Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 10

a weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

• Bake your way to fabulous real estate, like a gingerbread brownstone (above).

• When it comes to carbon footprint, are we worrying too much about food miles and not enought about supporting the best producers wherever they are? Some argue that what matters most is getting a handle on cars and building use.

• Local (or regional) when possible is still important to good and sustainable food systems. Massachusetts is stepping up to boost local producers by building an with an all-Massachusetts public market in Boston.

• Starbucks pushes forward recycled shipping container architecture with a new cafe design.

• In hospitality, Bill Marriott, who helped create his family's hotel empire, announced his retirement next year at age 80. He got his start in the kitchen and working as a soda jerk. In an NPR interivew, he talks about the business of the kitchen: "presentation is very important and the details are extremely important."

• If you want to play restaurateur without losing all your money, try Marriott's game on Facebook where you get to make supply and staff choices and then found out how you're doing.