You're really down on fast food and restaurant chains. Are there any good ones?
In-N-Out Burger (a Western U.S. chain). Everybody else sucks.

What are the most over- and underrated cuisines?
Overrated: probably Creole and Cajun -- only because so many people do them so badly, muddying flavors. And Asian fusion. What's wrong with Asian? Why fuse it?

Underrated: Vietnamese. We get the idea that it's good, but we have yet to discover in America how really good it can be.

What three things should everyone be able to cook?
An omelet. A roast chicken. Pasta.

What's the most disgusting thing you've ever eaten?
That would have to be the fermented shark fin I had in Iceland.

What do you consider an indispensable cookbook for the average Joe or Jane?
"La Technique" by Jacques Pépin. It's the bible of basic cooking procedures.

What do you see as the best and worst food trends?
The best is definitely the drive toward authentic and less formal, more casual -- yet top-quality -- food. The worst is "high-concept" restaurants, where it's more about the décor than the food.

What three things are always in your refrigerator?
Beer. Water. Butter.

What's the best New York meal for less than $5?
The Papaya King special (at that New York hot-dog chain): two hot dogs and a papaya drink.

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Health
Is your desk a bacteria cafeteria?

Schools are the most germ-filled workplaces, a recent study reports. Researchers found that phones, desks and keyboards used by teachers harbor up to 20 times more bacteria per square inch than those in other workplaces. "It's not that surprising, because teachers' clients are kids -- a germ's best friend," says lead researcher Charles Gerba, a University of Arizona professor of environmental microbiology. Runners-up: bankers and accountants.

The study found 400 times more bacteria on a desktop than on a toilet seat. One factor: Information addicts are spending even more time at their work spaces. And janitors usually won't sanitize desks, because they consider them to be personal areas.

Who didn't make the top spots: physicians. Says Gerba, "Doctors wash their hands often and spend little time at their desks."

Bottom line: Clean your desktop, keyboard, mouse and phone daily. Use a disinfectant and a paper towel, or a disposable wipe. Avoid water fountains; viruses and bacteria love the moist, spit-laden environment.

As for the least germy job? Attorney. Apparently even germs won't cross paths with the law.

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Recreation
Floating on air

Skydiving soars indoors.

Always dreamed of skydiving but scared out of your socks that you'll end up like an insect, splatting into a windshield? There's a more controlled option: indoor vertical wind tunnels capable of simulating freefall.

SkyVenture Colorado, outside Denver, boasts four 300-horsepower fans that generate a 160-mph column of wind, enough to buoy a free-falling skydiver, minus the "where's the rip cord?" panic. Cost: $40 to $50 for just less than three minutes of "flight" time.

Although professional skydivers and military personnel have used similar tunnels, "body flying" for the masses is relatively new. How it works: A controlled (wind speeds can be throttled up or down) column of "wall-to-wall" airflow supports "flyers." "One second you're floating, the next you can shoot up 22 feet to the ceiling and then down again," says Brad Hess, of Flyaway Indoor Skydiving in Las Vegas.

"The beauty of body flying is anyone from 3 to 83 can do it," says Dawn Suiter, of the Bodyflight Network (bodyflight.net), an online community of enthusiasts. "There is this amazing sense of freedom. It hooks you almost instantly."

Opening this year from Florida-based SkyVenture: sites in Hollywood, Calif.; Nashua, N.H.; San Francisco; Ogden, Utah; Philadelphia; and Dallas.

Contributing: Lewis Beale, Laura Daily