Chipotle’s new burger concept is just too Tasty for one competitor

Chipotle’s new burger chain

A look through U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records revealed an interesting detail that slipped through the cracks early last month. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., which runs the popular Mexican-inspired fast-food chain, has been mulling a new concept. The company filed an application to trademark the name "Better Burger," a sign that Five Guys, Shake Shack, and the rest of the upper echelon of fast-food burger chains may soon have a new competitor.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The news, which was confirmed by Chipotle — "it’s a growth seed idea we are exploring," company spokesman Chris Arnold told Bloomberg on Wednesday — was met with excitement. Media outlets, rushing to cover the discovery, pondered how soon it will be before we see the first branch. Some even wondered if McDonald's, the largest hamburger slinger in the world, already had reason to worry.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But it also raised an important question: Why is Chipotle directing its attention to the hamburger scene, one of the most saturated in the American food industry? On the surface, the move is a bit perplexing. The market for burger chains is almost four times the size of the market for Mexican fare, according to data from market research firm Technomic. There's a lot more money being spent on ground beef patties, but there isn't much wiggle room for growth. McDonald's, which has struggled to woo customers in recent years, can attest.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But zoom into the market for fancier burger chains, and a different story emerges. "Once you look more deeply, you realize that it actually makes a lot of sense," said Darren Tristano, who is the president of Technomic. Tristano points out that the fast-casual burger category, which includes the likes of Shake Shack, is growing quickly. What's more, it still represents a small portion of the overall burger market. "The fast-casual burger category grew at nearly 16 percent last year," he said. "If you looked at the overall burger market, you would see that fast casual only represents 5 to 7 percent of it." In that light, the news makes a bit more sense. Chipotle isn't thinking about the McDonald's core customer; it's dreaming of all the hamburger lovers out there who rarely, if ever, eat Big Macs. Of course, in order to be successful, "Better Burger," if it ever comes to be, will have to distinguish itself from a field of suitable competitors. How it will do that remains unclear — we don't, after all, know much (or anything, really) about Chipotle's plans, other than what can be extrapolated from its current business model and gleaned from the name it recently filed a trademark for. But it's easy enough to guess. The company's mission to serve food with integrity, which it has clung to even when it has come at the expense of its business, will likely play a role. So, too, might the sort of food experience that has defined not only Chipotle, but ShopHouse and Pizzeria Locale, its two much smaller sister brands. That would mean a narrow menu, with quality ingredients and a high level of customization. It also could mean "Better Burger" won't experiment with breakfast or dessert.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Food aside, there's a suspicion a Chipotle-backed hamburger joint might look to adult beverages for some edge. Namely, an alcoholic refreshment that's often paired with hamburgers. "Now that they're selling hand-shaken margaritas at Chipotle, who knows? Maybe Better Burger will sell local craft beer," said Tristano. "I certainly wouldn't be surprised." **More from Wonkblog:**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Coca-Cola’s clever new trick    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The magical thing eating chocolate does to your brain    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The most depressing thing about how Donald Trump orders his steak    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Taco Bell’s biscuit tacos are a borderline upgrade on the chain’s breakfast options

Taco Bell has made no secret of the fact that, when it comes to breakfast, the chain would like to eat Ronald McDonald's lunch. Taco Bell has even suggested that pulling into the Mickey D's drive-through for your daily McMuffin fix is tantamount to living under Stalinist repression.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Now, I'm a sucker for clever, self-serving propaganda as much as the next person with a Facebook status to update. But as any honest politician (I know, I know) will tell you, slinging mud at your competition doesn't automatically mean you have more appetizing ideas. _[Lots more cheap eats in the $20 Diner archives]_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico In fact, Taco Bell has already ditched one of its first ideas: the waffle taco, which has been 86'd in favor of a new line of breakfast biscuit tacos. Visually, the switcheroo is an improvement. The waffle taco looked like someone had wrapped eggs and sausage in a filthy mattress. The biscuit taco looks like an adorable Taiwanese gua bao bun re-imagined by Paula Deen.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Nonetheless, after busting through three biscuit tacos, I've decided the sandwich needs more R&D.; The problem lies with the buttermilk biscuit shell, which is supposed to hold your desired ingredients in place but breaks apart like, well, a buttermilk biscuit. However Taco Bell manipulates the ingredients to create its bendy biscuits, the research team needs to rethink the formula. The biscuit never holds. Maybe they're aiming for the impossible: a flaky biscuit that folds like a New York slice?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico _[The $20 Diner goes on a junk-food binge]_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Plus, the shell proves too thick and too dry, which, as a result, turns your breakfast sandwich into an arid affair. Every one of my biscuits cried out for moisture, particularly the fried chicken with country gravy. Apparently the gravy retired to the country, because my sandwich had few signs of it. And can we talk for a second about this chicken-and-gravy taco? Let me try to wrap my junk-f00d-diminished brain around the concept: It's a biscuit that looks like a gua bao bun but assumes the role of a tortilla. A length of white meat, covered with crumbled tortilla chips and deep fried, is tucked into the folded biscuit and, at least theoretically, smothered with country gravy. What is this, taco night at the Buddhist meditation center in Atlanta?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The only thing that saved my biscuit, so to speak, is this:

There’s a one in 2.4 billion chance you could win a ‘lifetime’ worth of Taco Bell

Taco Bell is at it again. In recent years, the restaurant chain has pretended to buy the Liberty Bell and anchored a floating target in the South Pacific to promote its products. Now, in an effort to generate buzz around its new dollar menu, Taco Bell is making the Willy Wonka-esque promise of a ‘lifetime’ of free food to anyone who can find a dollar bill with the right serial number.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The fast-food chain’s new “Everlasting Dollars” campaign works like this: Taco Bell has noted the serial numbers of 11 one-dollar bills being circulated in 11 cities across the U.S. The first city, Los Angeles, was announced Tuesday. Consumers who find the bill — if anyone does — can redeem it for a $10,000 gift certificate to Taco Bell — meaning they’ll be able to eat an average of $216 (before taxes) in tacos, burritos and nachos each year for 46 years. The retailer estimates the odds of winning are about one in 2.4 billion.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The stunt, which is being heavily promoted via social media, comes just days after the launch of Taco Bell’s new “Dollar Cravings Menu,” a list of 11 new and existing items that cost exactly $1.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Taco Bell’s new promotion is a play to gain market share as its fast-food competitors raise their prices. Last year, McDonald’s replaced its iconic Dollar Menu with a “Dollar Menu and More” that includes slightly-costlier items, and this past winter, Burger King launched a “King Deals Value Menu” with prices starting at, but often exceeding, $1. Though Taco Bell’s new menu is aimed at promoting low prices, several of the menu items are actually seeing a 1-cent price hike.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico This isn’t the first time Taco Bell has launched an ad campaign around greenbacks. In 2010, the chain publicly petitioned the Federal Reserve to circulate more $2 bills, a stunt aimed at promoting the launch of Taco Bell’s $2 Meal Deal.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Is Chipotle evil? This ad campaign says absolutely

This morning, a new, controversial ad campaign hit the press. New Yorkers, en route to work, were likely the first to see it, because its inaugural imprint was in the New York Post, in the form of a full-page advertisement. And it isn't at all kind to Chipotle.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The ad, which features a flexing, overweight male, looking directly into the camera, smiling almost snidely, clearly mocks the notion that eating at Chipotle is a healthy life choice. "Eat two 'all natural' Chipotle burritos a week and you could gain 40 pounds in a year," the ad says, oozing with sarcasm. At the very top, large block letters read '' 'Chipotle' Healthy," in large block letters. This is what it looks like. The link teased in oversize capital letters, chubbychipotle.com, leads to a single page Web site. Within it, Chipotle's slogan — "Food with integrity" — is altered to say "Food with hypocrisy." Its commitments to sustainability, antibiotic-free meat, and GMO-free food are also disparaged. Sofrito, the Web site quips at one point, is a word the chain "made up for tofu"—even though Chipotle's vegetarian option is actually called sofrit _as_.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico In all, there are four sections, and each one of them is equally harsh in its treatment, taking issue with distinct facets of Chipotle's message. The campaign is being funded by the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), which is only apparent once one scrolls to the very bottom of the Web page. CCF is a nonprofit organization which lobbies on behalf of the food companies. The group's mission is perhaps most clearly evident in those it deems its adversaries. "A growing cabal of activists has meddled in Americans’ lives in recent years," CCF says on its Web site. "They include self-anointed 'food police,' health campaigners, trial lawyers, personal-finance do-gooders, animal-rights misanthropes, and meddling bureaucrats." Chipotle, CCF holds, falls firmly into that family of enemy activists. "A lot of what Chipotle says about its food is based on misconceptions," said Will Coggin, who is the director of research at CCF. "We launched this campaign because we wanted to take this stuff head on." Specifically, Coggin points to the chain's self-aggrandizing statements about its food. "They've built up this idea that somehow their food is better for you, that it's healthier for you," he said. "We're not going to take it." Chipotle, for its part, is neither surprised by the attack nor impressed by it. "What they're saying, what they're accusing us of, it's nothing new," said Chris Arnold, Chipotle's director of communications. "They're just rehashing things others have been making up about us for years. "There's nothing false at all about our advertising or marketing," he added. "But there are legitimate ways to challenge these sorts of things. Launching a smear campaign isn't one of them. It's actually just pretty infantile." Chipotle has earned both praise and skepticism in its ascent to the upper echelon of the fast food world. The company's mission, which is centered on a commitment to sourcing the most ethical ingredients possible, has proven an honest one. This year, when it became clear that a pork supplier wasn't meeting the company's standards, Chipotle took the fall and stopped serving pork at hundreds of restaurants around the country. The act was met with applause, as consumers celebrated the chain's steadfastness about its core values.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Chipotle's announcement that it would no longer serve foods containing genetically modified organisms, however, was far less popular. Much of the media, including The Washington Post's editorial board, accused the chain of irresponsible fear-mongering.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But CCF's campaign calls the entirety of Chipotle's messaging into question, which Arnold says is pretty ironic. "We've always been very transparent in the way that we run our business," he said. "You can't really say the same about the Center for Consumer Freedom." Indeed, there is reason to believe that the organization's intention might be less pure than their statements make it seem. CCF, after all, was founded by Rick Berman, a lawyer and lobbyist, famous for arguing on behalf of big food companies and against big health initiatives. Initially, the group was founded to fight smoking curbs in restaurants. The money, of course, came from the coffers of tobacco companies and restaurants. But it has since shifted its focus to the food and beverage industry, where many large players are worried about the impact of health, nutrition and animal welfare concerns.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico "Our general goal is to push against activist groups," Coggin says. "We're very clear about that." What CCF isn't clear about is who exactly funds its work. Coggin holds that no company, or even group of companies, helped spearhead the anti-Chipotle campaign. "It's just a project of ours." But it's impossible for people to know, because the center is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, and, as such, doesn't have to disclose individual donors. Instead, it offers transparency by sharing only a vague sense of where it gets its money. "The Center for Consumer Freedom is supported by restaurants, food companies and thousands of individual consumers," the organization's Web site says. "Mr. Berman is being paid to advocate the interests of a company or group of companies or industry, but won't say who those are," said Arnold. "That seems kind of shady." Shady or not, the public attacks are likely only to pick up speed and prominence. Asked whether the full-page ad in the New York Post and new Web site were the extent of the campaign, Coggin assured that it's only the start. "Oh, there is more to come," he said. "But I won't say anymore. I can't talk about it at this time." **Related:**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Chart: Americans can’t stop eating Chipotle’s burritos

There are few things as smooth as Chipotle's ability to sell more and more burritos seemingly each day, week and month, but certainly each quarter and every year. The Mexican fast food chain, which now slings billions of dollars in burritos (and burrito bowls) each year, saw its second quarter sales jump by 29 percent compared to the same period last year. Chipotle's performance didn't merely beat analyst estimates — it crushed them. The chain was forced to raise its prices earlier this year, after rising food costs swallowed a hefty chunk of the company's profits. The expectation was that it would have a negative impact on store traffic, but instead same-store sales — sales at Chipotle restaurants open for at least 13 months — jumped by 18 percent. Chipotle's annual sales are now expected to nearly eclipse $4 billion in 2014, according to Bloomberg estimates. That would mean 1,143 percent growth since 2003, and 377 percent growth since 2006, when the company went public. By 2018, Chipotle's sales are slated to jump another 43 percent to more than $6.5 billion. Sales growth has also significantly outpaced sheer restaurant growth (by a factor of almost two to one), meaning that there aren't merely more Chipotles today, but each Chipotle is also selling more burritos on average than it used to. Chipotle's unstoppable growth is actually fairly inconsistent with that of the rest of the American fast-food industry. McDonald's has struggled to lure Americans as of late — its U.S. sales are expected to decline for a third consecutive quarter. Taco Bell, too — sales jumped after the launch of the Doritos Locos Tacos, but they have since fallen. In fact, the fast-food sector just isn't doing all that well in the U.S. right now.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Why has Chipotle managed to grow so quickly? Mainly, the chain has capitalized on a bet that Americans were willing to pay a little more money for a lot more assurance about the origins of their fast food. The company's message has carried with it a firm commitment to ingredients, animal treatment and the environment. While some have questioned the extent to which the chain follows through with that mission, it's hard to deny that it has resonated with American fast-food goers. Chipotle is also phenomenally fast at slinging burritos — its most efficient branches can serve 350 customers per peak lunchtime hour. And it has fared well in an increasingly carb-conscious America by offering its popular tortilla-less burrito bowls.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday

Sorry Domino’s, pizza crust made out of chicken isn’t an innovation

Just how absurd and twisted can food in America get? In a nation overrun with obesity, our corporations keep belching out bizarre new things they call food.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University The latest entry in the pantheon of junk-food entrees is Domino’s Pizza’s Specialty Chicken. Yes, that’s _Specialty_ Chicken. This isn’t just chicken in the eyes of Domino’s, which has the gall to call the food an innovation.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University “Our new Specialty Chicken is one of the most creative, innovative menu items we have ever had,” Domino’s Pizza chief marketing officer Russell Weiner proudly proclaimed in the company’s surreal news release. The new item comes in four varieties and is essentially a pizza in which pieces of breaded chicken have replaced the crust.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Russell is just _oozing_ enthusiasm. “Our pizza chefs have taken chicken to a whole new level, using our unique ingredients to create these four bold flavors. There’s nothing quite like Domino’s Specialty Chicken on the market today,” he bragged.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Umm, Russell, I’m sorry, but I have news. Menu items that are short on good nutrition and long on gimmicks, novelty and processed foods are the rage. You’re not doing anything new.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Here’s Exhibit A — KFC’s Double Down, which is bacon and cheese sandwiched between two pieces of fried chicken. Then there’s Taco Bell’s waffle taco, the only thing to eat when you want to start your day off with 30 grams of fat. For its part, 7-Eleven has tested mozzarella sticks made with a Doritos crust. And of course, we can’t forget the superstar of this trend — Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Tacos. It has reached $1 billion in sales, on the popularity of a shell that’s been deemed worthy of the processed food hall of fame. What’s inside the taco is no better for you.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University These foods are engineered to appeal to our taste buds, while good nutrition is a secondary consideration. I tried the spicy jalapeño pineapple Tuesday night, and it’s definitely tasty. It will sell. But is Domino’s specialty chicken good for you? Short answer: no (see the full nutrition facts here). It is loaded with saturated fat and sodium. One serving of the classic hot buffalo gives you 45 percent of your daily sodium. A serving of the crispy bacon and tomato includes 23 percent of your daily saturated fats.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Domino’s gets one thing right about innovation: It’s done something daring and different. _Hey, what if the pizza crust was made out of meat?_ But having the boldness to hatch something a drunken college student might dream up isn’t an innovation.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University There’s nothing innovative about launching new processed foods for an overweight nation to binge on. Using the word innovation is increasingly popular, while true innovations remain rare. Nissan’s slogan is “Innovation that excites,” despite largely producing cars that blend in with what most carmakers are doing. Then there’s Kellogg’s peanut butter pop-tart, which chief executive John Bryant brazenly deemed an innovation.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Here’s a real food innovation — a hamburger grown in a lab. Lab-grown meat could address the troubling methane gas that livestock produce, as well as the concerns of animal-rights activists. It might transform our world for the better, which is what real innovations do.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University When Domino’s puts something on its menu that addresses climate change — or at least respects the problem of obesity — I’ll be fine with their use of the word “innovation.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University

The CDC is investigating another E. coli outbreak that could be linked to Chipotle

Last week, in the aftermath of an E. coli outbreak that has caused major problems for Chipotle, the chain's co-chief executive Steve Ells made a promise on national television.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico "We're going to layer on this culture of food safety and make sure that we're the safest place to eat," Ells said. "That's priority number one." "We can assure you today that there is no E. coli in Chipotle," Ells added."We have thoroughly tested our food, we have thoroughly tested our surfaces and we are confident that Chipotle is a safe place to eat." But on Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it was investigating a new outbreak that could be linked to the popular Mexican-inspired chain, identifying five people in three states who had caught the E. coli bug. Then on Monday, the center added an update that indicated another report had surfaced in Pennsylvania.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The new outbreaks occurred before Ells' pledge — the cases are from a month ago, and the CDC has yet to confirm a source. But they underscore a credibility problem for Chipotle as it tries to convince consumers that it has finally squashed any possibility of disease in its supply chain. On Friday, shares of Chipotle fell by 3 percent, indicating a sense among investors that the news would hurt business. On Monday, the drop worsened — shares were down 3 1/2 percent when the market closed. Overall, the firm's shares are down nearly a third from their high. Chipotle, which has reported robust growth for years, said recently that it projects big declines at its flagship stores as a result of the outbreak. On social media, some customers were vowing never to return. Chipotle insists that the backlash, which could extend well beyond this week, is misguided. "We have indicated before that we expected that we may see additional cases stemming from this, and CDC is now reporting some additional cases," Chris Arnold, the company's director of communications, said in a statement. "Since this issue began, we have completed a comprehensive reassessment of our food safety programs with an eye to finding best practices for each of the ingredients we use." The latest crisis began in October when Chipotle closed 43 restaurants in Washington state and Oregon after health authorities linked an E. coli outbreak to six restaurants in the region. Illnesses contracted at Chipotles were then reported in seven more states. Earlier this month, at least 80 students at Boston College got sick after eating at a Chipotle. Boston health officials said the cause was norovirus, a common virus, while citing the restaurant for two health violations: improper handling of poultry and the presence of a sick employee. In response to the outbreaks, Chipotle pledged to sanitize its operations, hired food safety consultants and announced that it would introduce stricter scrutiny of its ingredients. Chipotle has about 2,000 locations. But the more food safety problems and Chipotle are uttered in the same breath, the harder it will be to shed the association. Chipotle's reputation is particularly   threatened because it has made an emphasis out of the fact that it adheres to rigorous standards. "The real red flags are repetitive failures," Arun Lakshmanan, a marketing professor at the University at Buffalo's School of Management, said earlier this month. "When there is repetition, that's what really damages credibility. It's a risky position for Chipotle to be in now." Other firms from Costco to Blue have also confronted serious questions when disease outbreaks were linked to food sold by them. About a decade ago, Taco Bell's business contracted for more than a year after an E. coli outbreak, even though it rapidly fixed the problem. In each case, the company recovered, but the pressures on companies continue to get tougher, as customers demand better-quality food without being willing to pay much more for it.

How Taco Bell brainwashes America’s youth into loving its tacos

True taco savants could only shake their heads Sunday night. After weeks of hype, including breathless news releases, YouTube videos and a preordering campaign — Taco Bell released its top-secret innovation in a Super Bowl commercial that cost it millions. The fast-food chain hyped the creation as bigger than a Mars landing, hoverboards and Tinder. So what was that amazing innovation? A taco with cheese in the shell, dubbed the quesalupa. “My initial reaction was that already exists in Mexican culture,” said Gustavo Arellano, author of “Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America.” “There is nothing new under the Mexican sun.” “Personally I think it’s a quesadilla. I didn’t see how it’s much different,” said Russell Walker, a professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg business school who studies innovation. Arellano says the quesalupa is essentially a taco gobernador, a cheesy taco generally served with fish. On a variety of levels there’s nothing innovative about the new taco. Taco Bell supplier Tyson can’t even make the shells automatically. Employees must stuff the shells with pepperjack cheese by hand. If you’re chuckling at the absurdity of Taco Bell hyping an ordinary offering, you’re missing the larger point. This stuffed-crust-pizza rendition of a taco is the latest reminder of Taco Bell’s marketing prowess, which helps the company put fresh spins on incremental changes to its food. Every marketing and taco expert contacted for this article was confident the taco would sell well. “They’re the Johnny Appleseeds that wet Americans’ appetites for Mexican food,” Arellano said of Taco Bell. Taco Bell argues that the innovation behind the quesalupa was taking the best of the quesadilla and the chalupa and combining them. “It’s a twist on something familiar,” said chief product marketing officer Stephanie Perdue. “A lot of people do things on the inside of the taco, but they don’t think about the outside of the taco.” Perdue said the quesalupa was inspired by a visit to a pupuseria four years ago. Taco Bell’s team comes up with 300 to 400 ideas a year and tests 30 of them in its stores. That’s led to hits such as the Doritos Locos taco, which sold 100 million in the first 10 weeks. AdAge named Taco Bell its marketer of the year in 2013. “The key challenge for a fast food company is to continuously differentiate themselves from the crowd, and over the years Taco Bell has done a pretty good job of that,” said University of Southern California marketing professor Ira Kalb. They were one of the first fast-food chains to offer a low-priced value menu. And Taco Bell wisely targets the young, who are susceptible to advertising, rather than trying to appeal to everyone, marketing experts said. “Their target audience is narrower than Burger King or McDonalds. In today’s market you have to do that,” said Russell Winer, a marketing professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. “Tastes are varied across market segments, you have to think about reaching a narrow audience that will be turned on to your brand.” With a young audience, Taco Bell doesn’t have to concern itself as much with healthy offerings. Two quesalupas include the recommended daily allotment of saturated fat. Kelley Coffeen, the author of “300 Best Taco Recipes,” tried two quesalupas Monday morning and enjoyed them. Her book doesn’t include any recipes that require stuffing cheese in the shell. To her, the shell itself is an innovation. “But overall it was a pretty safe adventure on their part,” said Coffeen of the taco. If Taco Bell really wanted to make a change, she said, it could swap the iceberg lettuce with sliced bell peppers, or use a different type of cheese, such as cotija. While many fans of authentic Mexican cuisine are less forgiving of Taco Bell than Coffeen, the food does have one other value. According to Arellano, Taco Bell is a gateway to more authentic cuisine. “Their job is to basically get that next generation of eaters,” said Arellano, who isn’t a fan of Taco Bell’s food. “The Doritos Locos eaters of today will turn into the mole poblano eaters of tomorrow.”

Chipotle is putting America on a literary diet

Americans love fast food. Reading? Not so much.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Only 47 percent of American adults read at least one novel, play or poem in 2012, down from 50 percent in 2008, according to a National Endowment for the Arts survey of more than 37,000 Americans.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday But fast-food chain Chipotle just might trick hungry Americans to enjoying a good read with new cups and bags featuring essays by modern American literary greats Michael Lewis, Toni Morrison, Malcolm Gladwell, Jonathan Safran Foer and George Saunders. The idea came to Jonathan Safran Foer one day when he found himself in Chipotle with nothing to do but eat his burrito. “I really just wanted to die with frustration,” Foer told Vanity Fair.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday The author of “Eating Animals,” “Everything is Illuminated” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” decided to e-mail Chipotle chief executive Steve Ells, whom he’d met before. Foer told Vanity Fair:    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Ells liked the idea and enlisted Foer’s help in selecting authors and editing the texts. “I tried to put together a somewhat eclectic group, in terms of styles. I wanted some that were essayistic, some fiction, some things that were funny, and somewhat thought provoking,” he told Vanity Fair. The new cups and bags feature a tattoo-like image in black and white on one side and an essay on the other. Vanity Fair had a few samples. Here’s one by Toni Morrison.

Taco Bell goes upscale with house-made fusion tacos (lobsters, too)

Next to the pier in Huntington Beach, Calif., is a taco place where you can order lobster, brisket with tacos and milkshakes. Behind this new fast-casual venue is none other than Taco Bell, which launched U.S. Taco Co. on Monday to take tacos to a foodier edge. First, let’s take a look at the menu:    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday The idea behind the launch of the first U.S. Taco Co. came from Jeff Jenkins, who, after conducting a dining survey with Taco Bell, found that people from certain demographic simply don’t eat at fast-food restaurants, the Los Angeles Times reports. Jenkins and his team decided to open a fast-casual taco place that targets people who favor restaurants like Chipotle.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Taco Bell funded an eating tour for Jenkins and Rene Pisciotti, executive chef of U.S. Taco Co. They then decided to take their favorite American meals and turn them into tacos, eventually creating a menu inspired by Philly cheese steaks, lobster rolls and Southern fried chicken. “It’s food truck food you don’t have to chase,” Jenkins told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s playful, it’s different, it’s not about creating the next chain concept.” All ingredients are either house-made, sourced from the same supplier used by Taco Bell, or come from where they were inspired, such as the brisket for the “Not My First Rodeo,” which comes from Texas, Pisciotti told the Food Beast.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday U.S. Taco Co. has 10 6-inch tacos on the menu, all priced between $3.25 and $3.75, except the taco with lobster  — “The 1%Er” will cost you $9.90. All desserts are $4 each.

McDonald’s is finally rolling out all-day breakfast at every restaurant in the country

For years, adoring fans have pleaded with McDonald's to extend its breakfast menu beyond the current 10:30 a.m. cutoff. For just as long, the fast food behemoth has shrugged off the ask, saying it doesn't have the capacity to make breakfast and everything else at the same time. Flipping burgers and frying eggs, they have sighed seemingly every month, is simply too tall a task for the more than 14,000 restaurants around the United States.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But finally Americans are getting their wish. Amid a several year-long slowdown, which has forced the international hamburger giant to downsize in its largest market, and a furious rise in competition, which has seen companies like Chipotle grow into formidable combatants in the fast food space, McDonald's has decided that it can no longer afford to ignore its customers.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico All-day breakfast, which the chain has been testing since earlier this year, will be available at McDonald's starting on Oct. 6. The move, which was approved by franchisees last week, will extend to every McDonald's in the United States. It won't include the entirety of the breakfast menu, but it will cover the favorites: sausage burritos and hot cakes will be available everywhere, and Egg McMuffins or biscuit sandwiches will be served, depending on the location. "This is the consumers’ idea. This is what they want us to do," Mike Andres, McDonald’s USA President, told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. "That’s why I think this could be the catalyst for our turnaround."    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The announcement is a big deal, mostly because it marks a certain point of desperation for McDonald's. The past few years have been a difficult stretch for the chain, which stopped sharing monthly performance data because it had been so long since the company had reported anything even vaguely positive. Given McDonald's reluctance over the years to introduce all-day breakfast, the news is a sign that it can no longer afford to be so risk averse. Rather, the chain is now throwing darts at the wall, hoping that something sticks.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico For a time, McDonald's relied on conventional extensions of its menu, offering salads, wraps, and other healthier fare. Recently, the burger chain has shifted to a strategy that amounts to mimicking the increasingly popular fast casual sector. McDonald's now makes burgers to order, and offers a range of fancier ingredients, like jalapeños, guacamole, and brioche buns.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But neither of these strategies has worked. The former backfired, because people visit cheap burger chains for a respite from their (hopefully) healthier dietary regimen, not another reminder that they could be eating something healthier. The latter only further highlights the chain's inadequacies. McDonald's new competition—the Chipotles and Shake Shacks of the fast food world—are buoyed, at least in part, by their association with meaningful trends in the food world that prioritize good food over cheap food.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico One of McDonald's biggest follies has been its inability to look itself squarely in the mirror, to understand that it is, or at least should be, what its fans adore it for most: a place that serves hamburgers, french fries, chicken nuggets, and an exceedingly popular breakfast menu. What McDonald's needs is to simply embrace that on a broader scale, and breakfast might be the best option. There will be obstacles, of course. The chain was reluctant to introduce all-day breakfast for good reasons. Equipment will need to be changed at restaurants in order to accommodate the extra meal. New toasters, for instance, will be needed to prepare both hamburger buns and English muffins at the same time. Separate grills for eggs will also be bought so as to ensure that no hamburgers come into contact with raw eggs. But by allowing patrons to order Egg McMuffins well into the day and night, McDonald's will be able to double down on the fastest-growing segment in the business—between 2007 and 2012, breakfast was responsible for more than 90 percent of all growth in the industry. The meal, which accounts for roughly 25 percent of sales but has, up to now, only been offered for a small fraction of the day, has already proven lucrative.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico It will also help distinguish McDonald's from it's competition. Where Chipotle has etched out its territory with burritos, McDonald's can now make its mark with breakfast. And that could make all the difference.

Why Chipotle’s pork problem is a bad sign for its future

Chipotle said yesterday that it has stopped serving pork at a third of its restaurants, or some 600 establishments countrywide, citing a standards violation by one of its suppliers. It marks the first time the burrito slinger has been forced to pull a topping from its menu. But if Chipotle continues to expand as it has in recent years, it's hard to imagine this is the last time the restaurant chain will face a problem like this. The reason Chipotle has been forced to pull _carnitas_ from so many of its menus is that one of its pork suppliers—likely a very large pork supplier, given how vast the impact has been—wasn't treating its pigs in a way that met the company's standards. Chipotle hasn't said that explicitly, but Chris Arnold, the company's communications director, admitted as much to me.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico "This is fundamentally an animal welfare decision and it's rooted in our unwillingness to compromise our standards where animal welfare is concerned," he said. Chipotle only learned of the standards breach while auditing the supplier's operations during a routine check-in. It's not clear how long Chipotle was serving meat from a supplier whose practices it doesn't condone, nor how long it will be before Chipotle is able to replace that supply. Chipotle's core mission, selling "food with integrity," centers around what the company calls a respect for all participants in the supply chain, including animals, farmers and the environment. Ever since the company first opened more than 20 years ago, it has worked to make good on that promise by seeking out ways to cut its carbon footprint, carefully choose its farmers, source its ingredients locally where it can, and work with meat farmers like Niman Ranch Pork Company, which has long been a leader in humane animal practices.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico This has been a major key to the chain's success and why it's beating so many of its competitors. While fast food giants, like McDonald's, have struggled after years of prioritizing cheapness in its supply chain, Chipotle has thrived by putting sustainability first. The unparalleled success of the chain is glaring proof that people are willing to pay a bit more for that promise. Chipotle's growth speaks for itself — there are, as I have noted before, few things you can count on more than Chipotle's ability to sell more and more burritos.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But the company's success has also been a lesson in how hard it is to scale the entirety of a business like Chipotle, with its promise to sell "food with integrity." In 2013, the company was forced to begin serving "conventionally raised beef," after it became clear that there was no longer enough antibiotic and hormone free beef to go around. "We just need more (and it isn't there)," Arnold lamented to Businessweek at the time. The reason Chipotle is willing to serve conventionally raised beef and not conventionally raised pork is that the latter, according to Arnold, compromises animal welfare in a way the former doesn't.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico "Given these stark differences, serving pork from conventionally raised pigs is not an option to us," he said. "We would rather not serve pork at all, than serve pork from animals that are raised in this way." That's a laudable stance from an animal rights perspective. Pulling pork from almost 600 restaurants indefinitely is almost certain to cost Chipotle a lot of money. And **** it's exactly the sort of decision Chipotle might not be able to keep making **—** not if if it wants to serve more burritos to more people, and still include pork as an ingredient.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico As Paul Shapiro, vice president of farm animal protection for The Humane Society of the United States, told the Associated Press on Tuesday, farms that raise pigs outside of gestation crates still represent a "very small portion of the pork industry." Meanwhile, Chipotle wants to capture a very large portion of the American fast food industry. Those two realities could eventually prove untenable, because at the moment, they simply don't add up.

‘The Newsroom’ vs. ‘Honey Boo Boo’?

Hank Stuever’s comparison of “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” vs. “The Newsroom” was contorted and misguided [Sunday Style, July 14]. Stuever took a high-end hamburger from a four-star restaurant and derided it for not being the haute-est of the haute cuisine. He then made the case that sometimes a McDonald’s hamburger is enough to satisfy your hunger. True enough, but if both burgers are free, I’m going to take the fresh-ground, top-sirloin burger every time. Only a critic who was too “smug” and “preachy” would argue that the mass-produced reality burger was better for you than high-end, handcrafted food. ****Kevin Campbell** , Springfield**

How Starbucks’ dominance could one day be threatened

Make no mistake about it, Starbucks is an innovation powerhouse. The company routinely ranks among the most innovative companies in the nation and continually finds new ways to surprise and delight its customers. Most recently, Starbucks has unveiled a new mobile order and pay option, a new high-end coffee shop concept, and a new small-batch subscription delivery service. And that’s on top of expanding into new beverages, making acquisitions in complementary industries, constantly tweaking the customer experience, and launching side bets in completely unrelated fields.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico So is there any innovation scenario that would ever result in the end of Starbucks’ complete coffee domination?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The base case scenario, of course, is that a smaller coffee shop upstart will appear out of nowhere and “out-Starbucks” Starbucks, beating the company at its own game with a combination of superior coffee, a better customer experience, new menu items, or just by dint of being newer and less ubiquitous. One upstart starting to gain traction, for example, is Caffe Bene, which has been described as the “Starbucks of South Korea.” The coffee chain, which already has more than 1,600 locations globally, now plans a massive launch across the United States, starting in New York City. However, the sheer size of Starbucks — over 21,000 stores worldwide, over 70 million customers a week, over 9 million loyalty program members — makes it a daunting task for anyone bold enough to take on Starbucks head-to-head.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But what if a new coffee shop rival emerges that has its roots in a completely different industry? This company would fly so far below the radar that it would be impossible for Starbucks to view them as a competitor until it’s too late. According to the rules of disruptive innovation first proposed by Clayton Christensen, this theoretical company would also have to offer a coffee product that is cheaper and inferior to Starbucks coffee products, as well as appeal to a segment of the coffee-drinking market that’s not attractive to Starbucks (i.e. people who can’t or won’t buy $5 coffee drinks). So how would you go about finding this “stealth” disruption in a place that nobody expects to find it? Back in 2012, Stephen T. Gordon suggested a fascinating concept: “In the future, everything will be a coffee shop.” What he had in mind was that the unique customer experience of the coffee shop — a “third place” that was neither home nor work — was starting to influence the experience of many other industries. As Gordon suggested, any struggling business or institution could turn to the coffee shop for inspiration in an attempt to become “an irreplaceable gathering place full of beverages that cannot be downloaded.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico That’s one big idea that Starbucks gets — it’s not about the coffee, it’s about the shared experience of meeting face-to-face.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The office experience, for example, is already transforming into a co-working experience at the local coffee shop, where mobile workers with laptops and smartphones work offsite in comfortable chairs with creative surroundings. This is one of the reasons why Starbucks has become so successful — there’s nothing easier than grabbing a laptop and heading over to the corner Starbucks to get some work done, to meet a client, or to socialize with fellow workers. By thinking about other industries that could be turned into similar types of coffee shop experiences, it might be possible to find the next business waiting to disrupt Starbucks. Higher education, with its shift into online learning, MOOCs and flipped classrooms, might be ripe for coffee shop innovation. Community colleges or universities could create a place that’s neither classroom nor dorm room. Most students probably would prefer to pay less than $5 for a coffee drink, and they may not have the discriminating palate required to appreciate the offerings of the new high-end Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room. So imagine a tutoring, networking and mentoring experience — a coffee shop as the ultimate flipped classroom, where students work on homework communally rather than at home or in the classroom, all while drinking coffee (or, depending on their age, uncaffeinated drinks that taste like coffee).    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Another area to look for innovation is retail, where many brick-and-mortar store owners are looking for some answer to the “showrooming” phenomenon created by ubiquitous smartphone usage. They are tired of people checking out products in their brick-and-mortar stores and then going home to shop online where prices are usually cheaper. The answer might be a new kind of “reverse- showrooming” retail experience that features lower-grade coffee than Starbucks serves (just a step above the kind you drink when waiting for a doctor or an auto mechanic to fix your car).    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico One idea that Gordon has suggested is that 3D print shops might lead to a new breed of coffee shop — a place where customers mingle with others and drink coffee while they wait for their custom 3D-printed objects to be printed within the store: “Imagine the 3D print shop of the future: You put in your order, probably from your smartphone, and then go pick it up. What does the lobby of such a business look like? A coffee shop.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Finally, what about a new entertainment experience based around coffee? Walk into a Starbucks today and what do you see — lots of people tapping on computers and checking their smartphones. The next technological device that people may want to bring into the coffee shop is a pair of virtual reality glasses. It’s not realistic to walk around with one in a Starbucks today. So what if there were a coffee shop experience where it was socially acceptable for gamers to strap on their virtual reality glasses and sip caffeinated drinks? Gamers would be immersed in their own unique VR experiences, but they would be enjoyed communally with many others, maybe as part of a new type of coffee shop-meets-theater experience. Think back to the video arcade experience of the 1980s, when people went to arcades in malls to play video games instead of playing them at home. Add in plush couches, better music, some funky artwork, and almost-as-good-as Starbucks coffee and you might just have a business concept. Crazy? Perhaps. But that’s the nature of disruptive innovation – it’s often not recognized when it appears and not appreciated when it is recognized because it happens at the low end. The perverse logic of disruptive innovation is that, the more that Starbucks super-serves its best customers, moves into premium-priced products and experiments with high-end customer experiences, the more it opens itself up to disruption at the very, very low end.

McDonald’s tried to be all things to all people.  It didn’t work.

McDonald’s is having some Big Mac-sized problems as it finds its image and menu are poorly suited for consumers’ increasing preference for fresh, healthy ingredients. The restaurant chain said Friday that its global profit tumbled 21 percent in the most recent quarter, and its sales at U.S. restaurants open more than a year sank 1.7 percent. Restaurant traffic was down in all its major markets across the globe.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico This latest stumble caps a tough year for the world’s largest fast-food business, whose troubles are a marker of a broader cultural shift shaking the industry: Diners are increasingly seeking food that is fresh and healthy, and the explosion of fast-casual restaurants such as Chipotle, Panera Bread and Five Guys has given them alternatives that are nearly as speedy as a fast-food joint and perceived as much healthier. But McDonald’s acknowledges that many of its problems are of its own making: As the company tried to take on these new competitors while also hanging onto its traditional business, its menu grew bloated and its pricing strategy became confusing. McDonald’s has said that wait times were getting longer at its drive-through windows as its menu grew increasingly long and complicated, with some 100 items added over the last 10 years. Some restaurants didn’t have enough space in the kitchen to prepare such a wide array of dishes.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico When the company unveiled a sweeping turnaround strategy late last year, it promised to streamline its menu to fix the bottleneck. But as the details of the plan have unfolded, analysts say it seems muddled.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The chain is eliminating eight menu items and five Extra Value Meals. But it is also promising to regionalize its offerings in the U.S. with different sauces or flavors to appeal to local tastes, a move that seems to contradict the stated goal of simplifying the menu. McDonald’s has also been rolling out a custom burger option it calls “Create Your Taste,” in which diners can pick and choose their toppings — something similar to what might be offered at a more upscale fast-casual chain.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico “It smacks a little of trying to be all things to all people, and I think that’s a very tough brand positioning to pull off,” said Mark Kalinowski, restaurant industry analyst at Janney Capital Markets. Kalinowski says he’s skeptical of the choice to double-down on the “Create Your Taste” concept because it doesn’t translate well to the drive-through window, where he estimates McDonald’s pulls in more than 60 percent of its U.S. sales. It’s not just the length of the menu that has been perplexing to McDonald’s customers — it’s the pricing structure. The company thinks of its products in three categories: entry level, core and premium. To keep its popular Dollar Menu pricing in place for entry-level items, it was forced to nudge prices up on core items, a category that includes the Big Mac and Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Executives have said the wide price gap likely confused diners and pushed more of them to opt for its cheapest offerings. In turn, that may have weighed on total sales and bruised perception of the overall quality of McDonald’s food, since perhaps more people were evaluating the brand based on its cheapest products. The backdrop of these problems is the rocketing growth of fast-casual chains. Growth in the fast-casual category is easily outpacing growth in the restaurant industry overall, according to research firm Technomic. Fast-casual restaurants saw an average increase of 7.9 percent last quarter in sales at restaurants open more than a year, while quick-service restaurants — a category that would include McDonald’s — grew just 1.2 percent. The restaurant industry overall saw 2 percent same-store sales growth. “The pace of change outside McDonald’s has become faster than perhaps the pace of change internally,” said Michael Andres, McDonald’s U.S. president, on a conference call with investors in December. “Consumers have redefined quality and value. And the focus more, as you all know, is more on wellness.” McDonald’s has tried to respond to the desire for fresh food with items such as salads and wraps, but the company has said these items don’t sell particularly well. That is, perhaps, an indication that consumers want to come to McDonald’s for burgers and chicken nuggets just as they always have, but they want those dishes to be prepared more healthily.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The company said Friday that it expects comparable sales for January to continue to be negative and expects earnings results to be “pressured,” particularly in the first half of 2015. “We’re changing, and we’re doing it aggressively,” chief executive Donald Thompson told investors during a conference call on Friday. McDonald’s is deploying a variety of tactics to restore the shine of the Golden Arches, including a new marketing campaign. However, in a recent survey conducted by Janney Capital Markets, some McDonald’s franchisees said that new advertisements “don’t seem to be generating any meaningful near-term lift in sales trends.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Since millennial-generation diners seem particularly curious about where their food comes from, McDonald’s in October announced a new effort to answer diner questions on social media about its supply chain and food preparation techniques.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico And perhaps most importantly, the restaurant chain says it is committed to trying to find ways to improve the taste and quality of its food by experimenting with different cooking procedures and evaluating the ingredients it uses. “What they really need to focus on is innovation on the value end of the menu,” said Will Slabaugh, a restaurant industry analyst with Stephens, instead of trying to push premium dishes. McDonald’s will have some tailwinds as its fights to lure diners back to its restaurants. With lower gas prices and an improving economy, forecasters are predicting better traffic overall to the restaurant industry. After its Asia business took a hit last year when a key supplier was accused of using expired meat, that issue is likely to be in the rearview mirror in 2015. And while comparable sales were down for the quarter, they were up 0.4 percent in December, a sign that some of the company’s turnaround efforts might be starting to gain traction with consumers.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico “I’m definitely not counting them out by any means, but it’s not an easy process to regain that customer momentum,” Slabaugh said.

Why McDonald’s is trying to trademark “McBrunch”

In the latest sign that McDonald's is trying to consolidate its control of the coveted breakfast market, the fast food chain has applied to trademark a new word that could appeal to late morning risers everywhere: "McBrunch." The application, which the maker of the Egg McMuffin filed on July 23rd, signals **** at the very least an interest in expanding what has been one of the company's fastest growing and most profitable day segments. "We’ve been serving breakfast now for over 30 years and it is one of our strongest day parts," Peter Benson, McDonald's CFO, said in a company earnings call this spring. "From a profitability perspective, [breakfast is] the strongest. And so we’ll continue to focus on our breakfast opportunities."    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Roughly one quarter of McDonald's revenues are earned during the morning rush, according to the Wall Street Journal.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Opportunities in the breakfast segment have been particularly attractive recently given how competitive the fast food world has become. And McDonald's, though it still accounts for nearly a third of all fast food breakfast sales, is now facing more competition in the breakfast realm than ever before. ****    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Starbucks, which has long had its sights set on the breakfast market, expanded its food menu this past spring to include more morning sandwich offerings; Taco Bell, which only began selling breakfast items in March, now fancies itself a capable morning competitor (and is reportedly testing a breakfast taco); and Burger King has bet that patrons will buy burgers, of all things **,** on the way to work in the morning by adding the items to their breakfast menu.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico "We’ve had some of our major competitors that have made runs at breakfast, and it seems every year there’s someone new that is making a run," Peter Benson, McDonald's CFO, said in a company earnings call this spring. In all, the U.S. breakfast business at fast food chains now rakes in an estimated $50 billion a year, and accounts for nearly all of the industry's growth. Between 2007 and 2012, it was responsible for 90 percent of the industry's sales growth.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico McDonald's, for it's part, has been quick to deny any concrete intention tied to the "McBrunch" trademark. "I understand the interest, because I, as a consumer, would love to get my beloved Egg White Delight or other breakfast items later, but we are not testing a McBrunch concept," Lisa McComb, a company spokeswoman, told CNBC on Thursday. "As I mentioned, we routinely file intent to use trademark applications as a regular course of business, and we can't share details at this time as to how the trademarks may or may not be used."    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But few chains sell breakfast later in the morning or early in the afternoon, and even fewer do it on weekends, when demand is imaginably highest. Considering that McDonald's has been toying with the idea of extending its weekday breakfast hours for years—the company revisited this year, but decided against it since logistically it seemed too hard to pull off—it's reasonable to imagine the company is still inching closer to, or at the very least thinking about, offering Egg McMuffins after 11am. ****    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Satellite Room’s new burger menu honors noted vegan Ian MacKaye

Satellite Room has a new menu of burgers inspired by D.C. notables, including one which won't sound so delicious to its namesake. Inspired by a banh mi, the Ian MacKaye is a six-ounce beef patty with chicken liver mousse, pickled daikon and carrot, cilantro aioli and, for $1, an egg. But here's the thing: The Dischord Records founder and legendary Minor Threat and Fugazi frontman is a vegan.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico "I've never been to [Satellite Room] (in fact, never really heard of it) and wasn't aware that there was a sandwich bearing my name being offered until yesterday," MacKaye wrote in an e-mail. "[I] would hope that regardless if it bears my name or someone else's, that they have at least one vegan option!" For $1 extra, diners can replace the beef burger with a black bean patty, but a restaurant spokesperson said the patty is vegetarian, not vegan. MacKaye's plant-based diet traces back to the Straight Edge movement, whose adherents reject drug and alcohol use. He has spoken about vegetarianism in interviews. "In my mind, being vegetarian was a logical extension of Straight Edge because you just think of the things that you're putting in your body," MacKaye said in the movie "Edge."    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Satellite Room's menu also pays tribute to other local musicians with geographic non-sequiturs. The Chuck Brown burger, (which wastes a good opportunity for a pun on the word chuck) is a Southwestern burger with roasted poblanos, chipotle aioli, avocado, and pepper jack cheese; the Henry Rollins burger transports the D.C. native to Canada, with a poutine burger topped by cheese curds and french fries. The restaurant spokesperson said there's no specific reasoning behind the ingredient-celebrity matchups, with the exception of the Dave Grohl (with roasted red peppers, goat cheese and arugula, it has a California vibe -- though wouldn't Seattle have been more appropriate?), the Kenny G (it's plain and boring), and the Big Tony (as a double bacon cheeseburger, it's big, duh). You can see the full menu, which will make its official debut on Sept. 5, below. Satellite Room Dinner Menu    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

How IBM Watson helped me to create a tastier burrito than Chipotle

When you think of the classic burrito, you probably don’t think of Austrian cuisine. And you certainly don’t think of chocolate, apricots, oranges and vanilla beans. Which is why the Austrian chocolate burrito is so fascinating – it somehow manages to reinvent everything you thought you knew about which ingredients and flavors should be in a burrito. The Austrian chocolate burrito is just one of the more than 65 recipes in the new Cognitive Computing with Chef Watson cookbook, a three-year collaboration project between IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education to showcase how supercomputers can be used in the kitchen to find new ingredient combinations and new ways of pairing foods.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Okay, the Austrian chocolate burrito may be creative and innovative, but is Chef Watson really capable of crafting a burrito that tastes better than what you’d find at the nearest Chipotle?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The answer, surprisingly, is yes. The same Watson that beat two former grand champions on “Jeopardy!” appears also to be remarkably adept at discovering new recipes for chefs and home cooks. The recipe for the Austrian Chocolate Burrito was honed in the ICE kitchen and then field-tested using a food truck at Austin’s SXSW in 2014. The result is something special that is definitely a burrito, just not the kind of burrito you’d expect.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Let’s start with the ingredients. Instead of jalapenos, chili peppers or any other form of “heat,” there’s dark chocolate and ground cinnamon. Instead of red or black beans, there are green edamame beans. And instead of grated cheese, there are cheese curds (although using queso fresco or Cotija cheese is recommended in Chef Watson’s “Pro Tips”). Then, there’s the matter of exactly how to combine the ingredients. If you’ve been to Chipotle, you know the drill: take a flour tortilla, pick your meat ingredient, pick your beans, and then start adding toppings such as cheese, onions, guacamole or sour cream. The result is then all wrapped up in the tortilla, and the ingredients blend beautifully together as you eat more and more of the burrito. The assembly process was similar for Chef Watson, except that the meat gets mixed with chocolate, ground cinnamon and orange zest from the very beginning, giving it a browner, smokier taste. Then, the edamame beans are briefly boiled, washed and pulsed in a blender, giving them a slightly different texture. Finally, instead of adding sour cream or salsa at the end, there’s an apricot puree made with vanilla bean and dark chocolate. The result was a dish that definitely boasted flavor complexity, even though it didn’t include any “hot” ingredients. And it was green, thanks to the edamame beans poking through, which made it look as though it had been overstuffed with guacamole. In an informal taste test of the burritos, the most common question asked was, “Is there really chocolate inside these?” (Which maybe explains why this recipe was off the charts on Chef Watson’s internal scale for “surprise.” Ha.) So why was the Austrian Chocolate Burrito such a crowd-pleaser? The answer may have something to do with what the folks at IBM Watson refer to as “hedonic psychophysics,” or the study of what people find pleasant or unpleasant. In layman’s terms, it means that your brain plays tricks on you when you taste something. So much of what we eat carries a lot of cultural and psychological baggage with it. When we think of Mexican cuisine, we naturally think of spicy flavors such as chipotle and we expect food to look and taste a certain way. Except that IBM Watson figured out that you could get similar pleasure sensations by combining flavor compounds found in Austrian cuisine and a creative use of chocolate. In short, it means that you can have a Chipotle burrito without the chipotle. And that was one of the primary goals of the Chef Watson project – to showcase the creativity, discovery and innovation that computers are capable of today. The key is that Chef Watson is not attempting to replace a chef – it is only acting as an aide and a consultant to make the cooking process more creative. For each recipe, Chef Watson provides a guide to three main factors – “surprise,” “pleasantness” and “synergy” – to help cooks choose the right offering. What Chef Watson has done essentially is study the cookbooks from various cuisines, calculate which ingredients are typically paired with each other and which ingredients share underlying traits. It then cross-references this knowledge against a huge database of recipes to tease out unique suggestions of ingredients for a human chef to group together. You can see that in some of the other recipes suggested by Chef Watson. A classic French Canadian poutine, for example, becomes a Peruvian potato poutine with accents from the Andean highlands. Other offerings – such as the Thai-Jewish chicken and the Tanzanian-Lithuanian bagel – blend tastes from two completely distinct culinary traditions. While many of the recipes are a bit too complex to recreate unless you have some serious cooking experience, Chapter Five of the cookbook is dedicated to “home cooking.” These recipes have been vetted by the folks at _Bon Appétit_ magazine for people who enjoy challenging themselves at home, but who also want recipes that have been streamlined in terms of ingredients and time commitment – such as a spicy tomato gazpacho soup with ginger, designed to “surprise foodies from Seville to Bangalore.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The big takeaway lesson is that, every now and then, it’s nice to spice up the classics with a creative, inventive twist. Hence, the phenomenal success of fusion cuisine and the relentless experimentation by restaurants (including fast food chains) to find new dishes and food combinations that will resonate with consumers. Eventually, super-smart computers will provide the creativity and innovation needed to create these dishes – the same creativity that’s historically been the exclusive preserve of top chefs and culinary experts.

What’s good at Smashburger, Dupont’s newest burger joint

I almost made a Smashburger live up to its name by accidentally dropping the bag during my brisk walk back to the office in today's 90-something-degree heat. Luckily, the Smashburgers survived and we were able to sample some of the offerings from this Colorado chain, which opened its first D.C. location today. (There's a location in Fairfax, too.) You can find Smashburger at 1739 Connecticut Ave NW.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University **The Capital Burger:** We're not sure what makes this a "D.C." burger other than the six-year-old reference to then-Senator Obama's mention of arugula on the campaign trail. But the Capital Burger is attractive and juicy, with a hearty dose of Swiss, grilled onions, and applewood-smoked bacon in addition to the aforementioned greens. Like all burgers at Smashburger, it comes in two sizes, though we had trouble discerning which was larger at first glance; it seems like you get a little more meat with the "Big Smash" size for an extra dollar, at $6.99.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University **The Baja Burger:** It has plenty of heat even if you get the fresh jalapenos on the side. We loved the concept of the chipotle bun, but ours was on the dry side. The Baja Burger comes with guacamole, red onion, and pepper jack cheese.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University **Veggie Fries** : Smashburger's regular fries are shoestrings, and today's batch wouldn't have been a contestant in our fantasy burger-and-fries poll. But these veggie "fries" were surprisingly satisfying, albeit a bit oily. They come with a ranch dipping sauce, and didn't make us miss the potatoes at all.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Alas, Smashburger arrived too late to be a contender for our People's Burger.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University

McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a machine

If you’ve ever felt guilty ordering at McDonald’s, the fast-food mega-chain has just the fix: You can now order your own quarter-pound bacon cheeseburger from a welcoming, non-judging machine. Battling the worst sales slump in a decade and competition from build-your-own upstarts like Chipotle and Smashburger, McDonald’s is expanding a test concept built around ordering via tablet. Just tap on a screen and watch as your burger’s toppings (and calories) pile on, then wait for an employee to bring it over. No human interaction necessary.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico McDonald’s move towards dehumanization, launched as a pilot last winter and expanded across San Diego last week, is part of a larger trend of chain eateries turning tablets into your full-time restaurant buddy: equal parts menu, server and paycheck. Applebee’s, Panera Bread and even airport bars have installed tablets to allow diners to order food or booze without a wait.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Chili’s became the U.S. king of human-less ordering this summer when it installed more than 45,000 tabletop tablets nationwide. Marketing executives said the tablets can speed up service and operate like table-side billboards, encouraging impulse orders of appetizers and desserts. A spokesperson for Ziosk, which made the tablets, said guests who used them spent more money, finished quicker and paid better tips. (The future, as one professor predicts: “Robot baristas, robot Realtors and robot sales agents.”)    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The move toward tablets is a bet from marketers on a quirk of buyer psychology: that customers will order more food if they can do it on a screen. While ordering from a person might lead you to rein in your appetite, a tablet sits silently and harmlessly, covered in colorful ads. Ordering off a tablet can also lead customers to try something new, which might make them happier and more likely to come back. With tablet ordering, “you can serve more lunches per hour, and the customers, since so many use their smartphone for just about everything, see it as more convenient,” Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Chuck Pinson-Rose said. “We’re moving toward a point where you have to have these sorts of things. … But it hasn’t gained universal acceptance yet. I don’t know if it’s really going to move the [sales] needle in a big way.” The tablets could give McDonald’s a few added bonuses outside sales, including helping whisk data more directly back to headquarters on what customers really want. A workforce of tablets could even potentially allow the firm to cut back in staffing. Pay at McDonald’s and other fast-food giants have recently been slammed in nationwide protests.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The made-to-order burgers would potentially end up being more expensive, too, which could help the firm’s bottom line. The McDonald’s tablets offer a colorful, appetizing slew of different buns, cheeses, sauces and toppings, like guacamole, garlic aioli and pickled jalapenos. (A little calorie counter in the corner dings up with every addition.) “That’s what this is all about,” Hope Neiman, the chief marketing officer of Tillster, which built similar programs for Chili’s and Taco Bell, told the New York Times, “increasing retention, frequency and average check size.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico McDonald’s needs all the help it can get after last month, when the McNugget giant’s same-store sales posted their steepest monthly drop since 2003. Asian buyers were driven away, in particular, after a scare over a China supplier’s selling of expired meat. But McDonald’s faces plenty of its own challenges in the U.S., including from long-established and fast-casual rivals like Five Guys and Panera Bread, which have led McD’s to remodel restaurants and cut prices. The tablets could potentially lure back a younger, digitally savvy crowd, even as it deals with what restaurant researchers Sandelman & Associates Inc. called a loss in “kid appeal.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The tablets are in only a handful of the chain’s 14,200 U.S. restaurants, and McD’s didn’t respond to questions Tuesday on how far it would push its next big thing. Already, early reviews are mixed on just how well the modern touch vibes with McD’s older traditions. As a reviewer at Foodbeast said, “The burgers were fine, if a little misplaced, as though everything were a little too high quality to belong in a Mickey D’s.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Chipotle is testing vegan Sofritas on local menus

Vegans and vegetarians, there's a new Chipotle burrito with your name on it: The fast-food chain is rolling out the East Coast test of Sofritas, a spicy shredded tofu, in its Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Richmond locations on Oct. 21. Sofritas are made with tofu from Hodo Soy, based in California. It's slowly braised in chipotle chilies, poblano peppers and a mix of adobo, tomato paste, agave and toasted cumin, among other ingredients. In an early taste test, the texture and spice of the tofu reminded us of a spicy, beef-laden chili, and it was definitely filling enough to please meat-eaters seeking a healthy option, as well as meatless eaters tired of loading their burritos with only beans, rice and veggies. The dish is also prepared with different utensils and on a different surface to avoid cross-contamination. It's almost enough to make vegetarians and vegans forget that whole non-vegetarian pinto beans controversy.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University You can already get Sofritas on the West Coast ~~and in Chicago~~ , but the company chose the Mid-Atlantic for the dish's East Coast test. "We aren't looking for markets with more vegetarians necessarily because we believe that Sofritas is appealing to vegetarians and vegans and has crossover appeal," said Danielle Winslow, a Chipotle publicist, in an e-mail.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Sofritas are available in tacos, burritos, bowls and salads, and will be sold at the same price as Chipotle's chicken option. Locally, that's $6.37.

Why Taco Bell is turning its health menu into a muscle menu

Like it or not, the paleo diet fad has now gone mainstream. Yesterday, Taco Bell announced that it will be beefing up its menu—quite literally—by launching a new menu centered around meat and protein. The new menu, which, as the Mexican fast food chain explained in a statement, is "the next evolution of its Cantina Bell menu," will be called the Cantina Power Menu, and will feature food items with double portions of meat and more than 20 grams of protein. Essentially, it's Taco Bell's bet that Americans are increasingly interested in protein content, and decreasingly interested in so- called diet foods.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday “We heard customers requesting a higher protein solution with the flavors Cantina delivers, so here is Cantina Power,” company president Brian Niccol said in a statement. "People are not looking for diet food. They want food that gives them energy," he said. Taco Bell launched its original Cantina menu back in 2012 to appease consumers looking for brighter and fresher ingredients. The menu initially included items with ingredients like fresh guacamole and fire roasted corn salsa, and was promoted with artfully shot ads sporting the aesthetic of Food Network cooking shows.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday But it appears that Taco Bell has either come to the conclusion that its customers go elsewhere for that sort of fare, or simply learned that America's love for protein-packed foods trumps all else. Most likely, it's the latter. Taco Bell isn't getting rid of the "fresh" ingredients—it's merely topping them with more meat and using that as the prevailing marketing pitch. Taco Bell 's bet comes at a particularly promising moment for protein. Demand for protein-rich foods is growing quickly around the globe, but especially fast in the United States. Protein supplement sales, for instance, have grown by more than 40 percent since 2008, and are expected to grow by another 40-plus percent by 2018, according to estimates by market research firm Euromonitor.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday And interest in foods with higher protein content is especially pronounced among America's youth, which just so happens to be Taco Bell's prime audience. Taco Bell isn't the first fast food company to double down on America's growing muscle obsession. Other chains, including Panera Bread Co., which sports its own power menu, have made similar bets. And large food manufacturers, like Kraft, have tried their hand at the trend, too. Kraft, for its part, began selling a product called P3, which combines nuts, meat, and cheese, earlier this year.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday But Taco Bell does seem pretty serious about it. So serious, that it isn't stopping at extra meat and added protein—it's even extended its menu to include Greek yogurt. "There are lots of yogurt parfaits out there, so we asked ourselves what would get people excited about yogurt at Taco Bell, and the answer is Greek yogurt," Niccol said.

What we get wrong when we talk about the fast-food wars

There’s a familiar narrative when we talk about what the rise of fast-casual dining has meant to the restaurant industry. Newcomers such as Chipotle, Panera Bread and Shake Shack have stormed the market with a promise of more upscale ingredients and nicer ambiance than one typically gets at fast-food restaurants, and that has made for turbulent times for old-school players.    Researchers examined just how much overlap there was between customers of one restaurant with customers of another restaurant. In the graphic below, restaurants that are connected to one another by a line have a customer overlap that is at least 30 percent higher than average. The thicker the line, the greater the overlap between the two customer bases. The size of the circle for each restaurant is commensurate with its share of overall foot traffic. As you can see, the analysis found that Chipotle had its highest customer overlap with Panera. It also shared more customers with Starbucks and Chick-fil-A than it did with fast-food Mexican joint Taco Bell. Meanwhile, Taco Bell had its strongest overlap in customers with KFC. The particularly strong correlation between diners at these two restaurants may in part reflect the fact that the sister chains, both owned by Yum Brands, are often located geographically close together, sometimes in the same building. But overall, you can see that, with the exception of some customer overlap between Taco Bell and Chipotle, fast-food restaurants and fast-casual restaurants are essentially siloed. Here’s why that is important: Surely there are plenty of customers who have traded up from the fast-food standbys for pricier offerings from fast-casual restaurants that they perceive as healthier and fresher. But now that we’re deeper into the fast-casual boom and consumers have adjusted to this new restaurant landscape, it’s worth noting that they tend to stay exclusively in one dining lane.  So if Taco Bell, for example, were to slip into a rough patch, it seems more likely that those dollars are being lost to another fast-food player — not Chipotle. And as Chipotle aims to pull out of the sales spiral it has been in since some of its restaurants were closed because of e. coli contamination, it might be better off not trying to emulate Taco Bell’s new breakfast menu, but instead trying to win over the people getting lunch at Panera.   Still, it serves as a powerful reminder of McDonald’s uniqueness in the marketplace. For starters, it has more than 36,000 locations, meaning there are just more opportunities for diners to hit up a McDonald’s than, say, a Dunkin’ Donuts, which has 11,000 locations. But McDonald’s customers also tend to be more loyal than any others in the industry, preferring to stick with the Golden Arches as a ritual instead of bouncing around different chains.  XAd’s analysis is based on a study of the signals it receives from phones when it serves them mobile advertisements.  Its platform serves location-based ads across more than 100,000 different apps.

Why Chipotle’s challenges may go beyond food safety

A spa in Burger King? A Taco Bell lounge? This is the future of fast food.

While that might sound strange, it’s another example in a string of changes and innovations to classic fast-food brands, as they attempt to adapt to the trend of fast-casual eateries.     While fast food’s model used to be so focused on handing customers their food and getting them out the door that drive-throughs became popular and McDonald’s marketed itself on how many billions of burgers it had sold, the new iteration seems to be moving toward spaces and menus that entice diners to stay a while. At Starbucks, customers might seamlessly slip from a late-afternoon coffee into an early happy hour. With Taco Bell’s new lounges, millennials might change the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s classic song to “One More Taco Before I Go.”  Diners enjoy the feeling of dining without emptying their wallets at high-end restaurants.   Now, these grandfathered chains seem to be following that old adage: If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.    Not to mention, the market could change at any moment. What’s driving these companies isn’t a nice dining experience for the sake of a nice dining experience. It’s revenue.  At the moment, that relevancy comes across in prolonged meals — at least longer than it takes to scarf down a couple of tacos — with an emphasis on experience over speed. So that is what the fast-food chains will try to mimic. And if trends should change again, and drive-throughs come back in vogue, then the fast-food chains will likely change again.

PHOTO: Did Obama ‘overreach’ at Chipotle?

On Monday, President Obama made a quick stop at Chipotle on his way to deliver a speech at the Working Family Summit.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday The stop was not unusual for him.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Until the unthinkable happened: He was caught reaching over the glass sneeze guard while ordering his burrito bowl. The Wall Street Journal appears to have been the first news outlet to suggest the word “overreach” for the infraction.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday The photo above was uploaded late Monday by White House photographer Pete Souza. Twitter has responded:

What in the world is going on with our burger chains?

Something weird is happening to the country’s premier purveyors of mass-produced hamburger-like substances. First, we have McDonald’s, the Godzilla of fast food joints. The mega-chain announced a new Happy Meal character on Monday, a friendly face named “Happy” meant to serve “as an ambassador for balanced and wholesome eating,” according to McDonald’s. That’s great! Wholesome eating is terrific, good for McDonald’s. So what does the new Happy Meal character look like? Well! That’s certainly not a living nightmare that will terrify children and discourage them from ever considering fruits or vegetables. Happy, the McDonald’s Happy Meal Box Who Came To Life Because You Didn’t Clean Your Room Last Night, was first introduced in France in 2009 before making its (his?) way across Europe and into Latin America, McDonald’s says. Meanwhile, stepping away from anthropomorphic terror for a moment, we have Burger King. The company is apparently moving away from the “Have It Your Way” slogan and pitching a new one, Ad Age reports.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday The new slogan? “Be Your Way.” As for why they are moving from “Have It Your Way” to the grammatically-questionable “Be Your Way,” here’s Ad Age: This seems like a good time to remind you that in April, Burger King announced the Chicken Big King sandwich with a press released headlined “Burger King Is Not Clucking Around.” Okay, just out of curiosity, what is going on with Wendy’s these days? Brands are strange.

New Chipotle outbreak: Investigators say illnesses appear to be different from previous cases

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday that it is looking into five more cases of  food-borne illness linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill outlets, but that the bacteria that caused these illnesses appears to have a different DNA fingerprint than the E. coli strain involved in the larger outbreak. Three of the new cases are in Oklahoma, one in Kansas and one in North Dakota and sequencing of the E. coli strain identified it as a rare variant of O26 . The customers reported eating at Chipotle outlets between Nov. 18 to Nov. 26 and which corresponds to about a week before they became ill. The CDC said that since it does not know whether this new outbreak is related to the larger one it is not including it in its count of the total number of cases. One more person has fallen ill in Pennsylvania in the first cluster bringing the total impacted to 53 in nine states. Twenty of those patients had symptoms serious enough that they had to be hospitalized. "The epidemiologic evidence available at this time suggests that a common meal item or ingredient served at Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants in several states is a likely source of this outbreak," the CDC said. Separately, a group of at least 80 students at Boston College fell ill after eating at a Chipotle in what is believed to be a third group of food poisonings. In this case, local health officials blamed norovirus from a sick employee. Chipotle stock has taken a beating over the past few months as the number of cases has mounted. Earlier this month Chipotle CEO and founder Steve Ells went on national TV to apologize for the recent spate of illnesses and vowed to make the company's restaurants the safest places to eat by going above and beyond the industry's best practices for food safety. Foodborne outbreaks in the United States have become bigger and deadlier in recent years and have included all sorts of food from fresh fruits to meats. In a briefing with reporters in November, CDC Director Thomas Frieden said that the number of major food outbreaks has tripled over the past 20 years.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico "On average, there are about two per month, and they can be big and they can be lethal," Frieden said. The CDC has been using new gene-sequencing tools to try to pinpoint down and stop outbreaks faster. It involves trying to match pieces of DNA in contaminated food to pathogens in people who are sick. The technique has helped government investigators solve numerous cases -- including some "cold cases" that from years past -- but in the case of the Chipotle outbreak it has so far failed to get to the bottom of the mystery of what food specifically caused the illnesses. **Read more:**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico This diet study upends everything we thought we knew about ‘healthy’ food    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Cutting sugar from kids’ diets appears to have a beneficial effect in just 10 days    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Scientists (sort of) settle debate on low-carb vs. low-fat diets    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Doritos, deconstructed (mesmerizing photos of the 34 processed ingredients in your favorite snack)    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Hot topic: Could regularly eating spicy foods help you live longer?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Beware the rule-following co-worker, Harvard study warns    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico _For more health news, you can sign up for our weekly newsletter_ _here_ _._    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico ** _Do you have a personal health story or tip to share? Please email us at toyourhealth@washpost.com._**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Is this the beginning of the end of meat?

That vision may yet be a long way off -- even Brown admits as much. But next week the concept will get an important early test: Impossible Foods is opening its first large-scale facility in Oakland. The Oakland plant, which will begin to produce burgers this summer, is the first concrete sign that Impossible Foods and flagship offering are anything more than utopic moonshots. The plant will prove whether or not the concept can scale, which has implications for public health and the environment. It also has consequences for the emerging clean-meat industry, of which Impossible Foods is an early (and highly visible) player. Unlike Boca or Morningstar before them, which sought to corner the vegetarian market, these companies aim to appeal to hardcore meat-eaters by creating a meaty plant-based product. Beyond Meat, a popular vegetarian brand, has dipped a toe in those mainstream waters with its beet-juice "bleeding" Beyond Burger. And earlier this week, the start-up Memphis Meats announced that it had successfully created a lab-grown chicken strip -- at a whopping price per pound of $9,000. But few of these companies have proved that they can commercialize yet, and even those that have, like the Beyond Burger, still only sell at Whole Foods. With this new facility, a spokesperson for Impossible Foods said, the company’s production capacity will increase 250-fold -- allowing it to supply 1,000 restaurants by the end of this year. “The mission of the company is to making the existing method for producing meat obsolete,” said Brown on the phone from California, several weeks before the factory’s ribbon-cutting. “That means we need to be competitive everywhere. And soon we will be.”  Brown became convinced that, given enough time and resources, science could essentially solve that problem by engineering plant-based “meats” that look and taste like the original artifact. Since 2011, he has received more than $180 million in investments from the likes of Bill Gates and Google Ventures to pursue the project.  But even as the burger earned rave reviews from curious patrons, its central tenet has remained unproven. Namely, Brown still has to show that he can churn out burgers en masse -- and that red-blooded meat-eaters will buy them. That could prove difficult in two respects, say analysts and advocates who know the industry. First, Brown and his team will need to optimize their supply chain and manufacturing process to bring the price of the Impossible Burger on par with conventional beef. Some of that will happen naturally, said Bruce Friedrich, the executive director of the Good Food Institute: all food startups, regardless of what they make, benefit from economies of scale as they standardize and mechanize the way they make their food. Prices will also come down once Impossible Foods has a reliable distribution network. And the company has another advantage, as well: Compared to conventional livestock slaughter, its methods are inherently more efficient. But sourcing has still provided challenges -- such as the question of heme. The iron-containing molecule is what makes the Impossible Burger taste like meat. Brown initially extracted it from the root nodules of soybeans, but that process, at scale, costs a fortune and releases a lot of greenhouse gasses. Impossible Foods eventually skirted the issue by engineering yeast that produce heme, meaning that the company no longer needs to extract the molecule from soybeans. It can be produced in vats. It's also not the only uncertainty that faces Impossible Foods. The company's biggest challenge may be getting it to catch on not only with the coastal Whole Foodies who have flocked to Manhattan or Los Angeles to try it thus far, but with average and middle-income Americans. Brown is adamant that his product is not designed to appeal to vegetarians; he's after the old-school meat-eater, who is motivated largely by price, taste and convenience.  “So much is going to play out in psychology, more even than in chemistry,” Coupland said. “Meat is an incredibly gendered thing to eat. How is that going to play out? Are you picking the light beer by having this stuff? It’s too early to tell if it’s really going to take off.” We may find out very shortly. While Impossible Foods is not releasing any details on the new plant’s exact capacity, cost or headcount until after the March 22 launch, it’s already clear that the facility represents a significant ramp-up from what the company has produced thus far.  Such a coup could move the whole industry much closer to dinner tables across America. And other plant-based and clean meat companies are watching the experiences of Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat closely, Friedrich said. Their success or failure in scaling could inform the whole market. "This is brand-new for the plant-based meat industry," he said. "It's lifting the whole sector and inspiring other entrepreneurs and food scientists to get involved with it."

McDonald’s new sriracha-and-kale burger is an aging hipster’s cry for help

No one likes growing old, unless you’re Harry Dean Stanton, who apparently emerged from the womb looking like he had been in a bar fight. But watching McDonald’s deal with the onset of old age — the fast-food company we all love/hate is 62 — has been borderline painful. Unlike some hamburger chains, such as In-N-Out and Five Guys, which are content to focus on their core (greasy) strengths, McDonald’s has been locked in an epic battle with prevailing trends, investors, nutritionists and itself to remain relevant in a crowded fast-food marketplace.      I usually avoid desperation, but in this case, I made an exception. I decided to try the sriracha quarter-pound burger at the McDonald’s across from Howard University. I wasn’t even sure it was available. I didn’t spot the burger on the electronic menus that glow over the counter. But the staff assured me they had it.   Despite its switcheroo, I liked the quarter-pounder jacked up on Sriracha Mac sauce. It was a Big Mac just back from a trip to Thailand — or at least a nearby Thai restaurant — eager to share its spicy new personality. The next day, I visited the McDonald’s on New Hampshire Avenue, just across the D.C. border in Maryland. I wanted to see if another location would serve the burger as originally designed. I also wanted to try the fried chicken version. This quarter-pounder had all the required ingredients, including one lonely leaf of baby kale to validate whatever warped impulse drives one to seek out superfoods at a chain widely condemned as a contributing source to America’s obesity epidemic. Neither the baby greens nor the crispy onions added much to a burger dominated by the flavor and heat of the Sriracha Mac sauce, but their very presence lends Mickey D the air of a gastropub, which is probably half the motivation. Those millennials aren’t going to volunteer their arteries to McDonald’s without a little kale-bait. Frankly, I preferred the crispy chicken breast doused with Sriracha Mac sauce. The sauce just aligns better with the flavor and texture of fried chicken. I mean, there’s a reason Buffalo mini burgers aren’t a thing.

The problem with Chipotle’s Scarecrow commercial — and the Funny or Die parody

There are a couple of problems with the much-buzzed-about “Scarecrow” Chipotle ad. It’s gotten almost 6 million views on YouTube, with its vision of a CGI-animated scarecrow going to work at some kind of Sinister Mass Food-Producing Corporation That Does Cruel and Hideous Things to Its Cows and Chickens, then having a moment of revelation after he goes home to his garden, and, I think, launching some sort of independent produce/burrito stand — all to the soulful strains of Fiona Apple singing “Pure Imagination” from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Here’s the original. There are a number of problems with this, one of which is highlighted in the Funny or Die parody. Honest Scarecrow    *[WSU]: Wayne State University funny videos    *[WSU]: Wayne State University But that’s not the only thing wrong with it. To quote a friend who watched the Chipotle commercial, “That doesn’t make me want to eat Chipotle. That makes me want to curl up in a vegan coma and never eat again.” This is really the problem with this video’s being an ad for a large chain restaurant. Yes, it’s nice that they are stepping up to show their concern for sustainable farming, on the record. But if you didn’t know it was an ad for Chipotle, you would think it was an ad telling you to avoid all food ever that didn’t come directly from a cheerful cow passing you the milk herself and saying that she felt okay about it. LOOK AT THAT POOR COW! LOOK AT HER EYES! LOOK AT THAT SUFFERING CHICKEN! How are you supposed to order the chicken burrito anywhere, even Chipotle? How are you supposed to eat any chicken again? I know that Chipotle’s point is that they are conscientious, but “conscientious,” short of a chicken who hands you the knife herself with a hand-written note saying that she has achieved all her life goals, found peace, and is looking forward to rejoining her family, still doesn’t cut it after animation this cute. In fact, even that scenario is incredibly depressing. This ad is like asking you to eat the cast of “Toy Story.” This is like Bambi, except that it’s somehow an ad for a restaurant where Bambi’s mother is on the menu. In the course of typing this, I realized that both beef and steak are on the menu at Chipotle and I curled up under my desk and sobbed wordlessly for several minutes, remembering the eyes of that cow. COW, YOUR FAMILY IS IN THAT BURRITO! Where is Temple Grandin and her wonderful hugging device when we need her? I’m not even a vegetarian! How have you done this to me, Chipotle? You can’t say it’s not a powerful commercial. I no longer cry at weddings. I only cry at massive national ad campaigns. But this ad seems designed to drive you into the arms of the farmer’s markets and away from the Greasy Mysterious Substances that are currently being peddled to us under the Golden Arches (which, incidentally, used to be investors in Chipotle, but aren’t now). Maybe it works too well.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University As the same friend noted, “I was actually planning on Chipotle tonight. But I think I’ll just eat some old birthday cake instead. That’s still somehow less depressing.”

Phillies unveil nine-patty burger that looks impossible to eat

As opening day nears, teams are enticing spectators with glorious new stadium food offerings. While some teams have been highly successful (the Washington Nationals, for example, are adding bacon-fat infused caramel popcorn to their menu), others seem to be struggling for good ideas. The Philadelphia Phillies, for example, revealed an impossible-to-eat nine-patty cheeseburger that will be available at Citizens Bank Park this season.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Called the Wayback Triple Triple CheeseBurger, the brainchild of the Wayback burger chain, it looks downright gnarly — even compared to the Hornets’ 14-patty monstrosity from last year. Not only does the bottom bun look like it all but disintegrated beneath a sea of greasy burger juice, but the stack of patties looks rather limp and sad.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Really, what is one supposed to do with this? How do you bite it? How do you hold it? The first rule of proper ballpark food is that you better be able to eat it without a fork and knife. Returning to the sad, soggy bun, one might even need a spoon in this case … More importantly, maybe, how do you share this? Because at 2,200 calories, according to the Wayback’s menu, certainly this is a meal for at least two.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Yeah, sorry, but no Instagram filter’s gonna make that look like a good idea. Good thing Citizen’s Bank Park has its legendary on-field hot dog cannon. As far as this blogger’s concerned, it’s still the best way to eat there.

Burger King’s latest fast food monstrosity is sadly genius

On Wednesday, Burger King announced a solution to eat a favorite dish -- mac 'n cheese -- on-the-go. But in doing so, it did something that seems to defy the healthy-eating moment we seemed to be in: It also announced that its deep fried sticks of macaroni cheese would be encrusted in a Cheetos-flavored shell. As it happens, analysts say the new creation -- called Mac n’ Cheetos -- could be the best food mash-up since Taco Bell introduced in 2012 the Doritos Locos Taco shell.

How Foursquare knew before almost anyone how bad things were for Chipotle

Why it’s not enough for fast food companies to “give consumers what they want”

Fast food companies, time and again, talk about "giving consumers what they want," particularly as a way of explaining why they don't sell healthier foods. "We don't make what we want to sell," said Brad Haley, chief marketing officer for CKE Restaurants, which owns both Carl's Jr and Hardee's, at the Washington Post's Changing The Menu conference on food on Thursday. "We make what people want to buy."    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Carl's Jr. recently launched an "all-natural" hamburger, which comes with grass fed, antibiotic free beef. But Haley admitted that the chain hasn't invested in a lot of healthy products since people, for the most part, don't go to the chain for that kind of food. "There's a reason there are so many successful hamburger chains in this country, and so few successful salad chains," he said. This issue has also come up for Burger King, which recently began selling chicken fries after an extended hiatus from the offering. In response to a question about why the chain hasn't moved to antibiotic free poultry as rival McDonald's has done, Eric Hirschhorn, Burger King’s chief marketing officer for North America, told Bloomberg that "it’s not something that we see customers demanding."    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico And Marion Nestle, a professor at N.Y.U. who has written several books on the nation's food supply, acknowledged the dilemma at yesterday's event. "Food companies aren't inherently bad," she said. "But they respond to demand, and people don't always want what they should." Indeed, research has shown repeatedly that people gravitate towards unhealthy food when it's made available to them. And when companies say they're merely responding to consumer tastes, there's a vicious cycle of bad nutrition. But it's not as easy as blaming consumers these days for leading companies to sell bad food. A massive change is afoot in American consumers' taste in food, and many other companies are responding—with great success. Chipotle has shown that consumers flock to food that abides by certain values, even if setting high standards for the company's meat suppliers, for instance, disrupts service sometimes. Whole Foods and Wal-Mart are making huge profits selling people organic food. You can also see the shift in the food manufacturing world. Campbell's lowered the amount of sodium in its soup, and smaller organic brands like Amy's are thriving while larger ones like Kraft are struggling (and merging with other large struggling brands like Heinz). Rather incredibly, the 25 largest food brands have lost almost 5 percent market share over the past five years.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico It's not easy for fast food chains to adjust. As McDonald's has discovered, people don't go to places they associate with burgers and order salads and wraps instead. They're under pressure though, because it turns out that even if they're trying to "give consumers what they want," what people want is changing.

With U.S. Taco, company may have Día de Cultural Appropriation

Taco Bell wants a piece of the fast-casual dining market, so it’s stepping into a war with Chipotle. In the process, the company may have landed itself in the middle of a culture war.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Yum! Brands, Taco Bell’s parent company, is offering a new restaurant, complete with rock music and a glass-walled kitchen (the better for “food theater,” says Yum! Brand’s Jeff Jenkins), called U.S. Taco Co. and Urban Taproom. So far, the most visible symbol of Taco Bell’s new upscale, higher- priced cousin is its hard-to-miss, hot pink sugar skull logo, a nod to the sugar skulls of Día de Muertos.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a celebration that originated in Mexico and has spread throughout Central America and many other parts of the world. It’s not a day of mourning, but rather, a holiday observed yearly during All Hallow’s Eve, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day (Oct. 31-Nov. 2). It offers a time to honor late family members and friends with private altars (ofrendas) that welcome their spirits. Participants stack the altars with offerings, usually marigolds, candles, favorite food, drinks, sugar skulls, and possessions of the departed. There are parades and festivals that culminate in trips to cemeteries and churches to pray for the dead. It’s a tradition that experts say goes back thousands of years.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Not everyone is happy about the appropriation of the sugar skull, a spiritual artifact that appears to be completely divorced from its original meaning. Call it faux worldliness. Said Hyperallergic’s Laura C. Mallonee:    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Mallonnee notes that U.S. Taco’s new logo also bears a striking resemblance to the logo for Lacalaca, a Mexican restaurant that opened in San Salvador two years ago. Lacalaca integrated its Día de los Muertos inspiration, which it displayed in this Facebook post. The Spanish caption text says, “Celebrate the day of the dead and departed saints with us, we have all the atmosphere, music, entertainment and fabulous food for everyone!”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday  Yum! is planning to test the spinoff in Huntington Beach, Calif and will probably expand the eatery’s locations if it does well. So far, the company hasn’t released a complete menu, though Nation’s Restaurant News reports a sampling:    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday The restaurant also plans to offer craft wine and beer, and something called a Mexican Car Bomb; sort of like an Irish Car Bomb, but with ice cream, tequila caramel sauce, chocolate flakes replacing the Irish cream and whiskey. Greg Creed, Taco Bell’s chief executive told Nation’s Restaurant News the company was hoping to reach food yuppies who are “edgy in how they live their lives but not necessarily in how they eat.”

How American is your hamburger? With Burger King planning to defect, a ranking

America’s Top Burger Chains, ranked. Now that Burger King is planning to defect to America’s Polite Hat, we are forced to reevaluate all our stances.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico We know which are the top 16 burger chains. But which of these is the most American?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico This is much more difficult to answer. The following ranking is an arbitrary set of winners and losers, which in some ways resembles America itself. 1) That burger Paula Deen made one time by sandwiching a hamburger patty between two glazed donuts    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 2) Arby’s Meat Mountain   This exists, so it has to rank. “Why did you climb the meat mountain?” as someone asked George Mallory. “Because it was meat there.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 3) Culvers.   Culvers’ offering is literally called a “Butterburger.” If there are four syllables more American than that combination of “butter” and “burger,” I have never heard them. This is less a burger than it is the Stars and Stripes in patty form, clasped in the strong talons of a mighty eagle.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 4) White Castle   “When It’s After Midnight And You Are Too Disoriented To Find Taco Bell.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 5) Five Guys’ Famous Burgers And Fries   These are nice large burgers, and one of the five guys in charge is named Chad. Full points.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 6) Carl’s Jr/Hardees   I don’t understand why these have to be different. Isn’t our country divided enough on partisan and geographic lines? Some divisions can’t be avoided. Regional dialects vary. Where some people say, “Hey, a sun shower!” others say “The devil is beating his wife.” This, while alarming, cannot be helped, but Carl’s Jr and Hardees can. Why are they doing this? This is the Jekyll and Hyde of hamburgers if Jekyll and Hyde were identical in every particular.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 7) Fatburger   I’ve never had a fatburger, but it has “fat” in the name.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 8) A&W;   “All American Food,” says the slogan, and how can we doubt them?   These are better than the name implies, given that the name implies either that you are buying two relatively unhelpful letters for a game of Wheel of Fortune or that you are purchasing a mediocre fountain root beer. A&W; started as a root beer stand to welcome back World War I heroes, their Web site helpfully informs us. America!    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 9) Checkers   If only because, at one time, this was their commercial. This restaurant knows where it is situated on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs!    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 10) McDonald’s   I know, it’s lower than you expected, but with Burger King headed for the Canadian hills, their creepy clowns and logos have climbed to the absolute pinnacle of Ominous Fast Food Icons. (After the Colonel, of course, but that goes without saying.) Also their burgers are never as large as they look in the ads.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 11) Jack in the Box   Open late with a large variety of options, none of them particularly good. (Like America?) In some ways the Cheesecake Factory of late-night eats. Would get more points if their slogan were Brad Pitt frantically yelling, “What’s in the box?”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 12) Sonic   How American can a restaurant named for a hedgehog be?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 13) In ‘n’ Out   People go here by choice. (Like America!) And get things “animal-style.” (I think this is where we part ways.)    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 14) Wendy’s   I do love a literal pun more than most, so I appreciate the fact that they don’t cut corners with their burgers and so consequently all their burgers have actual corners. This being said, no. This is American in the sense that American cheese is American — it is there always as a default option, but you never really want it.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 15) Whataburger   I have docked this points for being ambiguous in its syntax, which could lead to Abbott-and-Costello-style highjinks. “We should get burgers for lunch!” “Whataburger?” “A burger a meat patty between two buns.” “No, no, we should get whataburger.” “Yes, a burger, that’s what I said.” (This gets old rather quickly.)    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 16) Dairy Queen   While “Dairy” is American, “Queen” is far from it. Anyone who goes to DQ for a burger is obviously unclear on the concept. It would be like a place called Shake Shack selling burgers.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 17) Shake Shack   Too much line-standing to be truly American. Wait in a long line to have food distributed to you? What is this, Soviet Russia?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico 18) Burger King   Most Canadian Burger.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

How McDonald’s got all shook up by Shake Shack

Sometime in the past decade or so, something went wrong under the Golden Arches. McDonald’s, the company built up by Ray Kroc in the 1950s, had slung hamburgers, fries and shakes at Americans for half a century. When that got old, the company invented Chicken McNuggets. Hash browns and hot apple pies were in the mix. So, eventually, were chef salads and the McRib sandwich. As the restaurants’ signs said, billions and billions were served.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But the empire couldn’t rule unchallenged. People started worrying about calories and cholesterol. Soda fell out of favor. A guy named Michael Pollan wrote a book with a philosophy that seemed to strike at the heart of McDonalds mission: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” And the company was accused of exploiting its workers and sued for making its customers fat not long before purveyors of slightly more upscale “fast-casual” cuisine — Chipotle, Coyote Café and Shake Shack — crashed the party.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Now, as Shake Shack plans a hotly anticipated initial public offering of stock — and is being hailed as the hottest thing since Starbucks — McDonald’s is scrutinizing disappointing balance sheets and has just dismissed its chief executive.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico “It’s tough to say goodbye to the McFamily, but there is a time and season for everything,” soon-to-be former CEO Don Thompson said in a statement, as The Washington Post’s Roberto A. Ferdman reported. Steve Easterbrook, a McDonald’s veteran, will replace Thompson.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Don and congratulate him on his remarkable career at McDonald’s,” Easterbrook said in a statement. “I am honored to lead this great brand, and am committed to working with our franchisees, suppliers and employees to drive forward our strategic business priorities to better serve our customers.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico As Easterbrook takes the reins, McDonald’s faces an identity crisis. By focusing on healthier offerings, should the company offer a more Pilates-and-yoga friendly version of its triple-bypass-inducing cuisine? Some say not. Some say the variety of its offerings as it seeks to please one and all has given McDonald’s menu its own body mass problem. “In recent years McDonald’s has added myriad items, from chicken wings to wraps, and created a menu that some argue is so bloated that it confuses customers and slows down service,” the Financial Times wrote.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The Sydney Morning Herald was even more brutal: “McDonald’s has already started culling menu items but still has a long way to go,” it wrote.      *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Okay: Should the Golden Arches instead focus on its traditional customers — harried parents looking for a cheap meal and older customers instead of millennials? Picking your battles is, after all, is a version of Shake Shack’s strategy.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico “McDonald’s diffused focus starkly contrasts with the singular brand focus behind Shake Shack’s success,” Denise Lee Yohn of the Harvard Business Review wrote. “Shake Shack has become one of the category’s most remarkable success stories in recent years by committing and staying committed to its brand mission: being ‘the best burger company in the world.’ Its CEO, Randy Garutti, explains his organization’s commitment to the principle ‘Do what you want to do really well in its most basic version.’ ”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico By this line of thinking, Happy Meals are where it’s at. “If the company had kept its focus on its brand essence — appealing to the child in all of us — it would have managed to diversify in more integrated and distinctive ways, and it would have steered clear of menu items, promotional strategies, and operational developments that detract from delivering a playful experience,” Yohn wrote.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Stuck between an uncertain future and a past that’s, well, in the past, Easterbrook will have to chart the course of a company with a stock trading near a 52-week low. McDonald’s will have to be healthy, but still appeal to children; cheap, but upscale; hip, but welcoming to Middle America; and sophisticated, but just as relevant in Georgetown as it is in innumerable bus stations across America. If it can’t do all of these things, it risks becoming the Chevy Vega of the fast-food industry.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Charting course through these uncertain waters, Easterbrook will have to find the essence of McDonald’s business. “Whether your company is large or small, or has been around for decades or days, focusing on the core of your brand — and staying committed to that focus — is the key to successful, sustainable growth,” Yohn wrote.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But what if the core is melting down?

Chipotle’s GMO gimmick is hard to swallow

CHIPOTLE RESTAURANTS have earned billions of dollars by making indulgence wholesome, or seem so. As marketing materials endlessly repeat, your Chipotle meal consists of “real, whole foods” and are prepared “using classic cooking techniques.” If its centerpiece can be a foil-wrapped obesity bomb — a barbacoa burrito on a flour tortilla with rice, sour cream and guacamole contains 995 calories and 53 grams of fat, according to the company’s Web site — well, that’s the customer’s choice. The pork comes from free-range pigs! In this respect, Chipotle isn’t much different from other successful restaurant chains past and present. Its latest marketing campaign, however, takes righteous chowing-down to a troubling new level. On Monday, the chain announced that its entire menu is GMO-free — meaning it contains no ingredients derived from genetically modified plants or animals. Thus has a leading food company added its imprimatur to a global propaganda campaign that is not only contrary to the best scientific knowledge but also potentially harmful to vulnerable populations around the world. Men and women have been cross-breeding — genetically modifying — plants and animals since the dawn of agriculture. Modern molecular biology, however, enables them to do it with unprecedented precision and effectiveness; a single gene inserted into a naturally occurring sequence can render, say, a variety of eggplant impervious to pests. The promise of GMOs, already widely used in the United States, is that farmers in the developing world can use them, too, and thus feed their hungry populations at far lower cost than ever before. The peril, according to critics, Chipotle now included, is — well, disaster scenarios vary. Chipotle, in a news release, asserts that it’s holding out for “a consensus on the long-term implications of widespread GMO cultivation and consumption.” No matter that GMO-derived foods have been widely consumed for years and that a 2014 report by the World Resources Institute, while calling for continuing safety research, concluded, “There is no evidence that GM crops have actually harmed human health.” A related concern, according to the company, is that herbicide-resistant GMOs encourage overuse of herbicides. Wouldn’t the right response to that esoteric concern be to avoid products grown with herbicides? In nevertheless validating the panic that has led to limits or bans on GMOs in developing nations, Chipotle says “we decided to remove the few GMOs in our food so that our customers who choose to avoid them can enjoy eating at Chipotle.” In other words, the anti-GMO lobby has scared people, and burritos can be sold by pandering to these fears. Alas, the company’s marketing instinct, in this respect, is unerring: According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted in association with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 88 percent of scientists believe genetically modified foods are safe, compared with only 37 percent of the public. Chipotle is by no means an outlier; other American corporations have also joined the no-GMO bandwagon. Our point is that no one should confuse any of these companies’ behavior with real corporate responsibility. That would require companies to push back against the orchestrated fear of GMOs instead of validating it. **Read more:** Fred Hiatt: Science that is hard to swallow The Post’s View: Genetically modified crops could help improve the lives of millions

The sad truth: Sriracha, the world’s coolest hot sauce, is losing its edge

Is it possible for a hot sauce to be cool and mainstream at the same time? Take the case of Sriracha, the Thai chili sauce made by California-based Huy Fong Foods that comes in a clear bottle illustrated with a rooster and carries a green cap. The company has never spent a penny on advertising, but the hot sauce has quickly become ubiquitous on the strength of insider cred and word of mouth.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico There have been cookbooks dedicated to the condiment, iPhone covers inspired by it, and t-shirts for those looking to flaunt their love. A full-length documentary has been made about Sriracha; Trader Joes makes its own version; and Taco Bell serves an entire menu of Mexican-ish dishes dotted with a Sriracha cream sauce.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico With all that exposure, Sriracha is teetering on the precipice of being too popular to be cool. And now comes Heinz Ketchup. The condiment king is confident enough in the hot sauce's popularity to have a go at incorporating it into its brand. The company announced a new addition to its lineup of condiments: Sriracha Ketchup. The tomato-based sauce, which was officially released this week, comes infused with "spicy chili peppers and a hint of garlic," according to Heinz's website,    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Several media outlets, including Vox, have cited Heinz's new offering as evidence of the beginning of the end of Sriracha. Vox's headline is fairly straightforward in that regard: "Sriracha ketchup is a clear sign that we've hit peak sriracha." The thinking is that if Sriracha is a fad, that fad could run it's course much in the same way that, say, cupcakes seem to be.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But that line of thinking seems a bit off—or least a little imprecise. If anything, Heinz's new Sriracha doesn't mean we have reached peak Sriracha; it means we have reached peak Sriracha _coolness_ , which is different.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Huy Fong Foods, after all, would be a lot bigger if it could manage to harvest enough chilies to meet demand, which has far outpaced supply ever since the company started making the chili sauce in the 1970s. The reason the company doesn't advertise is because advertising would only widen that gap further, David Tran, Huy Fong's owner and founder, said in 2013. Huy Fong has boosted production since then, but it could still be selling a ton more. **** The ceiling for Sriracha sales, in other words, is much higher than many people might think.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The launch of Heinz's new ketchup will only push that ceiling higher. In some ways, it can be seen as a form of free advertising: Many people who might not have heard of the hot sauce will soon wonder what Sriracha is, Google the name, and find out. Some people who try the ketchup first might prefer it, many might not. All of which is only going to diminish Sriracha's coolness, but maybe not its selling power. The future of Sriracha's street cred then, envisioned in this way, might unfold something like this:

These Super Bowl recipes will guarantee victory for your gameday party

It’s almost time for the Super Bowl, meaning . . . meaning your diet-related resolutions have already gone out the window, right? If we’re going to be honest — and we are, we’re all friends here — the Super Bowl has never been never about restraint. For your consideration, we’ve collected the contenders from our previous Super Bowl Smackdowns, WaPo Food’s annual friendly (or really-competitive-but-let’s-pretend-it’s-friendly) recipe competition. Here are plenty of options to fill your tables and, more importantly, your bellies, where there will be no talk of #Deflategate. Chili Con Carne    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Weeknight Chili    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Guacamole Tradicional    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Team Guacamole    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Hands-Down Best Chicken Wings    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Grown-Up Sausage Bites    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Tostadas With Chorizo, Tangy Guacamole and Fresh Cheese    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Potato Chip Nachos With Chipotle Beef    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Carrot Cashew Spread    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Kimchi Dip    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Grits-Stuffed Collard Rolls    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Pepita-Tomatillo Dip    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Chickpea Hush Puppies    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico A Gringo’s Ode to Mama Ninfa’s Green Sauce    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico International Salsa    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Sicilian Slab    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Papa Peter’s Super Bowl Pizza    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Beer-Braised Short Rib Sandwiches    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Panino di Pizza With Cauliflower and Romesco    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Buffalo Chicken Potatoes    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Smashed and Loaded Sweet Potatoes With Coconut Bacon    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

I asked three chefs whether they’d consider using lab beef. They were not amused.

Last night on MSNBC's "All In," I asked three chefs whether they could imagine using the test-tube burger — or its down-the-road, cheaper-and-better-tasting descendants — in their restaurants. Nope! Even the mad food scientist Homaro Cantu backed off: *[WSU]: Wayne State University But perhaps this isn't the right place to start. All these chefs run restaurants where the ingredients are the star of the show and a reputation for shortcuts could lethally damage the brand. But there are other kinds of restaurants out there. Taco Bell, for instance, has been sued for serving beef that's only 35 percent beef. They countered by insisting their beef is at least 88 percent beef. No one is suggesting their beef is 100 percent beef. Meat grown in a lab wouldn't be much of a jump. And it's megachains like Taco Bell and McDonald's where environmentally friendly, completely humane lab meat would make the biggest difference, anyway.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University **Related:** Could test-tube burgers save the planet?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University

How McDonald’s is changing its menu to try to revive its flagging sales

McDonald’s is planning to overhaul its U.S. menu by adding more customizable options and appealing to regional tastes, a move that the world’s largest fast-food chain says is aimed at reinvigorating its business after another quarter of sinking profits and sagging sales.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico “In some of our markets, the reality is that we haven’t been changing at the same rate of their eating-out expectations,” chief executive Don Thompson said on a Tuesday conference call with investors. Fast food chains have been struggling to compete with fast casual places such as Chipotle that focus on serving fresh, healthy ingredients and allow customers to select their own toppings and ingredients. McDonald’s has already been experimenting in some restaurants with a “Create Your Taste” program, which lets customers build burgers with toppings and buns to their own specifications. Thompson says this option will be rolled out more widely in the United States next year. Thompson also said McDonald’s will start allowing local restaurants to serve items from McDonald’s international product pipeline that could play well to regional tastes. So you might see restaurants in one part of the country opt to serve sausage burritos, while others add mozzarella sticks. But adding these options also contradicts another of McDonald’s stated goals: Making its menu simpler. Executives say McDonald’s menu has become unwieldy, creating confusion for customers and slowing down workers who cook and prepare the food.  Thompson promised Tuesday that the new McDonald’s menu would be “simplified,” with the chain either getting rid of items that don’t sell well or at least making them easier to prepare. But that could be hard to do if the chain is also trying to add regional items and give customers more do-it-yourself options. McDonald’s is under pressure to turn things around. Profit this last quarter was down 30 percent compared to a year ago. Sales at U.S. stores that have been open for more than year fell 3.3 percent during the same period. The stock was down about a half percent in late morning trading. The menu shake-up is just one part of McDonald’s turnaround strategy. The company said it will also focus on its digital strategy by making it easier for customers to order, pay and receive coupons on smartphones.  It also said it plans to “improve the look, feel and convenience” of McDonald’s, which suggests it might be rethinking the design and branding of its restaurants. McDonald’s is facing an even wider array of problems across the globe. In Asia, the company saw sales in restaurants open more than a year slide 9.9 percent in the wake of a scandal in which one of its major food suppliers in China was accused of using expired meat and improperly handling food products.  The European region’s sales dropped 1.4 percent; it doesn’t help that hundreds of restaurants in Russia are under investigation by Russian authorities, in a move widely viewed as payback for U.S. sanctions. “The internal factors and external headwinds have proven more formidable than expected and will continue into the fourth quarter, with global comparable sales for October expected to be negative,” said Don Thompson, McDonald’s chief executive, in a statement. “These significant challenges call for equally significant changes in the way we do business.” The company said that higher tax rates abroad also created drag on its balance sheet this quarter. McDonald’s is not the only player in the restaurant industry that has recently seen lackluster results. Yum Brands, which owns Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC, reported earlier this month that its China business was suffering; like McDonald’s, Yum also used the meat supplier there that was accused of improperly handling food. Stateside, Yum is working to turn around its Pizza Hut chain, which has struggled to connect with millennial diners and to offer convenient technology for ordering food at its restaurants.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Big Food’s weird war over the meaning of mayonnaise, America’s top condiment

A big-money war is brewing over the meaning of America’s best-selling condiment: mayonnaise. The maker of Hellmann’s mayo, food giant Unilever, has sued the San Francisco start-up behind Just Mayo, an egg-less, mayonnaise-like sandwich spread giving Big Mayo a run for its money.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The global food giant argues that Hampton Creek’s Just Mayo is not, as Unilever lawyers wrote, “exactly, precisely, only and simply mayonnaise,” as defined by the dictionary and the Food and Drug Administration, which says mayo must include “egg yolk-containing ingredients.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The Just Mayo identity crisis, Unilever lawyers said, has hurt Hellmann’s market share, “caused consumer deception and serious, irreparable harm to Unilever” and the mayo industry as a whole. The firm wants Hampton Creek to stop calling it Just Mayo, yank the product off store shelves and pay Unilever damages worth three times the startup’s profits. It is a strangely defensive stance for Unilever, a Big Food titan that made more than $64 billion last year selling foodstuffs in nearly 200 countries (including “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!”, a spread that is not butter). Hellmann’s, which is branded Best Foods west of the Rocky Mountains, dominates 45 percent of the mayo market, data from industry researcher Euromonitor shows. But market watchers say it highlights the fears from traditional food conglomerates facing unexpected competition from crafty start-ups. It’s perhaps no coincidence that the biggest battleground is mayonnaise: Americans buy $2 billion of the stuff every year — more even than ketchup, salsa or soy sauce.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico “It’s not about using the (mayo) word,” said Michele Simon, a public health attorney who wrote about the suit. “It’s about the fact that this company is taking market share away. And now it’s like they’ve awakened the giant.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico That the plant-based Just Mayo is a new type of food will lend an interesting dimension to the legal proceedings: Brand disputes typically quibble over words, not the definition of the product itself. But the very modern legal battle will be fought on regulatory territory that is decades old. The FDA’s definition of mayonnaise was set in 1957, decades before the phrase “vegan mayo” ever made sense. (Maintaining that “standard of identity” is important: Kraft Foods’ Miracle Whip, which doesn’t meet the FDA’s standard, is technically a salad dressing.)    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Unilever doesn’t just call out Just Mayo for what it calls confusing branding — advertisements have called the stuff “mayo,” and its logo resembles an egg — it also says the company has no proof in its claims of beating Hellmann’s in a taste test. So what’s spooking Big Food? Hampton Creek has some big backers, including Bill Gates, and in a matter of months has spread rapidly to more than 20,000 Walmarts, Costcos and other stores across the country. While other organic spreads like Vegenaise play up their place in the vegan niche, Hampton Creek has widely promoted Just Mayo as a mainstream brand: healthy, cheap and good for everybody. (Company ads rarely call it “vegan.”) “We don’t market our product to tree-hugging liberals in San Francisco, even though I’m in the middle of nine of them right now,” said Josh Tetrick, Hampton Creek’s founder and chief executive. “We built the company to try to really penetrate the places where better-for-you food hasn’t gone before, and that means right in the condiment aisle of Walmart.” The fate of Just Mayo, which swapped out eggs for Canadian yellow peas, will be watched closely by other food conglomerates. Hampton Creek also sells Just Cookies, a line of egg- and milk-free cookie dough, and is working on a gooey egg-free mix, Just Scramble. The suit comes at a touchy time for Unilever, which just launched an ad campaign promoting itself as devoted to sustainability, and which backed its own soy-based egg alternative, Alleggra Foods, nearly ten years ago. “Our concern here is not about innovation, it is about misleading labelling,” a Unilever spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday. “We simply wish to protect both consumers from being misled and also our brand.” Just Mayo has fought back with the help of celebrity chefs including Andrew Zimmern, who launched a petition, “Stop Bullying Sustainable Food Companies,” that has more than 11,000 signers. The firm tweeted Unilever’s chief executive’s own words against him (he called for “transformational innovation”) and was less than subtle on its Facebook about its David- vs.-Goliath status (though the illustration has since been deleted):    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Tetrick, the start-up’s chief executive, said his firm is looking at the lawsuit as a chance to not just expand their corporate profile, but to lift up their egg-free sandwich spread as the touchpoint for a larger food-based cultural movement. “A lawsuit gives us the opportunity to talk about the things that matter,” he said. “So we’ll take it.”

Fast Casual Madness: Taylor Gourmet takes the crown

**Taylor Gourmet** , D.C.'s hoagie-slinging homage to the City of Brotherly Love, took the inaugural Fast Casual Madness title, defeating upstart sushi burritoists **Buredo** in the championship matchup. Taylor Gourmet took 56 percent of the 2,095 votes that were cast in the final round. Fast Casual Madness began with a list of 45 fast-casual eateries in eight categories, from pizza and burgers to sandwiches and salads. Take a look at how the grub games unfolded below.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico _Here’s a quick scouting report on the Fast Casual Madness finalists from The Washington Post's$20 Diner columnist Tim Carman._    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The founders of Buredo made a wise decision from the outset: The operation wouldn’t be a fast-casual free-for-all, in which customers create their own sushi burritos, potentially concocting some sort of junior-high cafeteria dare rolled up in seaweed. Instead, owners Travis Elton and Mike Haddad have collaborated with two different chefs to develop a carefully curated line of monster maki-sushi rolls, each engineered for maximum flavor. You could argue, of course, that Elton and Haddad didn’t take their chef-driven concept far enough and should insist on tighter portion controls. After all, a bloated Buredo roll, no matter how deliciously conceived, is almost guaranteed to burst at the seams at some point when you bite into it. It makes for a messy experience and, frequently, an out-of-balance one. Still, if this sushi burrito movement is going to last longer than RGIII’s career, it needs a committed upstart like Buredo, which will, I suspect, only get better as the years roll by.   _\-- Tim Carman_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Road to the final:** Defeated ShopHouse, &pizza; and Sweetgreen.   **Most valuable dish:** The Sofie, made with shrimp tempura, avocado, pickled cabbage, carrot, sesame seeds, red tobiko and Sriracha mayo.   **Dish dimensions:** 12 ounces, 7.5 inches long, 2.5 inches diameter.   **No. of area locations:** 1.   **Year opened:** 2015.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Less than a decade old, Taylor Gourmet already has attained D.C. institution status. You might be tempted to chalk that up to Taylor’s ability to reproduce like fruit flies. The hoagie chain has 10 outlets, including one at Reagan National Airport, so you can have one last Italian roast pork sandwich before heading off to some exotic locale. But a concept doesn’t expand without demand, and Washingtonians continue to frequent Taylor for the reasons they always have: Founders Casey Patten and David Mazza focus on fresh ingredients, including the rolls produced daily just for Taylor. Even better, the owners insist on rolling out new items each quarter, adding a little seasonal, chef- driven obsessiveness to a chain that easily could coast on its reputation as the place to introduce high-quality Philly hoagies to the District. Has the brand suffered from its growth spurt? Yes, it can be frustratingly inconsistent. But then again, it’s still good enough that the president has made multiple visits.   _\-- Tim Carman_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Road to the final:** Defeated Five Guys, District Taco and Potbelly.   **Most valuable dish:** The Pattison, a roast pork hoagie with broccoli rabe and sharp provolone.   **Dish dimensions:** 12.7 ounces, 6.25 inches long, 3 inches diameter.   **No. of area locations:** 10.   **Year opened:** 2008.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Here's how these two finalists got here:**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **The original first-round matchups are below:**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **SpinFire**   Things you can do in 90 seconds: score a touchdown and make a pizza at SpinFire. Coincidentally, Pierre Garcon has done both. The Washington Redskins wide receiver is a founding partner in this build-your-own pizza spot that started in Ashburn, where the football team trains, and opened a second location in Rosslyn. Choose from 30-plus fresh toppings including Sriracha sausage and banana peppers.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** 2.   **Most valuable dish:** The Veg Out, topped with red sauce, mozzarella, red onions, roasted red peppers, artichokes and black   olives.   **Year opened:** 2014.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **&pizza;**   Perhaps this local pizza chain is so adored because it caters to just about every taste, diet and craving. We're talking gluten-free crust, dessert pizzas and salads (although we can't attest to how the latter taste because we can never resist the pies). Build your pizza from the crust up, or opt for one of the signature pies and the occasional special, such as the hamburger-topped pie or the Reuben pizza.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** 14.   **Most valuable dish:** The Maverick, a meat lover's dream made with tomato sauce, mozzarella, salami, pepperoni, Italian sausage   and Parmigiano-Reggiano.   **Year opened:** 2012.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Buredo**   Leave your skepticism at home. Buredo's burrito-size sushi rolls (stay with us . . .) are so wrong they're right, and a convenient way to satisfy your hunger for quality fish and fresh vegetables. Equivalent to about two or three normal sushi rolls, a Buredo roll is a perfectly proportioned mix of protein, rice, sauces and other Japanese toppings. One major plus: No chopsticks needed.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** 1.   **Most valuable dish:** The Sofie, made with shrimp tempura, avocado, pickled cabbage, carrot, sesame seeds, red tobiko and Sriracha   mayo.   **Year opened:** 2015.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Shophouse**   You know what to do here: Choose your grain base (or a salad), a meat, some vegetables, a sauce and a garnish. Although the process is formulaic, ShopHouse's menu is anything but. Meats pop with Southeast Asian ingredients, including lemongrass, fish sauce and coconut. And such tangy sauces as spicy red curry and tamarind vinaigrette will compete for your attention.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** 7.   **Most valuable dish:** The steak laab rubbed in dry spices and grilled with fish sauce and lime, which can be added to any combination of rice, vegetables, sauce and garnish.   **Year opened:** 2011.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Sweetgreen**   This homegrown chain, founded by a trio of Georgetown grads, had humble beginnings when it debuted its straight-from-the-farm salads in a green-roofed shack on M Street. Sweetgreen has blossomed to 40-plus shops across the country, reaching as far as Los Angeles. Bragging that such ingredients as baby spinach, apples and cucumbers are "local" and "seasonal" may induce eye rolls today, but in 2007 the concept was fairly novel.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** 21.   **Most valuable dish:** Guacamole Greens, a lime delight served with tortilla chips, roasted chicken, avocados and a jalapeno   vinaigrette.   **Year opened:** 2007.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Chopt**   Chewing is so overrated. That's why Chopt rocks a blade over all of its produce - chopping it into tiny pieces - before piling it in a bowl and sending you on your way. Founded by two buddies who believed they could make healthy food delicious, Chopt features a menu with such gourmet ingredients as gold and purple beets, millet and panko fried chicken.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** 14.   **Most valuable dish:** The Mexican Caesar, made with romaine lettuce topped with cotija cheese, jalapeno peppers, tortilla chips and Mexican Caesar dressing.   **Year opened:** 2001.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Chix**   You won't find fried chicken at Chix, but you won't miss it, either. With three flavor blends (Chix original, Colombian and Peruvian), this eco-friendly local outlet packs more flavor into its rotisserie chicken than even deep- fried birds dusted with supposedly secret blends of herbs and spices.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** 2.   **Most valuable dish:** Peruvian half chicken with black beans and rice, noodles and cheese, and curry mustard sauce.   **Year opened:** 2007.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Urban Bar-B-Que**   Come for the 'cue, stay for the artery-arresting specialties such as the Redneck Fondue (three-cheese dip mixed with chili) and Soul Rolls (egg rolls stuffed with meat, onions, cheese and a side of Redneck Fondue for dipping.) When it comes to meats cooked low-and-slow, the pulled pork is the pick here. And don't forget to grab a hunk of corn bread.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** 9.   **Most valuable dish:** Pulled pork plate with cole slaw, house-cut fries and corn bread.   **Year opened:** 2003.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **TaKorean**   TaKorean made the transition from mobile vendor to brick and mortar shop. It fuses Latin American and Korean fare in a build-your-own format: Diners choose a protein (chicken, steak, pork, tofu or a seasonal vegetable) to go in their corn - no flour! - tortillas (or rice or slaw bowls) and then go crazy topping them. Feel free to stick with one slaw (kimchi, romaine or kale), but you'd be foolish not to add all the toppings: salsa roja, Sriracha sauce, lime crema, sesame seeds and cilantro.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** 3.   **Most valuable dish:** Caramelized tofu tacos with kimchi and all the toppings.   **Year opened:** 2010.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **District Taco**   What also started as a modest taco cart has now become a recognizable local chain where you can eat tacos for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tortillas (flour or corn) are customized with such fillings as pork, shredded beef and grilled chicken, as well as toppings including beans, pico de gallo and a variety of salsas. Tacos not your thing? There also are burritos, bowls, salads, quesadillas and nachos.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** 7.   **Most valuable dish:** Breakfast tacos, served all day, in basic (eggs, cheese, potatoes), healthy (egg whites) or veggie varieties.   **Year opened:** 2009.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Five Guys**   Before this now-ubiquitous burgers-and-fries chain entirely changed our expectations, where else could you order a single-or double-patty bacon cheeseburger with tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, raw onions, jalapenos, lettuce, pickles and hot sauce, without causing a meltdown behind the counter? The Cajun fries are pretty great, too.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** More than 50.   **Most valuable dish:** Double-cheeseburger "all the way."   **Year opened:** 1986.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Taylor Gourmet**   A robust menu of Philadelphia-inspired hoagies is this sandwich outlet's claim to fame. The menu stretches two-dozen subs deep and is divided by meats and fillings: roast beef, breaded chicken, roast pork, Italian cold cuts, turkey, vegetarian and the relatively recent addition of cheesesteaks, served on either an Italian seeded, multi-grain or soft seedless roll. And don't overlook the risotto balls.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** 10.   **Most valuable dish:** The Pattison, a roast pork hoagie with broccoli rabe and sharp provolone.   **Year opened:** 2008.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Roti**   The build-your-own menu at Roti, a lunch staple downtown, can be served up three ways: as a sandwich, a salad or a rice plate. Diners start with a protein, such as salmon, chicken kabobs or steak roti, then add sauces (like the spicy s'hug or the mild tahini), sides and toppings. The rice plate comes with three of the sides and toppings, which include hummus, couscous and red cabbage slaw. Get a salad and add unlimited sides and toppings to your stomach's delight.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** 10.   **Most valuable dish:** The B.P.E., or Best Plate Ever: a rice plate with chicken kabob, roasted red pepper sauce, tomato and   cucumber, hummus and fresh vegetables served with warm pita on the side.   **Year opened:** 2007.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Cava Grill**   Founded by a trio of childhood friends as an outgrowth of the sit-down Cava Mezze restaurants, Cava Grill debuted in Bethesda and has expanded to D.C., Virginia and Los Angeles. Cava offers pita sandwiches, salads and bowls. The handmade spreads include the classic hummus and the jalapeno-infused "crazy feta"; proteins include grilled meatballs, falafel and braised lamb. For toppings, choose from such options as tomato and onion salad, cauliflower quinoa tabbouleh and Gordy's Pickle Jar banana peppers.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** 16.   **Most valuable dish:** A greens and grain bowl with brown rice and spinach, topped with Cava's signature hummus, spicy harissa   and tzatziki, spicy lamb meatballs, all the toppings and Sriracha Greek yogurt dressing.   **Year opened:** 2011.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Chipotle**   Chipotle has had a tough year, but it's bound to bounce back. The burrito- slinging behemoth has a customizable menu that begins with your choice of vessel - burrito, bowl, tacos or salad - and ends with proteins ranging from braised pork to shredded tofu and such salsas as fresh tomato and roasted chili-corn. Plus, there's chips and guac.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** More than 50.   **Most valuable dish:** Barbacoa burrito with rice, fajita veggies, pinto beans, fresh tomato salsa, cheese, guacamole and sour   cream.   **Year opened:** 1993.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Potbelly**   Potbelly isn't the place to go in search of the next sushi burrito or Cronut, but it is where to go for classic, unfussy fare - think warm sandwiches stuffed with meatballs and marinara, chicken salad or smoked ham and Swiss cheese. A big perk: It serves milkshakes with a cookie clinging to the straw.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **No. of area locations:** More than 50.   **Most valuable dish:** "A Wreck" sandwich, with salami, roast beef, turkey, ham and Swiss cheese.   **Year opened:** 1977.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

You know the economy is bad when people can’t even afford McDonald’s

The great recession was kind to McDonald's. While most companies took hits around 2008, the world's biggest fast-food chain's stock and earnings kept rising, and it's not hard to imagine why: When people have less to spend on food, the Dollar Menu becomes a staple. That growth has leveled off lately, though. Last year was very soft for the company, and its stock dove 9 percent on Monday after reporting revenue and profits that fell below expectations. So what's undermining the Golden Arches?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Part of the decline is fierce competition from other chains like Subway, Taco Bell, Burger King, Five Guys, and Wendy's. Then there are challenges in overseas markets like China, where a chicken scare has decreased sales at chains that sell a lot of it, as well as rising commodity prices and currency volatility. But the bigger problem is that McDonald's core customer base -- older adults at the bottom of the income spectrum -- are _having a hard time affording what they're selling._ You can tell as much from the coded language on the company's latest earnings call:    *[WSU]: Wayne State University "We’re seeing flatter declining IEO markets and ongoing competition chasing fewer guest counts as a result of less discretionary spending," said CEO Don Thompson. "We’ve been adjusting now for about the last couple of years relative to making sure we had solid value platforms...we don’t have as much pricing power. And as long as inflationary rates are lower and as long as GDP growth and consumer discretionary spending is softer we’re not going to move forward and take a lot of price because we know that it would mean guest count erosion longer term."    *[WSU]: Wayne State University In other words, if they raised prices at all, they'd lose even more customers than they already have. Those who can afford to pay a little more are already moving to newer, fast-casual concepts, like Chipotle and Panera, or sit-down experiences that have gotten more cost-competitive, like Ruby Tuesday's and Applebee's. Those who can't are reasonably well served by microwaving something at home, rather than going out for a fish filet.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University McDonald's has good reason for caution about moving beyond its value deals: It's been burned recently by doing so. In March, it axed some salad options, and a few months later dropped its poor-performing Angus beef burgers, while doubling down on the dollar menu items. NPD group analyst Bonnie Riggs says consumers might say they want healthier foods, but not necessarily when they're going to a place like McDonald's, which is known for cheap comfort. People eat at fast-food restaurants because of convenience and prices, not taste. On Monday's earnings call, there was no triumphant talk about sales of the McWrap, which _BusinessWeek_ recently held up as an essential part of its strategy.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University "People go to McDonald's for what that brand is known for," says Riggs. When NPD surveyed consumers to ask their primary reason for going to a restaurant, only 8 percent named health, and that hasn't budged in several years. "They're more likely to watch calories and sodas and fats and all that when they're at home." That means it's difficult for McDonald's to move into a different market segment, and in the meantime, those who can afford to eat better are going elsewhere. It's still mainly popular among baby boomers, says Riggs, many of whom are now among the long-term unemployed or facing shrinking retirement accounts. That doesn't mean the company's on the brink of collapse -- there are certain benefits that come with having 20 percent of global market share. But its future growth, tied to the fortunes of the American lower class, appears boxed in.

Minor league baseball team debuts funnel cake bacon cheeseburger

Guard your arteries. The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of Appleton, Wis., unveiled two new stadium snacks that will probably kill you — the “Big Mother Funnel Burger” and the “Grilled Cheese Bacon Cheeseburger.”  The minor league team’s executive chef Tim Hansen unveiled the new creations on Twitter this week, allowing you to first feast your eyes on the photos of these plated heart attacks before they hit your stomach. The funnel cake and beef pairing may sound totally unique, but this is America, my friends, land of State Fairs, so of course it’s been done before! In fact, one hit the streets this month as part of the menu at the Florida State Fair in Tampa that ran from Feb. 5-16. Simply called the Funnel Cake Burger, it’s a beef patty with bacon, accompanied by cheese, lettuce, tomato and pickles, sandwiched between two crunchy glazed funnel cakes, The Tampa Tribune reported. A calorie count wasn’t available, but it seems logical to this type of monster burger in the, “Yeah, I’ll split this with my family” category.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The same rule should probably also be applied to the grilled cheese burger. The very nature of this monstrosity makes it at least three meals in one, with two separate grilled cheese sandwiches serving as the buns to a full-sized bacon cheeseburger. The Timber Rattlers, the Midwest League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, kick off their home games this season on April 12. Bon appetit.

Consumer Reports: McDonald’s burger ranked worst in the U.S.

Some major fast-food chains — McDonald’s, KFC, Taco Bell — may find the latest Consumer Reports fast-food survey hard to swallow. According to the survey, released on Wednesday, more than 30,000 Consumer Reports subscribers say these restaurants’ signature items are the worst in their categories: McDonald’s has the worst burger; KFC has the worst chicken; and Taco Bell has the worst burrito.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Consumer Reports surveyed 32,405 subscribers about their experiences at 65 fast-food and fast-casual chains. This is what they were asked: “On a scale of  1 to 10, from least delicious to most delicious you’ve ever eaten, how would you rate the taste” of their signature dishes? Habit Burger Grill, In-n-Out and Five Guys Burgers received the highest rating for their burgers, 8.1, 8.0 and 7.9 respectively.  Meanwhile, McDonald’s scored a paltry 5.8 rating. **McDonald’s: Changing menu adds pressure to prep kitchen**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday McDonald’s has been busy changing its menu in an effort to attract more customers. But despite the novelty items the company promoted in 2013 — Fish McBites in February, McWraps in March, Mighty Wings in September, etc. — the company’s U.S. sales dropped 0.2 percent last year.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday During a conference call with investors, McDonald’s chief financial officer Peter Bensen said the company “probably did things a little bit too quickly” in terms of introducing those new menu items. The constant changes and bold experiments with the menu put pressure to the restaurants’ kitchens, which sometimes took too long to fill orders. But new items introduced this year will be welcomed by the chain’s new kitchen equipment. Prep tables will be replaced with larger surfaces that are able to hold more sauces and ingredients.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday In 2014, Bensen said, the company will “refocus the core,”  including tried-and-true favorites such as the Big Mac, Chicken McNuggets and the Quarter Pounder, as well as breakfast. **Consumer searches for healthier choices**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Research shows Americans are spending $683.4 billion a year dining out, and they are also demanding better food quality and greater variety from restaurants to make sure their money is well spent.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday When deciding where to dine, consumers are giving more consideration to food quality, according to the Consumer Reports survey. The restaurant’s location is less important than it was in 2011, when the group last conducted the survey. Diners today are more willing to go out of their way and find tasty meals that can be customized. “Fast-casual dining in places like Chipotle and Panda Express lets the consumer guide the staff to prepare their meal just the way they like it,” Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic, a food-service consulting firm, said in the report. While many of the traditional chains have lagged in offering higher-quality ingredients, he said, some food chains — including Chipotle, Noodles & Company and Panera — have been offering meat raised without using antibiotics in animal feed, a feature that attracts consumers searching for healthier options. **Fast-food alternatives: fast-casual restaurants**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Chipotle was rated by readers as their top  fast-casual restaurant. (Fast-casual restaurants usually serve higher-quality, higher-priced fast food.) According to the survey, McAlister’s Deli gets the award for most improved as the chain’s score increased significantly since the 2011 report. Top fast-casual restaurants:    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday

This thing you should try: Right Proper’s ‘Chick Filet’ sandwich

So maybe you're a big fan of delicious fried chicken sandwiches with pickles, but don't particularly care for the politics of the company known for them? Or maybe you're all too happy to leave politics out of your meals but don't feel like waiting for that Chik-fil-A food truck to make its rounds to your neighborhood? What's a guy or gal to do?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Right Proper Brewing Company has been winning fans over with its unique beer program and its take on Chik-fil-A's classic sandwich, which one server said has been among the most popular items on the menu since the bar and restaurant's late-2013 opening.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University It's an admirably deft mimic of the fast-food classic: seasoned and fried white meat on a brioche bun with pickles and the addition of Boursin cheese ($8). Sorry, no waffle fries on the side -- it comes with a side salad instead -- but an appropriate substitute might be the homemade kettle chips with a briny pickle dip ($4). Right now, it's on the menu as the "Southern Fried Chick Filet" sandwich, but if Chick-fil-A corporate gets wind of that, who knows: Chick-fil-A has been embroiled in a legal dispute with a guy who makes "Eat More Kale" T-shirts for years.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Perhaps most importantly: Unlike at Chik-fil-A, you can order it with a beer. _Right Proper Brewing Company, 624 T St. NW (Metro: Shaw). 202-607-2337. _    *[WSU]: Wayne State University

Inside Kurdish Iraq’s Trump-themed restaurant

But he probably hasn't tried the food at a new restaurant bearing his name and likeness. That's because the new seafood joint, Trump Fish, sits deep in the heart of Kurdistan in northern Iraq.   "His style is close to me," Zawiti told Reuters. "I like him as a person and as a businessman." Trump may enjoy a bit of popularity in Kurdistan after telling the New York Times in July, “I’m a big fan of the Kurdish forces." He went on to acknowledge the difficulties of establishing strong ties with the Kurds, who are met with outright hostility by Turkey, a strong U.S. ally in the region. But Trump didn't see a problem there. "At the same time, I think we have a potentially – we could have a potentially very successful relations with Turkey," he said. "And it would be really wonderful if we could put them somehow both together.” Regardless, the Trump-branded restaurant seems to be, at a minimum, a marketing hit. Zawiti's cuisine bears little resemblance to American fast food. But let's be honest, it looks a LOT better than Trump's favorite "Filet-O-Fish" sandwich.

This thing you should try: Peking duck tacos at El Rey

We love our tacos. A lot. So when we find a new taco – especially one that seems like a novelty item – we’re always a little skeptical about its staying power. But the Peking Duck taco at El Rey, which will be offered through at least mid-April, is a standout.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University First: No, it’s not served on a pancake, and it’s not filled with actual peking duck. Instead, the tortilla is filled with dry-aged duck breast rubbed with Chinese five-spice, shreds of duck confit, green onions, pieces of cucumber and a sticky hoisin sauce. The all-important crackle comes from duck "chicharrones," or fried duck skin. It’s a symphony of flavors and textures that doesn’t taste exactly like the duck off the cart at Peking Gourmet, but at $3 each, they’re well worth sampling – especially under El Rey’s glass roof on a nice evening. _El Rey, 919 U St. NW. 202-506-6418.www.elreydc.com.   _    *[WSU]: Wayne State University

It takes a village to build a sustainable following

At Jim ’N Nick’s Bar-B-Q in Birmingham, Ala., it’s policy that every day, everything is made from scratch: the pimento cheese, the hickory-smoked brisket and the lemon, chocolate and coconut pies. As if to prove a point, Jim ’N Nick’s owner Nick Pihakis refuses even to put a freezer in the kitchen. It makes sense if you know Pihakis. At 53, he has become a fixture on the sustainable Southern food scene. He is a co-founder of the Fatback Collective, which describes itself as a clan of “chefs, pitmasters, culturalists and eaters committed to porkfection” and he regularly pals around with the region’s culinary royalty: Charleston’s Sean Brock (McCrady’s and Husk), New Orleans’s Donald Link (Herbsaint and Cochon) and John Currence of the City Grocery in Oxford, Miss. One thing puts Pihakis in a very different league from his cohorts. Jim ’N Nick’s, a Southeastern chain with 27 outlets, competes with restaurants such as Famous Dave’s rather than fine-dining establishments. The restaurant’s average check size is $13. A substantial portion of its business comes from customers at the drive-through. His goal is to promote sustainable food in the world of casual dining, where pre-shaped burgers, frozen fries and gallon-size bags of salad dressings are kitchen norms. That means not only cooking from scratch but replacing factory-farmed pork with heritage breeds raised on smaller farms and contracting with local farmers to grow staples including pimentos, peppers, garlic, onions and jalapenos — all without raising prices above what his customers can afford. Pihakis is not the first chain restaurateur to wade into these murky waters. Chipotle’s Steve Ells has proved that serving high-quality, even local, meat can build customer loyalty — and profits. But Chipotle’s assembly-line, fast-food restaurants are less costly to run than Jim ’N Nick’s, which must pay servers and dishwashers and offers a menu with more variety. Perhaps Pihakis’s biggest challenge is that his customers appear happy with things just as they are. In 2011, the Birmingham News named Jim ’N Nick’s the best barbecue in the city. The one time Pihakis did try to introduce higher-quality meat — an antibiotic- and hormone-free chicken — with a slight price hike, customers complained. Pihakis returned to his former supplier of conventionally raised birds. However, Pihakis is determined to prove that good food doesn’t have to be expensive or highfalutin. “I don’t think good food has to cost that much more to produce,” Pihakis says. “It can be scaled. And that’s the only way we’re going to get it into the hands of mainstream Americans.” Pihakis says he always knew he wanted to be in the restaurant business. At 19, he got his first job as a bartender in Birmingham, his hometown. Eight years later, in 1985, Pihakis’s father, Jim, helped him open the first Jim ’N Nick’s. Today, the chain grosses $90 million a year and has outlets sprinkled across the southeast and in Colorado. Three more are set to open this year. Pihakis caught sustainable-food fever about seven years ago after meeting Bill Niman, the founder of Niman Ranch. The two hit it off instantly and decided to drive around Alabama to find small farms that might supply at least one of his restaurants. But after days on the road, they had not found a single farmer. The severity of the situation only increased Pihakis’s resolve to do something. He began to talk with chefs and cult producers, such as Will Harris of White Oak Pastures in Georgia, about what it would take to build a network of pig farmers. What he learned is that it would be far more complicated than simply making deals with small farmers. Each year, Jim ’N Nick’s serves 4 million pounds of pork. To produce enough meat at a price his customers would pay, Pihakis would have to address processing, packaging and distribution. “I realized I needed to be in the system to fix the system,” he says. Pihakis projects that it will take at least five years to have his new food chain up and running. But next month he is taking the first step: opening a pork processing facility in Eva, Ala., about 60 miles outside of Birmingham. To start, the plant will bring in pigs raised by industrial methods: on large farms and mostly indoors. But the restaurants will stop ordering shoulders, hams and bellies that make up the bulk of the meat they serve in favor of buying and using the whole animal. The practice, sustainable-food advocates say, is more environmentally friendly and profitable for farmers. In the meantime, Pihakis and his crew are developing an ideal heritage breed for barbecue, a cross between the popular Berkshire pig and the Mangalitsa, a woolly, fatty animal that traditionally has been used to make charcuterie. He’s also recruiting the farmers to raise them for him. To meet the demand from Jim ’N Nick’s, he calculates he will need 40 farms to each raise 400 pigs a year. So far, only four have committed. Pihakis says he is confident that it won’t take too long to enlist farmers. Contrary to the conventional sustainable-food wisdom that says small farmers must charge premium prices to make ends meet, the math for a mid-size farm actually makes sense. With control of the processing, packaging and distribution costs, Pihakis can afford to pay farmers double what an industrial producer pays. By his calculations, farmers who raise 400 heritage-breed pigs per year outdoors can earn the same as farmers who raise 5,000 using conventional methods. “Nick is emerging as the Bill Niman of the South,” says John T. Edge, the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance (to whom Jim ’N Nick’s is a financial contributor). “He’s an idealist and a pragmatist.” Pihakis also is signing up farmers to grow vegetables. Already, he has one within the Birmingham city limits who is striving to grow the 13,000 pounds of serrano peppers the chain uses each year. Pihakis’s goal is to find one farmer near each restaurant to grow for him. He hopes having one big-volume customer will help make small farms more profitable. How much will these changes cost Jim ’N Nick’s customers? Pihakis says that to put heritage pork on the plate, he will need to raise prices by only 50 cents for a sandwich and $1 for a platter. And that concerns some veteran food reformers who, for years, have argued that Americans must be willing to pay more money for high-quality food. “I think Nick has more price elasticity than he thinks he does,” says Bill Niman, whose B N Ranch in Bolinas, Calif., raises pastured beef and heritage turkeys. “He underestimates the consumer’s willingness to step up and pay more for food that tastes good.” Pihakis, however, disagrees: “There’s a big difference in mindset between Alabama and Washington, D.C., or San Francisco,” he says. “We are going to crack the myth that it costs more money to do this. Once people see it can be done, a lot of them will want to jump on board.” Black, a former Food section staffer, is a Brooklyn-based food writer who is working on a book about one West Virginia city’s struggle to change the way it eats. Follow her on Twitter: @jane_black.

Chipotle and the GMO debate

Chipotle’s decision to prepare only food that does not contain genetically modified ingredients is adding fuel to an ongoing debate about the health and safety of these foods. The Mexican-style restaurant chain cited three reasons for removing such foods from its menu, saying on its Web site that scientists are still studying the long-term implications of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs; that the foods can damage the environment; and that “Chipotle should be a place where people can eat food made with non-GMO ingredients.” But experts contend that GMO-containing foods being grown in the United States are no riskier than conventional foods. The “growing international consensus” among scientific organizations is that foods made from currently approved genetically modified crops are safe to eat, said Gregory Jaffe, director of biotechnology at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group based in Washington. “This is not an ultra-hazardous technology,” Jaffe said. Although every new food product must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, “all current applications are safe,” he said. Genetically modifying an organism involves inserting genes from one species into the DNA of another, in order to produce desirable traits, such as being resistant to pests. Eight genetically modified crops are grown widely in the United States: corn, soybeans, cotton, alfalfa, sugar beets, zucchini, squash and papaya. In fact, more than 90 percent of the country’s total acreage of corn, soybeans, cotton and sugar beets comes from seeds that have at least one genetically engineered trait, Jaffe said. And foods containing GMOs are tough to avoid because genetically modified crops are found in processed foods such as high-fructose corn syrup, canola oil and soybean oil, he said. Chipotle previously used genetically modified corn and soy as ingredients in its tortillas and cooking oil. Now, the company says it has replaced these with ingredients that are not genetically modified, such as rice bran oil and sunflower oil. But people may not know that plant-based oils don’t contain any DNA or protein, Jaffe noted. That means that genetically modified soybean oil and non-genetically modified soybean oil are “biologically and chemically identical,” he said. At any rate, Chipotle’s menu will not be completely GMO-free. According to its Web site, the company will still sell soft drinks that contain sweeteners made from genetically modified corn, along with meat and dairy products from animals that may be fed genetically modified grains. Foods derived from genetically engineered plants must meet the same safety standards as foods from traditionally bred plants, according to the Food and Drug Administration. (No food products from genetically engineered animals are currently on the market.) “GM foods are safe if they have undergone the proper risk assessment to be put on the market,” said Peter Ben Embarek, a food safety scientist with the World Health Organization in Geneva. “So far, all the GM products on the market [in the United States] have undergone such risk assessments,” he said. Still, some consumer groups have argued that products containing genetically modified ingredients should be labeled as such, and Ben Embarek said he favors giving people such information. “Consumers are the ones who are buying the products. . . . Therefore, they should have all the information in front of them,” Ben Embarek said. In 2013, Chipotle became the first restaurant chain to label items that contained GMOs. Jaffe said discussions about genetically modified ingredients seem to overlook other aspects of the nutrition of the chain’s meals, most of which have more than 1,000 calories and most of the daily allowance of sodium, according to a nutritional information calculator on the chain’s Web site. “If they really wanted to improve people’s health, they should worry a lot more about the salt and fat in their burritos than a little bit of soybean oil and a little cornmeal,” Jaffe said. **—Live Science ** 7 Biggest Diet Myths Science You Can Eat: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Food 5 Not-So-Miraculous Dr. Oz Claims

Richard Sandoval on El Centro, Toro Toro and ‘Top Chef Masters’

Don't look now, Jose Andres, but another celebrity chef has quietly launched an assault on your turf, as if Richard Sandoval is challenging you to a game of Risk: D.C. Edition. With the recent opening of El Centro Georgetown and the forthcoming launch of Toro Toro downtown — and another Mexican concept yet to come — Sandoval may soon have more restaurants in Washington than the great Spaniard himself.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University With 30 restaurants already under his belt, Sandoval swears his empire building isn't about conquering kingdoms (Andres's or anyone else's) or hoarding wealth.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University "We do it for passion, not for money," says Sandoval, as he gives me a tour of the new El Centro in Georgetown. "We love finding new designers. That's what piques our interest. I mean, if we were just copying and pasting everything, who cares?" El Centro Georgetown is a decent example. It's not a machine-stamped duplicate of the 14th Street NW original. Not only is the Georgetown location larger, but its menu will feature many new items, including braised cazuela dishes, skillet fajitas and more taco combinations (such as mahi mahi, chipotle barbecue and roasted octopus). There will even be a separate mezcal menu, for those who enjoy tequila's smoky cousin.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University “We wanted to have something unique to this place,” Sandoval explains. "Every time we go in and do something new, we’re going to add a new element to it.” The mention of tacos provides me an opportunity to raise my standard complaint: So many of the new-style taquerias in the District don't make their own tortillas, relying instead on masa rounds well past their prime. Will El Centro make its own tortillas now that it has two locations? “No,” Sandoval says, cutting right to the chase. "To get a consistent product, it’s challenging sometimes. You have to buy Maseca, the corn flour. You cannot buy the real masa. Some places you can, but here it’s hard,” he continues. "What I’m doing is I’m partnering up with a tortilla company in Atlanta called Ole ... I’m working with them to create the tortilla I want, so that it doesn’t have too many preservatives and it’s pliable."    *[WSU]: Wayne State University The tortillas, Sandoval says, will be shipped to El Centro "every two days. You'll see the difference." The conversation launches Sandoval into a mini-reverie about the tortilla station he installed at his latest Maya location in Beaver Creek, Colo. He says he hired a woman who spends her day at the station, making fresh tortillas on a hot comal in the middle of the restaurant. "All day long," Sandoval says, "the smell, the flavor. It makes a huge difference.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Tortillas aside, Sandoval and his business partner, Ivan Iricanin, are pushing their beverage program even further at the Georgetown location, adding not only a mezcal bar but also infused tequilas. Iricanin says they infuse only silver tequilas, since the barrel-aged varieties tend to pick up vanilla flavors that can interfere with the infusion process. Among the flavors available: strawberry-basil, strawberry-chili, Granny Smith apple, cilantro, watermelon-cucumber and tamarind. When I mention that it sounds like Sandoval could turn El Centro into a chain, he issues a small caution. "This concept only fits in a big city because of the late-night component and it’s a big space,” he says. Another Mexican concept, the cantina-oriented Venga Venga, is a more viable candidate for expansion, he implies. In fact, Sandoval says, he's in negotiations to lease a space in the District for a Venga Venga, which already has locations in Southern California and Colorado. "It's not as big as this," Sandoval says, comparing the cantina concept to El Centro. "It's more like a neighborhood restaurant."    *[WSU]: Wayne State University The mere mention of Venga Venga gets Sandoval riffing on Toro Toro, his pan- Latin steakhouse opening this fall on I Street NW. First launched in Dubai, Toro Toro is sort of a Brazilian steakhouse for people who don't really want all that much meat.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University "We designed a menu where it’s all small plates," Sandoval says. "So you have about 30, 35 small plates to choose from: seviches, tiradito, arepas, empanadas, a lot of different small dishes from all over South American." Meats will be available, of course, but gauchos will slice skewers of lamb, chicken, ribeye and New York strip onto a skillet in the middle of the table, for all to share. “A lot of times when I go to a steakhouse, I don’t want to eat a full steak, but I want a small piece of meat," Sandoval says. "Women, a lot of times, don’t go to a steakhouse because, believe it or not, they don’t want to eat a heavy piece of steak ... This way, it opens it up for women.” Not that Sandoval is expecting Latin-style steakhouses to overtake the kind of meat-centric palaces that have practically defined D.C. dining to those who live far, far outside the Beltway. Sandoval recalls all the hype that used to surround Peruvian food.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University "For the last 15 years, I’ve been hearing that Peruvian is the next big thing, but it never gets there," Sandoval, noting that Peruvian celebrity chef Gaston Acurio closed his lone New York City outpost, La Mar.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Sandoval was critical of Acurio's hands-off approach in dealing with his NYC restaurant.  "You cannot go to NYC and open a restaurant and show up the day before and then leave the day after," Sandoval says. "You’re a famous chef, and you’re well known for your food. You got to spend at least three or four weeks [at the restaurant]...He didn’t do that." But part of the problem with Peruvian food, Sandoval and Iricanin note, is that Americans still are not clear what defines it, unlike, say, Mexican, which is the cuisine closest to Sandoval's heart. “I guarantee you, if you went down on the street and asked 10 people, ‘Do you know Peruvian cuisine?’, they will say yes," Sandoval says. "And you’ll say, ‘What is Peruvian food?’ They will only know seviche and Peruvian chicken. But that’s it.” “I don’t know if they have done a good job of marketing or exposing people to it,” he adds. Speaking of early exits, I teased Sandoval about his brief appearance on "Top Chef Masters," in which he was given the boot on the second episode, the victim of his sous chef who couldn't prep ingredients fast enough. I asked Sandoval if he fired his sous chef as a result.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University “He’s fired!” Sandoval says, seemingly serious as a heart attack. Really, you fired him? “No,” Sandoval says before releasing peals of laughter. "No, actually he’s my corporate chef. He’s not even my sous chef," Sandoval continues. "The problem is, I should have taken a sous chef. Our corporate chef is opening restaurants, and he’s organizing and looking at financials. The last time he prepped was probably 10 years ago. If we would have known what they were going to do, I probably would have taken someone else, because he was freaking out.” His corporate chef was freaking out so much that he seriously cut his finger during the competition. Sandoval says his employee had to visit the hospital the night of the taping. “I think he was so nervous and anxious. His blood pressure went down," Sandoval says. "If you go in knowing it’s a game, then you don’t care. But when you see David Burke and you see [Bryan] Voltaggio and you see Michelin- starred chefs, it’s not a game."    *[WSU]: Wayne State University "What’s this guy going to do? Put smoke through his eyes and through his nose?" Sandoval adds. "I’ve got to come up with something better than that! So you’re mind starts flowing. You got to stick with what you do and just play the game. Have fun at it, and you’ll do very well.” So does Sandoval have his money on any one chef in the competition? "I've been impressed with [Sang] Yoon," he says. "I would have bet money on him."

Inside Northern Iraq’s top Trump-themed restaurant

But he probably hasn't tried the food at a new restaurant bearing his name and likeness. That's because the new seafood joint, Trump Fish, sits deep in the heart of Kurdistan in northern Iraq.   "His style is close to me," Zawiti told Reuters. "I like him as a person and as a businessman." Zawity told the news service that he had registered the Trump name with Kurdish authorities. Trump may enjoy a bit of popularity in Kurdistan after telling the New York Times in July, “I’m a big fan of the Kurdish forces." He went on to acknowledge the difficulties of establishing strong ties with the Kurds, who are met with outright hostility by Turkey, a strong U.S. ally in the region. But Trump didn't see a problem there. "At the same time, I think we have a potentially – we could have a potentially very successful relations with Turkey," he said. "And it would be really wonderful if we could put them somehow both together.” Regardless, the Trump-branded restaurant seems to be, at a minimum, a marketing hit. Zawiti's cuisine bears little resemblance to American fast food. But let's be honest, it looks a LOT better than Trump's favorite "Filet-O-Fish" sandwich.

A year after food safety scares, Chipotle has a new set of problems

Against that backdrop, it’d be easy to assume that Chipotle’s troubles simply reflect a need to put the food safety scare behind it. But actually, on a Monday conference call with investors, executives acknowledged that something more concerning may be turning diners off. “The data, everything that we have, suggest that there are not large numbers of customers staying away from Chipotle because they feel like either we didn’t address the problem properly or that they are afraid of Chipotle,” said Mark Crumpacker, the restaurant’s chief marketing and development officer. Instead, the company is having trouble getting the basics right: Throughput is down, meaning customers are facing frustratingly long lines. The dining room tables and drink stations are often a mess. And patrons are constantly finding that the burrito assembly line is out of an ingredient or two.  In other words, it seems the core source of Chipotle’s difficulty right now is convincing people it is enjoyable to eat at Chipotle — a remarkable turn of events for a company that was not long ago the darling of the industry for its seemingly unstoppable sales growth. Ells offered investors a frank diagnosis on Monday of the company’s problems: Restaurant employees’ time had become too consumed by overly elaborate job interview processes. And their training focused too much on soft skills and not enough on the nuts and bolts of making the restaurant run smoothly. “Over time, we started to make running our restaurants more and more complicated. And on occasion, we lost sight of what really mattered: our customers,” Ells said. Executives estimate that about half of Chipotle’s 2,100 locations are coming up short on customer service. That can take shape in a variety of ways. For example, long lines have always been the top pain point Chipotle’s diner surveys. But lately, some of that waiting around has been attributable to slower throughput. The company regularly measures how many customers can make it through the line in a 15-minute time window, and chief financial officer John Hartung said that it is currently “well off that mark” of what it was hitting one or two years ago. The company is taking steps to try to speed things along, including creating a second burrito “make line” in the back for filling digital food orders. This should ease some of the burden in the main line, especially if Chipotle succeeds in getting more people to place online orders.  And then there’s the matter of getting your custom burritos or tacos made to your liking: Crumpacker said it is an “increasingly frequent problem” that diners make it up to the counter, only to find that the assembly line is out of, say, brown rice or one type of salsa. Executives believe that solving this doesn’t necessarily call for more workers per restaurant, but just better training: Employees, they theorize, can do better at keeping up with demand if they’re given better instruction on how to do so. Same goes for those messy tables: They are hopeful that will get better as they encourage workers to turn more attention to the dining room instead of just the kitchen. Chipotle’s leaders suspect these service hitches are not completely turning off their most loyal burrito fans, but they are contributing to those diners coming to their restaurants less frequently. Chipotle executives are still barreling ahead with expansion plans, saying they will open at least 195 new restaurants in 2017, suggesting the company remains confident about its ability to turn things around in relatively short order. But fast-casual restaurants of all stripes can take a lesson from the chain’s troubles. Diners are fickle, and the market is now teeming with comparably priced competitors that also scratch customers’ itches for fresh, ethically-sourced food. If you miss the mark on the basics, they could punish you by taking their business elsewhere.

Chipotle CEO pledges to make restaurants ‘safest place to eat.’ Here’s his plan.

In an apology on national TV, Chipotle CEO and founder Steve Ells said he is "deeply" sorry for the recent spate of food poisoning outbreaks at the restaurant chain. Since the reports began coming out last month of people becoming ill after eating at the Mexican grill's outlets, the company's stock has plunged 20 percent, and it has warned that same-store sales could fall for the first time in its history this quarter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been working with local authorities in nine states to investigate the issue, but has not found the source of the problem. Speaking on NBC's "Today" show on Thursday, the embattled CEO called the problem "a very unfortunate incident" and vowed to put procedures in place to regain consumers' trust. "The procedures we're putting in place today are so above industry norms that we are going to be the safest place to eat," he said. A separate outbreak in Boston that impacted up to 120 people, most of them students, appears to be due to a different pathogen — norovirus — and has been addressed by completely sanitizing all surfaces and having all employees to be tested for the virus. Here are the actions Ells said Chipotle is taking to address food safety across the country: **Read more:**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico It turns out parenthood is worse than divorce, unemployment — even the death of a partner    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Sharp rise in ADHD diagnoses in girls challenges myth that the condition is mostly a boy thing    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Netflix binge-watchers beware: Watching too much TV in your 20s may impact how your brain works in your 40s and 50s    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico With $45 billion pledge to charity, Mark Zuckerberg and wife imagine ‘a world without suffering from disease’    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The myth of sugar-free drinks, candy: Study shows they can wreak havoc on teeth, too    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

How Chipotle is forcing sit-down chains like Olive Garden to rethink lunch

For years, casual restaurants such as Olive Garden and Buffalo Wild Wings have been battling for your dinnertime dollars, to be the place where you take the kids for a heaping bowl of spaghetti on their birthday or where you slurp beers with your buddies on game night. But now these sit-down restaurant chains are hungry for your lunch order, too. Olive Garden is trying to draw a bigger lunchtime crowd by changing up its signature lunch menu offering—a soup, salad and breadsticks meal—with trendy combo options such as risotto balls or parmesan-roasted asparagus. Red Robin, a full-service burger chain with 500 restaurants, is racing to open outposts of its fast-casual spin-off, Burger Works, in urban locations with big lunchtime crowds. Cracker Barrel is developing a fast-casual concept that will likely debut by July 2016, while Romano’s Macaroni Grill is promising guests that orders from its new takeaway lunch counter will be filled in seven minutes or the meal is free. The industry is struggling to turnaround years of decline as time-strapped customers opt for fast-casual joints such as Chipotle and Panera Bread and remain wary of an outing that feels like an indulgence. According to research firm Technomic, sales were up just 1.9 percent at casual dining restaurants open more than a year in the third quarter, compared to a 7.9 percent increase in the fast-casual category and a 2 percent increase in the restaurant industry overall. “The worst place to be in the restaurant industry in the United States today is to be a full-service restaurant with average check size of less than $20,” said Aaron Allen, a restaurant industry consultant. That’s because diners have been flocking to fast-casual restaurants like Chipotle where they can get meals that are similar in price and quality to those at casual dining chains, but can get in and out of the restaurant much faster. Wall Street has noted diners’ enthusiasm: Chains such as Shake Shack, Zoe’s Kitchen and El Pollo Loco saw their stock sizzle in recent public trading debuts. Chipotle, the shining star of the fast-casual category, has seen its stock soar nearly 600 percent in the last five years as it has repeatedly delivered stratospheric growth in sales at restaurants open more than a year. Fast-casual restaurants have taken advantage of one of the weaknesses of their sit-down dining counterparts. “I might say fast-casual exists because full-service doesn’t align very well with lunch during the week,” said Darren Tristano, a restaurant industry analyst with Technomic. “Monday through Friday, getting out of a full-service restaurant in under an hour is difficult.” Now, sit-down chains are looking for new ways to adapt to that problem. Currently, only 20 percent of Buffalo Wild Wings’ business comes during the lunch-time rush. The chain will try to change that with a marketing blitz starting in April that will trumpet quick-to-prepare menu items such as wings, salads, sandwiches, and “Buffalitos,” a taco-like concoction. It will also work to train the kitchen staff to move speedily. Hopefully, diners will be impressed if they are moved through the restaurant in 30 to 40 minutes, said Sally Smith, chief executive of Buffalo Wild Wings. “Lunch is really where we have opportunity and availability at our restaurants,” said Smith. “We’re not at capacity for lunch.” Red Robin, too, is keenly aware of how much time is a factor in winning lunch business. Steve Carley, the gourmet burger chain’s chief executive, said: “In our research, we’ve found that guests typically have the following conversation: They look at their pals for lunch and say, ‘What do you want to do for lunch?’ And the next question is, ‘Well, how much time do we have?’” If it was less than 25 minutes — as it often is for desk jockeys — diners don’t even consider full-service restaurants like Red Robin. “Being held hostage by the check, we know that’s a big pain point for guests,” Carley said. “And fast-casual solves that problem.” That’s where Burger Works comes in. The restaurants are smaller than traditional Red Robin restaurants and feature only a selection from the restaurant’s extensive menu. So far, Burger Works have opened in Denver, Chicago and the District, and Carley expects he will look to add more urban markets in the future. Red Robin is trying to address the speed issue in its big-box restaurants with tabletop tablet computers that allow customers to pay instantly without having to wait for a server’s assistance. Digital technology is also central to Olive Garden’s strategy for luring a bigger lunch time crowd. The Italian restaurant’s to-go sales in the most recent quarter were up 15 percent over the previous year, strong growth that the company attributes to the launch of its online ordering platform in July and mobile ordering capability in November. The push by casual dining restaurants to steal lunch money from their fast- casual rivals is hardly a sure thing. Red Lobster, for example, tried a fast- casual concept called Seaside Express back in 2013 but ultimately discontinued the effort, likely a sign that it wasn’t gaining traction. Fast-food restaurants, which are also under siege from the fast-casual category, have tried to experiment with more upscale items, such as when Taco Bell added its Cantina Bell menu to better compete with Chipotle. They soon reworked that offering to become the Cantina Power menu, which focuses on protein-heavy dishes, a move that suggests that cribbing directly from Chipotle’s playbook wasn’t a success for them. And, Allen warns, innovation simply does not seem to be in the DNA of many of the casual dining chains, which often feel dated the moment you set foot in the door. “It’s kind of state of the art, 1993,” Allen said.

The Clinton-Chipotle lunch matrix

One of the tasks of a political opinion writer is to make sense of absurdity. Or at least to hold a mirror up to said absurdity and the actors involved in it as a way of shaming all concerned. Case in point, Hillary Clinton’s Chipotle visit. I have been all side-eyes over the coverage about and analysis of the Democratic presidential candidate’s unannounced roll-up on Chipotle during her drive to Iowa last week. But I couldn’t figure out how to register all the things twirling around in my head. My friend Aaron Polkey nailed it in a post on his Facebook page entitled “Hillary Clinton’s Inconsequential Lunch Decision Matrix.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Polkey concludes his matrix with #lethereat. Yes, let Clinton eat. Not everything she does is calculated or a poll-tested piece of political theater. Sometimes road-trip hunger makes the call of the burrito bowl irresistible, so I hear. I’m more of a McDonald’s kinda guy. _Follow Jonathan on Twitter:_ _@Capehartj_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

The remarkable rise of the sushi burrito

Has your sushi been a bit different lately? Maybe longer, pudgier and rolled up with rice, protein and vegetables? You know, kind of like a burrito? Actually, let's call a spade a spade. Your sushi isn't just _like_ a burrito. At an increasing number of eateries, it _is_ , in fact, a burrito. The sushi burrito has officially joined the ranks of such culinary chimeras as the Cronut and the ramen burger, seducing both eager customers and the restaurateurs who want to feed them.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Even as diners eat fewer Chipotle burritos, sushi burritos are gaining traction around the country and in the Washington area. The latest purveyor joined the D.C. scene last week: Seoulspice in NoMa, which sells what it calls the Korrito, a Korean-style burrito wrapped in seaweed and filled with sushi- grade rice, plus a variety of meats, vegetables and sauces.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Eric Shin, a percussionist for the National Symphony Orchestra, said he hit upon the burrito concept almost by accident about two years ago. He'd originally planned to offer kimbap, Korean rolls sliced into bite-sized pieces. Unfortunately -- or perhaps fortunately -- the machine he bought to cut them destroyed the food. "It was a huge mess," he said. Amid the disappointment, Shin's wife was so hungry she just picked up an uncut roll and started eating it like a burrito.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico "It just sort of stuck," Shin said. Darren Tristano would tell you that the popularity of the sushi burrito is no accident. The president of Technomic, a Chicago-based firm that specializes in food industry analysis, said a number of factors are at play. Primary among them is the form itself. Four years ago, a Technomic concept study predicted "burrito-inspired" would be a common industry trend. Good call.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Sushi burritos have also been propelled by the growth in fast-casual dining and its build-your-own mentality, Tristano said. And with sushi available at almost every grocery store these days, it's become an accessible and familiar food. Like so many food innovations, sushi burritos gained traction on the West Coast and are continuing their march across the country. Sushirrito, a five- location California chain that bills itself as "the original sushi burrito concept" debuted in San Francisco in 2011, the same year the Jogasaki food truck hit the streets of Los Angeles; the Kome truck peddles sushi burritos in San Francisco.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico "The concept for Sushirrito came to be since we love sushi and wanted it to be more accessible and portable. Burrito-sizing sushi makes a lot of sense given the handheld aspect of it," said Sushirrito founder Peter Yen. "We weren't trying to start a trend. We simply wanted to create a new type of food that we like to eat. Hybrid foods only make sense when the foods belong together -- just because you can do a mash-up, doesn't mean you should." Even given the wave of sushi burritos in California, lifelong friends and first-time restaurateurs Mike Haddad and Travis Elton weren't quite sure what to expect when they debuted Buredo in downtown D.C. last summer.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico "We didn't know how it would be perceived," Haddad said. When the doors opened and curious diners snaked down the block, "I said, 'I think we have something here.'" Something big enough that the duo is close to opening a second location, near Dupont Circle. Haddad and Elton think they've hit on customers' interest in food that is fresh and healthful. Darren Norris knows he's tapped into that market at his almost year-old Maki Shop on 14th Street NW, where evenings will see diners trickling in from CrossFit and other nearby gyms. The owner of the late Kushi in Mount Vernon Triangle -- whose six-ounce maki fall somewhere between the size of smaller sushi and sushi burritos -- said his "sushi hand rolls" are "a lifestlye product" for on-the-go diners. "I want to be that thing that you could eat three days a week and not feel guilty about it," Norris said.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Kaz Okochi, the proprietor of Kaz Sushi Bistro near Foggy Bottom, said he thinks size is what attracts people to sushi burritos -- "too much rice," he opined -- and worries that diners who eat them will come to his restaurant and wonder why his food isn't bigger. "They might get disappointed," the Japanese native said. (Okochi's own fast-casual, design-your-own sushi endeavor, Oh Fish!, lasted about two years downtown.)    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Their size and torpedo shape notwithstanding, sushi burritos have forced us to reconsider what we think of as sushi, especially when it comes to fillings. At Buredo, nori is wrapped around everything from yellowfin tuna or salmon sashimi to tofu and pulled pork shoulder. Seoulspice's Korean-accented items include bulgogi beef, pickled radish and, of course, kimchi. At Burrito San in Miami, you can have your sushi burrito by way of the Philippines (braised pork, banana ketchup) or India (spiced chicken, potatoes, curry). Denver's Komotodo not only sells rolls such as the Bee's Knees (fried chicken, asparagus, bacon, Monterey Jack cheese) and Fish n' Chips (white fish, slaw, potato chips), but also gives you the $2 option to have your burrito deep- fried. Really, the question these days is not what can you put in a sushi burrito, but what can't you?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Okochi, though, doesn't take umbrage with the burrito entrepreneurs' use of the word "sushi." "I'm not saying burrito sushi isn't true sushi. Sushi is vinegared rice," he said. Sticklers could even contest whether Okochi's food is "true" sushi, since the chef said he's developed his own style at his restaurant. As long as sushi burritos don't take over the entire sushi market, he's fine living side-by-side with them, he said. In fact, self-professed sushi lovers Haddad and Elton view themselves as "introducing sushi to a new audience," Elton said. "It is definitely opening up people's minds," Haddad said. Seoulspice's Shin said he'd like his Korritos to similarly encourage diners to seek out the kind of traditional Korean food he grew up eating. Even with more people like Haddad, Elton and Shin getting in on the sushi burrito game, Technomic's Tristano said there's still room to grow in the genre. He said reasons why sushi burrito establishments are still less common than their popularity might indicate include food safety issues with sourcing and serving raw fish (although many burritos rely on cooked, fried or even vegetarian fillings) and the fact that the concept is hard to replicate. "A good sushi burrito can be tricky and sometimes challenging to get the flavors to blend together well in a larger roll," said Mauricio Fraga- Rosenfeld of Rolls by U in Arlington, which opened in the fall with sushi "ritos" such as the Frida (with roast beef and kimchi) and the Van Gogh (a more traditional pairing of tuna and avocado). "Also, price point may play a part in why others don't want to risk it. It's cheaper to do tacos or Mexican burritos. It takes creativity and great quality in product and recipe to get it right, as well as extremely fresh ingredients."    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico "I think it's really difficult to pull off," Shin said. "Most of the restaurants that open up are afraid to do something different." Shin said he had to battle through questions and skepticism from his own family (his parents ran a Korean restaurant in Atlanta), some of whose recipes he's using at Seoulspice. "I caught a lot of s--- from my grandma," he laughed. When other sushi burrito spots do inevitably open, Shin won't be too worried. "The more, the merrier," he said. "I'm so proud of D.C. for embracing ethnic foods and creative ethnic foods in general." The Buredo duo was slightly more measured. "Time," Haddad said, "will tell on who will last." _ **Correction:** A previous version of this story misidentified the geographical origins of Jogasaki and the Kome truck. This version has been updated. _    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Related items:**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Seoulspice is now open in NoMa with Korean-style sushi burritos    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Chipotle wannabes find D.C. the perfect place for have-it-your-way cuisine    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico There's no way we couldn't try Buredo's burrito-size sushi rolls    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico It's easy to get wrapped up in Maki Shop's tasty rolls    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Sushi standards and the American way    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Chipotle-linked E. coli outbreak ends, but its exact cause is still a mystery

The E. coli outbreak linked to Chipotle restaurants in more than a dozen states appears to be over, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday. At least 60 people were sickened by one of two E. coli strains. The most recent case of illness was reported Dec. 1, 2015. While the outbreak came from "a common meal item or ingredient" served in Chipotle, its exact source remains unknown, according to the CDC. State and federal regulators who reviewed the company's distribution records couldn't identify a single item to explain the outbreak -- and neither did testing food from multiple restaurants. "Most ill people in these outbreaks ate many of the same food items at a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant," the CDC said in a release." When a restaurant serves foods with several ingredients that are mixed or cooked together and then used in multiple menu items, it can be more difficult for epidemiologic studies to [identify] the specific ingredient that is contaminated."    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico When cases first emerged in 2015, the company shuttered dozens of restaurants and pledged to double-down on food safety protocols.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Chipotle's stock -- which had fallen dramatically last year when cases were fist reported -- was up by 4.7 percent Monday following the CDC announcement, Reuters reported.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Certain strains of E. coli can cause fever, vomiting and bloody diarrhea. Children and the elderly are the most at risk for falling ill from the bacteria.

Hornets to sell eight-pound, 14-patty burger that costs $75

For those who have been to a Charlotte Hornets game and felt that your food concession portions weren’t large enough, you’re in luck. The team has introduced a new burger – the Hugo’s Boss Burger (Hugo is the team’s mascot, manned by Aidan Charlery, formerly of the Washington Wizards) and includes eight pounds of meat (14 patties) with cheddar, bacon, lettuce and mushrooms all for the price of around $75.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Will this monstrosity of a burger from Levy Restaurants chef Aaron Cox be a hit with fans?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico If the Arizona Diamondbacks experience with the 18-inch, $25 corn dog is any indication, Michael Jordan may just have found another savvy business deal (#MJTakeover).    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico (H/T SB Nation)    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Plan B Burger Bar and Osteria Morini satisfy your classic and classy burger cravings

There are countless was to prepare a burger. Here are two, one served simple and the other more elevated. **Classic**   Tavern classic from Plan B Burger Bar   _801 Pennsylvania Ave. NW_   One flip, one press. That’s all it takes to make a Plan B burger. That, and hormone-free beef chuck ground in-house. The New England chain opened a D.C. location last week with 20 different burger varieties. The tavern classic — made simply with lettuce, tomato, onion and special sauce on a country roll — is just fine by us ($11.49).    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico ****    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Osteria Morini    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico  _You may also like:_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Classic vs. classy: chocolate cake from Society Fair and Bourbon Steak    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Five over-the-top grilled cheese sandwiches from Duffy’s, Bub and Pop’s, Stoney’s and more    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Astro’s Old Bay doughnut chicken sandwich is worth the calories    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Chipotle asks customers to leave assault rifles at home

Slurping your drink and licking your fingers are among the faux pas tolerated in fast-food restaurants. But bringing your gun to the table is still frowned upon, at least by some. On Monday, burrito chain Chipotle issued a statement asking customers who aren’t law enforcement officers to leave their weapons at home because “the display of firearms in our restaurants has now created an environment that is potentially intimidating or uncomfortable for many of our customers.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday It all started last weekend when gun-rights activists affiliated with Open Carry Texas brought military-style assault rifles into a Dallas-area Chipotle, scaring some customers. Open Carry Texas founder C.J. Grisham told Forbes that the armed trip to Chipotle was not a demonstration, but simply a meal following an event. “We don’t go there just to carry guns into a restaurant,” he said. “We always let the manager know we’re coming. We try very hard to make people feel comfortable.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday The spectacle prompted Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a pro-gun control group backed by former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, to circulate a “Burritos, Not Bullets” petition asking Chipotle to ban guns in its stores, citing concerns about public safety. The group has made similar requests of other restaurants.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Erika Soto Lamb, a spokeswoman for the group, told the Associated Press she thought the move by Chipotle was a “bold statement,” especially considering its previous stance of going along with local conceal-and-carry laws.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Businesses have the right to ban guns on their premises, even in states that allow people to carry licensed firearms in public. Chipotle did not respond to news outlets who asked whether the new policy is an outright ban and how it will respond if people continue to bring firearms to their restaurants. In its statement, the restaurant said it declined to ban guns outright in the past because of concerns about putting employees in the uncomfortable position of having to enforce such a ban.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday The restaurant also acknowledged that there are strong arguments on both sides of the gun rights issue but said “it is the role of elected officials and the legislative process to set policy in this area, not the role of businesses like Chipotle …. [W]e do not feel that our restaurants should be used as a platform for either side of the debate.” Even pro-gun groups disagree over the politics of bringing guns into restaurants. Open Carry Texas, the group that brought guns into Chipotle, recently severed ties with Open Carry Tarrant County after the former member group showed up at a Jack in the Box restaurant carrying rifles without notifying police in advance and without carrying signs indicating that it was meant as a political statement. “Officers spoke with Jack-in-the-Box employees who reported that they feared for their lives and believed they were being robbed. They locked themselves inside a freezer for protection out of fear the rifle-carrying men would rob them,” reported a local CBS affiliate, quoting a statement from the Fort Worth Police Department.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Chipotle isn’t the first restaurant to ask customers not to bring guns. The AP reports:    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday

What’s on your all-star fantasy cheeseburger?

Here's a lunchtime thought exercise for everyone: Imagine an all-star cheeseburger created using the best ingredients from the best burgers you've ever eaten. What would you put on it? Here's one: Take a bun from Mintwood Place, top it with Palena's patty, give it a splash of Shack Sauce, Central's potato discs, a fried green tomato from Burger Tap & Shake and smoked mozzarella from the Scion Burger. And a fried egg on there too, because it doesn't have enough cholesterol yet. Then, for good measure, throw in an order of Cajun fries from Five Guys and a marshmallow shake from Good Stuff Eatery.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Got an ingredients list of your own? Mentally assemble your all-star megaburgers ( **local ingredients only, please** ) and share them in the comments. The more outlandish, the better.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Need inspiration? Here are a few of our favorite D.C. burgers.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University

I tried to eat with the McDonald’s frork. It was actually kind of fun.

More immediately, I was interested in the utensil’s functionality, given that it substitutes for your fingers, which, last time I checked mine, worked just fine. First, of course, I had to assemble the tool as if it were an instrument that I bought at Ikea. I had to add my own fries to the frork’s silicone pouch.  I didn’t know how much fun it would be playing with the frork, which you could secure only if you ordered one of the new Signature Crafted Recipes sandwiches. While deciding on a sandwich, I realized McDonald’s had officially entered the fast-casual business with its SCR line. You select from one of three toppings, pick a protein and finally decide between a sesame seed bun or “artisan roll,” which is something like a brioche bun. McDonald’s, I guess, has all but surrendered to Chipotle. Then again, Chipotle doesn’t have the frork. The odds are, you don’t either. I asked the manager on New York Avenue how many frorks she had to give away today, and she said exactly one box. One tiny box, not much bigger than the one your gourmet cupcake comes in. McDonald’s apparently didn’t have a lot of faith in the prospects of its new sandwiches. Still, I channeled my inner Beavis and Butt-Head and assembled a frork with fries shaped into devil horns. (See photo above.) I had this free-floating concern that my sandwich wouldn’t drop a load of guacamole, buttermilk ranch and pico de gallo without me squeezing it like pastry bag, but it performed beautifully. There were plenty of topping droppings to mop up with the frork, fulfilling its function in life.  There may be more to this DIY frork than I first suspected.

Americans are not lovin’ McDonald’s—and haven’t been for years

Each time McDonald's announces how much money it's making, the company is forced to share an embarrassing truth: Americans are eating less and less of its hamburgers, chicken nuggets, and french fries. The most recent example came this morning, when the global hamburger giant posted earnings for November, and announced that its same-store sales (those open for at least 13 months) had once again fallen steeply in the United States—this time by nearly 5 percent. It's the thirteenth straight month that same-store sales fell in the United States.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico McDonald's inability to reverse its struggles in what is still the fast food behemoths's largest market has left the company scrambling. But instead of fixing problems, the company produced a decidedly ineffective strategy, which appears to be the result of a misunderstanding of why and when people purchase food at the eatery's more than 14,000 outlets in the United States. In a detailed discussion of the company's conundrum, Fortune describes the approach McDonald's has chosen as a "barbell strategy," in which the fast food company has doubled down on its cheaper options (often dollar menu items) while also marketing healthier or higher quality—and thus more expensive—offerings.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The problem is that McDonald's more expensive items are getting too expensive. A Big Mac now costs nearly $5, or roughly twice what it cost in 2002. That price point is likely untenable for the company, since it nearly touches those offered by higher-end chains. The result appears to be the migration of McDonald's customers, Fortune notes. Indeed, food companies like Chipotle, which charge a bit extra for the promise of better ingredients have found a huge and growing customer base. Even the Federal Reserve has acknowledged the trend. "Restaurant sales climbed, especially in the quick-service segment. Consumers shifted away from hamburgers, towards chicken, pizza, and Mexican food," the bank said in its most recent Beige Book Report.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But McDonald's problems aren't merely coming from a misplaced bet that Americans are willing to trade a five dollar bill for a Big Mac when they can spend a comparable amount and consume a better regarded burger (McDonald's hamburgers, mind you, are among consumers' least favorite, according to a recent study by Consumer Reports). The company has introduced initiatives promoting cheapness, like the "Dollar Menu & More," which launched in late 2012, and included items like the Bacon McDouble. But the focus on affordability hasn't panned out either.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The company's response to the disappointing results appears to be more of a doubling down than a backing away. "Today's consumers increasingly demand more choice, convenience and value in their dining-out experience," Don Thompson, McDonald's President and Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement. "We are working to bring the McDonald's Experience of the Future to life for our customers to better deliver against these evolving expectations." If the company's latest change is any indication, the experience of McDonald's down the road might look a lot more like what you can get at Chipotle now. The company announced on Monday a plan to test a new "Create Your Taste" program, which will allow patrons in some 2,000 restaurants around the country to build their own hamburgers. No burritos—yet.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Taco Bell’s menu will have fewer fake ingredients because ‘less is más’

Change has finally come to Taco Bell. The restaurant (and its sister company, Pizza Hut) announced Tuesday that the days of artificial ingredients and fake colors in its food are about to come to an end. By the end of 2015, expect the menus at both restaurants to reflect a simpler approach to ingredients, the companies said. The shift at Pizza Hut will happen even sooner: By the end of July, according to the company.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico And because we know you’re wondering, the change won’t apply to beverages or “co-branded” products such as the infamous Doritos taco line. “People haven’t slowed down, and more than ever want quality and convenience,” Brian Niccol, the CEO of Taco Bell Corp, said in a statement. “They are seeking more information and a variety of options they can customize to meet their lifestyle, without giving up the flavors they love or the innovative food they expect at Taco Bell.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico He added: “They’re also telling us less is más when it comes to ingredients, so we’re simplifying with natural alternatives and staying true to who we are and what makes us unique.” Put another way, this change in consumer preference for more “natural” ingredients is more style than substance. _[The fried-chicken wars: Inside KFC’s weird new fight to dethrone Chick- fil-A]_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Both restaurants, which are owned by Yum! Brands, have realized that consumers (rightfully) don’t understand why “black pepper flavor,” a component of Taco Bell’s ground beef seasoning recipe, can’t just be “black pepper.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Of course, none of this is to be confused with consumers asking the companies to dramatically alter the caloric, sugar or fat content of what you might get at their restaurants. This is something Taco Bell knows well. Years ago, when the brand revealed that its “ground beef” was 88 percent beef and 12 percent “other,” consumers responded with a proverbial yawn. “Obviously you know it’s not 100 percent organic food,” a young Taco Bell customer, Bethany Weis, told the Los Angeles Times back in 2011. “I know it’s not good for me. I still like it.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The “other” in this case is a somewhat proprietary mix of preservatives and seasonings that are both common in processed foods and also safe — including that aforementioned “black pepper flavor.” So why did the company change its tune? For starters, having to explaining to consumers what “trehalose” is seems like a bad marketing strategy. (It’s a “naturally occurring sugar that we use to improve the taste of our seasoned beef,” the company said.) It is far easier to just tell people what they’re actually eating in terms they can understand. _[Panera’s decision to cut fake ingredients reflects P.R. more than science]_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico That doesn’t necessarily change the healthfulness of the food they’re eating; but it does give consumers a sense of control over what they consume. “Today’s customers are more curious and interested about food than ever,” noted Liz Matthews, Taco Bell’s chief food innovation officer. “They want to understand what they’re eating and expect to know more about it.” Responding to that desire by simply releasing a laundry list of difficult-to- pronounce ingredients produces almost comical results, as McDonald’s learned the hard way with its 19-ingredient french fry explainer.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico And as with a lot of things in the world of fast casual food, all roads seem to inevitably lead to Chipotle. The make-your-own Mexican-style food brand has single-handedly brought the menu transparency movement into the mainstream, whether its competitors like it or not.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico _[Chipotle wannabes find D.C. the perfect place for have-it-your-way cuisine]_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico For example, in anticipation of growing consumer concern, Chipotle began labeling Genetically Modified ingredients on its menu in 2013. This month, it announced that it would eliminate them from the menu altogether. While that move has been criticized from a heath standpoint, it is probably a solid business strategy .    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Some 70 percent of Americans said they viewed GMOs as at least being a moderately serious problem in a 2014 survey. That’s compared to the the view of organizations like the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the World Health Organization, which have said that they don’t pose a significant health risk.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico When it comes to health — and even the environment — greater attention to things like portion size and meat consumption would probably do consumers at least as much good.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico _MORE READING:_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico _http://www.washingtonpost.com/posttv/world/asia_pacific/hundreds-line-up- for-taco-bell-reopening-in- japan/2015/04/21/10864e70-e845-11e4-8581-633c536add4b_video.html_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico _How Chipotle is forcing sit-down chains like Olive Garden to rethink lunch_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico _Kraft Mac& Cheese just got duller. You can thank (or blame) ‘The Food Babe.’_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

The surprising ways Chick-fil-A’s founder made the chain an American empire

Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy, who died Monday at age 93, was an unlikely leader for one of America’s most massive fast-food chains: a poor- Southern-Baptist-turned-billionaire and fried-chicken magnate who proudly mixed his Christian faith with the company’s brand.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But the Atlanta-based chain he launched in the ’60s is unlikely, too, for the size of its success. Even with nearly a third fewer restaurants and a massive sales disadvantage — its famous resistance to open on Sundays — the privately-owned empire bested KFC last year as the U.S.’ top-selling fast-food chicken chain. Chick-fil-A has gained a loyal fan base for all the ways it has said no: to working all weekend, to expanding too quickly, and to abstaining from the testy religious talk most big businesses avoid. When Cathy’s son, then-company president Dan Cathy, inspired same-sex boycotts over his “support of the traditional family” in 2012, the chain’s conservative base rallied as a show of support. As Ron Paul, the chief executive of the food industry consulting firm Technomic, said, “Customers rewarded Chick-fil-A after it stumbled over ‘family values.'”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The chicken chain has inspired a consumer loyalty that is the envy of its fast-food rivals. Just after the 2012 flare-up, consumers told market analysts that Chick-fil-A scored way above average for attributes like “brand image” and “emotional connection,” a measure of whether the restaurant “has a likable personality” and “has values that are similar to my own.” Technomic gave Chick-fil-A another award this year for “Social Consciousness.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The closed-on-Sundays policy has become a perennial business-trade target due to the potential billions of dollars in lost sales, but it also has been a rallying point for diners who saw the policy as a rare big-business show of faith. Cathy stood firm, calling it “the best business decision I ever made.” (He shared other nuggets of wisdom in books like _How Did You Do It, Truett?: A Recipe for Success.)_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The chicken chain’s U.S. sales soared to more than $5 billion last year, besting KFC’s $4.22 billion — a clear rout, considering Col. Sanders’ chicken is so much easier to find, according to data from QSR, a trade publication about the fast food industry. There were 1,775 Chick-fil-A restaurants in the U.S. last year, mostly in the South, compared to 4,491 KFCs. The average Chick-fil-A earned $3.2 million last year, three times more than the average KFC, QSR said.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The chain’s growth has run parallel with a few other quintessential American booms, including the explosive growth of U.S. chicken. Since 1967, when the first Chick-fil-A opened, the average American’s yearly chicken consumption has more than doubled, from 36.6 pounds to 83.5 pounds a year, USDA data show. Over the same time, American beef eating has shrunk. (It’s not just us: The global hunger for chicken is growing faster than any other meat.)    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico It wasn’t just poultry that made Chick-fil-A a pioneer, but its unprecedented push into nationwide shopping malls. When the first Chick-fil-A opened in a “384-square-foot cubbyhole” in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall, food courts in shopping centers were virtually unheard of. Over the decades, as mall culture bloomed, so did the fortunes of Chick-fil-A’s ubiquitous mall food stands. The chain runs nearly 300 mall locations today.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico A boy during the Great Depression, Cathy first made money selling bottles of Coca-Cola for a nickel, and in 1946 he opened his first restaurant, a squat diner in the Atlanta suburbs called the Dwarf Grill. But it wasn’t until the ’60s, when an airline-meal company began selling him the chicken seen as too big for mid-air meals, that Cathy devised of the sandwich that would become tied to the Chick-fil-A brand. Cathy remained chairman of the company until last year, when his son, Dan, already the president, took over as chairman and chief executive. Even as Chick-fil-A has exploded, it has kept pushing the aura of the softer side of a down-home Southern diner. Its signatures are charmingly simple, like the boneless chicken sandwich, served with only pickle slices and a buttered bun. And it doesn’t hurt that diners love the food: Many told _Consumer Reports_ the chain is one of the tastiest and cleanest choices in American fast food.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Chick-fil-A has tested the limits of that simplicity by adding coffee and chicken and waffles to its short menu of Southern staples, as well as launching a mobile ordering app, in hopes the chain can grab up even more of the $680 billion a year Americans spend on dining out. But the chain is holding the line on a few key points, including the big one: They still won’t open on Sundays.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Where Shake Shack has McDonald’s—and most other fast food chains—beat

Shake Shack isn't the largest fast food company in the country, but if the high-end hamburger chain's social media presence is any indication of its potential, it might very well have the brightest future. The chain's competition, restaurants like McDonald's and Burger King, frequently advertises on television, radio, and elsewhere. But Shake Shack has instead chosen to invest in building an audience on social media platforms like Instagram and Vine, **** where the country's youth are disproportionately active. And it appears to be paying off, according to a new report by Goldman Sachs.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Not only has Shake Shack won the brand the goodwill of America's younger fast food eaters, it has resulted in a cult-like following online that few, if any, other fast food companies can claim. "[Shake Shack] does essentially no traditional marketing, but has a strong presence on social media, which speaks to its relevance among Millennials," writes Goldman in its analyst report. "Using both Vine and Instagram as examples, its followers are much larger than what its system sales would suggest." Indeed, when you adjust for sales, Shake Shack is in a world of its own on Instagram. Shake Shack doesn't have the largest Instagram following—it has only 155,000 compared to Mcdonald's nearly 500,000, Taco Bell's almost 490,000, and KFC's 250,000. But it has by far the biggest audience compared to its size. McDonald's, remember, sells more than 300 times what Shake Shack does in burgers, fries, and other fast food fare; and Taco Bell outsells it by more than 20 fold.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The same is true for Vine, where Shake Shack has fewer followers but far more relative to its size. Shake Shack's success on these social media platforms might seem innocuous or even silly when used as a measure of anything other than visual appeal, but it's actually a big deal. The burger chain is fresh off a lucrative—and rather successful—IPO, which says a lot about the company's potential. Shake Shack, after all, still operates fewer than 40 restaurants around the United States. The remaining 30-plus stores are dotted around the globe and have created, for the most part, an imbalance in supply and demand. Everywhere that there is a Shake Shack, there could be many more. Soon enough, there probably will be.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico While the chain's financial success thus far should make owner Danny Meier feel giddy about his fast-growing burger company's future, so too should Shake Shake's promising social media presence. Marketing at a minimal cost to consumers—especially millennials, who are about to become the largest segment of the population—will be key as the company grows. And if the current appetite for mouthwatering snapshots of burgers and fries (exhibit A) is any indication of how Shake Shack's presence will grow, the burger chain might even be able to keep its advertising budget to a minimum, even as it continues to grow.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

The Chipotle effect: Why America is obsessed with fast casual food

Fast casual food is so hot right now. The market for fast casual food, which is almost but not quite fast food (I'll get to that in a second), has grown by 550 percent since 1999, more than ten times the growth seen in the fast food industry over the same period, according to data from market research firm Euromonitor. Chipotle, likely the best known purveyor of the category, has seen its sales more than quadruple during that time; Panera, another oft-used example, has watched its sales more than triple; and Shake Shack, the hamburger joint du jour, has done so well that it just went public despite operating only 36 outlets. Americans spent more than $21 billion at fast casual restaurants last year, according to data from market research firm Euromonitor, which is not bad, considering that the category is only loosely defined at best. Everyone agrees that fast casual is the next big thing, but it's surprisingly hard to define what it is exactly. What makes fast casual food fast causal—and not simply fast food? And at what point do we draw the line between fast casual placesand the likes of Applebee's and Chili's, which have table service, but also takeout? The answer might simply depend on whom you ask. "It's all very confusing,"said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic, an industry research firm. "The truth is that no one really has the 'right' answer." Most industry experts can agree that an essential component of the fast casual category is its price point, which ranges from $9 to $13 dollars per receipt, compared to an average ticket closer to $5 for fast food restaurants. Fast casual restaurants also, ideally, earn less than 50 percent of their business from full service sit down meals. Otherwise they too closely resemble casual dining restaurants, like Applebee's. But there's a lot of other criteria. By Technomic's estimation, there are at least 10 different markers of restaurants that fall within the category: the quality of the food, the use of better ingredients, food that is wholesome, a perception of freshness, first-rate decor, fair pricing, fast service, friendly employees, flexible offerings, and a full view of how the food is prepared. But there are disagreements. Euronomitor, for instance, considers Buffalo Wild Wings to be a fast casual restaurant. Technomic, meanwhile, does not, because of the chain's growing full-service, sit-down business. In lieu of a rigid understanding, the category is perhaps best defined by those restaurants that best exemplify its essence. And few, if any, chain is more closely aligned with the concept than is Chipotle. "Chipotle is really the one that comes to mind," said Tristano. "Not just because of the format, but because of the food and mission. It has everything that fast casual means today." The Mexican chain has come to embody not only the present but also the future of fast casual sector. Chipotle both has satisfied all of the conventional qualities of the category—food quality, freshness, efficiency, transparency, etc—and has managed to etch out a new standard that is increasingly central to the category: sustainability. Other fast casual chains, including Panera, seem to be following suit. Panera has taken steps to be more environmentally friendly, including a redesign of all of its packaging last year to promote recycling. "What consumers are looking for is the best value proposition," said Bonnie Riggs, an industry analyst with NPD group. "And value doesn't mean the cheapest price." The origins of the fast casual category date back to the early 1990s, when chains like Fuddruckers and Au Bon Pain introduced a new, slightly more upscale version of the otherwise supremely cheap and quick options available at competitors like McDonald's and Subway. What separated those pioneers from the rest of the fast food industry was little more than a commitment to an elevated experience in food and atmosphere. "What we saw early on with fast casual was mainly an emphasis on offering a better product," said Tristano. "It was the price point, but also the food quality, the ingredients, the experience." The name Fuddruckers and the word pioneer might sound strange when paired together, but that first generation was a food movement in its infancy, pushing consumer demands for better food and better value to only modest ends. Over the years, the fast casual category has evolved to accommodate a heightened interest in health, sourcing, ethics, and value, all of which have coalesced in the likes of Chipotle. "We noticed this incredible thing at the start of the recession," said Riggs." Traffic in the restaurant industry was negative for two years in a row, which we had never seen before. Quick service was flat; full service was flat. But fast casual was growing in the double digits even during the height of the recession." As millennials, who make up the biggest demographic of fast casual fans **,** find themselves more strapped for time and less willing to eat fast food, which they view as unhealthy, the trend will only likely continue. NPD group estimates that fast casual will grow in the double digits through 2022, while the rest of the restaurant industry will eek out growth rates of around half a percentage point.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico "Everybody in the world is talking about fast casual," Riggs said. "It just has a such a broad appeal." Few understand the appeal of the fast casual model better than the fast food industry, which has suffered mightily on the heels of the success of its better dressed sibling. "When the overall market isn't growing, it means stealing customers from everyone else," said Riggs. The category now controls 5 percent of all restaurant traffic, up from 1 percent in 2000. Rather than waiting around while marginally more upscale food joints pluck customers, the fast food industry has responded by mimicking the competition. McDonald's recently introduced a new build-your-own-burger experience; Wendy's has been remodeling its restaurants in an effort to make them more comfortable; and Subway has both pushed a healthy narrative and incorporated ingredients like avocado that tend to be viewed as higher end offerings. The results have been mixed at best so far, but it's hard to view the fast food industry's moves as anything more than flattery. At the very least, McDonald's willingness to forgo its core business to mimic the likes of Shake Shack points to a future in which the quick service food industry looks a lot more like Chipotle and a lot less like, well, McDonald's. "I think you're going to see less and less distinction over time as more fast food concepts shift towards the fast casual model," Tristano said. "If you think it's hard to tell what makes a restaurant fast casual today, it's only going to more confusing."

McDonald’s knows you don’t eat there anymore, and it has a plan to win you back

McDonald’s knows you’re not lovin’ it anymore, and it thinks it’s got a great new plan to win you back. The world’s biggest burger chain plans to restructure its globe-spanning empire, slash costs and spruce up its menu in hopes of becoming what a turnaround plan released Monday called “a modern, progressive burger company.” The 60-year-old Golden Arches has struggled to regild itself amid competition from “better burger” rivals, global scandals and America’s changing tastes for fresh and healthy. A typical McDonald’s has seen sales crumble for six straight quarters, and even company leaders are admitting the fries have gone cold during its bleakest sales slump in years. “No business or brand has a divine right to succeed, and the reality is our recent performance has been poor,” chief executive Steve Easterbrook said in a 23-minute video Monday morning. “The message is clear. We are not on our game.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The company-wide “reset” plan will re-organize the company into four parts: the U.S., “international lead markets” like Canada and France, “high-growth markets” like China and Russia, and the rest of the world, a change Easterbrook said would cut down on bureaucracy. The fast-food joint also plans to cut $300 million a year in costs, though it didn’t detail how that would affect jobs. _[Why McDonald’s should be afraid of Shake Shack]_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The company wants to sell 3,500 corporate-run restaurants to independent owners by the end of 2018, a “refranchising” Easterbrook said would bring in more predictable cash flow and thin the support system needed for corporate stores. That would bring the chain’s franchise count from about 80 percent of total stores to 90 percent, reducing the number of workers it plans to pay an increased minimum wage.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Besides the internal changes, the time-worn chain also said it wants to return “excitement to our brand,” including by launching on-demand delivery via Postmates today in New York City. Mickey D’s also said it plans to win back spurned diners with “a recommitment to hot, fresh food” and a refocusing on its target clientele; at one point, Easterbrook said there would be “less sweeping talk of millennials as if they’re one single group.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The global turnaround plan comes just two months after Easterbrook, a former head of McDonald’s U.K. division, assumed the throne with promises he would challenge the stodgy burger joint’s conventional thinking. In nine weeks, he has already presided over several huge shake-ups, including dropping several unpopular items from the menu — including the Deluxe Quarter Pounder, the chipotle barbecue snack wrap and half a dozen chicken sandwiches — to speed up service and make way for other grub, like its “Artisan” grilled chicken sandwich and sirloin burger. The company is also testing out all-day breakfast in California, and it intends to stop buying chicken treated with antibiotics. The company also said last month it planned to close about 700 of its more than 36,000 worldwide stores this year, twice as many as expected, but raise wages at its corporate- run U.S. restaurants.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico _[McDonald’s tried to be all things to all people. It didn’t work.]_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The company’s turnaround effort has been struggling even before it got off the ground. Its “Pay with Lovin'” ad campaign, which pushed customers to call their mom or give someone a hug in exchange for free food, was seen by customers and critics alike as an awkward, confusing mess. The plan’s Monday unveiling, long touted as the spark of the company’s revival, was already fielding criticism that it had underwhelmed. Larry Light, a former McDonald’s chief marketing officer, told CNBC the plan was packed with “glittering generalities but no specifics,” adding, “I’d defy anyone to figure out what they want the brand to be when it grows up.” The company’s stock fell less than 1 percent in early trading.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico What’s driving one of America’s most predictable, ubiquitous and traditional burger joints to become such a radical about cleaning house? Most stores have seen customer visits plummet for two years in a row. In the first three months of the year, sales fell about 3 percent and its profit fell 32 percent, far lower than expected. Of course, this being McDonald’s, it was still a big moneymaker, reporting $800 million in first-quarter profit. McDonald’s sales in Asia plunged last summer after a supplier was accused of shipping expired meat, and sales in Europe have proved incredibly slow. But in its flagship U.S. market, where Mickey D’s makes about 40 percent of its money, criticism has been even tougher, with many accusing the burger giant of offering a stale, bloated menu that promised too much and slowed down service. The McNugget mega-firm has sought to compete directly with its rivals, rolling out a buttermilk chicken sandwich cribbed from the Southern-style signature of Chick-fil-A, and expanding all-day breakfast to compete with fast-food firms like Taco Bell, with its early-morning breakfast burritos and biscuit tacos. To fend off build-your-own eateries like Chipotle and Smashburger, McDonald’s has also rolled out a test program that allows customer to design and order a burger via tablet.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico McDonald’s remains the king of American fast food: Its $35 billion in U.S. sales last year, industry data show, were more than Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A and KFC combined. But increasingly its competitors are not just other fast-food eateries but heavily hyped burger joints like Shake Shack and Five Guys, which promise “better burgers” at a slightly higher price. _[You’re still not eating at McDonald’s, and the new CEO wants to change that]_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico McDonald’s, with 14,000 American restaurants, is also struggling to adapt to the country’s changing eating habits, and diners have led an exodus toward places where they believe the food is fresher, including at “fast casual” kings like Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread. McDonald’s attempts at winning this crowd — by offering calorie-packed salads and wraps — have yet to boost sales. The revitalization plan takes some cues from “Plan to Win,” a massive McDonald’s blueprint in 2003 meant to revive the chain after it posted its first quarterly loss in history. That plan, aimed at boosting McDonald’s food, advertising and ambiance, proved to be a phenomenal success: Between 2004 and 2011, the company returned to wild profitability and its stock price quadrupled. Shares since then have sagged more than 2 percent. But it’s not just customers and investors the chain will have to keep happy, but franchisees, some of whom have grown frustrated by corporate management and upset about the cost of implementing the new changes in their stores. “Turnarounds,” Easterbrook said on an analyst call last month, are “a little bumpy by nature,” and they “require some bold and decisive decision-making.” In the Monday video, he added, “I’m not interested in average in this business.”

What in the world is happening to Chipotle

Last month, Chipotle closed 43 restaurants in Washington and Oregon after health authorities linked an E. coli outbreak to six restaurants in the area. The announcement came as a shock to adoring fans of the fast-food company — especially those living in the Pacific Northwest — but it was actually meant to help quell worries about food safety. After all, the company was going overboard, voluntarily shuttering dozens of restaurants when only a few had been implicated. The move, Chipotle insisted, came "out of an abundance of caution." Everything was going to be all right. Except that it wasn't. In the 31 days since, illnesses linked to the chain have been reported in seven more states, including Illinois, Pennsylvania and Maryland, suggesting the problem was neither isolated nor a fluke. What's more, the avalanche of unfortunate news has yet to subside: On Monday, 30 students at Boston College fell ill after eating at a local Chipotle, leading the company to close yet another restaurant; On Tuesday, the number grew to at least 80 students. Although Boston health officials believe the food-borne illness is norovirus—not E. Coli — and is isolated to a single location, they won't know for sure until test results are available in a few days. In the meantime, Chipotle is left to cross its fingers in hopes that yet another state isn't at risk.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico To say that the outbreak is a problem for America's fast food darling would be a gross understatement. The food scare jeopardizes Chipotle's reputation as a purveyor of high-quality food, which has, at least until now, helped propel the brand into a model for the rest of the industry. It's also emblematic of problems that could surface down the road, as the chain continues to expand. Chipotle's response has been swift. The company, which has now closed dozens of restaurants around the country, is working to clean and sanitize its operations. It has also hired food safety consultants to improve its standards and assured its customers that it is doing everything it can to contain the outbreak. Just last week, it announced that it has revamped its food safety procedures by updating its supply chain and introducing DNA testing of its produce. But the damage has been done. Although it's unclear how many of Chipotle's nearly 2,000 locations have been directly affected, it's not unreasonable to think that all of them have suffered in some way. The company, which has posted strong revenue growth since it went public in 2006, has already said that it expects significant declines at its flagship stores, where sales could fall by as much as 11 percent in the fourth quarter as a result of the scare. Its shares, meanwhile, have fallen by nearly 30 percent since mid-October, when the outbreak was first detected. A good deal of that is likely due to residual effects — customers, worrying that a choice to eat lunch at Chipotle comes with an unnecessary risk, are choosing something else; investors, fearing the same, are looking elsewhere, too. If previous examples are any indication, Chipotle's woes could continue for some time. Taco Bell, the last major fast food company to face an E. coli outbreak, suffered mightily in the aftermath of its 2006 scare. The chain quickly pinpointed and resolved the issue — shredded lettuce served at its northeastern U.S. locations — but the pain persisted, leading to five straight quarters of negative sales growth. Yum! Brands, Taco Bell's parent company, told investors in 2007 that its "Taco Bell business has been negatively impacted by adverse publicity related to a produce-sourcing issue." More troubling than the immediate impact of Chipotle's run-in with food safety is the reality that the outbreak could cast a shadow that lingers long after the chain has cleaned up the mess. No food company wants to be associated with foodborne illnesses, but the association could be especially crippling for Chipotle, whose brand centers on a promise of clean food. Nowhere is that promise louder than on the company's website, where its core mission, selling "food with integrity," emphasizes a respect for all participants in the supply chain, including animals, farmers, customers and the environment. Ever since the company first opened more than 20 years ago, it has worked to make good on that promise by seeking out ways to cut its carbon footprint, carefully choose its farmers, source its ingredients locally where it can, and work with meat farmers such as Niman Ranch Pork Company, which has long been a leader in humane animal practices.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico This has been a major key to the chain's success. Although fast-food giants, such as McDonald's, have struggled after years of prioritizing cheapness in its supply chain, Chipotle has thrived by putting quality first. The unparalleled success of the chain is glaring proof that people are willing to pay a bit more for that assurance.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico More recently, however, that success has also been a lesson in how hard it is to scale the entirety of a business like Chipotle, with its promise to sell food people should feel good about eating. In 2013, the company was forced to begin serving "conventionally raised beef," after it became clear that there was no longer enough antibiotic- and hormone- free beef to go around. In January of this year, it decided to pull pork from the menus at roughly a third of its restaurants (some 600 stores nationwide) after one of its suppliers violated its standards. Chipotle anticipated only a brief interruption in its ability to source pork it was proud of, but it took more than half a year, a foreign company, and two of Chipotle's most disappointing quarters on record to put _carnitas_ back on the menu. Farms that raise pigs outside of gestation crates simply don't represent a large enough portion of the pork industry.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Chipotle's bout with foodborne illnesses appears to stem from the same laudable but increasingly tenuous desire: to build a business without changing it too much. "They’re trying to be local and serve food with integrity, but as you grow it becomes incredibly complex and difficult and challenging," said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of industry research firm Technomic. "When you look at what’s going on, how they're expanding, the outbreak was almost bound to happen." Chipotle understands this. The company admitted as much in its most recent annual report, where it warned that its use of "fresh produce and meats rather than frozen," and "reliance on employees cooking with traditional methods rather than automation," puts it at a higher risk for outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. Tristano, who admits that it's hard to hear about a food safety issue and still feel comfortable eating at the chain in question, believes that the effects of the scare will be significant but not likely long-lasting. "Consumers have a surprisingly short memory," he said. "I would be surprised if it's still affecting them by mid-next year." Whether that proves true doesn't diminish the challenge ahead. On the one hand, Chipotle has an ongoing food scare to clean up and then, eventually, erase from the minds of its customers. On the other, it has to reconcile with the very real possibility that problems like these are only going to become more frequent — and formidable — if it is as determined to ascend in the American fast-food industry as it seems.

Whole Foods offers ‘John Wall Burger’ and ‘Backstrom Sandwich’

For as long as the Whole Foods in Foggy Bottom continues to offer delicious-looking sandwich specials named after D.C. pro athletes, I will at least consider frequenting the store for a post-work meal. The $3 pints are a nice draw, too. In September, the chain’s Foggy Bottom location offered the Buffalo Ramos Burger, a buffalo meat homage to Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos, whose nickname is “The Buffalo.” Last week, Whole Foods announced the introduction of the John Wall Burger, a beef, turkey or veggie patty topped with candied bacon, fried pickles, cheddar cheese, lettuce, grilled onions and Kentucky Bourbon BBQ sauce.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico There is a lot to love about the John Wall Burger. First, Wall probably wouldn’t eat it. In November, the Wizards point guard revealed that he hasn’t had a burger in three years. Back when he was still eating burgers, Wall ate them without any toppings. “I get the meat, the bun, that’s it,” Wall told ESPN in 2010.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Second, candied bacon. Third, see the second thing. I didn’t eat much on Friday in anticipation of trying the Wall burger and it did not disappoint. My one complaint: the burger could’ve used more of the toppings, especially the candied bacon. Even accounting for my terrible food photography skills, my burger didn’t look much like the burger in the photo above. Wall isn’t the only D.C. sports star with his own sandwich at Whole Foods. Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom has a turkey hoagie named in his honor and it looks quite good. A Whole Foods spokesperson said the John Wall Burger and Backstrom Sandwich will be available at the Foggy Bottom location through next Tuesday.

Room 11’s Choco Taco and Ted’s Bulletin’s Sno Balls take you back in time

Go retro with these new interpretations of childhood classics available in D.C. **   **    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **Choco Taco**   _Room 11, 3234 11th St. NW;room11dc.com_   When Room 11 owner Paul Ruppert first saw the bar’s take on the Klondike classic, he told the team they’d better be prepared to make a lot. “Sometimes you see something and know it will be a home run,” Ruppert says. Since its launch, the treat (made from fresh waffles stuffed with ice cream and dipped in chocolate and peanuts) has sold out daily.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico ****    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico _Ted’s Bulletin, 1818 14th St. NW;tedsbulletin14thstreet.com_   Available only at Ted’s 14th Street locale, these childhood favorites are made with chocolate cake, marshmallow cream filling and coconut flakes. “We tried to make something you would want as a kid when you came home from school,” says pastry chef Kelsey Pitta.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico  **More local food new from Express:**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Holey Moley: Who knew D.C. had such a great bagel scene?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Five over-the-top grilled cheese sandwiches from Duffy’s, Bub and Pop’s, Stoney’s and more    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico SnoCream Shavery serves up sweet, frozen ‘sno’    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Daniel Boulud of DBGB answers 6 of our random questions    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

No, journalists, global warming is not going to lead to the end of fish and chips

Nowhere do people love fish and chips more than in the United Kingdom, where the National Federation of Fish Friers calls it “the undisputed National dish of Great Britain” and claims sales of 1.2 billion pounds sterling per year.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico No wonder, then, that when a new study came out yesterday seeming to suggest that the dramatic warming of North Sea waters due to climate change could threaten stocks of fish like haddock — one of the leading fish components of the dish, along with cod — there was something of a media freakout.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico “Global warming could make haddock and chips a thing of the past,” blared the UK Mirror. “Fish and chips on the brink of extinction due to warming seas,” added International Business Times. Many other headlines suggested more or less the same.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The study itself didn’t say this — and a key fact raises considerable reason for doubt about these headlines. Namely, whatever happens in the North Sea, much of the fish that winds up in UK servings of fish and chips isn’t caught there at present. Most of the cod and haddock consumed in the form of fish and chips in the UK instead come from the Barents Sea and Iceland, according to Seafish, a joint industry and government organization set up to ensure sustainable fish stocks.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico That doesn’t mean the new research is unimportant — and it is indeed bad news, when interpreted properly. But the alarmist media headlines call to mind the buzz last year about Chipotle supposedly considering discontinuing guacamole because of climate-related changes in food costs — a story the company had to debunk on Twitter.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico [Don’t panic: Chipotle’s guacamole isn’t going anywhere (for now)]    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico So what happened here? Let’s first go to the research itself. The study was published in a top journal, Nature Climate Change, by University of Exeter biosciences researcher Louise Rutterford and her colleagues. It doesn’t say anything directly about the loss of fish and chips. Instead, the study begins with some crucial background observations: The North Sea has seen a staggering warming since the 1980s, “four times faster than the global average.” And this has already meant that catches of “cold-adapted” fish species, like haddock, have declined by half — even as catches of warm water loving intruders have gone up by “a factor of 2.5.” But we’re only at the beginning of the projected warming. So the researchers used a novel model that took into account both climate projections and fisheries and other environmental data to study how distributions of the top ten most common North Sea bottom dwelling fish would change as warming of the North Sea continues over the next 50 years. The fish species studied were cod, dab, haddock, hake, lemon sole, ling, long rough dab, plaice, saithe, and whiting. They accounted for 68 percent of fish caught commercially in the area in the last three decades, the study says. And the paper found that many of these species would not be able to shift their habitats to deeper, cooler waters in order to weather the changes that were coming — simply because they had already tried that adaptive strategy in past decades and it had been “largely exhausted.” The study instead found that the fish might have to, in effect, weather in place, and face an additional 3.2 degrees Celsius of potential warming by 2100. ”The ecological consequences are unknown,” the study noted, especially since the fish could face invasions of competing warmer water species. “Fish will either need to change their ecology (e.g. diet and habitat) to move, their physiology (e.g. metabolism and reproduction) to stay put and acclimate to a further 2 C warming, or decline,” explains study co-author Stephen Simpson, a biologist at the University of Exeter, by email. Based on the research, then, many of these North Sea species could indeed face serious challenges. And that’s surely why the study was newsworthy, especially in the UK. But where did people read into this the idea that this would take away fish and chips? The answer appears to the press release for the study — “Warming seas pose habitat risk for fishy favorites” — which was fairly cautious, but did set journalists down this path with a quotation at the end from Simpson:    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Note the phrase “sustainable UK fisheries” __ – if seafood in the UK is to be sourced from the North Sea, then yes, the new research might suggest a looming challenge to making fish and chips from fish caught in these waters.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But this ignores the matter of imports: Cod and haddock for fish and chips in the UK today mostly do not come from the North Sea. According to the website of the UK’s National Federation of Fish Friers:    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico To check into this further, I contacted the Edinburgh-based Seafish, a UK-based body funded by industry through a levy on catch, but originally set up by government to ensure sustainable fisheries. The answer was consistent with the above statement. “Cod and haddock stocks in the North Sea are at very healthy levels and the UK fishing industry places great importance on careful management of fish stocks for future generations,” said the organization’s trade marketing manager Andy Gray. “However, to meet demand, approximately 95% of the cod that we consume in the UK is actually imported from Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands.” As for haddock, a Seafish fact sheet explains that except for in Scotland, most of what is consumed tends to come not from the North Sea but from Iceland and the Barents Sea. Indeed, both cod and haddock count among the UK’s top five imported fish species, according to Seafish.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico So it looks like whatever happens in the North Sea, the UK is bringing in a large volume of fish imports from different regions, especially colder and more northerly ones. That’s not to say that other fisheries aren’t also potentially subject to impacts from climate change — but that wasn’t the focus of the current research. I also contacted the original researchers, noting that I was having a hard time directly connecting their research with the issue of fish and chips availability, due to the fact that most fish served as fish and chips in the UK seems to come from abroad. Lead author Louise Rutterford responded by email, noting that the fish that she studied do represent 68 percent of the commercial North Sea catch. So there could indeed be a need for dietary shifts as climate change progresses. Rutterford also called the North Sea a “canary in the coalmine” since it is seeing such a rapid change in climate. However, she acknowledged **** that “in terms of where fish and chips come from you’re right, since we still want to eat traditional colder water fish much of it has to be imported since the North Sea has experienced massive stock reductions due to fishing pressure and now much tighter management means less is landed.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico “The current situation is that most of what we eat in the UK we import, and most of what we catch we export to mainland Europe,” added Simpson by email. “Our diet has remained static while the fish have moved.” So, in sum — global warming is going to change the world in many ways. And that often won’t be good for flora and fauna — those we eat, and also those we don’t. Moreover, as species shift ranges in response to changing temperatures, what counts as “local” food in a given place may also change, perhaps a great deal. But that doesn’t mean every media doom story about climate change is true. The research in question does present cause for concern — and warmer seas will surely imperil many species. But it seems doubtful, based on this study alone, that fish and chips is going anywhere any time soon.

The terrifying McDonald’s Happy Meal mascot is a hideous demon creature

Well, so much for my resolution to eat only junk food for the remainder of my days. Look at this horrible thing.  It’s the terrifying new McDonald’s Happy Meal mascot, Happy. This may succeed where the Let’s Move initiative has failed. Even the people who have doubled down on their Double Downs in the wake of the first lady’s campaign can hardly be expected to keep their food down when confronted with this terrifying anthropomorphic meal container. Look at the M embedded in his head! Look at the Annoying Orange teeth! It looks like someone put long, gangly spaghetti arms on a demonically possessed washing machine.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday It is horrible. And those eyes! For so long, Burger King held the monopoly on Unnecessarily Creepy Fast Food Mascots with its ominous, looming King. Now McDonald’s has stepped up to take its place. I don’t know why we expected better from a company that has had a clown as its mascot for so long — a company that, given the chance to update this mascot, decided that what he needed was new pants and a different jacket, not to stop being a terrifying clown.  Is it possible McDonald’s doesn’t see how creepy these things look?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Poor Pharrell must be turning over in his hat. If anything can stem the tide of “Happy,” it is this creature.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday I thought nothing could drive me into the arms of kale. I was wrong.

Robert ‘McDonalds’ Gibbs: Former Obama spokesman hired to do fast-food communications

Michelle Obama is certainly not going to be lovin’ it. Robert Gibbs, Obama’s first White House press secretary, is going to work for McDonald’s, the fast-food chain that made cheap burgers and fries an American way of life. The Gibbs hire brings “experience and outside perspective to McDonald’s as we build a more modern, progressive burger company,” McDonald’s president and CEO Steve Easterbrook said in a statement Tuesday morning.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico McDonald’s has struggled in recent years to find its place in an evolving culinary marketplace, where consumers still want their food fast, but they increasingly want it healthy, organic and green. Who better than Gibbs, who ran comms for the candidate who made politics cool again (for a time), to do the same for Mickey D’s? Can he market the change we can believe in? Though for most of us born before the clean eating/Paleo/gluten-free/no dairy/vegan diets swept the nation, McDonald’s exists not to be cool – and certainly not healthy – but to remind us of our youth. Of losing a shoe in the Playland ball pit, collecting every Happy Meal beanie baby, awaiting Shamrock Shake season. One bite into those over-salted shoestring fries and we’re 10 years old again. We’re not sure what a “progressive burger company” looks like (Five Guys? Shake Shack?), but the Loop thinks Gibbs would be better off making the McRib a permanent menu item than introducing a quinoa kale salad. Because, really, don’t we all deserve a break today? **Read more:**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico McDonald’s sales slump continues in May    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico You’re still not eating at McDonald’s, and the new CEO wants to change that    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico McDonald’s to stop using chicken treated with antibiotics    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Why labor groups genuinely believe they can unionize McDonald’s one day    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Panera’s decision to cut fake ingredients reflects P.R. more than science

“No compromises.” That’s the headline of Panera Bread’s Monday announcement that it will be cutting dozens of artificial ingredients from its recipes by the end of 2016.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico “If it’s not colored by nature, we’re not interested in serving it,” the message reads. A video on the company’s Web site adds, “If the ingredients in your food are unpronounceable, we believe they shouldn’t be in your food.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Like Chipotle’s recent decision to cut genetically modified ingredients from its menu and Pepsi’s declaration that it’s ditching the aspartame from its diet drinks, Panera has framed its decision as a principled stand against the forces of fake food.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico “It is a much higher standard than what makes business sense,” Ron Shaich, chief executive of Panera, told Fortune. “It is ‘How do I want to feed my daughter?’ That’s the gold standard question and when I answer that, it tells me what I want to do for my customers. Because my customers are no different than my daughter.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But the move makes complete business sense. In some cases, the decision to eliminate an ingredient is more reflective of strategy than science. _[7 of the biggest ‘facts’ about unhealthy food that actually aren’t true]_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Take, for example, monosodium glutamate, or MSG — one of about three dozen “No No” ingredients Panera says it has already banned from its menu. The much- maligned additive has been called a “silent killer” and investigated several times for potential health problems. But a review of four decades of clinical trials concluded that there was no link between the additive and its purported side effects.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Or consider added nitrates and nitrites, which Panera says it will remove by the end of 2016. “Food Babe” blogger Vani Hari, a leading proponent of the “don’t eat what you can’t pronounce” policy, writes that nitrates in meat can cause Alzheimer’s and cancer. And the American Institute for Cancer Research considers nitrates/nitrates a carcinogen. But nitrates have been used to preserve since the Middle Ages (back then they were made from urine, a production process we’re probably better off without). A 2011 survey from Australia and New Zealand’s food standards agency found that most nitrate exposures come from fruits and vegetables, rather than the preservatives added to meats, and that the chemical helps improve the “microbial safety” of the foods by combating bacteria like botulism.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Like any additive, MSG, nitrates and several other artificial ingredients banned from Panera’s menu are harmful in large doses. But in the quantities found in most foods, studies of their reported effects on health are often conflicting. So why cut them? For the same reason that Chipotle, Pepsi and about a dozen other companies have announced similar initiatives in the past six months. People don’t want to eat food they perceive to be fake, or unhealthy, or not fresh. It’s why McDonald’s is “recommitt[ing] to hot, fresh food” and Chipotle is posting record earnings with its “food with integrity,” GMO-free stance. The science on artificial ingredients may not be decisive, but public opinion is.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Shaich said as much himself. “I’m not a scientist and I’m not wading into the debate over whether any of these things cause cancer or are otherwise bad for you,” he told the New York Times. “I just think this is where the consumer’s head is right now.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico It’s a perfectly valid business decision, and lots of health advocates have applauded the move. _[Kraft Mac & Cheese just got duller. You can thank (or blame) ‘The Food Babe.’]_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico “Panera is setting a high bar,” said Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition at New York University, told USA Today. “These are all ingredients used in highly processed foods to make them look, taste, and hold together better — for the most part, cosmetics.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Hari, the “Food Babe” blogger, attributed the decision to her and her followers’ efforts. “This is the direct result of the ongoing pressure you and the Food Babe Army have put on companies to serve safer and more healthful ingredients,” she wrote on her site. “Thank you!”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But others worry that these kinds of policies mislead consumers. The “if you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it” policy promoted by Panera and “Food Babe” doesn’t make much sense, Joe Schwarz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science & Society, argued in a blog post — plenty of naturally occurring substances have long, complicated scientific names. Among them? Cyanocobalamin, better known as vitamin B12.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, questioned Panera’s motives in some of the changes. “I applaud Panera for replacing dyes and certain other questionable additives in its foods,” he told USA Today. “But eliminating many of the ingredients with unfamiliar chemical names, like calcium propionate and sodium erythorbate, is done solely for PR purposes and not to make safer, more healthful foods.”    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Why you might want to be skeptical of McDonald’s latest food changes

To combat losses like these, McDonald's has been trying to appeal to customers who increasingly prefer fast-casual chains. Stephen Dutton, who analyzes the food industry at Euromonitor International, said McDonald’s is aiming to be more like these newer brands to appeal to health-conscious consumers who like to know what's in their food and where it came from. “McDonald’s wants to make their image more premium fast-casual,” Dutton said. “It's trying to present itself to be a modern premium burger chain while still winning on value.”     Dutton said, "It's more about perception about the actual healthfulness of the product rather than its nutrition value."

Republic Kolache’s next pop-up will feature late-night kolaches and breakfast tacos

Expect Republic to announce other temporary arrangements in the near future, Svetlik says.   "We're drawing inspiration from Texas-style BBQ, Mexican-style breakfast staples, and just simple, well-executed comfort food," Frye notes in an email. The new partners don't yet have an ETA yet for Republic Tacos, but the flour tortilla-based bites will likely debut during the Dacha pop-up, even if that means serving breakfast fare as late-night snacks. "That seems like the most logical place to launch them," Svetlik says. Breakfast tacos will certainly have a few advantages over kolaches: Most Washingtonians probably know what a breakfast taco is, and they can probably even pronounce the name of the snack without hesitation. But more important, Washingtonians may have a hankering for a decent breakfast taco.

The shockingly beeflike veggie burger that’s not aimed at vegetarians

In Seth Goldman’s vision of the supermarket meat case of the future, he doesn’t see a meat case at all. He sees a protein case. And only some of the proteins in it will come from animals. “I want to see chicken protein, plant protein, beef protein,” he says. “Just like what has happened in the dairy case.” Goldman, who founded Honest Tea, last year became executive chairman of the board of Beyond Meat, the California company whose high-tech approach to plant-based meat substitutes has attracted such investors as Biz Stone and Bill Gates. And his meat-case vision will get another trial on Wednesday, when the company’s latest product — a strikingly beeflike veggie patty called the Beyond Burger — debuts at the new Pentagon City Whole Foods Market. The burger will not be limited to the meat-substitutes section of the market, but will be the first plant-based patty to be sold right alongside the fresh conventional burgers, Goldman says. “I love vegetarians — my whole family has been vegetarian for 10 years — but if we’re only selling to vegetarians, we’re not really changing anything,” says Goldman. He, Beyond Meat founder Ethan Brown and other company executives are making the case that eating less meat can improve human health as well as environmental and animal welfare. Pentagon City will be just the second place in the country where the burger is sold, although Beyond Meat is planning an eventual national rollout. When the burger debuted at a Whole Foods in Boulder a few weeks ago, the company figured it would sell about three cases (or 192 burgers) a week. Instead, the store sold 33 cases (or 2,112 burgers) in just two days. That’s partly, no doubt, due to the Boulder market’s commitment to showcasing the product, with a special burger bar pop-up dedicated to cooking and selling burgers made with the Beyond Burger patties. But it’s also, no doubt, a testament to the burger’s surprisingly beefy texture and taste. Goldman and his team cooked up some samples for me to try — and then sent me more samples for me to cook on my own — and both times the results lived up to the hype. While the burger didn’t exactly “bleed” vegetable juices as some media reports have promised, it is juicy and rosy-colored from beet and annatto extracts. And it behaves much like ground meat when you cook and eat it. I cooked the patties in a pan without a drop of oil, and they oozed fat just the way ground beef does, leading to that familiar sizzle. The patties smell a little like bologna when they’re cooking, but once they’re browned for a few minutes on each side, that aroma fades. The crust that forms is thinner than that of a “real” burger, but inside the “flesh” tightens up just like beef, giving the burger a pleasantly chewy texture. Tasters at The Post were unequivocal: “They taste the closest to meat that I’ve found in any veggie burger,” said one. Nutrition-wise, the burger stacks up closely to an 80 percent lean beef burger, using the USDA Nutrition Database: 290 calories (compared to 288), 22 grams total fat (compared to 22.7), 5 grams saturated fat (compared to 8.7), and 20 grams protein (compared to 19.5). The biggest difference: no cholesterol, compared to the beef burger’s 81 milligrams. As for price, the patties cost $5.99 for two four-ounce patties, putting the product at $11.98 a pound — significantly costlier than even organic grass-fed beef, which at Whole Foods retails for $6.99 a pound. What about the ingredients? The burgers are made from pea protein isolate, plus 20 other ingredients that Goldman said all meet Whole Foods’ standards. But for eaters who abide by the Michael Pollan advice to never eat anything that includes ingredients your grandmother wouldn’t recognize, the burgers might be a tough sell, unless your grandmother cooked with succinic acid and cellulose from bamboo. When asked about the idea that the veggie burger is more processed than a beef burger, Goldman defended Beyond Meat’s processing as less damaging than that of a cow building muscle for beef. “One process takes plants, extracts the protein out of the plants, compresses it using heat pressure and then puts that together with other ingredients found in nature and creates this,” he said. “A cow takes plants, puts them into one acidic tank, processes it, puts it into another acidic tank and processes it, with tons of waste created along the way, not to mention greenhouse gases. It’s a much longer time frame. It takes much more water and much more land, and it’s still a process.” **More fromFood:** Have questions about cooking? Join our live chat Wednesdays at 12.

Brands want to capitalize on 4/20 munchies. Pot advocates say it’s time to grow up.

4/20, as the holiday is known, is when brands want you to get baked (goods). They want you to have a huge (ice cream) bowl or a (burrito) roll. In other words, it’s the day when corporate-sanctioned pot puns fly high on Twitter.  Two years ago, on 4/20, the brand’s scoop shops debuted the Brrr-ito, an ice-cream filled burrito that definitely seems like a late-night stoner innovation. This year, they’re introducing another new menu item: The Chill-aco, a waffle-cone taco with two scoops of ice cream and fudge drizzle, “which gives it that ooey-gooey component,” Bumps said.  “I think a lot of brands aim to stand out on that day.”  It’s “one of our best selling beers,” said spokeswoman Karen Hamilton. Alluding to marijuana in names for beer is “just something that we’ve always done, and it’s not only on April 20.”  If you make food that’s baked, or comes in a bowl, well, the ad copy writes itself. Denny’s tweeted its favorite, allegedly culinary words: “Baked, cooked, fried, stewed, toasted.” Chipotle’s photo of a burrito bowl came with the caption, “Sometimes you need a huge bowl to get you through the day.” Why are they so coy about it though? Even as more states legalize marijuana, acknowledging 4/20 can still be a tricky business move. So brands do it with a wink and a nudge for consumers who know that “fried” doesn’t exactly refer to chicken, but they stop just short of spelling it out in fear of pushing away their other customers.    Other brands practice flat-out denial. “We’re really known for our tongue-in-cheek humor but it’s pretty coincidental that it’s coming out on the 20th,” said Bumps, the Ben & Jerry’s spokeswoman. “That’s the official line.” But professionals in the cannabis industry don’t love the pile-on from junk-food brands, which they say promotes negative stereotypes about the lifestyle.  The branding pile-on is also, for cannabis connoisseurs, a sign that their holiday is becoming as commercialized as Christmas or Valentine’s Day. “It’s just another holiday for brands to jump on the bandwagon to market themselves,” said Mannix, and already, the big brands’ pot jokes are played-out cliches. “It’s going to take a lot to be clever. A lot of the things have been said and done.”  “The bottom line is, this is a really good spending demographic” that encompasses “everything from your 21-year-old stoner, to CEOs, to your grandma,” Walker said. “Once these brands get over themselves and realize what cannabis can do, I think you’re going to see a lot of brands coming on board.” In the meantime, don’t expect the digital marketing teams behind your favorite brands to be, well, blunt. Bumps says that even though Ben & Jerry’s has a good sense of humor on Twitter, they have to be careful not to go too far. “We try to get almost to that line, but we never really cross that line,” Bumps said. Though she will acknowledge, “Our numbers in store do quite well on that day.”

Competitive eating is nothing to cheer

Since competitive eating is one of the more disgusting fads in recent years, I was disappointed that The Post would publicize it [“Ready, set, gorge!” Weekend, Feb. 17] and then provide a list of eateries willing to host such a pointless indulgence. If obesity is a real problem, then why make a celebrity out of a man who can eat 60 hot dogs in 12 minutes? When so many people in the world are hungry, I wonder what any one of them would think while watching a person trying to eat a four-pound burrito in less than 45 minutes. ****Michael Hoyt** , Silver Spring**

In-N-Out imitator CaliBurger coming to D.C.

If you love the cool California burger joint In-N-Out Burger, well, sorry, D.C.'s not getting one of those anytime soon. But you'll get the next best thing, we guess? A company called CaliBurger, which was sued by In-N-Out over a trademark dispute, plans to open its first stateside location in D.C. by the end of the year. A rep for the company says they have not yet finalized the location.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University According to the L.A. Times, the burger joint's menu and color scheme are based directly on In-N-Out, but with different names to avoid litigation. So fans of "Animal Style" fries at In-N-Out will go for CaliBurger's "Wild Style" fries instead. Other menu items include their take on a Double-Double, as well as chicken salads and sandwiches, wings and onion rings and boozy milkshakes. And yes, it has a secret menu.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Copycat or not, one A Hamburger Today critic said CaliBurger's offerings were "very close to being the perfect homage" to In-N-Out. Maybe homesick Californians will set their brand loyalty aside?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Most of CaliBurger's current restaurant locations are in China, and D.C. is part of an expansion that will also include Stockholm, Dubai, the Philippines, London, and -- bold move, guys -- L.A.

What Sonic gets that McDonald’s doesn’t

Fast food is an indulgence, not a lifestyle. And Sonic, the fourth largest burger chain in the country, has taken that credence to heart, doubling down on the notion that there's little reason to clutter its menu with healthy options, like salads and wraps. Instead, Sonic focuses on ensuring that its hamburgers and french fries remain as affordable as possible. And it seems to be paying off. On Wednesday, Sonic celebrated yet another quarter of outstanding results. Sales at stores that have been open for at least 13 months rose by 8.5 percent in the first quarter of 2015. Profits jumped 23 percent. And the company's stocked surged by roughly 10 percent on the day.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The encouraging performance, which comes as the chain aims to expand its presence in the United States, is hardly an isolated event. Rather, it marks the latest in a string of signs the Oklahoma-based fast food chain has figured something out that other chains **—** namely, McDonald's **—** have not.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Sonic's stock has risen by more than 30 percent since October, and roughly tripled since early 2013. The southern burger chain hasn't reported a decrease in same-store sales in more than three years. Meanwhile, the quirky drive-thru's competition has struggled, and mightily. McDonald's, the country's largest burger chain, is Exhibit A. It's been more than a year since the maker of the Big Mac reported a monthly increase in same-store sales.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Part of the divergence could be tied to the fact that Sonic, unlike other fast food burger behemoths, has yet to saturate its audience in the country. Most of the chain's outlets, are still located in the south, and much of its expansion has happened in states like California and New York, which aren't as familiar with its brand. There are also simply fewer Sonics in the United States than there are other fast food chains. Sonic has roughly 3,500 branches nationally. Wendy's has nearly 6,000; Burger King has closer to 7,000; and McDonald's has more than 14,000. Sonic has also benefited from its strong marketing campaign, which has long advertised to audiences nationally, despite the chain's small presence outside of the south. The most memorable bit of its national campaign features two men, talking about eating Sonic, while eating Sonic in a car. But the company has also signed celebrities, including N.B.A. basketball superstar Kevin Durant.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico But Sonic's reluctance to invest in salads and other healthy options, a strategy other chains have long employed, has likely propelled a good part of its success too. "I think Sonic understands their core customer more than the big guys do," Will Slabaugh, an industry analyst with Stephens Inc, told CNN on Thursday. "You're typically going out to indulge. You're watching that waistline a little less and your wallet a little bit more."    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Sonic's menu reflects that understanding. The menu is simple, straightforward, and, predominantly, cheap. The chain sells nine different burgers, ten different hot dogs, an array of chicken-based foods, almost all of which are fried, and sides, which range from french fries to chili-cheese tater tots. Beyond that, there's a 'Smart' menu, that offers no salads, or carrots, but rather calorie-controlled portions of its burgers, sandwiches, and hot dogs. And there are milkshakes.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico McDonald's, on the other hand, has opted to expand its menu, which currently sports almost 200 items, and largely with salads, wraps, and other healthier, but also more expensive fare. There have been many problems with that strategy. For one, those items, along with the chain's other, pricier options, are pitting McDonald's against the likes of Panera and Chipotle, fast casual brands with which McDonald's has been hard-pressed to compete. The price point, as Fortune recently noted, has put McDonald's at a serious risk of losing customers.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Most importantly, McDonald's strategy seems to point to a misunderstanding of its audience: namely, that Americans who walk through its restaurants' doors do so to indulge in cheap, but also, for lack of a better word, indulgent food. The Economist notes this very quirk in a new piece:    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Dangling salads, especially now that calorie counts are pasted all over fast food menus, undermines the essence of what the fast food world offers Americans. People visit cheap burger chains for a respite from their (hopefully) healthier dietary regimen, not yet another reminder from their conscience that they could be eating something much healthier. Sonic seems to understand that. McDonald's? Not so much.

Kirk Cousins and Chris Cooley want tacos

Yesterday, Chris Cooley tweeted a copy of an email addressed to the corporate chef for taco chain Taco John’s. The email is signed by Kirk Cousins and endorsed by him on Twitter with an “Amen,” although it’s unclear which of the two actually wrote it. What is clear is that Cooley and Cousins want some tacos.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University For the record, Taco John’s offers franchise opportunities. I see a business partnership in their future. Or at the very least, a box of tacos.