• – By 2018, 43% of Americans are expected to be obese. [NYDN]
• – Gordon Ramsay has lost his right-hand man. [Bloomberg]
• – The Senate is considering requiring beef to be tested for E. coli. [NYT]

• – Top Chef contestants aren't being paid for the TV dinners that feature their faces (and recipes). [Time]
• – First canned pumpkins, now an Eggo shortage looms. [NYDN]
• – The art of complaining to a restaurant. [Guardian]
• – A modest proposal for fixing restaurant and bar smoking bans. [Eater]
• – Related: the science behind banning smoking outside. [Time]
• – Ever wonder what it would be like to cook dinner for Thomas Keller? [Esquire]
• – Talking cooking with Coolio. [Fork in the Road]
• – NBC's newest cooking show, United Plates of America, will give away a four-restaurant chain. [Reuters]
• – Hey, so, while you eat that sushi, this guy here is going to swallow a sword. [WSJ]
• – Starbucks continues to roll out its unbranded coffee shops. [Diner's Journal]
• – If New York loses its lawsuit, Tavern on the Green will become Tavern in the Park. [Crain's]
• – Restaurants embrace Twilight. [NRN]
• – Martha Stewart is not a fan of Rachael Ray. [ABC News, via EMD and GS]
• – The Rolling Stones, the wine. [Examiner]
• – Pork belly and other over-served dishes. [Between Meals]
• – Students arrested for not paying their tip. [Philly]
• – Plastic wishbones: what will the kids fight over? [SE]

Perrys

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

The day after Thanksgiving – aka Black Friday – is traditionally devoted to bargain shopping and turkey sandwiches. For a different bargain, head to Perrys, the eclectic Adams Morgan bistro, which will be getting into the holiday spirit with dining deals offering a culinary change-up of tastes. Over the weekend (November 27–29), dinner guests can select three small plates – think almond soup, salmon tataki, scallops with romesco sauce and lamb confit – and a dessert for $26, or choose from its regular à la carte menu. On Saturday, November 28, a lunch deal offered from 11 AM–3 PM, which includes a choice of two tapas plates plus dessert for $15, will ensure you have plenty of funds left for shopping (202-234-6218; reserve online).

Tom Brown and Derek M. Brown, co-owners of The Passenger

Photo: Jim Webb

The Passenger, a hip, laid-back drinks destination, arrives tonight in the former Warehouse Theater bar space near Mt. Vernon Square, where quaffers can sip a customized cocktail (there’s no set list), beer or offbeat wine and sample snacks like a panini or kimchi hot dog; low lighting, exposed brick and old-timey booths create a transporting vibe, abetted by arty photos of fleeting movement; coming soon: a re-created dining car at the rear, plus a ‘lab’ for co-owner/mixologist Derek Brown.

1021 Seventh St. NW; 202-393-0220

• See more new nightlife in Washington, DC

The Passenger

Photo: Jim Webb

• – Marcus Samuelsson will be working the kitchen at Obama's first state dinner. [Obama Foodorama]
• – The fight for Cadbury intensifies. [WSJ]
• – Chipotle sets its sights on London, Europe. [NRN]

• – Costco drops Coke. [AP]
• – Related: Coke bottles, 1899–1986. [Pixdaus]
• – Milk producers wish they could sell their product "raw." [NYT]
• – Hooters is having trouble in Vegas. [Eater]
• – A canned pumpkin shortage looms. [Diner's Journal]
• – Putting things in perspective with the Fat Map. [HP]
• – Jamie Oliver wants to help you find a date. [Marketing]
• – A Shake Shack in Boston looks increasingly possible. [GS:B]
• – What a $20 Thanksgiving feast from Walmart gets you. [The Awl]
• – A word we'd like to quickly forget? "Koodie." [SE]
• – Foods named after people. [Mental Floss and Cakespy, via SE]
• – They found water on the moon...can you drink it? [Slate]
• – Making mushrooms with coffee grinds. [Chronicle, via Coldmud]
• – Making art with meat, some wires, a videocamera and a stove. [EMD]

Some of last year's Christmas decorations

Photo: courtesy of the hotel

Christmas seems to come earlier every year. No sooner is the turkey off the table – or the Halloween candy finished, for that matter – than the holiday season kicks into gear. However, for a more reasonable holiday season kickoff, head to the Fairmont Hotel on December 1, when the spectacular tree lighting will fill the West End courtyard with shimmering Christmas trees, glimmering lights and over 30 animated reindeer. The Georgetown Visitation Madrigals will sing holiday classics, Santa will make an appearance and there will be complimentary cookie decorating and refreshments. There is no admission charge, but guests are asked to bring an unwrapped gift for Toys for Tots, an organization that gives them to needy youngsters (5–6:30 PM; 202-457-5019).

Photo: courtesy of FI:AF

Celebrating the release of the new Beaujolais vintage on the third Thursday in November is a Gallic tradition that local party-goers and wine buffs have long embraced. Here are some ways to partake in French savoir-vivre.

November 18: At Bistrot du Coin, dinner reservations are already sold out, but the real party begins around 11 PM at this Dupont Circle Gallic stronghold. Expect free-flowing Beaujolais Nouveau after midnight (202-234-6969).

• – The FDA is targeting caffeinated booze. [WSJ]
• – Meanwhile, its efforts to ban eating raw oysters didn't work out so well. [NYT]
• – Burger King franchisees lose 10¢ for every $1 double cheeseburger sold. [NRN]

• – A special Subway franchise is set to rise up with the Freedom Tower in New York. [NYP]
• – U.S. chicken production is set to fall for the first time in 36 years. [Reuters]
• – Champagne sales are a bit flat these days. [NYT]
• – Musicians do covers of other bands' hits, why shouldn't chefs cover other toques' recipes? [Guardian]
• – Pinkberry's further expansion plans include Boston, DC, New Orleans and Mexico. [Eater]
• – Why we read cookbooks. [The New Yorker]
• – Want a new drug? Synthetic alcohol isn't out of the question. [Scotsman, via ColdMud]
• – Just when we've gotten used to twist-off tops, get ready for wine in a plastic bottle. [Stuff]
• – Things a restaurant patron should never do. [Applesauce]
• – Related, 10 dirty restaurant tricks. [Slashfood]
• – Peace through hummus. [Economist]
• – Hard to turn down a "love dessert" made with passion fruit and...Viagra. [NYDN]

Willow's Kate Jansen with buddy Suzan Basoglu

Photo: courtesy of Best Buddies

On November 17, a star-studded roster of pastry talents, led by Roland Mesnier (ex White House), Michel Richard (Citronelle, Central), Cathal Armstrong (Eve), RJ Cooper (Vidalia) and Kate Jansen (Willow), will each team up with a “buddy” to create and serve a spectacular dessert at a walk-around tasting benefit for Best Buddies, an organization that creates opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Savory hors d'oeuvres, cocktails and wine will also be served, and while eating, guests will be able to check out the auction items and chat with chefs and buddies (7–10 PM; $100 per person; Audi of Tysons Corner, 8598 Leesburg Pike; click here for tickets and more info).

• – A whole lot of info on what diners like to drink. [R&I]
• – Should the FDA try to prevent you from eating raw oysters? [NYT, Slate]
• – Burger King franchisees are suing over $1 double cheeseburgers. [Miami Herald]

• – Meanwhile, McDonald's plans for the future. [CNN]
• – The backlash to the list of waiter no-nos is on. [XX, Server not Servant]
• – How to act around a celebrity chef. [Atlantic]
• – The U.K. now has its own version of the Food Network. [Eater]
• – Related: Emeril Lagasse is planning a prime-time variety show not on the Food Network. [ABC]
• – Mario Batali makes his film debut in The Fantastic Mr. Fox. [WSJ]
• – Heston Blumenthal plans a wildly expensive Christmas dinner for a TV special featuring ambergris, aka whale vomit. [Sun]
• – Jamie Oliver has seen a backlash for the salt content of his pasta sauces. [Guardian]
• – Cooking With Coolio, the cookbook, is now on sale. [EMD]
• – Remembering New York City's 1935 ban on baby artichokes. [Diner's Journal]
• – Don't be embarrassed to dine out alone. [Between Meals]
• – Raising a vegetarian child without the conflict. [LAT]
• – Can drunken fruit flies help cure alcoholism? [Wired]
• – Looking to find free grub for the rug rats? Try here. [Kids Eat For, via SE]
• – Deep-fried turkey disasters. On video. [EMD]