The bold flavors and exotic ingredients which typify cooking from the Sichuan region of China are drawing huge crowds to small restaurants in California's San Gabriel Valley.

Comedian brothers Danny and Anthony Palumbo found themselves laughing at the over-earnestness of many in the dining world (along with the popularity of both small plates and cutesy abbreviated slang) and decided to parody all those trends at once with a meticulously-crafted website for a fictional restaurant, Abbrev's.

When Gabriel Frem opened his California restaurant Brand 158, he decided to try something unusual. He disallowed tipping at the establishment, in favor of higher hourly wages for employees. Since then, more restaurants have popped up around the country trying similar no-tipping experiments, making it a good moment to check in on how diners and workers are adapting to the practice.

Czech immigrants arrived in Texas around the mid-1800s and brought many native foodways with them, including the kolache. Over time, the stuffed dough balls evolved beyond their original form to include the beans, meats, and other foods for which Texas would become known. Now this iconic regional snack is on the national scene.

Long a staple of Tibetian and Nepalese cuisine, the momo dumpling is having a momo-moment.