Overweight? Try the Food Critic Diet

It's part marketing ploy, part statement

(NEWSER) - At Ed's Martian Book in New York City, you can buy one book and only one book. That book is Martian Summer: Robot Arms, Cowboy Spacemen, and My 90 Days With the Phoenix Mars Mission, about 3,000 copies of which are propped up in the front window and around the store, even underneath signs that say "sale" or "best sellers." The book, by Andrew Kessler, is about NASA's 2008 Phoenix Mars Lander mission. And the store is, at least partly, a marketing gimmick. More»

64-ounce takeaway bottles offer cheaper alternative to bar-hopping

(NEWSER) - Looking to host your Super Bowl party with beer that’s a bit more interesting than Coors Light? Look no further than the current beer trend sweeping New York: Growlers. The 64-ounce glass containers allow for fresher, cheaper, more interesting beer in the comfort of your own living room—and everyone, including parents with kids in tow, is jumping on the bandwagon, reports the New York Times . More»

4 in 10 are African-American in cultural capital

(NEWSER) - Harlem, the New York City neighborhood often characterized as the capital of black culture in the US, no longer has a majority African-American population. And the shift that occurred a decade ago has accelerated in recent years as whites and Hispanics have bought into an area abandoned by many blacks in the 1960s and ’70s. More»

Fancy restaurants still charging a bundle for New Year's Eve

(NEWSER) - Despite the still-grim economy and a recent British survey finding 80% of people plan to spend New Year’s Eve at home…one New York restaurant is still charging $650 for tonight’s prix fixe menu. Salon takes a look at what going extravagant might get you tonight:

• Aureole, New York: For $650, a five-course meal including big-eye tuna sashimi, chestnut ravioli, Canadian lobster, and New York strip loin.
• Daniel, New York: For $595, a five-course tasting menu (no details on the food), live music, dancing, and a champagne toast.

We can't gorge ourselves anymore, but we can watch others do it

(NEWSER) - The Food Network's Man vs. Food might look like a show about a guy eating way more than seems humanly possible, but it's much, much more, writes Greg Beato. When host Adam Richman dives into, say, a 10-pound hamburger, he's not just showing off—he's eating for the rest of us. "Richman sins to save us—or at least give us voyeuristic reprieve—from the virtuous restraint men are now expected to impose upon their desires," Beato writes at Double X . More»