Inquiring foodies want to know - -

- - Can the horror known as brain freeze be eliminated in our lifetime? Does food left on your kitchen floor have more germs than food left on your kitchen counter? Does cold water boil faster than hot water? These are some of the fascinating subjects that Ted Allen (formerly of Queer Eye, a frequent judge on Iron Chef, sometime judge on Top Chef, and the author of The Food You Want To Eat) tackles with relish on his new Food TV half-hour weekly series, "Food Detectives".

I like Allen, he grew on me via Iron Chef and Top Chef - his comments are always specific and astute, and he has a sensual way of eating his food, as if he's really looking forward to tasting it and savoring it rather than just shoving the fork in his mouth. On the new show, he adapts this weird kind of obnoxious speech pattern, sort of talking like a little kid who's going to share something naughty with us. It works though, because this guy is just plain likeable, let's face it, and the knowledge he's imparting here, while not always rocket science, is fun and useful.

(Brain freeze, by the way, can easily be eliminated by not eating extremely cold food, such as ice cream, fast. Slow down, enjoy and savor it, and you'll never be forced to endure this hardship again.)