Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) opened a new restaurant in northern California on Tuesday. Rustic is set in Geyserville, CA near his winery. 

Inside Scoop SF got a chance to speak with Mr. Coppola, the discussion ranged from the relation between film and cuisine to his relationship with Martin Scorcese's parents.

If you like to cook and you want your food to last until the end of days, then go get yourself a big ole' vat of trans-fat. Trans-fat, or trans fatty acids, is made via the industrial process of adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils.

Trans-fat is not natural, but, it's cost effective! Trans-fat helps extend the shelf-life of processed foods, like snack cakes.

Fast food chains use a lot of trans-fat - or at least they used to. Following bans on trans-fat in places like New York, a new report says fast food joints Wendy's, Burger King, and McDonald's have reduced how much trans-fat they use.

LA Weekly reports that Iron Chef America has banned bluefin tuna from its menu because of the species' threatened status. Chefs are in a bind, because tuna is a popular ingredient, but organizations like the Monterey Bay Aquarium have been warning that the fish's population is plummeting.

Dirty drinking water sounds like a third-world problem, to imagine it in a developed nation like the United States seems unfathomable. But not all our water is bottled at a Polish spring in Maine. Some places in the U.S. have nasty water.

In states like West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky, rivers and streams are being contaminated with toxic selenium from mining operations. And now it's being reported that microbes which cause Legionnaires' disease, cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis are turning up in U.S. drinking water.

Our food is like secret Santa, you never know what you're going to get. Go buy a package of “vegetarian” hotdogs. Vegetarian means no meat, right? Yeah, be sure to check the package, a lot of those veggie meals have milk fat and eggs.

And that's the point. Nowadays what's in your food may shock you. Like this stuff, ever heard of “inulin?” I haven't. They're calling it a “stealth fiber" and its heavily used in processed foods like chocolate and breakfast bars.

I dream about fun, warm, summer nights. My hubby and I have a few friends over, open a bottle (or two) of our favorite summer wine (did I hear someone say rose´ or chardonnay?), fire up our ceramic komodo barbecue, and eat around our oversized picnic table we built together. My mouth is starting to water as I write this.

Summer is a great excuse to serve up delicious fresh farmers market finds, and anything from your vegetable garden.

We all know protein is a vital part of any diet, however meat isn’t the only source of protein. Get ready to restock those kitchen cupboards, because protein is found in grains, nuts, beans, and produce. An excellent source of protein is quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), but if you’ve never heard of it, you’re not alone.

Take a stroll through the grocery store these days and one can’t help but notice all the buzz words plastered along the aisles: “organic”, “farm-raised”, and “Fair Trade Certified”. What do all these terms actually mean? For some it simply means a higher price tag. For others it represents a healthier, higher quality product that is more than just a product, it’s a lifestyle.

When it comes to wine, consumers have only just begun to familiarize themselves with the term “organic”. To completely immerse oneself and gain a total understanding of organic and biodynamic winemaking would require a college level amount of course reading and discussion. Even then you would only have begun to scratch the surface.