"arbys" news and stories

As one American fast-food chain tries to fend off a public relations nightmare, another is setting its sights on global expansion.

Taco Bell is keeping mum about whether it's responsible for a 21-state outbreak of two rare strains of salmonella, which has sickened more than 150 people and sent 42 of those to the hospital. The Centers for Disease Control is also declining to name the culprit, identifying the offender only as "Mexican-style, fast-food Restaurant Chain A."

There's a sort of dark irony here: Taco Bell has spent millions to become the first name you think of when you hear "Mexican-style fast-food restaurant," and now its popularity has come back to bite it in the chalupa.

But this is more than a game of wild speculation: While the feds are refusing to confirm that Taco Bell is responsible for the outbreak, a public health official in Oregon has. Not only that, but on Monday, a woman in Kentucky filed suit against Taco Bell's parent company, Yum Brands!, alleging that she fell ill with salmonella after eating at one of the chain's restaurants in Frankfort. Kentucky has been hardest hit by the outbreak, with 23 cases, followed by Ohio and Indiana.

Ever wonder what happens when people find fault with a fast-food joint? Kyla Jones considers herself a reasonable person. As someone who has worked in customer service, she knows what it's like to be on the receiving end of an unwarranted phone tirade. Still, after receiving shoddy treatment from a KFC manager in Columbus, Ohio, she didn't hesitate to call the company's hot line to lodge a complaint.

In 2008, Jones and a companion began eating dinner around 8:30 p.m. at a KFC restaurant that closed at 9. Within ten minutes, they were approached brusquely by a manager and asked to leave without being allowed to finish their meals.

"We're closing in ten minutes, you have to go," Jones recalls him saying. "Do you want a box to put it in?" "He was just really abrupt and acting like us being there was a huge inconvenience," the 48-year-old continues. "Nothing like, 'I hope you're enjoying the food, but our employees need to go.' I sat there like a stunned deer in the headlights."

When the Detroit Red Wings failed to score hat tricks (three goals by one player in a single game) for parts of two seasons, they weren't only failing to score points. They were disappointing fans who were promised a free box of curly fries from Arby's.

The fast-food chain has kept Detroit-area sports fans satiated with free grub by tying giveaways to sports feats. For Tigers baseball fans, it's a free roast beef sandwich for three or more home-game home runs, says Tina Hering, marketing manager for Arby's in Michigan.

The baseball team was able to achieve that goal 18 times this season. But it's been a waiting game for hockey fans who've dubbed the lack of hat tricks as "the Arby's Curse." The curse was finally lifted last week.

We all say that we know how much grease and fat is in fast food, but do we really?

For example, would you ever think that 10 burgers from a fast-food restaurant could allow you to create a Mona Lisa out of grease? If you say yes, how about a recreation that looks to be 12-feet tall? In the above video, artist Phil Hansen grabs a bunch of burgers and creates an insanely impressive and huge grease-image of Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting. That's only 10 double-patty burgers.

But this isn't just something out of nowhere, it's a pitch to help get Arby's some more love. That link on the bottom, burgergreaseart.com, leads you straight to an ad for Arby's new "Roastburger." If they really want to sell them this way, there should be a side-by-side competition in grease. Who knows how far a bunch of fast food roast beast could get you?

Nevertheless, it's a pretty cool way to use fast food.

[via Serious Eats]

AOL Money & Finance has a feature on the origin of some famous brands named after people. Here are some of the ones that I found particularly interesting:

• Arby's stands for R.B., the initials of the Raffel Brothers. Many people think it stands for roast beef.
• Taco Bell was founded by Glen Bell. I thought they just liked the bell logo. Who knew?
• Baskin-Robbins was a combination of two ice cream stores, one started by Irvine Robbins and the other by Burton Baskin. This one shouldn't have surprised me, but it did.
• Wendy's was named after Dave Thomas' (the founder) daughter's nick name. He had 5 kids. You have to wonder what the other ones thought of his choice.

Check out the rest of the 39 brands for more interesting facts.