• Bandits in the Central Valley are stealing grapes and bees, which requires smoking equipment and “protective gear just like the pros.” [NYT]
• Neighbors in Rockridge this week debated the expansion of a Safeway store there, a plan that would double the size of the grocery store and potentially increase traffic to the area. [Oakland North]
• Following on his review of Bar Tartine this week, Jonathan Kauffman chats up chef Nick Balla, and finds out he’d been planning for years to open a Hungarian restaurant before getting the offer from Tartine’s Chad Robertson. [SFoodie]
• A look back at a vintage Slanted Door menu, from 1996, when the spring rolls cost $5.50 (they’re $10 now). [Scoop]
• Here’s everything you ever wanted to know about reading wine labels, which as we all know is a very important thing to do when buying wine. [WSJ]
• The USDA is proposing rules that would require food manufacturers to clearly label additives that have been, well, added to meat. [Bloomberg Businessweek]
• Maybe it’s all the heat in the rest of the country, but here’s another story of a woman giving birth at a fast-food restaurant. [HuffPo, Earlier]
