Carbs - especially pasta - are the fuel my body needs to maintain an athletic lifestyle.

If you eliminate the junk food, you don't really run the risk of gaining weight if you've got a good workout routine.

Your pantry is your first line of defense against food-borne illness and things like high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Babbo's menu is only four pages, but it's overwhelming - there are 20 different pastas in there, a lot of stuff. There is nothing I hate more than a useless, lazy menu with only three appetizers and four entrees.

With four-appetizer, four-entree menus, it's like, give me a break. That's not a restaurant, that's a dinner party.

Cooking for my family is always a pleasure when I'm able to do it. My favorite thing to make is really whatever my kids ask for on any given day. It's more about being with them and doing something together.

As a restaurateur, my palate is one of my most important tools.