Ah, it's nice to be back at the table, enjoying a hot cup of San Francisco Chronicle food section for breakfast. Stay tuned for the weeklies this afternoon.

• Marlena Spieler goes in for some petty theft of the neighborhood lemon tree, enjoying the tang of lawlessness and citrus alike. [A zest for lemons]

• Turns out even vegetarians have trouble managing calories (what hope, then, for the rest of us?). Amanda Berne shares some tips for meatless slimming. [Lightening up the meatless dinner]

• Chef's Night In gets ahold of Amber India honcho Vittal Shetty for some insight on his background, his local influences, and the input he gets from his wife. [Home meals inspire menu at Amber India]

• The tasting panel awarded Newman's Own soy crisps the lackluster title of "most edible." [Taster's Choice]

• Michael Bauer weighs in on Epic Roasthouse with a thoroughly mixed, 2.5-star review. [Steakhouse cuisine not up to Epic prices]

• And Baraka closes after eight years, Aqua slashes lunch service, and Brandon Jew leaves Magnolia. [Inside Scoop]

Here's a pre-holiday cup of San Francisco Chronicle Food Section. It's a huge one today, with lots of extra holiday stuff. We'll focus more on the seasonal, but do check the Gate for more of the regular features you love so much.

• We get a celebratory dinner menu featuring pork shoulder and other rich tastes that even Bob Cratchit could afford. [A holiday dinner that's rich in inspiration]

• The trusty old Tasting Panel likes Lucerne egg nog, from Safeway, the best of a somewhat disappointing bunch. Note to panel: Your eggnog tasting was disappointing because eggnog is nasty. [Lucerne eggnog leads lackluster pack]

• A list of restaurants offering New Year's Eve menus. [Restaurants ready to help you ring in 2009]

• A couple of options for gingerbread house kits. [Where to find prefab and DIY gingerbread houses]

• We get a lip-smacking, artery-clogging look at the deep-fried glories of Hanukkah. [Festival of lights, and fabulous fried food]

• And a chef shuffle at the Cliff House, a bunch of restaurant expansions buck the economic trend, a new chef named for Serpentine, and a name for Charles Phan's new Chinese venture. [Inside Scoop]

Did you miss this? We've been inconsistent about posting the Friday Chronicle Over Cocktails roundup lately, and we're sorry. Have a double-shot of the following:

• The Chron names Ehren Jordan, of Turley Wine Cellars, its Winemaker Of The Year. There are also plenty of Winemakers To Watch in the sidebar. [Winemaker of the Year: Ehren Jordan]

• Selections gets into the festive spirit with a look at small-batch Champagnes. [The Chronicle Wine Selections: Grower Champagne]

• And to go with that Champagne, Pairings suggests a big bucket of steamed mussels with andouille sausage. [Chill the Champagne for steamed mussels ]

• The Cheese Course features a Camembert-style cheese made from cows that "never see the inside of a barn." [Splendor in Sweet Grass' Green Hill]

• And the Cocktailian gives us a merciful break from all that freaking holiday eggnog: A "sangree" made with scotch, Cabernet, and some other stuff. [Make an eggnog hater merry with a Single-Malt Sangree]

The holiday season is upon the San Francisco Chronicle, in the form of their Holiday Entertaining Guide, a nice little addendum to the food section.

• Amanda Gold checks out the local dessert scene, and finds that while hard times don't necessarily bump sweets from the menu, people do buckle down to the classics. [Desserts that pay dividends]

• Lots of foods are grown around the Bay Area, but when one takes a mental inventory, wheat doesn't necessarily come in at the top of the list. It's here, though, and apparently interest in local wheat is growing. [Bay Area wheat makes a comeback]

• Perhaps inspired by her effect on San Francisco City Hall, Alice Waters is shooting for an advisory role in the Obama White House. [Waters leads call for 'kitchen cabinet']

• Turns out you can save a lot of time with your holiday baking by using just one basic dough for all your cookie needs. [Mom's secret - one dough, three cookies]

• The tasting panel found Izze to be the best of a mediocre bunch of pomegranate sodas and juices. [Taster's Choice]

• And a Mexican food deluge, a lounge for La Folie, and chef shuffles at Home and Silks. [Inside Scoop]

Here's your morning cup of San Francisco Chronicle Food Section, hot off the press. Wake up!

• We get a big feature on that long-time holiday favorite: Cured meats. [Singing Salumi's Praises]

• Your input requested on your favorite wine bargains for the holidays. [Calling all wine cheapskates]

• Marlena Spieler shares her Frakfurt-philia, as well as a recipe for a German party dip. [Falling for Frankfurt and potatoes all over again]

• Food Section staffers name-drop their favorite cookbooks, not of the year, but ever. [Chronicle Food staffers pick their go-to books]

• SSpruce hits one out of the park on Michael Bauer's 3.5-star return. [Dining Update: A year later, Spruce has found its groove]

• And finally, some movement for Original Joe's reopening plans, a chef shuffle at Fringale, and Farley's begins working on its empire with an eastward expansion. [Inside Scoop]

Thanks to this week's big, gluttonous holiday and its big, gluttonous aftermath, we're doing a short day today, so we'll just give you the roundup of the weeklies now, instead of this afternoon.

First, the San Francisco Bay Guardian has an abbreviated food section today, with no reviews.

• L.E. Leone finds love, and great sushi at Sushi Man, over Canadian Thanksgiving, right here in San Francisco. [Cheap Eats]

And in the SF Weekly:

&38226; Meredith Brody goes for all three meals at Mission Bay Cafe, where she apparently doesn't feel weird about asking other diners to taste their food, which she then reviews. [Celebrating the Seasons: Partake of fall's bounty at Mission Beach Cafe.]

Here's your Holiday Heartburn edition of the San Francisco Chronicle's food section. Gobble gobble!

• All your Thanksgiving cooking nuts and bolts are laid out for you, courtesy of the Food Section staff. [10 Essentials for Thanksgiving]

• Already getting into ideas for Thanksgiving leftovers. Turkey curry pot pie, anyone? [Working Cook]

• A vegetarian holiday main dish idea that leaves the tofurkey mercifully on the shelf. [The Accidental Vegetarian]

• The Tasting Panel's favorite gingersnap turns out to be Beth's, of Mill Valley. [Taster's Choice]

• And chef shuffles at La Mar Cebicheria, Laiola, Solstice, and Brick. [Inside Scoop]

Let's take a look at this morning's food section over this morning's pick-me-up, shall we?

• A Turkey Training Camp showdown between Michael Mina and Douglas Keane leaves civilian judges hungry for more. [Four-star face-off]

• Taster's Choice goes after chestnuts, and nabs one for the hall of fame. [Minerve chestnuts crack the Hall of Fame]

• It might be a meager hall this year, but you're still going to binge on Dungeness, we bet, and you'll still run out of ideas to cook them. Tara Duggan has some south-of-the-border suggestions. [Dungeness crab goes Mexican]

• Not that we want you to turn away from our own, similar (but better) resource, but if you are looking for Thanksgiving restaurant options, the Chron does list some. [Where to dine out on Thanksgiving]

• And a new Michael Mina hire, an old Myth hand burns through general managers, and a changing of the guard at Mission Beach Cafe. [Inside Scoop]

Here's your morning cup of ambition in the form of the San Francisco Chronicle's food section. No sugar, please!

• Time to hunker down with late autumn and winter vegetables, and that means squash, people. What to do with all that orange stuff? The Seasonal Cook has some suggestions. [Posh squash]

• Michael Bauer checks back in with Bar Bambino and issues a solid three stars. [Dining Update: Bar Bambino better than ever]

• Reducing salt in your diet is a good way to lower your blood pressure, but, newsflash: It is difficult. Marion Nestle has some suggestions. [Food matters]

• Here's your general Thanksgiving guide cobbled together from current articles and years past. [Thanksgiving guide]

• Finally, the owners of Spruce set their sites on Santa Monica and Park City, Utah, while The Front Porch executive chef Sarah Kirnon casts a wandering eye across the bay to Oakland. [Inside Scoop]

We're hoping your having your morning coffee a little late, today. Or maybe this is for your mid-morning cup. Anyway, here's what we're reading in the Chronicle today, in between election coverage:

• A good, long look at the state of dessert &mdash one of the crutches we'll all probably use to get us through these economic tough times. [Sweet dessert relief for diners]

• Amanda Gold gets satisfying food and uneven service at the two-star Nob Hill Grille. [Nob Hill Grille finds a niche]

• The Taster's Choice panel appalls their Italian grandmothers by finding Safeway Select's cheese tortellini to be the best. [Safeway brand top in tortellini taste test]

• Vegetarians tend to looooove hummus, so Amanda Berne provides a few tips for making it tops in the Accidental Vegetarian. [Mediterranean meal elevates hummus from dip to dinner]

Here's your hastily thrown-together roundup of the San Francisco Chronicle's Wine section, typed with fingers itchy with anticipation of getting off the keyboard and around a Halloween drink. Happy haunting!

• We get a look at some good import deals that will help keep your cellar stocked during the lean times. [Wines from around the world to help you stretch your dollar]

• Selections rounds up some Ribera del Duero varietals, made with Spanish tempranillo grapes. [Ribera del Duero]

• The Cheese Course samples a Camembert that is said to closely resemble the real, French, thing. [A Camembert worth buying]

• The Sipping News offers a pretty funny drinking game for election night. [Election drinking game: After the polls close]

• And Spirits gets back to basics with some old-fashioned gins. [Original gin: older styles find their way back into cocktails]

Ooooh, pretty! The Chronicle's food section got a face-lift. We like! Let's look inside, shall we?

• Why pay for the breast when you can get way more out of a thigh? Hey, we're talking chicken, here! [The thighs have it]

• Nut allergies are no joke, but avoiding nuts on Halloween doesn't have to kill all the fun. [A nut-free Halloween? Not so tricky]

• Michael Bauer is not terribly impressed with Circolo, which he says doesn't quite "connect" with its cuisine. [San Francisco's Circolo tries to hit all the angles]

• We get a little insight into the history of Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), and the foods the holiday has inspired. [Celebrating Day of the Dead's delicious side]

• And a chef shuffle involving former Myth honcho Scott Howard, a new bakery in the works from the The Slanted Door's Mutsumi Takehara, and a Bushi-Tei spinoff slated for the winter.

Here's your San Francisco Chronicle wine section, digested, metabolized, and expelled as vapor, just in time for happy hour. Cheers!

• Northern California vineyards have been dealing with climate change forever. This global warming business should be cake. [Five ways California vintners are weathering climate change]

• Selections takes a trip to check out some Pinot Noir vintners between San Louis Obispo and Santa Barbara. How "Sideways." [South Central Coast Pinot Noir]

• Pairings offers up a hearty mushroom and sausage stew to ground those big ol' reds. [Barley stew echoes earth in Pinot Noir]

• The Cheese Course looks at Rolf Beeler's latest discovery, a small-scale, small-sized Swiss. [Napfkäse is not just another Swiss cheese]

• And the Cocktailian drags the skeletons out of his liquor cabinet for Halloween. [Why there's no Hubbub in a haunted tavern]

Alright, folks, here's your afternoon coffee-break roundup of the weeklies' food sections. Here's what the San Francisco Bay Guardian has going on:

• Paul Reidinger pays a visit to Little Delhi, and makes a case for San Francisco's very own "Curry Hill." [Favoring Curry]

• L.E. Leone actually writes a column about local food, mostly. [Cheap Eats]

And here's what the SF Weekly has to say:

• We get a guided tour, courtesy of Matthew Stafford, of the Salvadorean options in the Mission. Que Bueno! [Sanctuary for Salvadoran Food]

Welcome to your coffee-time round up of the San Francisco Chronicle's food section. Enjoy it while it's hot!

• As the weather thinks about turning chilly, Amanda Gold explores the complementary world of the food chili. [From vegetarian to double beef, one simple method produces countless chilis]

• Michael Bauer echoes a lot of our user-reviewers in complaining about erratic service in a mostly empty restaurant. [Food outshines service at Cetrella]

• We learn about the eclectic at-home menu of Aperto chef Chris Shepherd. [Chef's night in]

• Amanda Gold gives us a more in-depth look at the latest Michelin Guide than did those clowns at MPSF. [2009 Michelin guide: Stars rise and fall]

• And a new executive chef at E & O Trading Co, more changes in the works at Orson, and a food-themed bookstore heads for Noe Valley. [Inside Scoop]

Finally today, your happy-hour roundup of the Chron's wine section. Bottoms up!

• A Napa Valley winery tries to add value to its flagship Cabernet by creating a "winery within a winery." [Vineyard embarks on a mission to take its flagship Cabernet to new heights]

• Selections takes a trip down the coast to look at Central California Cabernets. [Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon]

• Pairings offers a lamb sirloin with pomegranate sauce to bouy all that strong red wine. [Pomegranate sauce dresses up lamb for Central Coast Cabernet]

• The Cheese Course looks at Lagrein, produced on a small scale from an Italian co-op, which just became available in the Bay Area this week. [Italy's Lagrein cheese steeped in the local beverage]

• Jancis Robinson waxes prosaic on dealing with an infinite number of people and varietals as an independent wine retailer. [Jancis Robinson's paean to the independent wine retailer]

• Finally, the Cocktailian offers a tip of the hat — and glass — to the new, creative class of young bartenders, with a gin/cucumber-based concoction, the Midtown Mule. [Midtown Mule gives cocktail hour a kick]

Now for your afternoon coffee-break look at our local weeklies' food coverage. Enjoy.

From the San Francisco Bay Guardian

• Hooray! It's fall Feast time! Check out 11 articles rounding up some of the best highlights of the area's food scene. [Feast]

• Outside Feast-mania, Paul Reidinger takes a tentative look at Janitzi, and tentatively approves. ["The cuisine of the Americas" served with style on Valencia Street]

• And L.E. Leone wallows in self-pity for a bit, gets up, dries herself off, and heads over to her latest "new favorite restaurant," Patxi's Pizza. [Cheap Eats]

Meanwhile, over at the SF Weekly:

• Meredith Brody gives us a detailed look at Marnee Thai. [I'll Have What She's Having]

Okay, back on schedule, here's your morning-coffee look at the Chronicle's food section. Don't forget to check back here during your afternoon cuppa for a glance at the weeklies' food coverage.

• The Chron's all up in your cupboard with a look at what staples you ought to have on hand and why. [Kitchen Essentials]

• Judges sought for a Turkey Training Camp competition between some local heavy-hitting chefs. Apply within. [So you think you're a food critic?]

• Taster's Choice checks out frozen macaroni and cheese, and is way impressed with Beecher's. [Taster's Choice]

• Bi-Rite Grocery plants some tentative roots in a Sonoma County farm. [Food Conscious: S.F. grocery branches out into farming]

• Finally, a new chef at Cafe Majestic, a new menu at CAV Wine Bar, and plumbing problems at Cortez. [Inside Scoop]

Confession time: We were a little distracted yesterday, what with breaking the story of the GGRA plan to appeal the Ninth Circuit's Healthy SF decision, compiling our list of SF bars and restaurants showing tonight's VP debate, and working on some upcoming, La Mar Cebicheria-related projects, we outright spaced on our "over-coffee" food section roundups. Mea culpa! So, belatedly, we're just going to lump them all into one post, like so:

First, the SF Chronicle:

• Marlena Spieler relates some groundbreaking dieting insight that actually works: Eat less and exercise. [Roving Feast]

• We get to hear from the chef at Tataki, billed as the city's, and maybe the continent's, first-ever sustainable sushi restaurant. [Food Conscious: Bringing Sea Change To Menus]

• Here are some ideas for a picnic spread, now that summer has finally arrived. [Prime picnic weather inspires outdoor spread]

• A chef shuffle at Postrio, sommelier sashay at Bacar, and a slim crop of locals (ie. one) in this season's Top Chef. [Inside Scoop]

Now here's a look at the SF Bay Guardian:

• Paul Reidinger gets his (sushi) bar-fly on, and gets giddy at the breadth of it, at Domo [The bar's the thing at this Hayes Valley sushi hotspot]

• L.E. Leone talks of aborted threesomes, potato-chip foursomes, and Little Joe's pizza. [Cheap Eats]

Now, finally, here's what's up at the SF Weekly:

• Meredith Brody makes dinner out of hors d'oeuvres at La Terrasse, which sounds good, but what really gets our motor running is that photo of the frites, which for some reason are always more delicious when served vertically. [La Terrasse is a bridge to France]

Just in time for happy hour today, here's our Friday roundup of the San Francisco Chronicle's wine section. Have a good weekend!

• Chronicle wine editor Jon Bonne comes to the defense of Chardonnay. Well, a little bit, anyway. [Vintners showcase Chardonnay at its best]

• Keeping with the theme, Selections gives us a primer on local 2006 Chardonnays. [Napa Valley & Carneros Chardonnay]

#8226; Pairings offers a neato-sounding version of a shrimp quesadilla to go with all those light whites. [Chardonnay-friendly tweak for a Mexican favorite]

#&8226; The cheese course introduces us to an approachable, not-too-stinky blue cheese it describes as a "starter" blue — and breaks ranks by not mentioning Chardonnay. [Meet Peñacorada - a starter blue from Spain]

#&8226; Finally, while not exactly Chardonnay-hyping, Gary Regan does feature a white wine in The Cocktailian. [Good wine needs a good drink]