• The Napa Truffle Festival happens next weekend at the Westin in Napa, with seminars, cooking demos, and a six-course Truffle Dinner cooked by Michelin-starred chefs. [Napa Truffle Fest]
• Chef Matthew Martinez was exonerated by a jury in a case involving this weird, undercover operation by police to protect poor people and drunks from being robbed. [Examiner]
• Learn to decorate sugar cookies at Miette, and how to make sweet Bavarian cookie pretzels from the Chron. [Bay Area Bites, Chron]
• An interview with the team behind Delarosa, one year after opening in the Marina. [Eater]
• The timing of Christmas this year isn’t just awkward for your holiday-travel plans, it’s fouling up restaurants, too, since many feel obligated to stay open for the Saturday holiday. [NRN]
• Agriculture for urbanites isn’t just a thing in this country; some city-dwelling Japanese are taking up the practice at local farms. [LAT]
• Fewer fliers owing to the recession means airport food-vendor earnings are down. Duh? [USAT]
• India is getting three new food-focused TV channels. For everyone in that country’s sake, we hope it’s a while before they’re subjected to as many home-shopping channels as we have. [Hollywood Reporter]
• Burglars broke into a food bank in Baltimore and stole computer equipment, but no food. Still, you would think even criminals have more heart than that. [Baltimore Sun]
• Thanks to high salt and fat content, it turns out fine dining — like pretty much everything fun — can be really bad for you. [The Age]
