Umami Mart Gift Guide
ChocolateChipCookies_Lara604

- A friend recently posted on Facebook, "Anyone else wonder why the Millbrae BART station always smells like chocolate chip cookies baking? Not that I'm complaining ..." It's true, you really can't complain when you smell something good on BART. Apparently, my friend is not the only one who's asked that question. Well, it turns out the smell isn't chocolate chip cookies, but just chocolate. The Guittard Chocolate Company, located a couple blocks away in Burlingame, is the source of that delicious smell. (via: Ann Benoit; photo of cookies by Lara604)



- This film snippet above, of the fabulous Rita Alexander in Hot Thrills Warm Chills, has given us new life goals. (The Sound Gallery; via: Gregory Han)

- Feeling The Night Of withdrawals? Take a tour of all the real-life bars and restaurants in NYC that appear in the recently-finished HBO mini-series. Just don't ever, ever, ever use John Turturro's chopsticks. (Wired)

- Bay Areans know that Burning Man week means it's a great time to hit all the regularly crowded hotspots. You might not even have to wait in a line or make a reservation (Gasp!). Eater SF has compiled a list of normally mobbed restaurants to visit during this blissful time of year. We'll be trying to get a seat at Wako in the Richmond, where it's nearly impossible to get a seat on an average night. (Eater SF)

- Commercial harvesting of mushrooms is now illegal in burn zones of National Forests, but that hasn't stopped for-profit shroom hunters from picking on public lands – they've just gone underground. As you might expect, the mushroom black market is a shady place. (NPR)

- And finally, a look back at history, at what has got to be #1 on the list of worst jobs in the world. Starting in 1902, members of  the U.S. government-run "Poison Squad" ate meals laced with previously untested food preservatives – including formaldehyde, benzoate, and Borax – to test their safety. This brave group of men was responsible for helping to create the Food and Drug Administration and ingredient lists on food labels. (Atlas Obscura)




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