Todd Eng, grillmaster and restaurateur-in-progress (he's opening an izakaya later this year), encourages you to rethink your use of lighter fluid and consider investing in a chimney starter. While you're at it, you might pick up some lump charcoal and a grate brush.

Jeremy Oldfield is an oatmeal painter of light. He takes the blank canvas (a canvas of whole-oat groats lovingly ground and soaked overnight) and breathes life into it; the kind of life that lives in tahini and miso paste, or coconut milk and caramelized bananas. He's bold. He's got vision. He's an inspiration to oatmeal-lovers worldwide.

Brian Leitner, co-owner of Nettie's Crab Shack, shares the right and wrong ways to eat Dungeness crab. Leitner sees hundreds of crabs eaten at this time of year (it's currently Dungeness Crab Week in San Francisco), and he's watched customers do many wrong things: leave the best bits behind in the body, avoid the crab butter (a delicacy for some), and crack the shell into the meat. He wants us to do the right things: use the mallet to gently crack the body, use the tip of the claw as a digging tool, and always get the hidden meat out.

Magnolia Pub & Brewery owner Dave McLean handcrafts beers using carefully sourced ingredients. He also pours a beautiful pint. Employ his simple tips, and you'll get the perfect head every time.

Clean, hot water; freshly ground beans; and a proper drip filter (we like the porcelain ones from Sweet Maria's, but many types are available): Good drip coffee is an attainable goal.

Your onion deserves better. And even, parallel slices are the way to clean onion geometry.