Hot Chicken, Root Beer, Crab Fat: 10 Hot Topics On Food Republic

Hot chicken: It's what's for dinner! More specifically, it's what was for dinner when we took visiting Nashville chef Matt Bolus to two different restaurants in Brooklyn serving his native city's specialty dish. We jotted down his thoughts on the Big Apple's renditions, then jetted off to Cinque Terre, Italy, to compile a food guide to the collection of coastal villages that's become an American tourist favorite over the past few years. We experimented cooking with crab fat (spoiler alert: do it!) and made stops in Minneapolis, Atlanta and Seattle to interview hometown chefs and explore up-and-coming wine scenes. We also cooked lamb merguez terrine, explored the vast world of root beer — yes, the alcoholic kind — and discovered the perfect device for making grilled sandwiches. All that and more on this week's Hot Topics on Food Republic.

We took a Nashville chef to two NYC hot chicken joints.

Here's our guide to eating well in Cinque Terre, Italy.

Alcoholic root beer is the drink of summer 2015! We explain the trend.

Gavin Kaysen left NYC for Minneapolis. He sees lots of similarities.

Haute pocket! We found the perfect device to master the grilled sandwich.

Atlanta chef Steven Satterfield has a plan for every last vegetable.

Allow us to explain why crab fat is the new butter.

Learn how to make Le Fond's lamb merguez terrine at home.

You should be cooking with honey powder! Here's why.

Seattle is officially on the wine map. Thanks, Charles Smith!