Vegan mashed potatoes and gravy. Photo: chotda, Flickr.

• Contrary to popular belief, Champagne prices are apparently dropping; here's how to buy.
• If beer is more your style, here are some suggestions for what to pair with your Thanksgiving dinner.
• And turkey basics from the USDA allow for more drink and less think next Thursday.
• A columnist offers three steps to "fool-proof" gravy.
• Local chefs share their favorite Thanksgiving recipes.
• The Pacific Northwest Cheese Project, a blog about local cheeses, is now a book.
• The Thomas Street Bistro runs more like a dinner party than a restaurant.

Photo: cyclonebill, Flickr.

• How to select rice from your local market.
• A toxic "red tide" has shut down Northern Puget Sound's shellfish industry.
• Elemental Next Door offers the refined Elemental@Gasworks food -- think hazelnut-studded wild boar pâté -- without "the attitude."
• Coffee City: With falling traffic at Starbucks, Safeway looks toward a better latte future; Dilettante opens a second Mocha Cafe location; pour-over coffee is big at Port Townsend; a Stumptown producer's panel; Clover machines start disappearing from Starbucks and Carly Simon sues the chain.
• Georgetown's Daimonji offers good food and massive bento boxes in a strip-mall setting.
• All You Can Eat finds another Blue C Sushi location, Town Hall Seattle's Food Summit and a recipe for rice calas.
• Recipes: Flip-Over Apple Cake, Pulled Pork on Soft Polenta, Grilled Zucchini Pasta, Two Pepper Chicken Chili, Crisp-Crust Cinnamon Apple Pie, Chickpeas in Coconut Sauce, a Trio of Dips, Angelina's Restaurant Crab Cakes.

Coffee beans. Photo: Monika Bartyzel

• Co-owner of Seattle's Coffee Works defends a price hike of 50 cents per pound on their espresso blend.
• In a world of tightening budgets and resource concerns, how to make the most of your money and not waste food.
• Fall gets fancy and frugal with art lectures and free appetizers at Hotel 1000.
• To help food safety concerns, the Obama administration has launched a new informative Web site, http://www.foodsafety.gov.
• How to fight the bitter taste in eggplant dip.
• Frank Bruni's "Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater" tells how he went from adult bulimic to New York Times food critic.
• Restaurants: Bastille Cafe & Bar in Ballard is on its way to prime French fare, Greenwood's Aloha Ramen dishes "satisfyingly chewy" noodles and Lola sizzles with Mediterranean meals.
• Recipes: Cool Summer Minestrone; Fresh Corn Omelet with Smoked Mozzarella and Basil; Roasted Eggplant Spread with Onion and Sweet Pepper; Salmon, Red Potato and Green Bean Salad; Smoky Chicken and Three-Bean Salad; Classic Barbecue; Toasted Pecan Rice and more.

Photo: lepiaf.geo, Flickr

• Seattle-area blueberry u-picks are overrun with "a bazillion berries."
• A look into David O'Reilly's Oregon wines, and love for his $9 Corvidae 2008 Mirth Chardonnay.
• The city's cocktail scene, plus a recipe for Sake Sangria.
• Adios Juan Valdez! The coffee man moved out of Seattle in July.
• Hmm ... is organic food really tastier than the alternative? A new study challenges the claim.
• Some travel to Europe for history, art and fine dining, while others backpack their way to vacations as farm hands.
• Restaurants: Capitol Hill's Barrio dishes decent food, while Ravenna's Pair boasts beautiful sliders.
• Recipes: Spicy Baby Back Ribs with Orange Glaze, Cool Summer Garlic-Lily Soup with Almond Pesto, White Gazpacho with Almonds and Grapes, Seafood Kebabs with Zucchini and Yellow Squash Rice, Garlic Shrimp with Unripe Mango Curry, Any Fruit Coffee Cake and Pollo Con Naranjas, Grilled Tomato Sandwiches with Blue Cheese Spread, and Mesclun Salad Pizette with Peaches and Pecans

Fruit salad. Photo: TiffanyWashko/Flickr

• When bright summer fruit is in season, make desserts like shortcake and cobbler without fuss.
• The three rules for succulent summer cocktails, plus a few recipes.
• Probiotics might seem great, but experts say the term is misused and misunderstood.
• Starbucks gets a new store that is both environmentally sound and modern.
• Nicaraguan coffee farmers will ease picking pains via new ergonomic baskets.
• Strawberries get a new mode of transport by sailing to Seattle.
• Four steps to a tasty homemade iced tea.
• Anthony's Fish Bar offers fish and chips in the summer sun, and GreenGo Food loves local nibbles.
• Recipes: Leftover Bread and Tomato Salad, Pucker Up P'Sghetti, Crunchy Peanut Butter Ice Cream, Chili Spice Rub with Orange, Caramelized Little Tomatoes with Linguine, Summer Salad with Blue Cheese and Dill, Roasted Eggplant Salsa, Grilled Strip Steak with Olives and Feta, and Pasta Salad with Smoked Chicken and Oven-Dried Tomatoes.

• Tips and recipes for indulging in the pleasures of pound cake.
• Gee, do you know what ghee is? Also, what's a good substitute for mirin?
• Le ouch -- French wines are hurting after households drank almost 10 percent less wine in 2008 than 2007.
• Grill a whole chicken this summer, not just a part or two.
• Anthony Bourdain visits Seattle and chats about Mario Batali.
  
• How to get the whole family involved when you make super tasty and creamy mac 'n' cheese.
• Busting bacteria -- tips to keep away food poisoning at outdoor parties.
• Restaurant chains bust out more value meals to increase customer traffic.
• Diving into unusual varietals -- widen your palate with wines from Tempranillo to Malbec.
• Merlot is thriving in Washington state.
• Recipes: Grilled Eggplant and Red Pepper with Mint-Cumin Dressing, Lamb Loin Chops with Port Wine Sauce, Lemon Meringue Pie, Fennel Seed and Thyme-Crusted Grilled Shrimp, Smart Coleslaw with Pears, Walnuts and Cranberries, Smoked Turkey and Cheese Panini, Western Tennessee-Style Bone-In Pork Rib Chops

On the way to the beach, restaurant critic Nancy Leson makes a pit stop at Ranch House BBQ, notes that Bambino's East Coast Pizzeria will be another addition to the Seattle-as-pizzatown sweepstakes, and praises the fancy cocktails at Stix Billiards & Brewhouse.

They may be hurting in Genoa, Italy, but Seattle gardens and markets are bursting with basil. Recipes are for: Recipe: Fillet of Beef with Pesto, Recipe: Tomato and Pesto Farrotto, Recipe: Pesto Sauce, Recipe: Garden Vegetable Soup with Pesto, and Recipe: Tomato Soup with Pesto.

Since it's still hot outside, throw together a "fool" for dessert: Recipe: Berry Ginger Fool and Recipe: Bittersweet Chocolate Fool with Mocha Affogato.

Borrowing from Europe, dining at a communal table is gaining popularity with restaurateurs, but how do the customers feel?