• Fuel Coffee owner Dani Cone, author of the forthcoming book "Tall Skinny Bitter," spills the beans on the five things never to say to your barista. Note to latte lovers: Avoid "Happy Friday!!!"

• The owner of the Dahlia Lounge, Tom Douglas, gets a nod from the James Beard Foundation.

• Forget your economic woes with yummy, comforting bread pudding.

• Old Seattle lives on with German fare at Bernard's on Seneca.

We've already started our Sarah G. vs Sarah G., Seattle vs Pittsburgh super food war. The Seattle Times can't miss out with its volley across the bow of the S.S. Seahawk.

• Make a meal out of your Super Bowl food with recipes for Seattle seafood chowder; hot smoked salmon dip; apple-glazed ham (Washington apples I hope!); sandwiches made with apple chutney to use up that yummy ham; and a Northwest Waldorf salad (which is pitiful, honestly, couldn't it have included hazelnuts instead of walnuts? what's Northwest about a Waldorf salad? it's from New York City for goodness' sake).
• Nancy Leson gives some recommendations for takeout (if you're too excited to cook), like Ezell's Famous Chicken, Sushiland, and Salumi Artisan Cured Meats.
• Skip the Budweiser and try some microbrews - and learn how to pronounce "hefeweizen" - it's HAY-fe-VITE-tzen, for the record.

Seattle is playing second city today with its exploration of fads and favorites already discovered by its competition in New York and St. Louis and... everywhere. But at least they have luscious photos. (And alliteration. Food is fun!)

• Ever had a sample at Costco? Providence Cicero explores the hairnetted hawkers and discovers that "savvy sellers are enticing buyers by going straight to their taste buds."
• Make macaroni and cheese. Try it blue, cajun, or "trashy," with pickled jalapenos (making this for my hubby now...)
• Turnips: if you try 'em, maybe you'll like 'em.
• This week, Nicole Tsong and Pamela Sitt sip the Champs-Elysees cocktail at the Place Pigalle in Pike Place Market. It's made with brandy, yellow chartreuse, bitters, lemon juice and simple syrup.

Do you do mac-n-cheese? If you're reading any mainstream food media this month, chances are, you do. Today's Seattle Times Food & Wine section has a cover feature on macaroni & cheese. They must have been reading The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which did a cute "blue" variety of the dish earlier this month. Or the New York Times, where "Crusty Macaroni & Cheese" has been a top-five most-emailed story for a solid week. (They also did creamy, it wasn't nearly so popular.) Everybody's doing it.

But I think it all (obviously) started here. Sarah Gim did her macaroni & cheese liveblogging on Christmas Day. And in early January, mainstream media goes mad for mac-n-cheese. Coincidence? You be the judge.

Today's Seattle Times Food & Wine section is almost poetic in its choice of themes. Bulgogi, Barbapapa, kumquats, cookbooks, Yaksik, Japchae... it could be a foodie rap.

•  Every chef should add some of these traditional Korean-American dishes to their repertoire. Especially recommended: Bulgogi (Korean barbecue, yum), Yaksik (sweet rice with nuts and jujubes), Japchae (clear noodles stir-fried with vegetables) and Tteokguk (sliced rice pasta soup).
• Try the Barbapapa from Seattle's Sambar, "almost like two drinks for one price." It's a martini-like concoction of Hangar One Kaffir Lime vodka, Cointreau, lime juice and... rhubarb sorbet. Phew. I was just wondering what to do with that rhubarb sorbet...

It was a good year in the Seattle Times test kitchens. They cooked up hundreds of delicious recipes and got to quaff some sultry Washington wines. All the while trying to decide, caffeine, is it good, is it bad? Maybe if they cut back on the gewürtraminer...

• June, August and September were the favorite months for new recipes, and the editors picked out Curry Chicken Burger with Carrot Salad, Alaskan Salmon with Warm Blackberry and Shallot Compote, Roasted Kohlrabi with Garlic and Parmesan and Three Berry Crisp with Butter-Nut Crumb Topping among their faves.
• Paul Gregutt is excited: the 2005 vintage in Washington should be one of the best ever. He also can't wait to see the results of the Winegrower's Sustainable Trust, sample wines from the new Col Solare winery, or hang out at Taste Walla Walla this March.
• The Diet Detective answers questions about caffeine; you can safely consume up to 300 milligrams a day; it will interfere with your sleep cycle; but it won't sober you up.