Food & Drinks

Based on the lines forming at Coke Freestyle machines around the city, you’d think the bright-red boxes were dispensing gold coins instead of Orange Diet Coke and Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. The touch-screen design lets you choose from 22 drinks and then add a flavor, resulting in new sodas like Grape Mello Yello, Raspberry Lime Hi-C, and Heidi Klum’s choice—not to mention a test of patience while the person in front of you tries in vain to create a Freestyle suicide. The machine holds inkjet printer cartridges of flavorings—not syrups—that add up to more than 100 choices and so much time gleefully considering your options that your food might get cold. Called "the Ferrari of coke machines" (because the case was conceived by a company that designs Ferraris), the Freestyle is charming local soda swillers at Firehouse Subs, Pita Pits, Burger Kings, Moe’s Southwest Grills, and the Pei Wei at Glendale. Just do everyone a favor and figure out what you want to drink before you go out. 

Internationally-inspired mac and cheese stars at Silke Helm’s Silkelicious Mac, the comfort food spot for her customers’ favorite dish.

How Maple Leaf Farms came to sit atop the $250 million U.S. duck market.

With options that range from deep-fried brownies to a State Fair Mary garnished with fried cheese, your Indiana State Fair diet begins now.

A guide to the lovably offbeat date—and an alternative if reservations are all booked up.

King Dough creators Adam and Alicia Sweet will announce a new location for their comfort-food eatery, Natural State Provisions.

Elegant egg dishes and a Spanish-inflected quinoa salad make this week's list.

The perfect marriage of burger and brisket, classy huevos rancheros, and a dish to introduce you to koji rank as the best things we've eaten recently.

Five things we’re craving right now.