Über Tavern in Seattle. Photo: uberbier.com.

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars nationwide.

Even at the best beer bars, boredom can occasionally set in. Sometimes the draft list just doesn't feature brews that fit the day's mood. Or maybe a keg of your favorite suds just got kicked.

Well, world-class beer bars, like Seattle's Über Tavern, are always looking to remedy such afflictions. Smack dab on the front of their website, patrons can check out what's recently been added as well as an extensive selection of "kegs in the cellar" featuring what's about to come. "We update every time there needs to be a change," said manager Charlie Wedbee. "It works out to about four times a week."

Über's been doing this "forever," says Wedbee (in real time, about three years). They seem to have their act together, so don't worry about trekking all the way to this tavern just to find a slew of unfamiliar taps. It'd be swell if similar craft concoction-proffering pubs could offer this sort of full disclosure about what brews to expect upon arrival.

Which of your favorite watering holes are web-savvy with their draft lists? Let us know in the comments! After the jump, Über's Monday draft list.

A weekly look at the draft selection at beer-friendly bars across the country.

When is a beer store more than a beer store? When you can drink in it, of course!

Many people from the Seattle area sing the praises of Redmond's Malt & Vine because of their exceptional craft beer (and wine) selection. But what really sets this beer store apart is that they have their tavern license, meaning those 10 taps you see aren't just for growlers: You can grab yourself a glass of beer while you do your shopping.

Don't feel like browsing? Malt & Vine has table seating as well. And nothing is really off limits here. Patrons can hang around and drink anything in stock for a small corkage/crackage fee. Even bring your own food for a private beer and food pairing. Here's a store that really carries through on the "make yourself at home" credo.

Malt & Vine also holds regular beer tastings every Friday night, as well as other beer-centric events when the fancy strikes them. (A full schedule of events is available on their Web site.) The owners and staff have a reputation for being both knowledge and friendly, so you know these events will be worthy of your time and your questions will be ready to be answered.

Let's take a look at what Malt & Vine currently feels is worth serving to their beloved beer drinkers (after the jump). ...

• Washington, D.C. is experiencing a restaurant revival, especially in neighborhoods that were once shady places to tread.
• President-elect Obama loves to eat out and many D.C.-area restaurateurs are hoping that will mean increased business and attention.
• Parisian food critic François Simon is known for his sharp tongue and highly observant reviews (some think he was the model upon which Ratatouille's Anton Ego was based).
• Frank Bruni reviews two new Upper West Side restaurants, West Branch and Barbao, and contemplates which will weather the economic downturn and which won't.
• Want to alter the taste of your table red? Harold McGee checks out an assortment of wine enhancement devices.
• Wine prices are dropping, which means good news for collectors with a few bucks to spare.
• Mark Bittman turns leftovers - bread, rice and pasta - into fresh desserts with little effort and much deliciousness.
• Melissa Clark roasts shrimp with broccoli for an tasty and easy-to-clean dinner.

Breakfast Sausage in Washington State. From Flickr user ramparts54s Flickr.

I'm posting images of sausage counters the world over each weeknight (and occasionally weekend) witching hour until I run out. Please use the comments section to post links to your Flickr or personal site faves, and perhaps you'll see 'em posted here late some evening.

Previously-- Midnight Sausage: Minneapolis, MN

It's so exciting when carry-out pizza arrives at your doorstep, and terribly dissapointing if the pizza became smushed or the cheese slid to one side or some other disaster occurred. The Washington Post tested out various pizza parlors in the area to see which pizzas withstood the delivery process the best, and found seven that fared pretty well. Though the actual list applies mainly to those of us hanging out in the D.C. area, I'm wondering if there are any national chains notorious for delivering pizza that has fallen apart? And similarly, which service provides pizza that looks like it came straight from the oven?

For more on the Post's recent pizza kick, check out Ellen's recent post on The Washington Post in 60 seconds.

We're back in business this weekend, with food festivals from coast to coast (actually just on both coasts). And since it's finally beautiful outside, there's no excuse to shy away from amazing opportunities to consume ridiculous amounts of strawberries, artichokes and (as always) alcohol.

Savor: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience (May 16-17, 2008) - Don't be turned off by the pretentious name -- instead embrace the chance to attend a reception-style sampling (it's Washington, D.C., what did you expect?) of over 35 appetizers and 96 craft beers. The pairings look amazing, with duos like Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing's Dread stout beer with pan-seared pilsener sirloin tips with shiitake blue-cheese sauce. I'm salivating. Tickets must be purchased in advance.

The Food and Wine Festival at National Harbor (May 17-18, 2008) - And while you're in the nation's capital, check out the tons and tons of exciting foodie events down on the Potomac River. Attend lectures, panels, tastings and shows, and I definitely wouldn't miss the Maine-style clam bake either. With an emphasis on foods from across the globe (food will be divided by continent in the main tasting pavilion), this definitely seems like an all-hit, no-miss opportunity.

And there are more!

If you opt for a meal out at a restaurant, chances are, you'll have to deal with noise. Whether it's whimpering babies, clattering dishes, or raucous bachelor parties, it's gonna be noisy, and it will probably increase as the evening continues.

Last week, Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema published an article on this very controversial topic (NPR then interviewed him about the article, which you can listen to here).

Sietsema claims the main reasons that restaurants seem to have gotten noisier in the past few years has to do with both new technology and building design. In addition to diners chatting and typing away on cell phones and Blackberries, restaurant design trends are leaning toward hardwood floors and tall ceilings, with wooden and glass accents.

I have to admit, college and I were not the best compadres. I worked full time while going to school and frankly what I was learning and the cost accrued from said learning never did appeal to me. Now that I am established and a little bored in my career of ten years, it would take something pretty exciting to make me hit the books again. Imagine my surprise when I opened the Wall Street Journal this morning and discovered this article about the wine making program at a small community college in Walla Walla, Washington. It's a hands-on program that teaches everything from tannins and terroir to winery Spanish! How great is that?!

While I may not be ready to strap on a new back pack just yet; I'm going to at least order a few of their wines and review them here on Slashfood. Would you like to be in my study group? ;-)

Most of us will never get to eat a meal at the White House, joining up with heads of state from all over the world, as well as governors and other high-powered politicians, at one of the most famous dinner tables in the country. Curious about what the food was like, the Associated Press asked chefs, food professionals and foodies to take a look at some of White House's recent menus to see what makes the table - and whether it represents the country well.

With the exception of Tim Zagat (of the Zagat guides), who felt that the menus were "kind of strange", the reviewers praised the dishes prepared by executive chef Cristeta Comerford and her staff, designed with the help of first lady Laura Bush and social secretary Lea Berman. They used mostly American ingredients, with nods to the specific countries represented by guests. Chicken wasn't prominently featured, although Kobe Beef, Maryland blue crab, shrimp and lamb were chosen repeatedly, and every main was accompanied by lots of fresh, seasonal vegetables. The wine selections were also good, with lots of boutique wines that were clearly identified on dinner menus.

Sex sells. Usually, it sells things like beer, various liquors and - of course - fatty fast food hamburger, but some Seattle area businesses are using it to sell something else entirely: coffee. Espresso joints with names like Natté Latté, Moka Girls Espresso, Cowgirls Espresso, The Sweet Spot and Bikini Espresso have decided to spice up their images with sexy outfits and flirtatious female baristas to try and attract business away from competitors.

At Cowgirls Espresso in Tukwila, WA, for example, barista Candice Law (pictured) says that she and the other baristas dress to different themes for different days. "Everybody's excited to see you," she said, as evidenced by the look on this customer's face on seeing his coffee served by a girl in a corset and thigh-high boots. At other establishments, "hot-pink hot pants and tight white tank tops," lingerie and "fetish" outfits are just part of the dress code.

Dubbed "sexpresso," the combination of sexy outfits and coffee is a relatively new concept and seems to be gaining in popularity as commutes get longer and consumers are more likely to take factors other than simple convenience into account when looking for coffee in the morning. As one (satisfied) customer said "If I'm going to pay $4 for a cup of coffee, I'm not going to get served by a guy." The employees - just about all women - seem to like it, too, citing the friendly customers and huge tips as great incentives.

Utah has a claim to fame other than Mormons and The Osmonds. It's fry sauce. The pinkish concoction has been around for more than 50 years and is the states condiment of choice for French fries.

The stuff is so popular at home and in fast-food spots that there was a fry sauce pin made for the 2002 Olympics. The basic recipe for fry sauce is simple: one part ketchup to two parts mayonnaise. Of course there are numerous variations on the coral-colored condiment. Some restaurants add salt, spices, garlic, relish, horseradish and even pickle juice.

As with many flavors that have captured the public's palate, there's a secret recipe. Gary Roberts, president of Arctic Circle restaurants, which claims to have invented fry sauce in 1948, keeps his fry sauce formula in a safe.

Utah, however, no longer leads the country in fry sauce consumption. Washington and Oregon now consume more of the stuff than the state where it originated. Go figure.

The newest issue of Cooking Light, which is their 20th anniversary issue, has the magazine's choices for the top 20 cities in the US, based on 15 criteria that they feel embody their "Eat Smart, Be Fit, and Live Well" philosophy. They looked at fitness, health and exercise data from the Centers for Disease Control, the number of parks and recreation areas (and how often they're used) from the Trust for Public Land, restaurant ratings from the Zagat Survey and James Beard Foundation, and the USDA's farmers markets listings. Everything was evened out on a per capita basis and the cities with the most of everything made the top cut.

One of the top ten cities will be featured each month in the magazine this year, so readers will have access to information about all the things that got the city their ranking.

1. Seattle, WA
2. Portland, Ore.
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Minneapolis, MN
5. San Francisco, CA
6. Boston, MA
7. Denver, CO
8. Milwaukee, WI
9. Philadelphia, PA
10. Tucson, AZ

Soon, New York City might not be the only place in the country with a ban on trans-fats in restaurants. The Washington State Board of Health and Public Health commended the NY Board of Health and said that the ban "is a step in the right direction and is boosting awareness of the ingredient's link to heart disease and stroke." They will spend the next several months conducting their own studies to see whether or not to follow suit and ban the use of trans fats in the state.

The biggest issue holding them back from making the decision at this point is whether or not a change could drive small companies out of business. The National Restaurant Association has raised concerns in the past over whether the demand for trans-fat free oils will meet the growing demand, saying that the deadlines imposed by the NY Board of Health could cause restaurant owners, especially small ones, to pay a premium for the oils just to meet them, while larger restaurants will have the clout to work out more equitable deals with suppliers.

Many Seattle restaurants and smaller chains have already shifted to trans-fat free products, or are in the process of doing so. They say that it is an important issue to their customer base and they want to make them happy. The fact that these changes are already taking place could encourage the Board of Health to move forward with the issue.

Only a few days after we were told that it was once again safe to eat spinach, the FDA issued a recall on lettuce from the Salinas-based Nunes Co. The recall only applies to lettuce purchased from October 3-6 in seven western states: Oregon, Idaho, Montana,California, Nevada, Washington and Arizona, and "the recalled lettuce was packaged as "Green Leaf 24 Count, waxed carton," and "Green Leaf 18 Count, cellophane sleeve, returnable carton." Packaging is stamped with lot code 6SL0024."

The reason that the lettuce was recalled was due to a concern over a possibly E.coli contamination in the water supply to the fields, although no E.coli has been found in any of the lettuce and no people have reported illness. The owner of the family-run company says that they have strict safety protocols, which were strengthened when the "spinach scare" broke out.

At this point, all lettuce covered by the recall should be off shelves, but it could be a good idea to check the bags in your fridge just in case.

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Think walking the fair grounds for five hours is enough to burn off that funnel cake? Maybe. If a funnel cake is the only thing you eat. See just how many calories all those deliciously deep-fried fair foods have, and how many calories you're really burning by strolling from food stand to food stand.

Gravenstein apples are at their peak at the farmers' markets, and Pork Cutlets with Apple Dijon Sauce are a good way to use them.

If you've got a glut from your garden, start preserving, or share with your neighbors.

Autumn brings on the new releases from boutique wineries around Washington. And if you went away for summer vacation and want to bring some wine back, here are a few good tips for shipping wine.