Blog Posts by Esquire.com

Unlike other holidays, Thanksgiving is really all about the food. More than that, the food is steeped in tradition - hundreds of years of it, in fact - but whose? The thing about Thanksgiving is: Not everyone does it the same. So we asked some of the some of the best chefs around what they think of Thanksgiving: what they love about it, what they hate about it, the personal practices they've turned into annual traditions. Don't forget to tell us about favorite tradition in the comments.

Related: What America's Top Chefs Want to Give Their Kitchen

1. Marshmallows on the sweet-potato casserole?
Related: Esquire's Best New Restaurants of 2010

2. Homemade cranberry sauce: Worth it, or never as good as the canned stuff?
A few words:
"Hate to say it, but the balance of sweet and tart, as well as the texture that comes from cranberry sauce in the can, is something that can't be replicated. Also, there's something to be said for the way it comes out of the can with the lines on the side. I

Read More »from Top Chefs on How to Do Thanksgiving Right

They're famous, yes. And good-looking, mostly. Not to get all fashion-police or anything, but these unfortunately dressed men taught us all a little bit about the occasionally important upgrade. Who makes your list?

John Mayer

There was a time when America considered John Mayer a promising, handsome young man. Hell, he even worked for us. This is not that time. As he has devolved into something of a whiny philanderer, so, too, have the shape of his shirts (either too bag or, as at left, too tight), the sag of his pants, and the flop of his hair. Maybe it's a social experiment to see how long he can keep romancing women even as he lets himself go. Our guess is not much longer.

The Suggestion: No matter how many tattoos you get, preppy basics will continue to look good on you - better, even. Don't fight it. The Takeaway: No break at the hem? That's modern and clean - a good pant fit. Pants above the ankle? Not even appropriate for the flood plains.

Related: The Best Dressed Men of Read More »from Who's the Worst Dressed Celeb Guy of 2010?

Absinthe may not be as bad for you as you once thought, but as a new study points out, the biggest threats are sometimes the least exciting ones - like that wine right in front of you. British researchers recently found that alcohol is ultimately more harmful to individuals and society than heroin, crack, crystal meth, and other substances. But while we can accept that booze has caused its share of problems, we thought it was worth investigating a few more toxic ways to imbibe. You know, the kind that will kill you today, not twenty years from now. Like these:

Related: The Best New Bottles of Booze to Give

1. Heroin Cough Syrup

Back in the day, "heroin" was a word coined by Bayer Pharmaceutical and nasal decongestants did much, much more than suppress your coughs. Thought to be a miracle cure when it came on the market at the turn of the twentieth century, opiates were sold as a common treatment for asthma, pneumonia, and dysentery. They worked, as it turned out, but high rates of

Read More »from The 5 Most Dangerous Drinks

You can thank Patricia Bays Haroski for this Friday's national "holiday," known as Bosses Day, National Boss Day, or, as we realistic people prefer to call it, Every Day: Forty-two years ago, the personal assistant forgot to get her boss at State Farm a birthday present, and so now we all celebrate her boss's birthday. But why get a present when you could start telling him or her how good he or she looks today, without being a suck-up? After all, compliments are cheaper than gifts and they never run out. Try these tips:

Related: The Best Bottles of Liquor to Give Now

1. Pick a detail.

No compliment smacks of insincerity more than a general one. Saying "great shoes" in the office rarely comes off as genuine. Instead: "I love the color of your shoes - it really compliments what you're wearing." That's what's known as double flattery, with your boss's taste and his coordination both affirmed. Plus, you've demonstrated your own attention to detail, and they still put that

Read More »from 7 Ways to Please Your Boss on Bosses Day

What makes a woman truly sexy? The criteria are up for debate, but what we do know is that Minka Kelly stands out. She's Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive of 2010.

So what makes Minka so sexy? Yes, the former Friday Night Lights star is gorgeous, but it's the way she does things. Things all of us do, like growing up, tackling a career, and getting older. It seems that the way a woman plays her cards - rather than simply which cards she's been dealt - is what truly makes her sexy. (Check out last year's Sexiest Woman Alive.)

Related: The Sexiest Women Alive... from Every Country on Earth

What Is Sexy: Staying Positive
Growing up, Minka didn't have much. She was raised by a single mom and they moved a lot. They had very little money. Resourcefulness and love got them through some rough years.

"My mom lived a fast life," she says now. "It was all about what we could do to have fun with nothing. She - for most of my life, she was a dancer. An exotic dancer. She was a stripper. Um, so she

Read More »from Minka Kelly Is Named the Sexiest Woman Alive: So, What Is "Sexy"?

Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli knew each other growing up in Queens, New York, reunited years later, and now run the Frankies Spuntino restaurant empire. They just wrote a cookbook, The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual (Artisan, $25), which is part recipe collection and part wisdom trove. We asked them for the most useful food advice ever. See their tips below:

Related: Upgrade Your Entire Kitchen for Just $300

1. Never Use a Cheap Olive Oil

In cooking, you have proteins, carbs, and fats, and your fat should be the best quality you can get. Our food is sometimes only three or four ingredients - but if three ingredients are playing in a band and one guy isn't playing so good, it doesn't sound right. Any time you put quality olive oil on something, it's sparkle sparkle sparkle.

Related: Women's Advice on How Men Should Eat

2. Own These Three Items:

Knife, bowl, pot. You need to cut, you need to mix, you need

Read More »from 8 Top-Chef Tips to Easier Cooking

Now that we've got that interminably hot, globally warmed summer past us, it kinda feels like it flew by, doesn't it? Maybe the heatwave got to our brains, or we were cooped up watching Mad Men, or going to too many fashion shows. Or something. Anyway: autumn is finally here (kinda). And we've been priming you with the trends and products to pick up, but there are simpler codes by which your man must live. Transition time is over - here's how he can survive the real change of the season.

Related: The Latest Fall Fashion Coverage

1. Add the sweater, carefully.

It's time to throw away the mothballs, but it's not time for the chunky shawl collar yet - Mother Nature should help you get by on cashmere and merino until November. And just because layering is one of the great joys of being a man does not give you license to go overboard: a third layer, between your shirt and jacket, is enough for now.

Related: The Ultimate Casual Shopping Guide for Fall

2. You

Read More »from 5 Quick Steps to Dress Your Man This Fall

The devastating realization came in H&M. Specifically, in a pair of size 36 dress pants. I'd never bought pants at H&M before, and suddenly asked myself: how could a 36-inch waist suddenly be so damn tight?
I've never been slim - I played offensive line in high school - but I'm no cow either. (I'm happily a "Russell Crowe" body type.) So I immediately went across the street, bought a tailor's measuring tape, and trudged from shop to shop, trying on various brands' casual dress pants. It took just two hours to tear my self-esteem to smithereens and raise some serious questions about what I later learned is called "vanity sizing."

Related: Pants That DON'T Lie: How Everything Should Fit

Pants have been deceiving us for years. And the lies are compounding:

The pants manufacturers are trying to flatter us. And this flattery works: Alfani's 36-inch "Garrett" pant was 38.5 inches, just like the Calvin Klein "Dylan" pants - which I loved and purchased. A 39-inch pair from Haggar (a brand Read More »from Is His Waist Bigger Than He Thinks? Why His Pants Could Be Lying