Earlier this year, we broached the question of whether it was fair for establishments to impose a built-in surcharge for large dinner parties — and many of you were strongly opposed. But how would you feel if taxes and gratuities were eliminated altogether?

Frank Klein, owner of San Francisco's Fish & Farm, thinks the idea has potential to succeed in times like these. According to San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer, Klein will remodel Fish & Farm, reopening with a new menu that has all-inclusive prices.

The restaurant's new tabs will have "no surcharges, no extras, no nothing above what it says on the menu. We are going to become the anti-surcharge restaurant." The waitstaff will still be adequately compensated because the computer will automatically deduct sales tax and 18.5 percent gratuity for every check.

Although this isn't a new concept — it's standard in many countries like France — it's uncommon to see in America. At a time when many Americans feel nickel-and-dimed, does this strategy have the potential to succeed — and catch on in other restaurants?

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No Memorial Day celebration should be without strawberries. The plump juicy berries are at the peak of their season now, so take advantage of them! You could incorporate them into an appetizer, salad, or dessert, but why not use this luscious fruit to mix up a tantalizing cocktail? This punch recipe serves a crowd (18 people!) and is packed with vibrant flavors. Vodka is combined with Cointreau and ginger ale to make a drink that is fizzy and refreshing. Although it calls for frozen cherries, if they have already popped up at your farmers market, substitute fresh.

Don't forget plenty of beer, wine, water, and sodas — it is a party! For the recipe to the jewel punch, read more

Thanks to an article that names the top 25 pizzerias in the United States, the food world has been obsessed with pizza this week. Alan Richman of GQ even believes that pizza is more American than it is Italian. He says,"pizza isn’t as fundamental to Italy as it is to America. Over there, it plays a secondary role to pasta, risotto, and polenta. To be candid, I think they could do without it. Not us. Over here, it’s one of the few foreign foods we’ve embraced wholeheartedly, made entirely our own." I have to agree with him — I think there's some amazing pizza in the US. My favorite kind is the creative, thin-crusted variation they serve at a pizzeria in my hometown. Combine that with a welcoming, European atmosphere and the fact that I normally share the pizza with my closest loved ones, and you've got the best pizza I've ever had.

How about you? What was the best pizza you've ever had and why is it so memorably delicious?

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Muenster is an American creation related to France's Munster cheese. It has a smooth texture, yellow interior, and orange rind. Muenster is incredibly mild in flavor with a taste somewhere between American cheese and Jack cheese. The cow's milk cheese is semisoft and great for melting. It's ideal on a grilled cheese sandwich, or in my case, a pork chipotle cheeseburger. To check out the recipe, which is perfect for this weekend's kickoff to Summer, read more

In addition to being captured in photos by National Geographic, the sustainable food crisis is also the focus of a new documentary. Magnolia Pictures' Food, Inc. is a call to action to change the way America eats. It discusses food consumption today, its heavy dependence on corn, its ties to national policy, and its inevitable impact on our nation's health.

Based on the book Food, Inc. (and similar to The Omnivore's Dilemma), the premise of this film appears to be similar: the country's food system, with its focus on making food bigger, cheaper, and faster, is making America sick. The movie also addresses the contamination issues plaguing the nation and the enormous power wielded by US food corporations, with sustainable food poster boys Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser making appearances in the documentary.

If you haven't seen it yet, below is the trailer for the film, which debuts in select cities June 12. Do you think this documentary will prove to be as influential as proponents are hoping it to be? Will you go see it?

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