my weight have caused me to miss out on things I shouldn't have. My kids deserve better, and so do I.

command headquarters in Afghanistan that may never be used

U.S. built $34 million command headquarters in Afghanistan that may never be used

The empty $34M command and control center in southern Afghanistan (Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction)

Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo! News 15 hours ago The Sideshow PoliticsMilitary

The U.S. military has reportedly spent $34 million to build a new complex in Afghanistan – but is unlikely to ever actually use the facility.
Voice of America reports that the unused site came to the attention of a congressional oversight committee that reviews projects in Afghanistan.
"I don't know if [Secretary Chuck Hagel] will provide a formal response. I do not have one at this stage," said Defense Department spokesman George Little when asked about the project. "I think it is going to take us a little bit of time to review the findings and to coordinate with the SIGAR."
SIGAR stands for the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, which described the base as a "potentially troubling example of waste."
Special Inspector General John Sopko told Congress that some U.S. commanders opposed the 20,000-square-foot installation’s construction in 2010. But a year later, a British firm was nonetheless hired to build it. Originally, it was planned to serve as a regional command headquarters in the country’s southern region. Technically, it was designed to house 1,500 staff. But now, commanders say it’s unlikely to ever be occupied by military personnel.
Sopko said that as U.S. forces begin to leave the country, they will be left with two options: destroy the facility or hand it over to Afghan officials.
And as of today, at least one person who spent time at the facility thinks demolishing it makes more sense.
"Helmand province and [the Afghan capital] Kabul may as well be two different countries in a lot of practical ways," Marine Corps Times writer Dan Lamothe told VOA. "The government is so far removed from the everyday lives of the people in Helmand that I do not see how Kabul would keep track of something like that."
Lamothe says the project reminds him of another recent failed venture in the country during which a police station was built with a new septic system. However, the toilets eventually had to be shut down because no one knew how to operate the system.
The revelation of the unused base was followed by another example of potential waste in the country revealed by SIGAR on Thursday. It also was announced that an $11 million solid-waste trash compactor has gone largely unused, with most trash simply being burned in outdoor piles. SIGAR said that not only is the equipment being left unused but that U.S. military officials are putting their health at risk by standing in the vicinity of the burning trash piles.

Inside a recently built but unused $34M military base (SIGAR)

Why Breakfast is Essential for Losing Weight

So you're looking to lose weight and need some easy places to cut calories. What about skipping breakfast? Bad idea. It turns out that eating a healthy breakfast and achieving sustained weight loss are inextricably linked.

 The National Weight Control Registry has been tracking the eating and lifestyle habits of about 3000 people, all of whom have maintained a 30-pound (or more) weight loss for at least a year (some have been participating for as many as six years). The researchers tracking these studies found that 78 percent reported eating breakfast every day, and almost 90 percent reported eating breakfast at least five days a week.
(Eating this could make you lose weightby Jenni) 

But why does breakfast help with weight loss?

Reducing hunger One of the primary reasons breakfast is so effective may be as simple as reducing hunger later in the day. By eating breakfast, you stock up on (hopefully!) healthy fuels which reduces your hunger as the day progresses. This can certainly help prevent overeating in general, and may also help by avoiding times when you snack on the go, for example by purchasing food at vending machines or gas stations, where healthier choices are harder to make.

Also see: Why you're so tired after eating

Skipping breakfast increases insulin response But it's not just about reducing temptation. There's also a physiological response that happens when you skip breakfast. The type of prolonged fasting that occurs when you skip out on that first meal of the day can increase your body's insulin response, which in turn increases fat storage and weight gain. So it may sound counterintuitive, but going without this vital meal can actually increase your risk of obesity.

Healthy choices  Eating breakfast right can be a great way to get you on track and set the tone for making healthy choices all day. When you eat a breakfast based on whole grains, healthy proteins and fruits, you tend to eat a healthier overall diet, one that is more nutritious and lower in fat. When you skip breakfast, you're more likely to skip fruits and vegetables the rest of the day, too. Breakfast is the perfect meal to start adding whole foods into your daily meal plan.

More energy Eating breakfast also gives you energy, which increases your ability and desire to undertake physical activity during the day. A healthy breakfast refuels your body and replenishes the glycogen stores that supply your muscles with immediate energy, meaning you are more likely to go for that run, take a walk or simply go about your daily business and get things done. Conversely, skipping breakfast is associated with decreased physical activity.

The theory is all well and good, of course, but many people who don't eat breakfast aren't really skipping it as a conscious decision. They are simply having a hard time fitting it into their busy lives. Likewise, many people who aren't eating the healthiest of breakfasts aren't necessarily deciding that nutrition doesn't matter - they're simply finding that the go-to convenience foods are easier rely on and/or they don't realize there are better options available.

Luckily, there are plenty of practical strategies available to you to make sure you eat breakfast. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Prep ahead of time Put smoothie ingredients into individual baggies. Make healthy muffins ahead of time. Consider healthy crock pot recipes like steel cut oats that can be ready for you by the morning.

2. Start small Finding the idea of a complete meal overwhelming? Well, it's important to remember that something is better than nothing. Start by eating a cup of yogurt and/or a piece of fruit, then as you get used to making time for breakfast, add more foods and food options slowly.

3. Wake up early Get up 10 minutes earlier than you normally would so you will have time to eat and enjoy your food. Why not make it a treat - read the paper, listen to some music, or sit out in the yard and watch the birds? This should be a pleasure, not a chore.

4. Create a routine Pick a couple of easy breakfasts and repeat them every other day. This will eliminate having to think about what to make. You can always add more options as you get used to eating breakfast.

4. Eat what appeals to you If eating a little leftover chicken or a few spoons of cottage cheese sounds good, go for it. Who says breakfast has to be cereal, toast or pop tarts?

 But what is a balanced breakfast?

 A balanced breakfast consists of three main food groups: a protein and/or a healthy fat, a fruit or veggie, and a grain. Even many convenience foods like breakfast cereals offer healthy options - just be sure to pay attention to the ingredients lists, and lean toward whole grains, fewer ingredients and lower fat, sodium and sugar content. See my post on introducing whole grains to your family for more on this topic.

McDonald's Most Spectacular Menu Flops

The McDonald's that we know and love, identified by those iconic Golden Arches, had humble beginnings. The restaurant first opened as McDonald's Bar-B-Q Restaurant in San Bernardino, Calif., in 1940, serving a simple menu of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, and shakes. Over the next several years, founders Dick and Mac McDonald renovated the restaurant and highlighted their $0.15 hamburger.

Check Out: New McDonald's Menu Items

 Today, McDonald's is the largest hamburger fast-food chain in the world, and serves more than 58 million customers daily. While McDonald's continues to have a set staple menu throughout most of their locations, the chain is continuously trying to invent both local, national and international menu items to bolster its offerings.

Related: America's Unhealthiest Fast Food Items

 For instance, specialty menu items such as the Big Mac or Chicken McNuggets have been huge commercial successes across the board. But other items have been launched, and have subsequently vanished just as quickly. Items such as the Bacon Bacon McBacon, the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich, and the Home-Fried Chicken never quite caught on with American consumers. In local markets, McDonald's has even rolled out items like the McLobster on the East Coast, poutine in Canada, and the McCrab in parts of Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. 

Related: Healthiest Fast-Food Choices

McDonald's continues to roll out new products all the time; some will make it big, others will vanish off the menu without a trace. Below are McDonald's biggest menu flops of all time.

5) McPizza

In the 1980s, McDonald's felt it was imperative to compete with other fast-food chains like Domino's and Pizza Hut, and it decided to launch the McPizza as well as other items like a lasagna and a spaghetti dish. Although McDonald's executives believed this would help the menu become more attractive to those looking for traditional dinner items, the McPizza was actually quite unpopular with patrons looking for fast in-and-out service.

4) The Hula Burger

The Hula Burger was the brainchild of owner Ray Kroc. He believed that this meatless burger, containing grilled pineapple with cheese on a bun, would be a perfect option for Catholics who abstain from eating meat during Lent. While the Filet-O-Fish, another Lent-inspired option, still remains popular to this day, the Hula Burger did not enjoy such long-term success.
Related: America's 40 Best Burgers

3) McLobster

One of the seasonal and local menu items that popped up on McDonald's menus in eastern Canada and New England during select summer months was the infamous McLobster. The company produced this faux lobster roll in a hot dog bun during the summertime, when lobster prices were relatively cheap. But "cheap" (for lobster) didn't match up with the McDonald's clientele. The sandwich clocked in at $5.99, and customers veered away from the expensive special.

2) McAfrika

Over the years, McDonald's has released international products in different locations across the world, some to great success. However, in 2002, McDonald's released one of the worst menu items and marketing flops in the company's history. The sandwich, the McAfrika (consisting of beef and vegetables in a pita), was released in Norway during some of the worst famines Southern Africa has ever seen. The campaign was believed to be created in such poor taste that McDonald's took the item off its menus and agreed to continue to keep donation boxes for charities in support of the famine in Africa.
Related: The World's 10 Coolest McDonald's

1) Arch Deluxe

 When crafting an ad campaign for its Arch Deluxe, McDonald's spent more money on the advertising campaign than it had on any other singular item in its history. Coming in at over $150 million, the Arch Deluxe campaign flopped, making the sandwich a very expensive mistake. The campaign was seeking an upscale demographic, boasting the new sandwich with an "adult" taste and a mustard-mayonnaise sauce. When that didn't work, new TV ads featured Ronald McDonald out partying and playing pool, a certain shift from the restaurant's family-friendly image.

Best ice cream shops in u.s

 

Bi-Rite Creamery in San Francisco. (Photo: Paige Green)

American ice cream shop menus are reflections of their owners. Some – like the list at the brand new Odd Fellows in Brooklyn – change daily based on the whims of the creative geniuses in the kitchen. Others, like the tried-and-true flavors at Wilton Candy Kitchen in Iowa, haven’t changed a lot in the century and a half they’ve been serving scoops.
We’ve rounded up the best spots to buy a cone or a cup this year. Some are old; some are new. Some own their own milk cows and others are pouring beer in the batter. Really want your taste buds blown? Amble up to a Coolhaus truck and partake in a Chicken & Waffles-flavored ice cream sandwich before summer’s over. Yes, you read that right.

Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop
San Francisco
Serving the vibrant and varied Mission neighborhood in San Francisco, Bi-Rite focuses on ripe organic fruit, local cream and milk from a nearby organic dairy, and sustainable practices like compostable cups and spoons. Unlike other chilly, white-tile-decorated parlors, this one features warm, rough wood accents, sourced from Marin.
The flavors trend creative, like their Balsamic Strawberry, made from fresh berries roasted in organic balsamic vinegar. They are then pureed and mixed with the cream base and hit with a second, healthy dose of vinegar for a tart and sweet taste that’s put Bi-Rite on the map. If strawberries aren’t your thing, we suggest their peanut-brittle-filled Coffee Toffee ice cream, with java sourced from Ritual Roasters just down the road.

 

Jersey Creamery(Photo: Jersey Creamery)
McIntosh, Fla.

“This all started when my husband bought me a Jersey cow for Christmas one year,” muses owner Karen Deconna. “I got this cow, and I didn’t realize that they gave five gallons of milk a day.
When the gorgeous corner space went up for rent at the old train depot in town, it seemed destiny to bring her ice cream to the masses. Grab a scoop of her frozen custard ice cream seasonals – like the fresh blueberry or the mid-summer mango – and rest assured you are getting ultra fresh. “I wake up and milk our six cows every day, and that’s where the ice cream starts,” she says.
There’s a wide porch beyond the sunny shop windows, rocking chairs and a view of a pasture beyond. Jersey Creamery is a bucolic testament to the way ice cream was meant to be experienced.

 

Salt & Straw(Photo: Leela Cyd)
Portland, Ore.

Named a “favorite” recently by Saveur magazine, this quirky shop is run by cousins Kim and Tyler Malek. At Salt & Straw, they will put anything in their ice cream, including olive oil. Arbequina olive oil, to be exact.
You could also opt for their Smoked Hefeweizen, their Fermented Pear & Fudge, or a double scoop of their Pear & Blue Cheese. Rest assured, they’ve got a Pacific Northwest attitude when it comes to sourcing ingredients. Everything is local, organic when it can be, sustainable if possible and farm-to-cone fresh at all times. A recent collaboration with Portland-based breweries means you can ship your buddies (or yourself) a great six-pack of beer-laced ice creams.

 

Odd Fellows Ice Cream Co.(Photo: Liesl Henrichsen/Photopink)
Brooklyn, N.Y.

The youngest spot on the list, Odd Fellows is a collaboration by culinary icon Sam Mason, and husband-and-wife team Holiday and Mohan Kumar. They opened their spot in June, but despite the tender age, it’s a bit of warfare to get inside on a sunny day. “We usually have a line, and we sell out of some flavors in a few hours,” says Mohan Kumar.

Sam Mason whipped up a Chorizo Caramel Swirl one morning, with chorizo flavor infused into the cream and the caramel. Then there was the Manchego Cheese with caramelized pineapple and thyme flavor. Think what you want about the Ice Cream Jesus picture inside, but you have to agree the smell is heavenly.

(Photo: Time Out NY / Jolie Ruben)

Coolhaus
Locations nationwide
Launched from a lone ice cream truck in Los Angeles in 2009, Coolhaus is now prepared to dominate. Let’s put it this way: if the Zombie Apocalypse ever happens and the zombies are somehow deathly allergic to really delicious ice cream, Coolhaus has you covered.
They have 10 trucks spanning America, from New York City to Austin and Dallas, and an L.A. storefront shop with another on the way. Their menu takes classic flavors and adds fun twists, like Brown Butter Candied Bacon ice cream, Peking Duck ice cream, Chicken & Waffles, and Dirty Mint Julep. They’re also sold in natural markets such as Whole Foods throughout the country.

Superior Dairy(Photo: Courtesy of Superior Dairy)
Hanford, Calif.

What started in 1929 as a full-service dairy just an hour past Fresno now focuses on pleasing customers with simple, delicious, no-nonsense ice cream in a handful of flavors and massive presentations.
While the business is trimmed down, the sundaes keep growing in size. Their “S.O.S.” comes with nine scoops of ice cream, bananas, strawberries, hot fudge, whipped cream and cherries – all served in a massive beer goblet. The building is virtually untouched, with a beautiful pressed tin ceiling and the charms of small-town life. “Most kids in the town get their first jobs here,” says co-owner Susan Bowden-Wing.

   

 (Photo: Courtesy of wilton candy kitchen)

Wilton Candy Kitchen
Wilton, Iowa

Chatting with owners Thelma and George Nopoulos is a delightful experience, no matter what flavor you choose to sample. She’s 81. He’s 93. They’ve owned this joint since 1951, when they put in a new floor, a ice cream machine and soda fountain. Nothing else has changed. The place actually opened back in 1860 – the year Abe Lincoln was elected president – making it one of the oldest in America.
Thelma got her first job at age 10 inside of the Wilton Candy Kitchen, and she’s seen her fair share of celebrities over the decades. If you ask her what Gregory Peck ordered, she will tell you with absolute clarity that it was a grilled cheese sandwich with hot mustard and a chocolate soda with homemade ice cream.

La Divina Gelateria(Photo: Courtesy of La Divina)
New Orleans

In the Crescent City, imbibing plays an all-important part in daily life. Given the chemistry required to make frozen gelato creamy, it’s not a simple science to toss booze in the batter. These guys do it with finesse at three locations in town, and the result is flavors you won’t find anywhere else on Earth.

In summer, fresh fruit comes forward in their Peach Amaretto and Peach Prosecco options, and in fall, definitely request the Turbo Dog Chocolate Sorbetto, which marries locally brewed Abita Turbo Dog beer with dark Valrhona chocolate. They also serve Panini sandwiches here, which are maybe a wise idea if you choose their alcohol-based options.

Most Exciting Food and Drink Trends in the U.S.

(Photo: East Side King)

Guest blogger Chris Schonberger is editor-in-chief of First We Feast.

If there's ever been a better time to dine in the U.S., I certainly wasn't alive for it. Pick any city around the country, and chances are high that it's in the midst of a food and drink renaissance. You can find game-changing chef's tables in Nashville (Catbird Seat); cocktails on tap in Scarsdale, N.Y. (Racanelli’s New York Italian); and crazy-creative ramen in Cleveland (Noodlecat).


The more I travel these days, the more I feel I can find the best of both worlds in any city: beloved regional classics tucked away within roadside stands and weathered dining rooms, but also ambitious new kitchens and bars benefiting from the fluid spread of culinary ideas from coast to coast (thanks, Internet).

When I arrive in a new place, my first point of interest is always those regional specialties: Do they have a weird local hamburger variant? Is there style of pizza that you can't find anywhere else? Can I get hot dogs slathered with cream cheese and topped with grilled cabbage (holler, Seattle)? Idiosyncratic junk food tends to be best explored during the day. By nightfall, I want to hit the town and find out what's new and exciting — zeitgeist dining that lets you connect the dots across the country and see how chefs and bartenders are putting their own localized spin on trends that extend beyond their own area code.

So what's worth looking out for right now? Here are the five food and drink trends I'm most excited about at the moment.

Creative ramen

It might be said that nothing is sacred in this country, which is certainly true for chefs who have no problem co-opting the cuisine of other countries and running with it. Watered-down versions of ethnic dishes are always a bummer, but when a chef succeeds at putting a truly unique spin on something, the result is melting-pot dining at its best.

Perhaps the most exciting example of the latter right now is ramen, the latest canvas for creative mashups. Pastaria in St. Louis serves an Italian-inspired version with spaghettini and Parmesan broth; Cleveland's Noodlecat features "Irish Ramen" with roast beef fit for a Sunday roast; and “Top Chef” winner Paul Qui turns out funky riffs like a Tex-Mex-style chicken tortilla soup ramen at his cultish East Side King food truck in Austin, Texas.

(Photo: Empellon/Daniel Krieger)

Beyond the margarita

Alongside the spread of boundary-pushing Mexican cooking at places like Bar Amá in Los Angeles and Empellón Cocina in New York, there's a new fascination with agave-based spirits — tequila and mezcal, but also the lesser-know bacanora and stool — that's fun to explore. Mezcals tend to come from small-batch, rustic producers, and they get their smoky character from the process of roasting the piñas (the heart of the agave plant). At both of the restaurants mentioned above, they're deployed in funky margarita riffs that taste nothing like the Patrón standards you're used to.

Other interesting agave-forward cocktails are popping up all over the place as well, like the Sonoran Old-Fashioned (tequila, housemade chili-honey, and grapefruit bitters) at Salvation Taco in NYC and the Snap Dragon at Raven & Rose, in Portland, Ore., which blends stool — a spirit distilled from a wild prickly plant similar to agave — with Lillet Rouge and Jack Ruby tonic syrup.

(Photo: Carbone)

The rise of bastard cuisines

As an unabashed nacho obsessive (yes, I have a blog about it, thanks for asking), I've always been a bit put off by people looking down their noses at Tex-Mex cuisine. The same could be said for Italian-American cuisine and Westernized Chinese — yes, none of these are authentic in the pedantic, origin-story-obsessed sense of the word, but they are authentically American, growing out of real traditions that took hold as immigrants adapted their fare to the domestic palate.

Right now, many of these bastard cuisines are getting a major PR boost in New York, thanks to talented chefs taking up the cause. At the blockbuster Carbone, Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi tackle the red-sauce canon, bringing refined technique to classics such as veal parm, baked clams and lobster fra diavolo, all in an immaculately staged dining room fit for modern-day mobsters (hedge fund managers?). And at Red Farm, chef Joe Ng has fun with dim sum and Chinese takeout standards, packing egg rolls with Katz's pastrami and creating other hybrids like shrimp-stuffed jalapeño poppers.

In other parts of the country, there's been a similar impulse to elevate food that was always more loved than respected. In Memphis, Hog & Hominy fuses Southern fare with Italian flavors, resulting in regional Italian-American mashups like black-eyed pea tortellini with collard greens and ham hock brodo.

(Photo: Crooked Stave)

Craft beer gets funky

American brewers have been taking cues from their Belgian predecessors for years, deploying funky wild yeasts and bacteria in their beers to draw out offbeat — and often transcendent — flavors. But the resulting "wild ales," as they're known, are more acquired taste than overnight sensation, so it's not surprising that the trend is only now finding solid footing. At the recent Savor festival, one of the country's premiere beer-and-food events, it was impossible to ignore the overwhelming number of mouth-puckering brews.

Some of the most exciting examples are coming out of Denver's Crooked Stave, where Chad Yakobson specializes in beers made with Brettanomyces, a relative of domesticated yeast that can produce flavors ranging from earthy to musty to tart. Look out for the Wild Wild Brett Series, which nods to the colors of the rainbow with different colored ingredients (red is made with hibiscus and rose hips, while yellow is spiced with turmeric and mangos).

In NYC, you might track down the Peekskill Simple Sour, a wonderfully balanced take on a German Berliner Weiss that's made about an hour up the Hudson at Peekskill Brewery — the brewpub makes for a great day trip. And if you're down in Austin, seek out the wonderful farmhouse-inspired ales coming out of Jester King, including the oak-aged and dry-hopped Das Wunderkind! Saison.

(Photo: Chris Cosentino)

Whole-fish butchery takes off

First, American chefs dusted off the butchers’ manuals and got familiar with unsung piggy parts and cow anatomy you never knew existed, lacing menus with crispy sweetbreads, chewy aorta and fatty hunks of large intestine. Now, they're applying that whole-animal philosophy to the marine kingdom, serving whole, head-on fish (just as Chinese restaurants always have) and creating dishes out of every part of the animal.

At the new-school sushi joint Chez Sardine in NYC, diners can be found digging voraciously through every nook and cranny of the popular broiled salmon head, glazed with maple syrup and miso. But if you really want to get intimate with the offal of the sea, you need to visit Incanto in San Francisco, where chef Chris Cosentino (pictured) shaves cured tuna hearts over pasta, cooks up monkfish liver and even serves salty cod sperm.