The tiny signature on the right-hand side of this shopping bag is Sheryl Crow's. The brown dot at the bottom says Whole Foods. The bag (large costs 99 cents, small 79 cents) will be available on Oct. 15. Each is made from about four 20-ounce plastic bottles.

In a press release, Crow said, "I am a big believer in doing what you can, even if it’s something as small as reducing the amount of plastic we each use daily that ends up in landfills, whether it is plastic bags, water bottles or product packaging."

You may as well do your bit stylishly.

This old thing has seen better days. It's a mouli-legumes (vegetable food mill) I bought in France years ago when I was a cooking student there. Good street markets often have someone selling hardware, and they're stocked with these dependable hand-puree devices. This one reminds me of a rusting Peugeot. It still works, but where is all that rust going?

This weekend, I replaced that work horse. I'm the proud owner of the updated, ergonomically correct, sleek stainless steel Oxo.

And I made the last-of-the-season tomato soup (this pot made five quarts).

Now it's time for applesauce.

This could be you. (Photo courtesy Miranda Penn Turin/FOX)

Gordon Ramsay brings the heat on "Hell's Kitchen." If you think you can take it, there's a local casting call for the reality show on Sunday, Oct. 12, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

It's at the Park Plaza hotel, 50 Park Plaza at Arlington Street.

If you're interested in auditioning or plan on attending the open call in Boston, e-mail twinsworld1@aol.com and put "HELL'S KITCHEN/BOSTON" in the subject line. (You don't have to e-mail to attend the open call, however.) Include your full name, age, address and contact numbers, and a photo. Also, explain your culinary experience, why you would be the perfect contestant for the show, and what sets you apart from the rest.

And if you do go, let us know how it went.

Globe Photo by Essdras M Suarez

Indeed, it is not!

Those are the words of one Phil Greenwald, an attorney for LA's taco truck operators, quoted here.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office said yesterday that it won't appeal an August ruling rejecting a law that would have required taco truck operators to move every hour or face $1,000 fines and possible jail time.

"After all, they're not selling porn, they're not selling drugs, all they're selling is food," Greenwald told the Associated Press.

Last night, the website Serious Eats posted a guide to Boston eating, with recommendations from Amy Traverso at Boston Magazine. Her picks are pretty spot-on; for anyone visiting Boston, this would be a much better guide than many out there. Here are her choices, plus my take. What do you think?

O Ya: most worth a splurge in my book. (David Kamerman, Globe Staff)

Best Pizza
On Serious Eats: Pizzeria Regina and Santarpio's.
My take: Both good choices. I also like Emma's, Cambridge 1, and Picco.

Best Burger
SE: Bartley's.
My take: One burger? Agh. Ask me in 30 minutes and my answer will be different. Right now I'll go with Radius for high-end, Costello's for a more old-school burger experience.

Best Clam Chowder
SE: Turner Fisheries.
My take: Which style? Oh, I'm horrible at these "pick one best" things. Ask my editor -- I'm inclined to expansion, not concision. Anyway, if I were to go eat a bowl for lunch right now, I'd hit Great Bay. If I was going to recommend a bowl to a visitor, I might say Legal Sea Foods for a more classic, Boston-y experience.

Best Ice Cream
SE: Christina's and Toscanini's.
My take: What she said.

Best Late-Night Eats
SE: Stella.
My take: The Franklin Cafe. Serving till 1:30 a.m.

Best Wine Bar
SE: Bin 26.
My take: Good call. Also Troquet, though the bar can be a strange scene. It's very small, so there's nowhere to hide. But you can get oysters there, which makes up for having to listen to some guy debating whether the pretty girl walking by on the street actually works for him or just looks like the many pretty girls who work for him.

Best Beer Selection
SE: Sunset Grill & Tap.
My take: Publick House. I lurve Belgians.

Best Bargain Lunch
SE: Chacarero.
My take: Noodle soups at Xinh Xinh and Hong Kong Eatery in Chinatown, bahn mi from the Super 88 food court in Allston.

Best Date-Night Spot
SE: Oleana, T.W. Food, Persephone.
My take: I wouldn't sneeze at any of those. But without a doubt I'd have to say Ten Tables.

Best Sushi and Japanese Food
SE: O Ya, Uni.
My take: O Ya. Also a great date night, of a totally different kind. I like to sit at the bar.

Best Fried Seafood
SE: Clam Box, Woodman's, Farnham's, Morse.
My take: Clam Box, Essex Seafood, Tony's on Wollaston Beach. (By Clam Box, we both mean the one in Ipswich, not the one in Quincy.)

Best Cocktail Lounge
SE: Eastern Standard, Green Street, City Bar.
My take: Amy also predicted Drink would be up there when it opened, and after my experience there last night I'd definitely include it on my list, along with Eastern Standard and Green Street.

Most Worth a Splurge
SE: No. 9 Park, L'Espalier.
My take: I repeat myself, but O Ya.

Best Brunch
SE: Eastern Standard.
My take: I am often disappointed by brunch in Boston. But I'll say Centre Street Cafe, East Coast Grill, and dim sum (no place in particular I'm loving at the moment).

Must Eat Before Leaving
SE: Hungry Mother.
My take: Yeah, why not! I love Hungry Mother.

Best Pub Food
SE: The Garden at the Cellar.
My take: That's a good choice. Coda too.

Best Pre-Fenway Spot
SE: Eastern Standard.
My take: Agreed.

Best Food Market
SE: Formaggio Kitchen.
My take: ditto.

Best in the North End
SE: Marco, Neptune Oyster Bar.
My take: I love Neptune too. For Italian, maybe Prezza. This is probably the question I get asked the most. I never feel satisfied with my answer, no matter which one I give. (For fantastic Italian not in the North End, try Benatti.)

Best Streetside Vendor
SE: Formaggio's Saturday barbecue.
My take: Speed's hot dogs.

Best Bakery
SE: For bread, B&R and Clear Flour. For sweets, Flour and Sofra.
My take: Those are good choices for bread. I'd probably say Iggy's myself. I'm torn on sweets: as with brunch spots, there's no bakery I'm completely devoted to. I'll throw Canto 6, Japonaise, and Hi-Rise out there. The few things I've tried at Sofra have been good as well.

Best Steak
SE: Estragon.
My take: Huh, that was a surprise! I'll go with the more traditional choice of Grill 23.

Best Lobster Roll
SE: B&G, Neptune Oyster.
My take: Lobster rolls, like fried seafood, should be served shack-side. Essex Seafood has a good one. In the city, I'll go with James Hook for sentimental, rise-like-a-phoenix value. And Neptune for fancier environs. The last lobster roll I had at B&G was terrible, and I haven't been able to bring myself to try again. That was more than a year ago. Maybe it's time.

So, folks, there you have it. What are your choices for any or all of these categories?

Yesterday was Drink's opening night. The basement level bar is an old warehouse space of brick and wood beams, with plenty of room to congregate: There are three different sections of bar to sit at, and plenty of places to stand.

The bars are made of natural wood or dark steel, with dark metal Marais stools to pull up. Bulbs hang from the ceiling -- the lighting is low enough that the tiny menu of canapes is a bit hard to read, and the music is an impressively subtle backdrop, loud enough to enjoy but not too loud.

Behind the bars are several bartenders facing large blocks of ice, which they chip and crush by hand with a variety of torture-ready implements. They move quickly and efficiently, setting down glassware with precision, shaking drinks aerobically. It's as if they're onstage. Welcome to Cocktail Theater. We hope you enjoy the show.

Pots are filled with growing herbs, ready to be plucked and muddled into drinks. Bitters and other liqueurs and juices are stored in little brown glass bottles with stoppers, and several counters for standing along the walls are made of glass boxes filled with pretty/creepy dead bugs impaled on pins and labeled. The effect is sort of downtown/saloon/pharmacy circa the early 1900s. (It works!)

There's no cocktail list here. (Or wine or beer list, just a very small selection of each.) You can order what you want, or you can tell a bartender you'd like something involving gin or herbs or bitters, and someone will whip something up for you. As promised by John Gertsen in an earlier conversation, this is rock-star bartending. A Sazerac was a cold, bitter/sweet few gulps that went straight to the cerebral cortex. A sidecar at first appeared to have no sugar on the rim, till you looked up close and realized pretty much the entire glass had been finely sugared. All of the components of this deceptively hard-to-make drink were in harmony.

Drink is offering a little menu of canapes (above). It currently includes the likes of Swedish meatballs, gougeres, cocktail wieners, deviled eggs, and foie gras lollipops. (The meatballs are 50 cents each and the gougeres 75 cents, a happy sight after the fussed-over $16 onion soup at Lynch's Butcher Shop.) Sadly, the gougeres were served cold, but the bites we tried were mostly darn tasty. The deviled eggs were light and topped with shreds of fried onion, the Swedish meatballs served in berry sauce.

Drink was full on its first night -- there's no break-in period for a hot new place since that newfangled Internet thing came to town. Everyone knows it's open, and everyone comes. There were a few business types in suits, some Amish-style hipsters, hospitality industry and media folks, and a David Foster Wallace look-alike who made us do a double-take. Lynch mentioned previously that she wants construction workers to come in for a beer. It didn't feel like that kind of place last night, but maybe it will as it becomes part of the landscape.

My only real question was why they installed one of those annoying bathroom door locks that looks like a tiny, protruding nail and is nearly impossible to push. This is sure to lead to many embarrassing moments, as the WC faces directly into the bar and it's pretty difficult to ascertain whether the door is actually locked. I don't think one of those nice, secure, and obvious locks with a bar that slides into place would clash too much with the aesthetic here. It seems to be the only small touch the folks who created Drink have overlooked.

Drink, 348 Congress St., 617-695-1806.

It's not your imagination. Apples really do cost a whole lot these days. If you find your apple budget increasing at an alarming rate, here's why: They're one of 16 basic food items whose supermarket prices shot to record highs in the third quarter, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. Same old reasons -- higher commodity costs, higher processing and transportation expenses.

The Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro hosts an autumn harvest dinner Oct. 13, with a percentage of the proceeds to benefit the Verrill Farmstand Fund. The farmstand at Verrill, a Concord institution, was destroyed by fire (above) Sept. 20.

Seatings are at 6 and 8:30 p.m. There are two prix fixe options: a "field" menu and a "pasture" menu. (You may be more familiar with them by the names "vegetarian" and "meat-lovin'.") Dishes include roasted buttercup squash soup, eggplant gratin (field), and suckling pig (pasture). Dinner is $60 per person, with an optional wine pairing for an additional $25.

The Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro is at 25 Charles St. For reservations, call 617-723-7575.

Just two days after country-of-origin labeling went into effect, the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank is closing down.

FARAD is just what it sounds like: a program that helps livestock producers, vets, and regulators avoid drug, pesticide, and environmental contaminant residue problems. In other words, keep them out of meat, milk, and eggs. It needs money immediately to stay open, and long-term funding of $2.5 million per year.

According to this Market Watch story, the American Veterinary Medical Association worked with Congress to have the $2.5 million included in the Farm Bill that passed earlier this year. But the USDA didn't put the funding in its budget, and Congress hasn't provided any kind of emergency funding.

From the story:

"'It's disheartening -- even tragic -- that a program that costs so little yet does so much to keep our food supply safe is not being funded,' said Dr. Mark Lutschaunig, director of the AVMA's Government Relations Division. 'We're talking about a cost of less than a penny per American to help keep meat, eggs and dairy products free of drugs and pesticides.'"

The USDA estimates it will cost $2.5 billion to implement the loophole-laden but popular labeling laws. Kind of makes the FARAD funding seem like small taters.

The AVMA is planning an emergency stakeholder meeting. They hope the USDA or stakeholders will come up with last-minute funding. In the meantime, they're urging people to call the USDA at 202-720-1542 to demand FARAD funding.

Of course, you could just mail them your penny.

Here's more info on the AVMA's food safety site.

In yesterday's online chat about dining, this question was posed:

Bob_Dobalina__Guest_: There has been much debate about the Butcher Shop pricing a serving of French onion soup at $18! Obscene or reasonable in your opinion? And moreover, have you tried it?

(Much of said debate took place on Chowhound here.)

At the time, I had not tried the Butcher Shop's $18 French onion soup. But now I have. And I am here to report that it has become the $16 French onion soup.

And that is still a hefty price tag.

The soup is served in a white bowl with a large rim and a tiny basin. It's about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of soup. It's delicious, don't get me wrong: a deep brown liquid chock-full of caramelized onions and tender pieces of oxtail. So chock-full, I would have preferred more broth. But where is the cheese? Atop the soup floats one toasted slice of baguette, and melted on it is maybe a tablespoon of cheese.

In its favor, I will say the cheese does not overwhelm the flavor of the soup. But when I order French onion soup, I'm picturing a crock of soup topped with bread and a layer of thick melted cheese that covers the whole bowl, probably melting down the sides a bit. When you look at the Butcher Shop's version, you see brown soup with a little bread island floating in the middle; if you look closely you'll notice cheese on the bread. French onion soup for me is about the synthesis of broth and cheese; at the Butcher Shop, the cheese is but an accent, barely there. For $16 I wouldn't order it again.

But $16 is still better than $18.

You can find today's conversation about restaurants, food, and a little bit of movies here.

If you get down to the opening of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway on Saturday -- here's a handy map that shows you the new look of Boston -- you'll find the Boston Public Market in Dewey Square (it's close to South Station) in full celebration.

Rodale is sponsoring the event and will give out totes with $10 worth of purchases (that should not be difficult with beautiful apples, greens, and winter squashes heaped on the carts).

The events begin on Friday. You can take classes in Tai Chi or yogo (early Saturday) or join a treasure hunt (text GRNWAY to 80108 before Friday, Oct. 3).

Effective immediately, federal law requires meat, poultry, fish, produce, and certain nuts to display a country-of-origin label (COOL).

When concerns arise about, say, a Chinese melamine scare or a Mexican chili scare, this will make it much easier to make discerning decisions about what products to purchase. It also puts pressure -- the kind producers actually feel and listen to -- on countries to prioritize food safety. When a country gets a lot of bad press over food scares, consumers will avoid its products; that's a real incentive, not an abstract one. Of course, it tars scrupulous producers with the same brush as less scrupulous ones, which I imagine will make them rather grumpy.

This is something people want. A Consumer Reports poll last year found that 92 percent of Americans agree imported foods should be labeled by their country of origin.

There are exemptions, however. These items don't require labels: meat, poultry, and fish purchased in annual amounts under $230,000; organ meats; processed foods; mixtures; and restaurant and cafeteria food, which includes salad bars, even supermarket salad bars. Most smaller butcher shops and fish markets won't exceed the $230,000. Processed foods could mean anything from peanut butter and roasted peanuts to bacon and Spam to cooked shrimp and smoked salmon. Mixtures includes the likes of frozen vegetable medleys, fruit salad, and trail mix. That's a lotta loophole. Will exporters simply start adding a bit of salt and calling their products processed?

The US Department of Agriculture estimates it will cost $2.5 billion to implement the law, according to a USA Today story. (It's worth clicking on this link, because there's a great sidebar about where the US gets its food, broken down by region. Interesting fact therein: Fully 90.6 percent of lamb and mutton is imported.) Of course, the labeling law will cost producers. (The meat lobby was not for this.) It will take a few months for the labels to be fully implemented. Consumers will still have to be vigilant about what they're purchasing, but now vigilance will be a bit easier.

In my mind, at least. I love reading international restaurant reviews from the local media. Today I'm looking at the online version of the Star, a Malaysian English-language daily based in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur. Its Dining Out section's most recent review is of a place called Bangsar Seafood Garden, which recently renovated. Now, glass tables come out of the walls; the seating area is set over a pond, and water flows out of the walls, through the tables, and down in a waterfall into the pond beneath your feet, where fish swim. Elaborate!

The restaurant's signature dish is baked crab in butter sauce: "Huge crab pieces come in creamy and flavourful sauce, with a lot of curry leaves adding a hint of fragrance." That can't be bad.

Also recently reviewed is the Living Room, in the KL Westin. "Touted as one of the most expensive buka puasa buffet spreads in the city, diners who plan to visit Westin Kuala Lumpur would definitely be eager to know if it’s worth the price." Never mind the misplaced modifier, what is a buka puasa buffet? Apparently one at which you break the Ramadan fast. (IKEA offers one!)

The Living Room's buffet looks fairly awesome. It starts with five huge pots filled with different biryani, then goes on to a wide array of traditional dishes ("Udang Gulai Tempoyak ‘Che Yah,’ Telur Itik Lomak Cili Api Belimbing Buluh, Ekor Sapi Asam Pondeh, and Rendang Ayam Pencen Pucuk Ubi"). Also offered: hawker food on skewers, sushi and sashimi, Italian specialties such as pizza and risotto, Latin American food, Chinese dishes, and many many different sweets.

How much is this most expensive buffet per person? About $37 US (RM128). If today wasn't the last it was offered, I'd be there.

In the Star's online food section, Kuali (which my Malaysian friend tells me is the wok all Malaysians use to cook in), there are also many tempting recipes. Now that Aneka Rasa in Allston is closed, there aren't a lot of places to eat Malaysian food in Boston. (Precisely, there is one that I know of: Penang.) Might be a good time to start learning how to make curry mee and assam laksa.

Lionette's Market will deliver its local, sustainable wares to your house weekly. You provide the grocery list, or they'll rotate meat, fish, produce, dairy, etc. for you. There's no delivery fee for orders that are more than $100; for orders of $50-$99 the fee is $5, $10 for under $50. Deliveries are car-free, made on one of New Amsterdam Project's nifty delivery cycles (above). The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday: South End, Back Bay, Downtown, Beacon Hill, Charlestown.
Friday: South End, Back Bay, most parts of Cambridge and Somerville.
Saturday: South End, Fenway, Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, parts of Roslindale.

In Season is another delivery service that sources its groceries locally. We ran this story about owner Christopher Crandall (above) and his venture earlier this month.

In Season brings produce, meat, dairy, bread, and dry goods to convenient delivery spots on a weekly basis. You place your order online by noon on Saturday for the following week. Again, delivery's free on orders over $100. Otherwise the fee is $8. Here's the schedule:

Tuesday morning: Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, Medford, Somerville, Watertown.
Tuesday evening: Beverly, Manchester, Marblehead, Salem.
Wednesday morning: Allston, Brighton, Boston, Brookline, Charlestown, Newton, JP, Roslindale, West Roxbury.

Boston Organics isn't all local, but it is when quality and availability permit, and (obviously) all its products are organic. There usually isn't a fee; you can purchase $29, $39, $45, or $57 boxes of fruits, vegetables, or a combo of both. Here's the schedule:

Tuesday: Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Dorchester, downtown, Fenway, Fort Point, Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill, North End, Roslindale, Roxbury, South Boston, South End, West End, West Roxbury.
Wednesday: Arlington, Cambridge, Winchester.
Thursday: Allston, Belmont, Brighton, Brookline, Chestnut Hill, Newton (ZIP codes 02458, 02459, 02460, and 02461), Waltham, Watertown.
Friday: Charlestown, East Boston, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Newburyport (not Plum Island), Somerville, Winthrop.

Has anyone used any of these services? What has your experience been like?

Spotted on West Dedham Street in the South End. On approach, it looks like this mystery vegetable is magically growing on the tree. Someone planted it below and trained the vine to grow skyward. Amazing!

Does anyone know what this is? A squash variety? A bitter melon? Whatever it is, it's urban gardening at its finest.

At the Corn Maze at the Butterfly House in Whitehouse, Ohio, a 16-acre corn maze has been carved in the likeness of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

It looks really easy to get lost in the updo!

White Rabbit candy is the latest Chinese product found to contain melamine. Several countries have pulled the candies from the market.

Removing the candies in Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

I've eaten my share of these candies in the past, not to mention any number of foodstuffs imported from China: stinky tofu, fermented black beans, dried fruit, frozen dumplings...

Questions about Chinese food safety are piling up -- in addition to melamine in dairy, other recent concerns have included banned antibiotics in seafood and cancer-causing chemicals in dried apples, soy sauce, and more.

The melamine contamination has had tragic results.

But on a smaller, more daily basis, what effect is all of this having on consumers? Chinese food products are harder to avoid than one might think -- apple juice, pine nuts, instant coffee, dried berries, garlic, sausage casings, mandarin oranges... All of these are big exports for China.

Are you watching the provenance of what you buy more closely these days? If you, like me, enjoy experimenting with international ingredients in your cooking, is this making you more cautious about purchasing Chinese products, or even products from other countries than the US?

A reader sent me this recipe and I made it right away. Apples forms concentric circles on the batter (above), then the cake is baked until it's almost done, when a sugary glaze is spread on top. The cake is baked longer at a lower temperature until the topping forms a thin crisp coating (below).

The recipe came from Margo Friedman, who got it from friends Sue Brown and Judy Weil. They got it from Barbara Glazerman, who got it years ago from the Globe. Some things get around.

Apple cake
Makes one 9-inch cake

CAKE
Butter (for the pan)
1 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 medium baking apples (see box) peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform.
2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft and light. Beat in the sugar gradually until the mixture is fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. With the mixer set on its lowest speed, beat in the flour mixture. Spoon the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
5. Arrange the apples in overlapping concentric circles on top of the batter, making the wedges very close. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
6. Bake the cake for 30 minutes. (The cake will not be cooked through.) While the cake bakes, prepare the topping.
7. Turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees.

TOPPING
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar

1. In a bowl with a fork, beat the egg. Stir in the butter and sugar. Pour the mixture over the cake. Return the cake to the oven.
2. Continue baking the cake for 30 minutes or until it is golden brown and firm in the center. The Boston Globe