For those of you that live in the San Francisco area, this month is the 6th annual Visa sponsored, Dine About Town. You can get a 3-course prix-fixe lunch or dinner ($21.95 and $31.95 respectively) from one of 103 restaurants. The only catch is that you'll have to use your Visa card.

It's a steal for some of these places, but be careful and make sure that the place you choose doesn't have cheaper options off the regular menu.

I'm personally hoping to check a few places out (including Campton Place) and will let you know if I do.

Check out a full list of participating restaurants.

And for those of you not fortunate enough to make it, check out prix fixe menus at some of your local fine eateries. Prix fixe, french for fixed price, refers to a set menu with limited options, offered at a set price. Usually it's a good sampling of what the restaurant has to offer.

During the holidays I had this elaborate and grand idea that I was going to try out a whole bunch of new recipes. Since I spent the majority of my days looking for awesome dishes to share with you, the things to make list grew and grew and grew. As Christmas neared, things got crazy and hectic and I completely forgot about my list. Today I found it and am as eager as ever to experiment in the kitchen. This recipe for chocolate hazelnut biscotti is a dessert from my list that I plan on baking soon. The biscotti can stay for up to week in an airtight container and will be a lovely partner to a late afternoon cappuccino. For the recipe, read more

Last week I went to one of my favorite local eateries for lunch and noticed that they had a new brand of tea for sale. I'm a sucker for packaging and these stylish little minimal boxes wouldn't stop calling my name. Eventually (okay, it took like 3 seconds), I decided to get one and chose the Green Earl Grey Tea (although the Honeybush Caramel Tea was a close second). The tea was smooth yet hearty, like an earl grey with all the benefits of green tea.

So what makes Revolution tea so interesting? Well, according to their website:

We have spent years experimenting with teas from all over the world to develop the finest flavor combinations, which are truly designed for the American palate... This is why we offer several of our teas in the unique see through Infuser Tea Bag™, a unique point of differentiation that enables us to retain the freshness and flavor of the product by using full leaf tea versus the fannings or dust that most other tea companies use.

So no more bitter bag taste and awesome blends. Oh and did I mention the packaging? So cute, it would even make a great adornment on any gift. You can get 30 single boxes of Revolution Tea for $12.75.

Although I'm all for getting creative and making my own homemade invitations, when it comes to something as important as your wedding, it's best to let the professionals handle it. The ideal situation is to work with an invitation maker to design a personalized invite. Elegant letterpress invitations are very in right now and if you are planning a wedding or hosting a large event that calls for professional invitations, you should consider using letterpress. Letterpress is a five centuries old printing process that now combines old-school printing techniques with digital layouts for a traditional yet modern result. Designs are created on the computer and then turned into pressing plates.

All the type and images are raised up on the plate and form the printed image. The ink is applied to these raised places, and then the plate is pressed onto the paper much like a rubber stamp. Letterpress printing imparts an unmistakable impression in the paper, giving a vivid, three-dimensional appearance that is incredible chic, stylish, and sophisticated. If you are interested in working with a letterpress design team to produce your ideal invite, I recommend Dauphine Press or Bella Figura.

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• Anyone who's ever been a college student on a budget will be mourning the death of instant noodle inventor Momofuku Ando. - Slashfood
• I am going to have to try this Chipotle Shrimp with a Citrus Pomegranate Salad. - Everybody Likes Sandwiches
• Love low-lit dining? Try no-lit dining. That's right, the lights are out and the waiters wear night-vision goggles. - geeksugar
• Love a good hot dog? Check out this Roadfood Hot Dog Roundup. - Serious Eats



• Science comes to the rescue again, this time with genetically engineered hollow celery to be used in bloody marys. - GiggleSugar
• Get your hands on some Dark Chocolate Mint KitKats while you still can (really, they're delicious, go get them before they're gone). - Candyblog

When I lived in Spain one of my favorite afternoon treats was a glass of liquor called anise. It's a warming liquor that they regularly drink in southern Spain during the winter to warm the body. The liquid is sipped from a shot glass or poured over 1-2 ice cubes and served in a small brandy glass. It's milky looking with a translucent blue sheen. If you want to try this happy hour liquor out, I recommend purchasing a bottle of Marie Brizzard Anise.

For those of you that want to know more: Anise is a flowering plant native to the eastern Mediterranean region and southwest Asia. It's the dominant ingredient in absinthe, is used in root beer, and has the flavor of black licorice. It has also been used as a breath sweetener, a digestive aid and is widely employed for its intense and pleasing aroma in the production of liqueurs, just like the one I'm suggesting for today's happy hour.

One of the new laws that went into effect at the start of the new year has to do with wine in the state of Illinois. This year restaurant-goers in the state of Illinois will no longer have to down that bottle of wine before leaving. This makes them one in 40 states to do so.

The new law allows a patron to remove one unsealed and partially consumed bottle of wine for off-premise consumption, provided that the patron purchased a meal and consumed a portion of the bottle of wine with the meal on the restaurant premises. In addition, the partially consumed bottle of wine must be securely sealed by a restaurant employee or owner prior to removal from the premises and placed in a transparent, one-time-use, tamper-proof bag, and restaurant staff must provide a dated receipt for the bottle of wine to the patron.

See that part about the tamper-proof bag? That's where the folks over at Wine Doggy Bag come in. They make tamper-proof, transparent, one-time use bags that will meet the requirements of the law. With an easy to carry handle, it's the perfect way to get that merlot to go.

Find out whether or not your state lets you take home your wine.

Source: The Telegraph

This weekend it's my girlfriend Katie's birthday. She has an amazing state of the art kitchen, but unfortunately she's not really the cooking type. This year, for her New Year's Resolution, she's decided to learn how to cook. To show my full support, I want to give her a cookbook for a birthday gift and I need you to help me find the best one. So let's all head off to market for the best cookbook. It has to be for beginners, not intimidating, and preferably with lots of pictures. The recipes should call for the freshest ingredients and be in the form of appetizers, salads, soups, mains, and desserts. Once you find the ideal cookbook add it to the Yum Market with the tag Beginner Cookbook.

To learn more about the Yum Market read geeksugar's guide.

I love getting new magazines in the mail. The other day I received the latest issue of Everyday Food and surprise! it's a special "light issue" (just in time for all of our New Year's Resolutions). There are quite a few tasty looking treats in the magazine, but the one for a light chicken parmesan really stood out. I love chicken parmesan because it's so simple and can really make a dull chicken breast jump with flavor. And, it's a snap to throw together on even the busiest weeknights. To check out their take on a light chicken parmesan, read more