"fast food restaurants" news and stories

Chipotle Mexican Grill has attracted legions of die-hard fans who are drawn to the chain's feel-good mantra of "food with integrity," but will those fans follow that vision to the Far East?

As Nation's Restaurant News reports, Chipotle founder Steve Ells is developing an Asian-inspired "fast-casual" restaurant concept that will likely share his original chain's vision of fast food made with a preference for organic, locally grown produce and naturally raised meat.

Ells clearly believes that the model he developed with Chipotle can find success with other types of fare. As he said in a statement published in NRN: "Chipotle is not successful because we serve burritos and tacos. Our success comes from finding the very best sustainably raised ingredients, prepared and cooked using classical methods in front of the customer...[W]hile our Chipotle restaurants will, of course, remain our primary focus, we are also excited to see how this format works with other cuisines."

So have you noticed more BMWs in line at the drive-thru of your local McDonald's? If once it could be said that the rich weren't like the rest of us, well, the Great Recession seems to have changed all that -- at least for now.

A recent study by American Express found that "ultra-affluent" consumers increased their spending at fast-food restaurants by a whopping 24 percent in the second quarter of this year, compared with an 8 percent increase for other U.S. consumers.

But as with a lot of other economic data coming out these days, just when one set of numbers seems to confirm we're still in a recession, the next set suggests otherwise. The rich were also eating out at more five-star restaurants as well, posting a 12 percent increase in spending on fine dining. Such spending for the rest of us increased 3 percent.

By Catherine Donaldson-Evans

They weren't skating on thin ice, but the carhops at a new Southern California Sonic Drive-In were definitely skating.

Employees of the soon-to-open restaurant in Duarte, Calif., have been training for the job on roller skates, as they'll be tasked with zipping up to customers' car windows on wheels carrying trays of food and drinks.

Sonic has set itself apart from other fast-food chains with its 1950s theme. Key to its business are its skating carhops.

"It's a fun job," Sonic franchising partner Steve Jones told Slashfood. "Customers see the carhops having fun on the job and then they want to be one."

Behold the Whatafarm burger, which according to alanbeam.net, via about.blank is "a burger ordered from the Whataburger chain and includes chicken, egg, cheese and bacon. 2 parts cow, 2 parts chicken, 1 part pig."

I'm all for the orgiastic multi-species chow down, what with my penchant for Kentucky burgoo (2 formats of cow -- old and young, lamb, pig, and chicken) and applaud the orderers for their gastronomic gumption. If I were being all harrumphy about it, I could note that the menu offers pig in sausage form and a fish filet as well and they opted for neither, but hey - Michelangelo didn't knock out the Sistine Chapel on his first jaunt up the scaffolding.

We salute you with all hooves, claws and trotters up!

[Via about:blank]

If you are looking for ways to beat your lunchtime fast food cravings (and stories about E. coli aren't enough), take a look at Court TV's list of the ten worst things found in fast food meals. Since it's Court TV, you can guess that they're not talking about trans-fats, either. Their list includes the following items, though you'll have to check out their list for the full details on each item, as well as info on any subsequent lawsuits:

• In 1995 an Alabama man found a condom in a burger at a McDonald's
• In 2004, an Ohio man found some skin (part of a thumb) in and Arby's sandwich.
• In 2005, a man found the whole finger - a different one - in some Kohl's frozen custard.
• The employees at an Oregon Jack in the Box, "for their sole amusement," added a variety of disturbing things (acid, soap, phlegm, human hair and staples) the burgers of at least one couple.
• A Virginia Beach firefighter found two used bandages Quarter Pounder at McDonald's in 1994 (My roommate in college found one in the pizza at the cafeteria, but that didn't make the list).
• A Tennessee man (allegedly) bit into a hypodermic needle in a Big Mac in 2000.

There are four more disturbing "found" items on CourtTV's list, but, frankly, six is really more than enough for me. And you can bet that I'll be looking closely the next time I hit the drive-thru on a road trip. Better safe than sorry!

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