Duck meatballs from the Oakland Tribune.

We gobble the various food sections up each Wednesday. Here are our favorite nibbles from today's offerings. It's short but suh-weet.

SF Chronicle: Breaking bread with neighbors and "new friends"/potential love mates continues to catch on at community tables. An explanation from restaurant guru Clark Wolf perhaps explains why the post 9/11 trend has taken awhile to grow: "...Americans don't share space well. So it took a little while for people to get used to them." The Alemany Farmers' market gets tropical with jackfruit, cherimoya, guava, mango, lychee, and the smelly but tasty durian. Get there early on Saturday mornings, before it sells out. On our home menu this week: zuke pancakes, from the Culinary Institute of America Vegetable cookbook.

Oakland Trib: Coming to a TV viewing party near you: one last Saucy Sunday of 'Sopranos' style cooking. Their authorities recommend sticking to room temp antipasti, or even sausage, pepper heroes with onions when serving large groups. We prefer even heartier, starchier fare that includes baked ziti, lasagna, or other pasta. Sociale's duck meatballs (pictured above) with dried cherry sugo sound like they'd be a hit, for any event. Fava bean love.