Disposable chopsticks have never been thought of glamorous. And there's almost always a problem getting the wooden utensils to break cleanly at the seam. Despite their decidedly downscale image, one Japanese company has given the sticks a luxe makeover. No, they haven't been iced out by Jacob the Jeweler. Kinbashi Gold Chopsticks have a small amount of edible gold leaf between their tips. Crack them apart and even the lamest takeout sushi becomes a grand affair. Well, not really, but at least you'll have gold leaf falling on top of your lame sushi. At ¥4,515, or $40 for two five-packs, they're not terribly expensive. Nevertheless, I fail to see the point. Then again I've never quite understood Goldschläger either.

[via Trends in Japan]

When we've seen ultra-expensive desserts and cocktails in the past and they spring up everywhere from New York City to London, but it was surprising to hear of the $1,000 brownie dessert at Brulee: The Dessert Experience, in The Quarter at Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey because Atlantic City has long been thought of as a more budget-minded alternative to other resorts and casinos. This pricey treat is a reflection of the fact that developers in AC want it to be the Las Vegas of the East Coast.

The luxe brownie is made with "hazelnuts imported from Italy, topped with gold dust, served with a vintage port wine in a $750 Baccarat crystal [atomizer] that the dessert-eater gets to keep as a souvenir" and is served as part of a three course menu. Wait - an atomizer? The port is supposed to be sprayed into the mouth (possibly by a dinner partner) in conjunction with each bite of the brownie, which allows the flavors to meld together.

Frankly, the concept does not sound that appealing or romantic - especially if you have ever glanced at the chocolate-coated teeth of someone eating a fudgy brownie. Only three servings of the decadent dessert have been sold in the past year.

Godiva has long been a favorite of chocolate-lovers, especially among their core audience of women from 25 to 40, but with the rise of hip new chocolate companies, increasingly off-the-wall flavor combinations and the acceptance of these changes by consumers, the company needed to freshen up their image.

To this end, they are redecorating most of their North American stores and have redesigned their signature gold ballotin, packing it with some brand new, more modern, chocolate combinations.

The box itself is bigger and more luxurious looking, with thick gold paper and a better organization "designed to help customers identify the different...collections." The chocolates themselves have more unusual shapes and are painted with edible, colorful designs, just as many artisan chocolatiers do now. The new flavors include: pecan-caramel duet, a caramel-accented milk chocolate ganache, chocolate with sweet cherry, dark chocolate with raspberry caramel and a macadamia nut mosaic.

Not having any particular allegiance to either team that is playing in Super Bowl XL has its advantages. The primary one being that I don't feel bound to a particular color scheme and can use blue, silver, black and gold with abandon. Not being one for tablescapes, I limited my wild color use to blue and gold sprinkles. White icing outlined hand-drawn football helmets, which I decorated further with blue Seattle Seahawk S's and yellow Pittsburg Steelers P's. Interestingly, the blue-sprinkled cookies disappeared much more quickly than the yellow. Are more people supporting the Steelers or are the blue sprinkles just more enticing?

[Photo by Nicole Weston]

Want to really luxe it up a little bit this holiday, but can't quite swing a £300 pudding? These 24-karat gold-plated chocolates are only (only) £20 - for two. That's GBP1 per gram, in case you're counting.

Available from Gifts International, DeLafée International's chocolates are "are prepared in Switzerland with pure gold leaf and the finest cocoa." I would normally say something about the shipping cost to get it delivered by Christmas, but if you're paying a couple of dollars US per gram for chocolate, I'm guessing you're not all that concerned with your shipping cost.