National Banana Split Day. S'Mores Day.

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Coolinary Summer Specials End 21 , Labor Day..25

It's National Banana Split Day. A banana split is delicious, because of the underrated affinity bananas and ice cream have for one another. (Cf. bananas Foster.) But how can anyone eat an entire banana split? I get full and queasy just thinking about it, but I'm not sixteen anymore. Today is also National S'Mores Day. S'Mores, created by the Girl Scouts, consist of graham crackers, Hershey bars, and marshmallows made into a sandwich and heated to near melting over a campfire. They are as irresistible as their name implies.

Vinegar Hill is fifty-two miles northeast of Baltimore and five miles south of the Mason-Dixon Line, in the northeast corner of Maryland. The hill rises to 407 feet in rolling, beautiful countryside, where a mix of farmhouses, country estates, and resorts fills most of the real estate. Vinegar Hill is surrounded by some of the last tributaries of the Susquehanna River, which flows into Chesapeake Bay. More restaurants are nearby than one might expect. The nearest is the Spread Oak, a mile away in Rising Sun. Try their vinaigrette dressing.

rib cap, n.--Also known as spinalis or spinalis dorsi, this is a layer of lean meat that covers the side of a rib roast opposite the bones. The rib cap is separated from the ribeye by a thick layer of fat. When removed, it has a convex shape, like a beanie. The rib cap is about three quarters of an inch thick, and is marbles with quite a bit of fat, even when the grade of the beef is low. The rib cap is became popular among chefs in around 2008, when some meat purveyors began selling it as a separate cut. Fortunately, that practice has not become widespread. It's extraordinarily tender, and can be grilled or roasted.

This is the birthday, in 1814, of Henri Nestle, the founder of the chocolate company that bears his name. A great deal of his success came from his breakthrough in making milk chocolate, which is credited with making chocolate candy possible. His business began with nut oils, bottled water, and lemonade. He invented infant formulas, which until that time were unheard of. He saw it as a way for undernourished children with distressed (or absent) mothers to stay healthy. Nestle is now one of the biggest producers in the world of all kinds of food.

Jimmy Dean was born today in 1928. The sausage line he started spun him off but kept his name a few years ago, saying that they wanted a different spokesman. Hunh? He should have started Seth Ward Sausages then. That's his real name. . . Clara Peller, the old lady in the commercials for Wendy's that made "Where's the beef?" a national catchphrase, was born today in 1917. . . The movie American Pie 2 came out today in 2001. No more pie in it than in American Pie 1.

Tarte Tatin, regardless of which master French baker makes it, is not as good as a well-made American apple pie.

Today in 1985, the original formula of Coca-Cola returned to the market as Coke Classic after being replaced briefly and to much public derision by New Coke. However, New Coke has conquered the rest of the world. It's only in America and Canada that Coke Classic is the standard.

It is the feast day of St. Lawrence, who managed the Church's meager funds when it was still being persecuted by Rome. He is the patron saint of brewers, cooks, confectioners, and restaurateurs.

William Henry Fry was born today in 1815. He was a composer who has been called the father of American opera. His most famous work was Leonora. . . Actor Noah Beery, who was on The Rockford Files among other things, was born today in 1913. . . Pepsi Nunes, who writes about environmental issues and history, was born today in 1952. . . Leonard Lickorish, an authority on the business of tourism, was born today in 1921. . . Jay Cooke, a financier who raised a great deal of the money needed for the Union to prosecute the Civil War, was born today in 1821.

"Never work before breakfast; if you have to work before breakfast, eat your breakfast first."--Josh Billings, American humorist of the late 1800s.

"potable, n.--Suitable for drinking. Water is said to be potable; indeed, some declare it our natural beverage, although even they find it palatable only when suffering from the recurrent disorder known as thirst, for which it is a medicine. Upon nothing has so great and diligent ingenuity been brought to bear in all ages and in all countries, except the most uncivilized, as upon the invention of substitutes for water. To hold that this general aversion to that liquid has no basis in the preservative instinct of the race is to be unscientific--and without science we are as the snakes and toads."--Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary.