Every year, Forbes picks the most expensive restaurants in the world, pinpointing the upper limit on what people are willing to spend for a meal. Their 2006 list is complied with data that the Zagat survey provides and is based on the cost, per person, of one entree, one alcoholic beverage and a tip. Presumably, the entree prices and drink prices are an average amount and, of course, the inclusion of a tip shows the US-bias in the way that the list is set up, since in many places tipping standards would not be set up the same way, if at all. It does not seem to include any restaurants where prix fixe or tasting menus are the standard.

Topping the list, for the second year in a row, is Tokyo's Aragawa at $368 per person for a Kobe beef steak (they basically only have one entree). Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, in Paris, took second place at $231 per person. The rest of the list included: Gordon Ramsay, London ($183); Acquarello, Munich ($125); Sushi Kaji, Toronto ($109); Queue de Cheval Steak House , Montreal ($85); El Amparo, Madrid ($70); Whampoa Club, Shanghai ($63) and Boeucc, Milan ($62)

Food bloggers love food to the point where they have made a hobby out of not just finding, cooking and eating it, but out of sharing it with the world. Melissa, at The Traveler's Lunchbox, came up with a brilliant way that food bloggers could share their recommendations on the very best of what and where to eat in the world with the The Foodblogger's Guide to the Globe. The Guide is a meme in which every participating food blogger chooses their top five things to eat before you die. The original post has a shorthand list of all the suggestions, with links to their full descriptions on individual blogs.

The only problem is, of course, that there are so many food bloggers that you might never be able to try them all - or if you decide to start, you could find yourself jet-setting around the globe in search of food.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The idea of eating cereal with cold milk for breakfast, a staple of the Western daily diet, is not a popular concept in China and other parts of Asia, but cereal company Kellogg's wants to change that. The food giant controls 40% of the global cereal market, but only 2% of its sales come from Asia. With a goal in mind of doubling their revenue in the area by 2009 or 2010, the company is buying up local cereal companies and trying to tailor new products, including hot cereals and cereal bars, to the local palates.

While buying locally producing companies can certainly boost sales in the area, will Kellogg's really be able to convert such a huge population to being cereal eaters? It doesn't seem likely, but given that the company has set a generous deadline, they might just be able to pull it off - even if they have to target the already-present "Western" population in residence.

... no one would be hungry. Or, there would be two pieces of bread at opposite sides of the planet and, due to the fact that the majority of the Earth is inedible, you would just end up with an interesting experiment. The earth sandwich project was conceived by zefrank on an episode of The Show. Spurred into action by the thought of doing something never done before, viewers around the world set out to plant slices of bread in their neighborhoods and, using the opposite tool, hopefully have someone finish the 'wich.

I don't think it's been done yet and since a fair amount of the surface of the planet is Ocean, it may be difficult to complete some of the existing half-sandwiches. Perhaps a boat would help.

[via Gadling]

You can't get a better recommendation than from a professional chef; not when it comes to the all important tools of the trade.

I have been researching (ok, trying to make up my mind) on which set of knives to invest in. At the moment I am struggling with some cheap and cheerful knives that must be 15 or so years old. I would show you a picture but would be embarrassed. Any way I saw a post on The Wannabe TV Chef blog last night where he recommended a range of knives from a producer I have never heard of - Kin.

So move over Global, Henkels, and Sabatier it would seem Kin are the knives to go for.

Available in the UK from UKToolShop (who ship to the USA) with the top of the range, pictured, starting at £110 a knife (about US$182). Ouch. There are cheaper knives in the range but just look at them! Gorgeous!

"The Kin Suminagashi is a double bevel, hand finished top of the range knife, manufactured in damask steel. The folds in the metal create the magnificent blade detail. Made in true Samurai fashion."

Want one. More than one.

There is a movement gaining popularity that concerns the way we eat. Some say that we should focus on organics, but this movement says that isn't quite enough. They think that people should eat locally produced and grown products. Exclusively, if possible. Some of the biggest proponents of this movement, the Locavores, are based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This is a fantastic and do-able plan, admirable in that it supports local businesses and farmers. It still gives you great variety in your diet, too - if you live somewhere where a wide variety of foods are widely available. Some states aren't so lucky. According to the California Farm Bureau Federation, "California produces all of the nation's commercially grown almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, kiwifruit, nectarines, olives, persimmons, pistachios, prunes, raisins and walnuts. Its top performing commodities in [terms of] gross sales are dairy products, grapes, nursery products, lettuce, cattle and calves." There are other fruits, like avocados and strawberries that thrive in the golden state like no where else. And this rules out quite a few possibilities for the diets of those who want to eat locally but live in less agriculturally friendly areas. Must people in Chicago forgo artichokes and avocados, asks Barrett in a brilliantly written essay at Too Many Chefs?

The gist of his argument is that people throughout history have been driven to new places and into discovering new cultures all in pursuit of foods: chocolate, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, oranges, spices, bananas - the list goes on. He's not saying that eating locally is a bad thing, just that there are plenty of good reasons to import foods, from different states or different countries, as well. Read the article. It's a good one.

Planning on doing some traveling this summer? Looking for a list of the dining hot spots that you should stop by for a memorable meal? Start with the go list from Food and Wine magazine, which picks out 376 restaurants chosen by "plugged in correspondents" from 50 cities around the world. They have the goods on restaurants like Michael Mina in San Francisco, Rockpool in Sydney, Ferran Adria's Fast Good in Madrid and Felix in Hong Kong, including a picks at both the high and lower ends of the price range.

Now, it's not possible that a list like this, even such a large one, would have all the great eats of any given city, but you aren't likely to have a bad meal by picking any of their choices. If you're traveling somewhere a little off the beaten path that isn't on the "go list," or are looking for something specific, it might be best to turn to another source of restaurant information. And the best resource, in my opinion, when traveling and looking for good eats is still Chowhound. Take some time to browse through their archives and look for recommendations, or pose a question on their message board if you're looking for something specific - like the best mexican food in Boise, ID.

According to speculation in a recent Reuters article, the number of Starbucks locations worldwide may soon top that of McDonald's. Back in 2004, Starbucks set a goal of having 30,000 stores worldwide, but according to Reuters, Starbucks' chairman has recently said that the figure is too low. At present, McDonald's has roughly 31,000 locations worldwide, making it the largest fast food chain in the world. Starbucks is already the largest coffee chain. According to Reuters, there's a Starbucks for every 11,754 people in Seattle. This makes me think of some articles The Onion ran a few years back.

MSN has posted a list of the top 10 cities for foodies, as determined by a travel site. The cities chosen are all over the globe, picked for a combination of unique dishes, celebrity chefs and all-around good cuisine. Barcelona, Brussels, Lyon and Rome were lauded for their long standing traditions, while Las Vegas and New York were included for having just about everything. While San Francisco did get a nod for its non-Asian cuisine, it seems to have been selected mainly on the availability of good Chinese food. Asian flavors are what put Tokyo, Vancouver and Hanoi on the list, too.

It appears that the definition of a foodie as someone who is willing (and possibly desperate) to eat anything has been put into play with this list, as along with Asian flair, Hanoi was picked for "unusual delicacies like dog or snake," including "fried snake skin, snake spring rolls, snake soup, and minced snake dumpling." Weird meats are all well and good, but to plan a whole trip around them seems a bit extreme.

Nevertheless, their list includes: