We're reviving an old feature here at MenuPages SF: The Weekend Recap. A lot goes down in the city's kitchens and the blogs over the weekend, and now, again, you can get it all in one place, right here, served hot each Monday.

• Michael Bauer, still broken up about the passing of Rubicon, consoles himself (and us) with a look at other notable establishments in both New York and here, and how the two cities compare as dining centers. [SF Gate]

• The Asian Culinary Forum will host a syposium, Asian Food Without Borders, Oct. 10-11. [EatingAsia]

• Blogger Noobcook tosses off her first review: Of San Francisco's very own Golden Flower. [Noobcook]

• Chowhounds debate the staying power of Le Central Bistro [Chowhound]

• And Oakland's Camino gets three big stars in the Chron, as Michael Bauer tracks Alice Waters' disciples. [SF Gate]

Happy Monday, everyone. Let's take a look at what some of our fellow food-bloggers had to say over the weekend.

Ever wondered if waiters and kitchen staff are judging you for your order? They are. [Waiterrant]

Some of the most hilarious commercials from a forgotten televised past appear on YouTube, then in blogs. [SFoodie]

Think those two-ticket rules for fat people flying on airplanes are insulting? Check out this proposed Mississippi legislation. [The Grinder]

A local arts and crafts magazine branches out into cooking with the publication of a new book. [Bits and Bites]

One of our favorite photo-bloggers takes a trip to the French Laundry. [Bunrabs]

And some basic baking questions we never thought to ask (but should have) are answered. [Eggbeater]

As always, we'll start your week off with a glance at the Chronicle's food coverage over the weekend.

On Saturday, San Francisco Bay Area commercial crabbers decided to start their winter rush, after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday lifted a state-imposed ban on fishing in the Bay due to the Cosco-Busan oil spill. [Commercial crabbers agree to start annual scramble today]

Amanda Gold gives Les Amis a hopeful, but mixed, review Sunday after the downtown spot failed to fully bowl her over for dinner. [Les amis shows promise, but needs some fine-tuning]

Today's "On the Job" section features a new employment niche; the personal chef, different from private chefs in that they only stop by once every week or two, fill your freezer with food, then go on to the next client. Sounds pretty great, eh? [Dinner goes Netflix — and affordable]

Aaahhh, what a relaxing weekend. Let's see what the Chron's been up to for one last roundup, then we promise we'll get back to the real, pithy substance of this blog.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Looks like Michael Bauer is back from vacation. He visited the new inception of the Rex Cafe and seems impressed with what he calls a "gastropub." [Dining Update: Casual Rex Cafe one of city's best deals]

In case you're having trouble disposing of that heap of leftovers, here's a column left over from Wednesday that provides some ideas. [Two ways to savor the remains of the day]

And Bauer, that busy bee, takes a gander at an East Bay favorite for his pizza of the week. [Pizza Friday: Zachary's]

Are you up early today? Did you fall asleep on the couch and wake up with the feeling that you'd overslept, only to find you were an hour ahead of schedule? Us, too. God bless standard time. So with an extra hour to review the weekend's blogs, we found a few germane gems:

Maybe the weekend leaves you a little foggy? Well, if you've been drinking red wine, Epi-Curious has been tracking down the source of those headaches you sometimes get.

And speaking of red wine, Zagat's got the skinny on welcoming parties for Beaujolais Nouveau.

But the best weekend images came from this downtown pie fight, as documented by Geeked.

Larry, Moe and Curly would be proud.

• Michael Bauer eschewed the city for his weekend review, instead opting for the trek to Nick's Cove in Marshall (population 50; just south of Bodega Bay). The new seafood-centric restaurant, "painstakingly re-created" by the folks behind Farallon, impresses Bauer to the tune of three stars, but he worries that it may succumb to the "tourist-view virus that compromises most restaurants along the coast." [SFGate]

• Before you know it, autumn will be here and the cravings for warm comfort food will be louder than the roar of the Candlestick crowd, so to get you started, Citysearch presents a quintet of San Francisco's mac-and-cheese destinations. [Citysearch]

• Some ideas for eating a nice lunch at a dining room's bar. [Chowhound]

• Jennifer Jeffrey and Andrea Froncillo (he of Stinking Rose fame) teamed up to write another cookbook, this time about crabs. [SFist]

• Have you ever wondered where founders of new sake brands nourish themselves during their product launches? Wonder no longer: the Sunday Chron answered just that inquiry. [SFGate]

While you were busy grilling the weekend away, plenty happened in the local food world ...

• There's a bit of a bahn mi war going on in the Tenderloin. The longtime champ, Saigon Sandwiches, is apparently losing a step while the competition heats up. [All Shook Down]

• Bar Bites' Laura Compton checked out the "posh and pampered" Four Seasons Bar and Lounge, right next door to Seasons. [SFGate]

• It's never too early to plan Christmas dinner in San Francisco. [Chowhound]

• We all should have gone into the milk business. Who thought there'd come a day when there would be a "global milk boom." [NYT]

[Photo courtesy: Flickr]

Here's what you missed while tucking little "@" into bed...

• The bar bites at Anzu are reminiscent of "Lost in Translation." [SFGate]

• Not only are people putting breakfast eggs on sticks, they are winning prizes for it. [Yahoo!]

• Genoa loves its pesto. And unlike the myriad restaurants serving it across the world on pastas and sandwiches, the Genovese are really fussy about it. [Mercury News]

• The great Italian sausage is found at ... [Chowhound]

• With smoking on the outs in the dining world, restaurants are looking for alternatives to matchbooks. [NY Mag]

• In the tradition of sweet and savory combinations like prosciutto/melon, chocolate-covered Fritos sound oddly intriguing. [Contra Costa Times]

• You don't have to go all the way to the Wine Country for a winery; Alameda has some urban versions. [Inside Bay Area]

• Agricultural-environmental cooperation? Now we've heard everything! [SFGate]

• Michael Bauer praised Sonoma's Harvest Moon, applauding the husband-and-wife restaurant as "a pleasant destination." It's cozy yet delicious places like Harvest Moon that reinforce the Bay Area's stranglehold on restaurants that combine "destination appeal and a neighborly feel." [SFGate]

• Just because you get the low-calorie version of your favorite junk food doesn't mean it's more healthy. Your body knows. [TIME]

• Are you aware of your caffeine consumption? [CC Times]

• Introducing the Yukon king salmon, the richest and rarest salmon of them all. [NY Times]

• The craft beer movement = so hot right now. [Inside Bay Area]

• The latest from the increasingly sad journalist slaying: a teenage handyman has confessed to the killing but Oakland police plan to continue to investigate the splinter group. The group's leader, Yusuf Bey IV, was also arrested last week on several other charges. As for the bakery itself, well, suffice to say it's been shut down:

The business, which last year filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, was boarded up after the raids. The Alameda County Department of Environmental Health shut it, saying in a report that problems included a "strong odor of rotting flesh" and "fish thawing in still water." Grease piled up in open buckets, and someone disposed of grease in a toilet and in storm drains, the report said.

• Reports on the new-ish Farina are starting to roll in. [Chowhound]

• Ordering online is the new black. [NY Times]

• Vocal Children 1, Lunch Lady 0. [CNN]

• But for wine tasting, some recommend skipping the crowded Napa Valley in favor of the Paso Robles region. [Forbes]

• Crossroads Cafe gets the Bargain Bites spotlight this week, and for good reason: grilled cheese and tomato on griddled sourdough sounds pretty delicious. [SFGate]

• A new Frjtz opened its doors in the Mission. [Zagat Buzz]

• The California Department of Public Health issued a notice about ginger imported from China, so unless you enjoy pesticides, you probably want to avoid ginger for a bit. [KTVU]

• Several dozens of doughnuts were harmed in Friday's 4.2 quake. [Examiner]

• Picnic tables and a divey facade are just part of the charm at Thee Parkside. [SFGate]

• A restaurant in New York's Long Beach community has begun to serve a variation of our very own cioppino. [NY Times]

• What to do with Spaniards? What to do? [Chowhound]

Here's what you missed this weekend while trying to remember that thing you forgot to do ...

• The Google cafeteria is everything you've dreamed of. And maybe more. [Food & Wine]

• The Times debunked lots of sushi myths. Among the lot: food poisoning from fish is common. The article reports that 85% of seafood-related illnesses stem from shellfish, not fish: "If you take raw and partly cooked shellfish out of the equation, the risk of falling ill from eating seafood is 1 in 2 million servings." [NY Times]

• A stroll through the Miyako Mall in Japantown is like a traipse through a foreign country. [SFGate]

• A stroll through North Beach is like a traipse through ______. (Beat San Francisco? Expanding Chinatown? A war zone?) [Chowhound]

• Millions of dollars were raised via yesterday's AIDS Walk. Good work team. [SFist]

• Plenty of baseball-related hoopla has been taking place at Union Square's Lefty O'Doul's and will continue to until the big game. [Business Wire]

• This world of ours may be in for a surprising water shortage, sooner rather than later. [SFGate]

• Some people really like Dol Ho for dim sum. [Chowhound]

• Santa Rosa's Cafe Saint Rose comes up roses in the Bauer Weekend Review. [SFGate]

• Apparently, Lisbon is the San Francisco of the Atlantic Ocean. No word on whether or not Mumbai is the San Francisco of the Indian Ocean. [Globe Life]

[Photo of $0.49 Buddhas courtesy: Flickr]

All the news from the weekend in food ...

• Solar cooking is so hot right now. [CBS News]

• More glowing reviews for Daniel Patterson's Coi. [Chowhound]

• Perhaps you should avoid fish from China for a bit. [USA Today]

• Just because it's not as good as it blue counterpart, the yellowfin tuna still deserves some attention in the kitchen. Unless it's imported from China. [NY Times]

• Michael Bauer took his weekend review to Dio Deka in Los Gatos. [SFGate]

• The Amateur Gourmet defended food bloggers: "Whereas traditional food media (The New York Times food section, for example) often feels fussy and strained, like a college roundtable discussion of "Beowulf," food blogs feel fresh and exciting--like hanging out with a new group of friends or an old group of friends, depending on how long you've been reading food blogs." [The Amateur Gourmet]

• Eater LA interviewed "the Jack Russell terrier" contestant on "The Next Food Network Star." [Eater LA]

• Does Greek diner food exist in San Francisco? [Chowhound]

[Video via ruhlman.com]

• OpenTable is so hot right now, but not every upscale restaurant participates. We're looking at you, Chez Panisse. [NY Times]

• A new menu was unveiled at the Kyoto-style Medicine Eat Station and it made the Bargain Bites feature. [SFGate]

• Kellogg will redirect their marketing campaign away from children if they can't make Pop Tarts healthier. [CNN Money]

• Is there a more pretentious vernacular than that of the wine writer? [Slate]

While you "stopped believing" in clear-cut endings, here's what else happened this weekend ...

• The 30th annual Haight Street fair took place amidst a deluge of sun, street food and totally excellent tunes. [SFGate]

• It looks like Wine Country has yet another star in the making. Bauer on the Restaurant at Meadowood: "Still, the food and the wine list are exciting. It would take just a little more diligence to turn the Restaurant at Meadowood into a world-class destination that would make Napa Valley proud." [SFGate]

• Life's not so rough when Thomas Keller caters your company picnic. [NY Times]

• Want some scary imagery? Picture the creepy Burger King mascot fighting the always traumatic Ronald McDonald. There's some nightmare fuel for you. [Chicago Tribune]

• San Francisco might be a bit behind Los Angeles in terms of the cupcake craze, but you can probably expect to hit soon because you see, cupcakes are really just like bananas. [Chowhound]

• And on the complete other side of the food spectrum, a 22-year-old San Jose man obliterated the world record for hot dog eating, inhaling 59 tubes of processed meat in 12 minutes. [Sports Illustrated]

• The great Bay Area bread debated continued. [Chowhound]

• Look out! Ethnic eats are "permeating" Bay Area lifestyles. [San Jose Mercury News]

• Finally, the third season of "The Next Food Network Star" debuted last night. Maybe this is the year it surpasses "Top Chef." [All Your TV]

[Photo courtesy: Flickr]

Here's what you missed this weekend while you continued to hope for whale sashimi ...

• Bay Area favorite Peet's Coffee & Tea finalized plans to move its coffee roasting plant from Emeryville to a new, bigger space in Alameda. The plant will be able to double its output. Look out Starbucks! [SFGate]

• Iron Chef America featured Morimoto squaring off against a bunch of cowboys in Battle Chile Pepper. [Slashfood]

• Who needs foie gras and veal when you have milk-fed chickens? Wait a minute, chickens don't drink milk! [Diner's Journal]

• Lunch 2.0 came to Silicon Valley [SFGate]

Here's what you missed this weekend ...
• A "markedly" improved Shanghai 1930 was the site of Michael Bauer's weekly weekend review, and the jazzy Chinese restaurant earned itself three bright shiny stars. [SFGate]

• Tuna in a can is the new seared tuna. [SFGate]

• It's okra season in the Bay, which we be a bigger deal if there were more Ethiopian and/or soul food restaurants in the area. For now, Town Hall and its southern-slanted menu might be your best bet to discover the wonders of the plant that is technically in the cotton family. [SFGate]

• Al pastor tacos made on the vertical spit are more common than you might think. [Chowhound]

• The FDA has ruled that melamine-tainted poultry and fish are OK(ish) to eat, but ferret food was ruled to be dangerous. Really. [CNN]

• Haute Greek is the newest restaurant trend in New York, so look for fancy new Greek places in Hayes Valley sometime in early 2008. [NY Post]

[Photo courtesy: About]

• The way to sustain the bounty of the sea for the next generation of fish-eaters? Stop fishing so much, Mr. Bush. Go figure. [NY Times]

• Speaking of fish, the new trend in running a restaurant is passing cheaper fish off as nice fish. Nice meaning more expensive, not more congenial. [ABC News]

• Don't you hate it when a restaurant doesn't look like you think it did? [Diner's Journal]

• No, you are not allowed to feed those wild parrots around the city, no matter what Polly says about his crackers. [SJ Merc]

• And we have a new Mission mission. [Yelp, photo source too]

• Strawberries abound in the Bay Area! [Chowhound]

• U.N. researchers said that " a large-scale shift to organic agriculture" could actually help the poor AND improve the environment. No word on whether the lines at Whole Foods will decrease. [AP News Wire]

• California is trying to ban diacetyl from butter-flavored popcorn, as it may be linked to obstructive lung disease. [The Washington Post]

• The New York Health Department finally found a way to get back all the money they lost after putting all their stock in Enron and the laserdisc fad a couple years back. [NY Post]

• Not even Poland is safe from those creepy Burger King commercials. [PMR]

• Rhubarb. So hot right now. [NYTimes]

• Bi-Rite Creamery gets rave reviews on the internets for its chocolate olive oil sundae with Malden salt. [Chowhound]

• The Bush administration's latest attempt to relax regulations on dolphin-safe tuna was rebuffed by the courts on Saturday. Score one for the little guys. And of course, the dolphins ("the clowns of the sea"). [SFGate]

• In sad news, an El Cerrito restaurant owner was killed in an apparent robbery gone wrong. Alfredo Figueroa, father of two, was cleaning up his Red Onion restaurant when four armed men entered and shot him in a struggle. [CBS]

Here's what you missed this weekend while you avoided eye contact with monkeys apes.

• Fruity cocktails are now considered health food. This can only be considered good news for many drinkers. [Playfuls]

• The governor of Oregon will live on a food stamp diet while the governor of California will continue to feed on a steady diet of puny Sacramento lawmakers and other "girly-men." [CBS News]

• A Merced slaughterhouse took the blame for the E. coli-infested hamburger patties that sickened little kids in Calistoga and St. Helena. [SFGate]

• Lobster is the new unicorn. [NY Post]

• Chris Cosentino lost to Mario Batali in Battle Garlic. Much more on this later. [Chowhound]

Here's what you missed this weekend:

• Chowhounds debated the best Italian restaurants in the city, with the usual suspects getting the most nods, though a surprise entry was Capannina. [Chowhound]

• Chronicle travel writer Rick Steves stopped by the Tuscan countryside for the ultimate Slow Food lessons in wine and prosciutto. [SFGate]

• The once-maligned deliverymen of New York City have tasted the sweet waters of rebellion and they like it. Enter the industry trend of 2007. [NYT]

• Ladies and gentlemen, your feel-good fact of the weekend, hot off the AP Wire: "Just 1.3 percent of imported fish, vegetables, fruit and other foods are inspected — yet those government inspections regularly reveal food unfit for human consumption." Yum. Please pass the drug-laced catfish. [Yahoo!]

• Oh, and Tony Bourdain had a lot to say about the Food Network Awards. Let's just say that after the California Raisins and Rachael Ray graced the red carpet together, it was all downhill. [Ruhlman]