Let it Flow readers enjoy splurging on the finer things in life. And although we have recommended some pretty nifty rare foods and lavish dining experiences in the past, vegetarian cuisine hasn’t been at the top of our suggestions. But with a growing trend for celebrities, socialites, and even athletes going vegetarian/vegan, it would be a mistake not to represent this type of cuisine.

Here are a few tips for dining vegetarian style in NYC – but to keep it interesting for meat eaters, we’ve thrown in a couple of curve balls as well.

Blue Hill

Need to find a place where both meat eaters and vegetarians can compromise? We suggest trying a farm-to-table restaurant, which follows, yes, the philosophy of only cooking what is fresh from the farm. Blue Hill, which is frequented by the wealthiest urbanites, has its own farm in upstate New York, and delivers the best possible produce that would put the kitchens of most restaurants – strictly vegetarian or otherwise – to shame. Yes, the menu is still mostly for meat and fish eaters, but if the freshest, most organic food is what you are after, this is the place. www.bluehillfarm.com

Blue Hill, 75 Washington Place New York, New York 10011 Tel. 212 539 1776,

Hangawi

Going vegetarian doesn’t mean going boring.  Certain nations actually subsisted (and still subsist) on a vegetable dominant diet, and thus are very good at making it fun and exciting for the palate. If you like Korean cuisine, Hangawi is a must to try, located in the heart of the city’s Koreatown, you get all of the flavors that you are familiar with, but in the healthiest way possible.  The space is dark, swank, and romantic too – perfect for impressing your vegetarian love interest (health conscious and adventurous!). www.hangawirestaurant.com

Hangawi, 12 E. 32^nd Street New York, NY 10016 Tel. 212-213-0077,

Candle Café

This is Vegan Heaven. For those who don’t know what veganism is, it’s the preferred diet of Natalie Portman (and Mike Tyson) and not only eschews meat, fish and poultry, but dairy products as well (and yes, that includes butter). So how does it work, you ask? Well the chefs here substitute tofu, soymilk, tapioca and all sorts of ingredients to come up with similar tasting alternatives, and in the meantime utilize protein substitutes like Seitan (wheat gluten) to come up with delicious meals. Confused by all the information? That means you just have to come try it. www.candlecafe.com

Candle Café, 1307 3rd Avenue New York, NY 10021 Tel. 212-472-0970,

ABC Kitchen

The clear subtext of this article is farm-to-table. And the other great farm-to-table restaurant in New York City right now is ABC Kitchen. Run by culinary icon Jean-Georges Vongerichten, this restaurant located in the lobby of a luxury furniture store and presents a menu filled with vegetarian friendly meals that range from soups and salads to pastas and roasted dishes. And again, you get the freshest possible ingredients so that you can audition your ‘pleasure face’ in front of the many entertainment folk who come here to hob-nob and also be seen. www.abchome.com

ABC Kitchen, 35 E 18th St New York, NY 10003 Tel. 212-475-5829,

Angelica Kitchen

If you could identify a New York City vegetarian by sight, and then stopped them on the street and asked them where to grab a hearty vegetarian meal, we are sure that Angelica Kitchen would be mentioned at some point. This place – a definite staple of the East Village – has been around since 1976, and offers an eclectic menu with items ranging from Asian-style rice bowls to Southern-style chili, sandwiches and more. If you are looking for a causal, satisfying evening, this is the place you will want to go, and keep coming back to. www.angelicakitchen.com

Angelica Kitchen,  300 E. 12^th Street New York, NY 10003 Tel. 212-228-2909

Vancouver has become the new home of the world’s most expensive hot dog.

Hot dog restaurant DougieDog Hot Dogs introduced a $100 hot dog to their menu on Tuesday.

The Dragon Dog consists of a foot-long bratwurst infused with 100-year-old Louis XIII cognac — which, on its own has a price tag of $2,000 — Kobe beef seared in olive and truffle oil, fresh lobster, and picante sauce.

“When people have food you have to be able to taste the different tastes, people have the chance to taste each (individual ingredient),” said Dougie Luv, owner and hot dog connoisseur of DougieDog Hot Dogs. “All the tastes intertwine with each other.”

But while The Dragon Dog may seem over the top for the ordinarily humble hot dog, Luv insists it remains true to the original hot dog identity.

“I didn’t want to change the concept of a hot dog, we wanted to inspire it and bring it to the next level,” he said. “It’s a hot dog that anyone would love.”

As yet, no one has ordered the world’s most expensive hot dog, but Luv said it will remain a permanent feature on the menu.

Patrons will need to place their order for The Dragon Dog 12 hours in advance in order for the ingredients to be prepared.

The Dragon Dog broke the previous record of world’s most expensive hot dog held by a $69 Haute Dog found at Serendipity restaurant in New York.

Astronomer Ian Hutcheon has produced a red wine that boasts a 4.5 billion-year vintage.

The one-of-a-kind Cabernet Sauvignon, created in Chile, has been aged with a meteorite that was formed during the birth of the solar system and is aptly named Meteorito.

Hutcheon, who moved to Chile from Norwich in England, insists the rock, which is about 8cm (3in) wide, gives his Meteorito wine a “livelier taste”.

“It came from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter,” Hutcheon, 40, said.

“I have been involved in wines and astronomy for many, many years and I wanted to find some way of combining the two.

“When you drink this wine, you are drinking elements from the birth of the solar system.”

The meteorite used to create the unique wine crashed into the Atacama Desert in northern Chile about 6,000 years ago.

Hutcheon said his wine’s ageing process means he can “give everybody the opportunity to touch something from space”.

So far, Hutcheon has made more than 10,000 litres (2,200 gallons) of Meteorito at his vineyard located about 100km south-west of Chile’s capital Santiago.

The wine is currently sold exclusively at the Centro Astronomico Tagua Tagua, but Hutcheon said he would like to export it to other countries also.

A bluefin tuna has been sold for three quarters of a million dollars in Tokyo – smashing the record for world’s most expensive edible fish by almost double.

The bluefin tuna, hailed for making the finest sushi, fetched 56.49 million yen at Tsukiji fish market’s first auction of the year.

The winning bidder was Kiyoshi Kimura, owner of a sushi restaurant chain.

The 269kg (593lb) tuna also set a world record for price by weight, market official Yutaka Hasegawa said. The total sale price translates to 210,000 yen per kilogram.

The tuna was caught off Oma, located in Japan’s Aomori prefecture, north of the coast that was struck by the devastating tsunami last year.

Mr Kimura told reporters his record bid was an effort to “liven up Japan” and help it on the road to recovery.

He also wanted to keep the fish in Japan “rather than let it get taken overseas”.

This previous record for world’s most expensive edible fish was set last year, when a 342kg bluefin tuna caught off Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido fetched 32.49 million yen.

The winning bid was a joint effort by a Hong Kong-based sushi chain and an upscale Japanese restaurant in Tokyo.

The first auction in January at the famous fish market in Tokyo is an important part of Japan’s New Year celebrations, and record prices are often set.

Japan is the world’s biggest consumer of seafood, eating about 80 per cent of the Atlantic and Pacific bluefins caught worldwide.

However, restrictions on catches of the species have been tightened in recent years because of great concerns about overfishing.

The most expensive dessert ever created has been bought for £22,000 to help celebrate a 60th birthday.

The opulent dessert, boasting real gold leaf, a sparkling diamond and strawberry caviar, has now officially made it into the Guinness World Record books as the world’s most expensive dessert.

It was snapped up by Carl Weininger, from Rugby in England, to serve to his guests at his 60th birthday party on December 5.

The handmade dessert is based on the classic Faberge Easter egg and features some of the finest ingredients available.

Chef Marc Guilbert used Belgian chocolate, infused with a combination of peach, orange and whiskey to create a champagne jelly and almond sponge layered base.

The final touches included real gold leaf and handmade flowers, with the cherry on top being a stunning two carat diamond.

Mr Weininger said of his purchase: “I am an impulsive sort of person and when I heard about the dessert on TV it stuck in my mind.

“It’s not something you do every day.”

Eager to find out what others thought of the dessert, he offered a tasting to guests at a recent charity auction.

“I gave people a little taste of the dessert at our charity Aviators Ball this weekend,” he added.

“I’m not much of a chocolate lover myself but all the women who tasted it said ‘Wow!”

The world’s most expensive dessert was unveiled in England in October in celebration of National Chocolate Week.

But it couldn’t officially enter the world record books until a buyer came forward – until now.

The dessert has now ousted previous world record holder, New York’s Serendipity Restaurant, from the Guinness World Records with their Frrrozen Haute Chocolate priced at US$25,000.

The chocolate sundae was made from a blend of 28 cocoas from all around the world, infused with five grams of edible 23-carat gold and served in a goblet lined with more edible gold.

It also came with an 18-carat gold bracelet and a gold spoon set with white diamonds.

The world’s longest Christmas cake – a 1km-long vanilla flavoured log with a bitter chocolate cover – has been made by 80 cooks in China.

The cake, which measures 1,068 metres (3,504 feet), was created at the Pudong Shangri-la Hotel, the Metro reported.

The team of 80 chefs designed, baked and sweetened the cake over a period of seven days.

An eye-popping 904 organic eggs, 1045kg (2,304 pounds) of flour, 209kg (461 pounds) of sugar, 401kg (884 pounds) of bitter chocolate and 34 kilograms (75 pounds) of Tahitian vanilla were combined to create the unique Christmas treat.

“We make the sponge, we bake and then, when it’s cooled down, we make our vanilla cream, which is inside, we roll it up, and we make our very secret recipe of chocolate frosting,” explained pastry chef Yusuf Yaran.

“We put it all over the cake, and then we have our candy decorations and some icing sugar on the top.”

The final presentation took 150 staff members to put the finishing touches to the cake, helping to place it out on 156 waiting tables during a busy 24-hour period.

Initially, the team of chefs aimed to create a cake at a length of 888 metres (2,913 feet), but once the cake was measured, they realised the even grander scale of their achievement.

After celebrating the success of the world’s longest cake, the hotel began to slice it to sell to the public, with all proceeds going to support chemotherapy treatment of four children in Shanghai.

The previous record holders for the world’s longest cake were the French, with a 207 metre effort.

She may only weigh a mere 47kg (105lb), but Sonya Thomas sure knows how to scoff her food down!

The 44-year-old Korean, nicknamed ‘The Black Widow’, won the Wild Turkey 81 Eating World Championship held at Times Square, New York on Tuesday after eating 2kg (5lb) of meat in just 10 minutes.

Perhaps even more remarkably, she crushed her nearest rivals – all men – by more than a pound of meat.

Her win at the contest saw her receiving a cash prize of $1,581 and adding yet another title to her collection of world eating records.

Speaking after her victory, the restaurant manager told the New York Daily News: “I left only bone. I’m so happy.”

“I’m not normally a fan of turkey… but their turkey today was very tasty, moist and warm. That’s why I ate most of the meat.”

But how on earth did she manage to put away a 2kg bird in 10 minutes?

Thomas apparently stripped handfuls of meat from the bird with her fingers and placed the pieces in her mouth while drinking water in between.

Her 400-pound rival Eric Booker, nicknamed ‘Badlands’, praised Thomas’ amazing eating abilities.

“I’m definitely in awe of her abilities, to be so small and eat so much,” he said.

But it’s not the first time The Black Widow has stunned audiences with her eating abilities.

In September, she managed to eat an incredible 183 chicken wings in just 12 minutes, breaking her own record.

In July, she became the first female World Hot Dog Eating Champion by swallowing 40 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

She also holds world eating records in several other categories including cheesecakes, crayfish, oysters and jalapenos.

Check them out below:

Asparagus – 5.75lbs deep fried in 10 minutes

Burgers - 7 3/4 pounders in 10 minutes

Cheesecakes - 11lbs in 9 minutes

Chicken nuggets – 80 in 5 minutes

Chicken wings - 183 in 12 minutes

Crabcakes - 46 3oz cakes in 10 minutes

Eggs - 65 hard boiled in 6 minutes, 40 seconds

Fruitcakes - 4lbs, 14oz  in 10 minutes

Gyoza - 206 in 10 minutes

Jambalaya - 9lbs of crayfish variety in 10 mins

Lobster - 11.3lbs of meat in 12 minutes

MoonPies - 38 in 8 minutes

Oysters - 46 dozen in 10 minutes

Pizza – 6 extra large pizza slices in 15 minutes

Pulled pork - 23 sandwiches in 10 minutes

Tacos -  43 soft tacos in 11 minutes

Tater tots -  250 tater tots in 5 minutes

Where does she put it all? Wouldn’t we all like to know!

The world’s most expensive mince pie has gone on display at a shopping centre in London.

The £3,000 mince pie was made using traditional ingredients from recipes dating back to the 17th century.

Among the ingredients used to create the world’s most expensive mince pie were the highest-grade platinum leaf, holy water from Lourdes to bind the pastry, vanilla beans and cinnamon from eastern spice markets, and ambergris sugar which is derived from sperm whale secretions.

As a finishing touch, it also contains a solid platinum coin in keeping with the British tradition of placing a silver coin in a Christmas cake or pudding.

It took 10 days for Andrew Stellitano, who runs food design company Astarism, to make the exclusive mince pie.

The pie will be on display for a month at the Marvellous Mince Pie Manufactory in The Exchange shopping centre in Ilford.

It is said to be worth £3,000, but will go for free to the winner of a prize draw on December 19.

How’s that for a Christmas treat?

A tea made from panda poo doesn’t sound very appetising, but a Chinese businessman has been awarded a patent by the Chinese authorities for his proposal to grow tea using panda faeces as a fertiliser.

Former university lecturer An Yashi, 41, will soon start planting his ‘panda tea’ and is hoping for a Guinness World Record.

Yashi claims his ‘panda tea’ will provide great health benefits.

“Pandas have a very poor digestive system and only absorb about 30 percent of everything they eat. That means their excrement is rich in fibres and nutrients,” he said.

He added the ‘panda tea’ will also serve an anti-cancer function.

“Just like green tea, bamboo contains an element that can prevent cancer, and enhance green tea’s anti-cancer effects, if it is used as fertiliser for the tea,” he said.

Estimated to cost around RMB 219,865 per jin, or US$34,569 per 500 grams when it hits the market, the ‘panda tea’ will be about 10 times the price of Zhu Ye Qing, which is currently the world’s most expensive tea.

Yashi’s first batch of ‘panda tea’ is expected to be picked next spring.

And what does ‘panda tea’ taste like?

“It has a mature, nutty taste and a very distinctive aroma while it’s brewing,” Yashi claims.

But ‘panda tea’ won’t be the only exclusive beverage made using animal faeces. The world’s most expensive coffee, Kopi Luwak, is made using beans that have been eaten and excreted by the Indonesian civet cat.

The world’s most expensive dessert has been created, with an eye-popping price tag of £22,000.

Created in the style of a Faberge Easter egg, the extravagant chocolate pudding has broken the world record for most expensive dessert thanks to its list of expensive ingredients which includes gold, champagne caviar and a two-carat diamond.

According to the UKPA, the pudding is layered with champagne jelly and a light biscuit joconde, finished with bitter dark chocolate, and glazed with edible gold leaf.

The decadent dessert was created by Marc Guibert, head chef at Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel in the UK.

Launched for National Chocolate Week, it’s made with four different types of the finest Belgian chocolate flavoured with a combination of peach, orange and whiskey.

Stephen Broughton, managing director of Lindeth Howe, said: “Marc has used all of his culinary talents to whip up a truly incredible concoction of chocolate, champagne and gold leaf, all topped off with a diamond. It looks spectacular, tastes incredible and has a price tag to match!”

The £22,000 dessert breaks the world record held by New York’s Serendipity 3 Restaurant, which has a Frrrozen Haute Chocolate priced at US$25,000.

But although this latest creation easily surpasses the Frrrozen Haute Chocolate as the world’s most expensive dessert, it will not take its place in the Guinness Book of World Records until a customer has actually ordered one, which must be done three weeks in advance.