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Features Minus 8 vinegar, a much-touted item on the high-end restaurant menus.

Focuses on the increase in Americans who are dining out. Percentage sales growth at the country's largest chain restaurants during the months of January and February 2004 as reported by market research firm NPD Group; Percentage increase in traffic, meaning more people are dining out; Statistics indicating sales growth at both chain and pricier restaurants; Efforts of some restaurants to lure customers during the recent sales slump; Discussion of online and credit-card-related discounts that restauranteurs will continue to offer in an effort to book tables during off-peak hours.

Features Buddha's Hand, one the world's oldest citrus fruit.

Focuses on the wine-club industry. Increase in the number of members at Internet retailer Wine.com; Percentage increase in sales at wine clubs in 2002, according to the most recent data provided by MKF Group, a wine consulting firm; Details on how wine clubs work; Indication of wine clubs not delivering on what is promised; Evaluation of five wine clubs that the author joined; Assessment of the wine industry in recent years, noting an oversupply of grapes making several wines cheaper to purchase; Comments from several wine tasters enlisted by the author to evaluate the wine.

Focuses on the market for designer eggs, which are varieties that come from specially-raised and fed chickens. Discussion of "omega-3" eggs, which provide heart-healthy fatty acids and are lower in cholesterol than organic eggs; Percentage increase in the sales of Eggland's Best lower-cholesterol eggs; How much more expensive specialty eggs cost than regular eggs; Percentage of the total egg market attributable to designer eggs relative to five years ago, according to the Egg Nutrition Center, a division of the National Egg Board, a trade group for producers; Average price for a dozen of conventional eggs, indicating prices are at their highest level in two decades; Impact of the popularity of high-protein diets on egg consumption; Examples of packaging information on designer egg cartons; Claims of the American Dietetic Association and the American Heart Association that the new eggs are all that much better than conventional eggs with respect to nutrition.

Provides information on restaurants where customer can only eat what the chef wants them to eat.

Examines the food industry and ways for shoppers to determine whether grocery items are politically correct and socially responsible. Types of food products that will bear "Fair Trade Certified" stickers, indicating that workers in poor countries received higher-than-usual wages and other benefits; Indications of large food marketers to accept Fair Trade Certified food products; Other terms used in connection with socially responsible shopping, including "certified sustainable" and "responsibly traded"; Efforts of Kraft Foods and Proctor & Gamble to embrace these labels; Indications of restaurants accepting products that come from "family farmers" or "sustainable farms"; Replacements being used on food labels for the word "organic"; Impact of the growing clamor about free trade and the effects of globalization on third-word workers on this trend toward alternatively grown food products.

Focuses on menu offerings at several restaurants specifically designed for consumption on Valentine's Day. Example of several dishes with suggestive or erotic names; Cost per couple of a four course "feed each other" meal offered by Firefly, a restaurant in Washington D.C., which includes "Adult Chocolate Pudding"; Factors leading to restaurants offering more suggestive dishes; How Valentine's Day falling on a Saturday hurts the restaurant industry.

Reports on hospital records provided by the family of diet guru Robert Atkins which indicated that he weighed 195 pounds when he was admitted to a New York hospital after a fall on a sidewalk in April 2003 that led to his death eight days later.

Focuses on the medical examiners' report on the death of Dr. Robert Atkins, who created the popular low-carbohydrate diet. Atkins' medical history related to heart disease; Excerpts from the examiner's report, which was sent to "The Wall Street Journal" by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group that advocates a vegetarian diet and has long been a critic of the Atkins approach; Description of the Atkins approach, including higher consumption of fatty foods like meat and cheese; Discussion of Atkins' heart problem related to a condition called cardiomyopathy; Comments from Stuart Trager, chairman of the Atkins Physician Council, regarding Atkins' health; Discussion of how Atkins' personal medical records were made available.

Focuses on the consumption of pork and the meat produced by pig farmers breeding their pigs to produce a tastier meat. Discussion of "purebred" pigs, which produced the tastier meat; Impact of the Atkins low-carbohydrate diet and mad-cow concerns on the increase in consumption of the fattier pork; Examples of restaurants serving purebred pork; Price of dishes served with purebred pigs; Description of the meat produced by these pigs; Comments from Josh Ozersky, a meat expert, regarding the appeal of purebred pork; Trend within the food service industry to revive types of food earlier generations ate; Sales statistics related to pedigreed pork, indicating they are a small part of the overall market at this time.

Presents information on menus offered by various restaurants.

Compares the banana splits served at three U.S. restaurants. Dos Caminos in New York; Flying Fish in Seattle, Washington; Pacific East in Amagansett, New York.

Reports on the vegetarian trend among teenagers in the U.S. Doubling of teenaged vegetarian population from 2001 to 2002; Reasons for the popularity of vegetarianism among teenagers; Effect of the trend on the U.S. family barbecue ritual. INSET: Flippin' the Fungus Burgers..

Presents a list of menus for children offered by restaurants in the U.S.

Offers information on the menu preparations of restaurants using olive oil.

Reports that restaurants in the U.S. have reached a low with regard to declining customer traffic. Struggle within the restaurant industry to promote dining out amidst an economic slowdown and consumers desires to lose weight; Efforts by restaurants to lure diners with low prices, revamped menus and special events; Organization of 'restaurant weeks' by restaurants in Washington, New York and Atlanta, Georgia.

Reports on restaurants that offer food with green tea.

Discusses the impact of the falling U.S. dollar relative to the euro on purchasing high end European fashion products. Exchange rate of the dollar to the euro resulting in higher prices for imports; Discussion of consumers of specialty products being hurt; Products impacted including leather handbags, jewelry, clothing and olive oil; Percentage markup by Herm&eacute:s on its entire U.S. line of scarves and ties; Supply chain factors that may result in continued savings on winter items; Percentage hike in prices on goods from the European Union.

Compares several breakfast menus for executives in the U.S.

Deals with the Kosher-for-Passover pet foods offered for sale in line with the celebration of Passover holiday.

Discusses how chain restaurants such as Chili's are using gourmet food to lure a different class of diners. Success of the Chipote Grill, a chain owned by McDonald's Corp; How restaurants are building stylish open kitchens and using politically correct ingredients; Launch of the restaurant Seasons 52, by Darden Restaurants; Consideration of the molten chocolate cake at Chili's.

Focuses on the efforts of U.S. restaurants to offer desserts with Asian ingredients.

Presents a list of supermarkets that boycotted French products in opposition to French foreign policy on the plan of the U.S. to wage a war with Iraq as of February 2003, such as the Garden Fresh Markets in Chicago, Illinois.

Reports that Internet grocery services are increasing, and that more groceries are sold online than during the peak of the Internet industry bubble. Bankruptcies of electronic grocers during the Internet boom; Investments in grocery businesses such as YourGrocer.com and Peapod.com; Efforts of the dot-com companies to keep their expenses low and targeting affluent neighborhoods; Importance of Internet grocery stores to the competitive supermarket industry.

Focuses on language used to market gourmet chocolate. Sales of chocolate candy for the Valentine's Day holiday in the U.S.; Sale of chocolate made from rare Porcelana beans; Price limits of consumers on chocolate bars; Cost of cocoa, which has risen due to factors which include violence in Ivory Coast, where cocoa is grown; Strike in Venezuela which has frozen exports, including cocoa exports; Hopes of chocolate makers that fancy language will help to justify higher prices of products.

Presents information on Web sites about the culinary culture in San Francisco, California.

Presents the recipe of yukon gold potatoes as prepared by various restaurants in the U.S.

Discusses the popularity of discount cards among supermarkets in the United States. Suggestion that the discount cards do not really save any money; How supermarkets must compete with stores such as Kroger, Wal-Mart Stores, and Target; Consideration of how prices are more expensive at stores which use discount cards; Speculation that consumers are becoming suspicious of card programs.

Presents samples of fine dining dishes with information on preparation and prices.

Discusses the efforts of manufacturers to develop a remote control which can operate a number of electronic appliances. Costs of the devices, which are being made compatible with additional types of machines, including personal video recorders and DVD players; Mention of Universal Electronics Inc., which makes the technology inside remotes; Reasons why cable-TV and satellite television services want consumers to use their remotes.

Offers advice for parents who travel on airplanes with children. Ideas from Teresa Plowright, the editor of the Web site travelwithkids.about.com; Suggestions for how to keep children occupied; Play areas at airports; Feeding children on planes; Sleeping in the air.

Reports on a ruling by a U.S. District Court stating that the State Liquor Authority can no longer enforce laws prohibiting out-of-state wineries from shipping directly to consumers in the U.S.

Focuses on a number of organ meat recipes offered at various U.S. restaurants.

Reports on rebates during the holiday season in the U.S.

Discusses the quality of coffee, which has been in decline, and rules which have been issued by the International Coffee Organization (ICO) requiring coffee-exporters to improve their products. Substitution of low-quality coffee beans for high-quality; Standards of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration which permit unripe or moldy beans, gravel, and other debris in coffee.

Features restaurants in the U.S. that serve dishes with wild mushrooms, including Mamma Maria in Boston, Massachusetts.

Offers information on bee pollen dishes served at three different U.S. restaurants.

Presents information on several Web sites about Halloween, including hauntworld.com.

Discusses the practices of seafood restaurants to note how fish on the menu was caught. Idea that the menu notations are a marketing strategy to make seafood sound fresh and politically correct; Observation that diners were concerned about when their fish was caught; Misunderstanding of the terminology by customers.

Reports that many families are hiring household managers. Promotion of nannies to the position after children have reached school age; Responsibilities of household managers, including dealing with household repairs; Salaries for the managers; Relationship between families and their managers.

Offers consumer advice on using frequent flier credits during a period in which the airline industry is experiencing financial troubles.

Presents several restaurants in the U.S. that are offering salted cod menu.

Discusses the impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks on church, synagogue, and other religious service attendance. Spike in attendance after the attacks which generally dwindled off; How the percentage of Americans attending church has remained relatively constant for decades; Historical spike in attendance following national crises.

Reports that a lot of gourmet food in the U.S. is fake. Increased interest in exotic food in the U.S.; Examples of fake gourmet food, including Japanese wasabi which is often just horse radish mixed with mustard and food coloring; How Argentine beef is not actually from Argentina due to a U.S. ban; Different names given to food items to made them more appealing.

Reports on court rulings in the U.S. which have attacked state rules about buying and shipping alcohol. How some states prohibit the shipment of alcohol across state lines; Difficulty for online wine sellers which have to keep track of the various state laws; Argument of wine wholesalers that the laws protect children and help state's collect taxes.

Highlights the popularity of heirloom tomatoes in restaurants.

Suggests that by obtaining a Web address, or domain name, an electronic mail user may keep the same e-mail destination, in spite of switching Internet service providers (ISP). Mention of Icann.org, which lists accredited domain name registrars; Fees of account managers, which automatically forward e-mail addressed to a domain name to an e-mail account.

Provides information on several language-learning technology tools, such as the Instant Immersion Italian Pro CD-ROM.

Discusses furniture used to hold electronic equipment in homes. Idea that much furniture is inadequate to contain large televisions and other gadgets; Design of entertainment centers; Belief that consumers have different and incompatible buying habits for furniture and electronics.