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One greasy starter packs a whopping 2,100 calories and will surely blow away any weight-loss plan.

Usain Bolt. Michael Phelps. Jeff Gordon. What do these guys have in common? They know how to get off to a great start.

Think of them next time you settle into a booth at your favorite restaurant. Most sit-down chains offer a wide selection of egregious appetizers, “starters” that ought be called “stoppers” because they’ll stop your weight-loss plans dead. Unlike, say, a midafternoon candy bar or buttered popcorn at the movie theater, an appetizer isn’t a stand-alone indulgence. It’s a pre-game meal, the food you eat before you eat your food. And if you suck down 1,000 calories before dinner arrives, you’ll blow past your entire day’s calorie needs in one sitting. A thousand calories in just an appetizer? Oh, read on, innocent eater. . . .

Read more: 8 Worst Appetizers in America

Eggs are still on the menu, but so are quirky twists on old American favorites.

Chefs are revolutionizing an American classic with short-order cooking that’s long on creativity. Yes, eggs are still on the menu, but so is the name of the farm they’re sourced from, as well as quirky twists on old favorites, like pickle-juice egg salad sandwiches and maple-bacon doughnuts. Here are the best places to taste the trend.

Read more: America’s Top Diners (and What to Order at Them)

An L.A. chain has rethought the meat, bun, and toppings to create a new ideal.

It’s half beef and half beyond belief.

I arrived in Los Angeles not much taken with umami, at least not the way true believers are. Too much mysticism, not enough science. Nor did I care much for the L.A. burger culture, not like the locals. Too many toppings, not enough meat.

Then I tasted the Umami Burger, Adam Fleischman’s cross-cultural merger of Japanese ingenuity and American know-how. And I thought to myself, This is a man among burger men, worthy of our adulation even if he’s always wearing a T-shirt with an Umami Burger logo. (These days, even the greats can’t resist self-promotion.)

Read more: Is This the Best Burger in America?

Whether you prefer it mild or superspicy, you’re sure to find a chili you’ll love at one of these spots.

Beans versus no beans, mild versus tongue-searing, ground beef versus chunks of chuck roast–let’s agree to disagree that there’s no one perfect bowl of chili. (Yes, we know: except, of course, for your own.) Here are our top ten chili joints with a range of styles from coast to coast.

Read more: America’s 10 Best Chili Places

Some premade guacamole dips contain little avocado but plenty of chemicals.

Two out of three people in America today are either overweight or obese. That means every time you sit down in an airplane or a packed movie theater, more likely than not you’re going to wind up as the lean center of a fat sandwich. But as you look right and left and see nothing but heft, you can’t help but think, What happened?

How did we all get so darn fat?

Read more: The Truth About Your Weight Gain

A San Francisco chocolatier serves a dark chocolate cocoa with a handmade marshmallow.

We’ve all had powdery hot cocoa—watery, only vaguely chocolaty, and occasionally crunchy with undissolved marshmallow clumps. Still, cocoa was—and is—the best thing to stir into a mug on a winter afternoon.

Today’s hot chocolate has come a long way from little packages with gritty marshmallows. From sipping chocolate flavored with secret Caribbean spices to house-roasted cocoa beans and celebrity truffle shops, America’s best hot chocolate has gone gourmet.

Read more: America’s Best Hot Chocolate

An eatery with the “most fascinating pizza toppings on earth” is among the most notable places to nosh.

America’s food renaissance keeps expanding, in all kinds of creative directions—not all of them fancy. From a $20 million gamble in Manhattan to a desolate block in Oakland, our tireless food correspondent, Alan Richman, crisscrossed the country in search of the best and tastiest this land has to offer. Start booking those tables now!

Read more: GQ Eats: The 10 Best New Restaurants in America

One Massachusetts institution has been called a national treasure since opening in 1986.

Exactly how far has the American food revolution come? You can measure it in baguettes. A nation reared on the presliced white stuff has succumbed to the addictive pleasures of traditional, artisanal bread. Here’s where to find the best Pullman loaves, ciabatta, and sourdough boules in the country.

Read more: America’s 10 Best Bread Bakeries

Whole Foods is the “Rolls-Royce” of healthy eating, but others are making strides.

Let’s face it: Your weekly (or daily!) run to the grocery store is the foundation for your good health. So it’s thrilling news that the supermarket industry is on a health kick—these days you’ll likely find organic produce and “natural” packaged foods at almost any store you go to.

But which chains are outdoing themselves to deliver the freshest and healthiest foods to you? And which ones provide the best tools to help you make smart choices?

Read more: America’s 10 healthiest grocery stores

After zooming from one end of the mall to the other, don’t you deserve a quick bite? Of course. Does it have to be greasy fries, gooey cinnamon buns, or some other equally fattening, sodium-loaded calorie bomb? No way! Believe it or not, you can eat healthy while you tackle holiday errands. Check out our delicious, nutritious picks.

Read more: America’s Healthiest Mall Food