• It’s been so ridiculously cold this summer, even in the North Bay, that restaurateurs in Napa were putting out space heaters last week, which is unheard of in July. [Chron]
• Efforts to restore oyster populations in the Bay may be misguided, as a theory emerges that oysters haven’t existed in any abundance there for over a thousand years. [Examiner]
• A look at three books about over-fishing, farmed fish, and the future of fishery. [Edible SF]
• A chat with Deb Zell, longtime bartender at Zuni. [Examiner]
• Among the cargo people have tried to smuggle through JFK Airport (from a photo exhibit called Contraband): chicken feet, Ukrainian lard, Argentinian beef, and tubers from Peru. [NYT]
• Last week’s 55 percent-alcohol beer has been replaced as the world’s most alcoholic by Start The Future, a Japanese beer that clocks in at 120 proof. [Reuters]
• Jewelry designer Rachel Chyna White’s new Demitasse line includes necklaces that say “Foodie” and pave diamond-encrusted vanilla bean knife charms. [Mouthing Off/F&W;]
• In Vietnam, banh mi are served 24 hours a day. [WSJ]
• MiceDirect recalled their frozen mice this weekend after a salmonella outbreak that sickened 400 people, most of whom were snake owners. [NYT]
• A former executive at Thomases English Muffins is currently banned from taking a job at Hostess, since he is one of seven people who knows how to make the muffins’ “nooks and crannies.” [USA Today]
• Meat and dairy products from cloned animals are slowly making their way into European supermarkets. [NYT]
• The European Union rejected Anheuser-Busch’s request for a Union-wide trademark on Budweiser. [WSJ]
