Quick Bites: 1.5K pumpkins, Pinkberry bye bye, burrito bargain and more.

The tag line for MEarth's annual glass pumpkin party this weekend (10am-5pm Sept. 17-18) at Hilton Bialek Habitat could be as few as three words:

Who does this?

As in 1,500 glass pumpkins, every little orb a unique individual one-off by featured artists Nick Leonoff, Kevin Chong, Nancy Francioli, Alan Masaoka and Todd Moore.

As in live music from six artists, pumpkin carving and tours of the lush organic gardens and LEED-certified kitchen classroom.

As in food that frequently makes the school kitchen-garden one of the best places in the county to eat.

This go round, Casanova Restaurant will be the presenting food sponsor with Bar Cart Cocktail Co. doing seasonal mocktails on Saturday.

Carmel Berry Company, Carmel Honey Company, Carmel Valley Ranch, la Balena, Monterey Peninsula Country Club and others will star on Sunday.

A live glass blowing demonstration starts things off 5:30-7:30pm Thursday, Sept. 15, at Masaoka Glass Design in Carmel Valley with wine from Heller Estate Organic Vineyards and small bites from Carmel Belle.

More food news nibbles appear here: 

• Promising Casa Noble Dinner Thursday, Sept. 15, at Restaurant 1833 ($95, 643-1833). It arrives in conjunction with seventh annual Monterey Bay Tequila & Cuisine Saturday, Oct. 8 at Hyatt Monterey.

• Pinkberry on Alvarado Street in Monterey closes its doors Sept. 30, consolidating with its Cannery Row sister after five years in business.

• Peter B's Brewpub's (649-2699) 20th anniversary party goes all day Tuesday (11am-11pm), Tuesday, Sept. 20, with 20 percent off food, $3 bottles of Dancing Goat Russian Imperial Espresso Stout, prize raffles and more.

• Welcome to the world, Mays Lawrence Fowler. World, meet Mays, a nine-pound baller with game up to the name. 

• Dependable local food sleuth Greg Furey threw down a great recommendation in response to "Top 10 affordable spots to eat in Monterey County": El Rancho Market (384-5151) on Reservation Road in Marina, for the massive $5 burritos. (Order at the deli, take ticket to checkout, return for pickup, eat at the dining area in the middle of the grocery store.) 

• From-scratch and family-run, Old Town Deli & Café (422-4133) at 343 Main St. in Salinas will celebrate its upcoming 25th anniversary with a new name, Gordon's Café and Catering.

• Oktoberfest Monterey Bay (www.oktoberfestmontereybay.com) does its German-Bavarian blowout Oct. 1-2 at Monterey County Fairgrounds. Most importantly, it's adding dachshund dog races and pinball tournaments.

• Creative Marketing Alert: Carbone’s Old School New Rules in New Monterey is promoting specials like $4 drafts and $5 burgers + fry combos 3-5pm as a way to beat the traffic that throttles Lighthouse Avenue.

• Galante Vineyards (624-3800) does its annual Wine Gang Muster and BBQ, aka Galante harvest party, noon-4pm Saturday, Sept. 17, at the winery in Cachagua.

• ACF Monterey Bay Chefs' Association 41st annual picnic happens noon-3pm Oct. 16 at Toro Park, www.montereybaychefs.org.

• Greg Lepesh is now exec chef at Asilomar Conference Grounds after three years as chef de cuisine there and a long career in kitchens across California after graduating from California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.

• Stirrup Cup Pizza (659-4358), next to sister spot The Running Iron (659-4633), is just a great place for pizza in Carmel Valley. The stuffed pizza is an indulgent discovery; the cheeseless a godsend for lactose-intolerant types.

• Speaking of pizza, New York Magazine reports research from the book Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations reveals cash and compliments are less successful motivators than…pizza. (Compliments, BTW, were closer in effectiveness to pizza than #3 place finisher cash.)