You can't replace the feeling of lounging on the couch with a scrunched-up newspaper. But with the web, at least you don't need to worry about getting ink on your hands and bagel. Here's a roundup of some food-related stories from our country's newspapers this week. Lucky for us, it's mostly free. For now. Macchiato optional.

The Los Angeles Times launches Battle of the Burgers; plus reviews of Tar and Roses and A1 Cucina Italiana.

Pete Wells on the legacy of food critic Craig Claiborne in The New York Times; and why opera is so “singularly associated with food.”

In The Wall Street Journal, the small-bites trend in France; a chat with Daniel Boulud; and eating desserts in Manila.

From The Washington Post, an examination of the hotel mini bar; and culinary school grads seek to learn the art of charcuterie.

We have new snack trends, says the New York Daily News — seaweed, chickpea and lentil foods. Also, Korean foods are pushing into mainstream restaurants; Andrea Bocelli brings Bocelli Family Wines to the U.S.

At the Chicago Tribune, Rick Bayless gets a Daytime Emmy nomination for “Mexico One Plate at a Time”; and “Mix your own sausages without the work or mess” thanks to a new cookbook.

Moms deal with major dinnertime pressure, says the Boston Globe.

The Associated Press asks two chefs and a magazine editor to take “the food stamp challenge” (via the Tampa Tribune); and reports that three plants will close due to the “pink slime” controversy, cutting 650 jobs (via the New York Daily News).

At the Tampa Tribune, a slew of foodie words from the new Urban Dictionary; and the Tampa City Council declares the Cuban sandwich its official food.

Eighty historic state cookbooks on display in West Virginia; and the history of favorite food terms, in the Sioux City Journal.

This could be the “best season ever” for asparagus in the Central Valley; says the Modesto Bee, a chocolate martini recipe; and how to make Swiss almond macaroons.

In the San Jose Mercury News, a food blogger creates “the Taco Box” for new moms.

Bartenders inspired by Iron Chef launch a mixology competition, reports the Providence Journal.

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