Behind a facade of artfully lit wine bottles lies Som, a music-focused Mission newcomer whose sleek, minimalist interior sports a walnut-topped bar, some black-leather seating and not much more – which leaves plenty of room for dancing to Brazilian beats (som is Portuguese for ‘sound’) on Wednesdays and just about any other genre you can think of the rest of the week; generally moderately priced, the cocktail menu is short but sweet, highlighted by a few classic concoctions made with top-shelf ingredients.

2925 16th St.; 415-431-8889

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• – 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]

Although he’s still hosting private parties, chef-owner David Gingrass has decided to close his SoMa restaurant TWO ahead of schedule, making way for its replacement, benu, in 2010. If you'd like one more meal at TWO, however, the last dinner service is tomorrow night, and there are still reservations available (415-777-9779).

Not one to get into the Beaujolais spirit? You aren't alone. In fact, one contrarian wine merchant is hosting a no-holds-barred “No More Nouveau” wine tasting in honor of the big day, choosing instead to uncork the best of Cru Beaujolais wines from France’s top natural winemakers. On Thursday, November 19, Arlequin Wine Merchant, which is part of the Absinthe and Arlequin café trilogy in Hayes, will be celebrating what they call the “real” Beaujolais from award-winning Cru Beaujolais producers including Marcel Lapierre, Guy Breton, Pierre Chermette, Jean Paul Brun, Alain Coudert, John-Paul Thévenet and more. These wines are made using the so-called vieux (old) way, fermented on natural yeasts and bottled unfiltered, resulting in a wine that’s richer, broader and boasts denser reds than the Beaujolais Nouveau most wine drinkers are familiar with (6–8 PM; $15 per person; 384 Hayes St, all featured wines will be available for purchase at special event pricing).

For a taste of some less-nouveau Beaujolais, head over to RN74, where sommelier Ragat Parr won’t be pouring the new stuff, but rather will be opening a bountiful selection of Beaujolais from 2005–2008, available by the bottle or by the glass.

• – 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]

One Market's gingerbread kit

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

Here’s a fun and tasty way to channel your inner pastry chef: throughout the month of November, guests at Lark Creek Steak, Lark Creek Walnut Creek, One Market, Tavern at Lark Creek and Yankee Pier can decorate a star-shaped gingerbread cookie, and in the process, raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The cookies will be featured on the dessert menu during all meal services, cost $10 and are presented tableside with a decorating kit. Similar kits can also be ordered to-go, since every sweet adds up. The entirety of the proceeds benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and according to the restaurant group, it’s raised more than $32,000 through the annual Gingerbread Wishes campaign since 2007.

Bruno's

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

Bruno's, the onetime Rat Pack hang in the Mission, is aiming to lure back serious diners with a small, rotating, midpriced menu from chefs Ryan Ostler and Katharine Zacher, whose made-from-scratch American comfort and soul food (think 20-hour smoked brisket, pulled pork sandwiches and homemade Whoopie Pie) won raves at the dive bar Broken Records; the retro setting features a leopard-print carpet, red leather banquettes and a mural depicting Kewpie dolls and other iconic kitsch.

2389 Mission St.; 415-643-5200

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Bruno's

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

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. This year, the fresh run-off will be hitting our shores on November 19, and with it comes charcuterie and wine-fueled partying at French Quarter haunts like Café Bastille, Café Claude and Gitane, as well as at bistros and brasseries throughout the Bay Area. To add to the buzz, longtime producer Georges Duboeuf has already gone on record predicting the 2009 vintage will be one of the best Beaujolais vintages in the last 50 years.

Here are some more ways to partake in French savoir-vivre.

• – 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]