October Highlights

Like some kind of tricked-out, food-themed version of a Disneyland ride, our first Monthly Edition, Scraps, has us convinced that the country's food scene is much smaller and more interconnected than we realized. Here, some of the month's most delicious highlights:

Making the Rounds: You wouldn't throw out your favorite sweater after a single wear, and this month we've taken the same mentality with our food and drink. Indeed, as we've discovered, there's a bevy of efforts–from an oyster-shell recycling program to a chart that tracks the lives of bourbon barrels–that proves without a doubt that food scraps are worth more than the sum of their parts.

Pocket Protector: We've all been there: tired, cranky and in need of a good restaurant nearby. Look to this new app, which culls its suggestions from local chefs.

Missing Musk: Like the Elle Woods of the wine world, this loveable pour is changing its image from summer's easy-drinking sipper to serious storing fodder, thanks, in part, to a new designation with fresh bottle-aging requirements.

Raised Bar: From the sweets world, we gleaned another simple-to-serious makeover. White chocolate has long been considered a lower-quality confection, but a few dedicated chocolatiers are taking steps to change that perception.