"fastfood" news and stories

Every year it seems like Black Friday sales are starting earlier and earlier (some now even start on Thanksgiving Thursday!), so how do you stay nourished and fight the crowds? Well, the only restaurants that are open that early, besides your good 'ol home, and maybe your good ol' 24-hour diner, are the fast-food joints.

We've rounded up our favorite fast-food breakfasts in one photo gallery for you. We don't like to promote fast-food per se, but we wouldn't want you to go without eating while you wait on those long lines.

If all else fails, cook up some hot chocolate and bring a Thermos with you.

The popular guide to making better choices at casual and fast-food establishments, Eat This, Not That! is out with a new 2011 edition. Exposed inside are the dirty secrets of the food industry; the best and worst foods to boost brain power; the newest picks from more than 50 fast-food and sit-down restaurants; and, our favorite section, the 20 worst foods in America.

Slashfood was lucky enough to get a peek at 10 of the 20 worst foods, including the worst fast-food burger, the worst salad and the worst meal overall. For photos and statistics, click through the gallery after the jump.

For the remaining 10 (including the worst supermarket meal, worst drink and worst appetizer), as well as tips on stocking your pantry with America's best packaged foods and a guide to getting your kids to eat more fruits and veggies, visit Eat This, Not That or pick up a copy of the book.

Visit Men's Health regularly for more Eat This, Not That!

That handy GPS system in your car or phone is full of golden information -- and not just for you. Turns out it has some valuable market research data, too -- for big businesses.

Most of us use our GPS for more than directions to our ultimate destinations. We also use it to scout out our pit-stops along the way -- you know, coffee breaks and drive-thrus. That means the company that records all that data can provide exact figures on where people are going, what time of day, and along which routes. Now one GPS service provider, TeleNav, is sharing some of the information that impacts businesses, especially chain restaurants and hotels.

Can money buy friendship? Jack in the Box is hoping so. The fast-food burger joint is channeling the powers of Facebook to build a money bank for one lucky fan.

For every new fan the restaurant gets, a nickel will be added to the pot. The month-long campaign, conceived by Secret Weapon Marketing and revealed this week, will end with one big winner.

Jack in the Box's Facebook page has installed a tab called "Be a Rich Fan," which will keep the pot running live as new fans are added and the pot gets bigger.

Pizza Hut, along with countless other fast-food outlets, has marketed its product not just with images of oozing mozzarella and sizzling chicken wings but with a promise of value. Now Nation's Restaurant News reports that, in a move that may seem counter-intuitive given the current economic climate, the company is switching gears. Rather than focusing on price points or new offerings, Pizza Hut is spotlighting actual employees, putting the emphasis on the diner's in-house experience. Looked at from a larger perspective, the move is a rebranding.

The new tagline, "Your Favorites. Your Pizza Hut," which replaces "America's Favorite Pizza," debuted last Sunday during NFL programming, and it's a potent phrase, Ted Marzilli, senior vice president of New York-based YouGov BrandIndex, told Restaurant News. "By saying 'your favorites, your Pizza Hut,' it's a way for them to hold on to saying that they serve America's favorite pizza and that now you can get it your way. Trying to combine the mass appeal across the country with the individualization that person can have is a potentially powerful message."