MenuPages

It turns out that Rita's Ice is a big Philly export: the chain has spread as far as Texas (where they just opened store no. 556) and wants to open no. 600 by the end of the year. Since the franchise has already basically doubled in size since McKnight Capital Partners bought Rita's from the Tumolo family, this goal seems more than doable. What makes it possible? Apparently, "Cool University" Rita's Bensalem training center. Described in a lot of 30 Rock-worthy corporate-speak, Cool U is where Rita's franchise owners learn "the art of happiness" — that (not the public's appetite for water ice) is their recipe for success.

Rita's doubles stores under corporate owner [Philly Deals/Inquirer]

[Photo: Rita's Tangerine Ice via Mr. T in DC/Flickr]

The Pennsylvania institution turns 45 today! Wawa started out as a dairy farm and milk delivery service, and turned to groceries in 1964. The dairy still exists, but as we know, Wawa is so, so much more than milk.

Wawa has become the region's third-largest food merchant, behind Acme and ShopRite, according to Food Trade News. It employs 16,000 people and sells 195 million cups of coffee a year at its 570 stores in five states, and is among the top 10 coffee sellers in the country. Its revenue was about $1.6 billion last year, not counting the gas it pumped, which constitutes about 1 percent of the nation's total.

The first ever Wawa location is the one Folsom on 212 MacDade Boulevard, where they'll be celebrating “Wawaversary Day" with free coffee and food all day long. There will even be Tasykake and Herr's giveaways. Happy 45th, Wawa!

How Wawa became a success [Inquirer]
Wawaversary Day Dawns [CSP]

Previously:
Wawa Sells Billionth Cup Of Coffee: Marks Occasion With "Coffeetopia"

The 100 highest grossing restaurants in the country were announced by Restaurants & Institutions today, and there is not one Philly restaurant among them. Baltimore has a restaurant that pulls in over $12 million a year! Cincinatti has two that gross over $11 million!

It's a little surprising that nary a steakhouse nor Stephen Starr restaurant pulls in enough money to make it into the top 100, but on the other hand; whatever. The list is not a measure of quality, and according to a Zagat survey, Philadelphia ties with Boston as the city where people eat out the least — only 2.6 times per week, compared to 3.3 nationwide. (Before you feel schadenfreude or pity for Stephen Starr: the New York City outpost of Buddakan is #7 on the list, while the NYC Morimoto is #53.)

Top 100 Independents [R&I]
Legal Sea Foods, L'Espalier, and Hungry Mother Clean Up in 2009 Boston Zagat Survey [MP:Boston]

Starbucks has unveiled the "value meal" that we wrote about last week, and it's a combo promotion. The Wall Street Journal reports that

Under Starbucks's new $3.95 promotion, customers can get a 12 oz. latte with oatmeal or coffee cake or a 12 oz. brewed coffee with a choice of breakfast sandwich or roll. It's the first time Starbucks has paired food and drink at a discount.

The WSJ asked whether Starbucks would consider simply lowering coffee prices, but for the time being, the answer is no. We don't know about you, but this would go much farther for us than $4 drink/food specials from the chain. And anyway, if the recession is affecting Starbucks, what of our own local coffee shops? Not to get all 1994/Reality Bites, but now is as good a time as any to give your business to Ants Pants Cafe, Kaffa Crossing, or wherever is convenient.

Starbucks Plays Common Joe [WSJ]
Value Meals At Starbucks? [previously]
Ants Pants Cafe [MenuPages]
Ants Pants Cafe [Official Site]
Kaffa Crossing [MenuPages]
Kaffa Crossing [Official Site]

[Photo: d'n'c/Flickr]

You have gone above and beyond in your quest to get the blogosphere to take notice of you, and you have more than succeeded. First you brought out the King. The Subservient Chicken. The "I Am Man" commercial. Then Whopper Virgins, FLAME body-spray, and most triumphantly, this past week, the Facebook Whopper Sacrifice.

Anyway! Saturday Night Live took notice this weekend and aired this parody of the Whopper Virgins, so again, all the kudos and congratulations in the world to you for being the most viral, most bloggable, most finger-on-the-pulse fast food chain of them all. That said, as much as we enjoy keeping track of your wacky antics, sorry, but we're just not biting!

Try to convince us as you will (and oh, how you will!) there is no way that we are going to trade you in for any of the far more delicious burgers to be had throughout the city, be it at Good Dog, Rouge, Monk's Cafe, or even a chain like Five Guys!

Good Dog [MenuPages]
Good Dog [Official Site]
Rouge [MenuPages]

Monk's Cafe [MenuPages]
Monk's Cafe [Official Site]
Five Guys [MenuPages]
Five Guys [Official Site]

Starbucks announced late Tuesday afternoon that they are closing 600 of their stores in the United States, as previously mentioned in our newsbrief. All stores closed will be from the company-operated market (meaning that privately operated locations such as those inside bookstores, universities and highway rest stops are uneffected). The closings will start now and will stretch throughout 2008 and into the first half of the 2009 fiscal year as well.

As many as 12,000 employees are expected to lose their jobs.

Here's CEO Howard Schultz's spin on it:

"Throughout the history of the company, we have always aspired to put our people first. This makes our decision to close stores difficult, because it is disrupting the lives of the people who have worked so hard to deliver superior service to our customers. We sincerely thank each one of them and are very proud of their many contributions to the company. At the same time, we recognize that it is necessary to make decisions that will strengthen the U.S. store portfolio and enable us to enter into fiscal 2009 focused on enhancing operating efficiency, improving customer satisfaction and ensuring long-term value for our partners, customers and shareholders."

In real world speak, well... Schultz is explaining that rising gas prices and the resulting economic fallout is kicking the company's butt. Over at Jim Romenesko's excellent Starbucks Gossip site, company employees are weighing in. It turns out that employees who lose their jobs will be given a lump sum severance fee and that there's a secret internal store closing manual that was given out to managers over the past year.

But we're more interested in what this means to Philadelphia. Although Starbucks has not released a list of the coffee shops they are closing yet, it's inevitable that some Delaware Valley locations will be on it.

So which Starbucks do you think are headed into the dumpster? Send us an e-mail and weigh in with your two cents. Hell, we'll be here.

Starbucks Press Release [Y! Biz]
Starbucks to close 600 underperforming US stores [Sbux Gossip]

The hole that Burger King was in after the failure to agree to a penny-per-pound increase for tomato workers has just been getting deeper and deeper. Last week, we learned that a vice president in the company wrote some blog posts criticizing the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. There's also talk of some e-mails sent from the BK server that were sympathetic to the group.

And today we learned that Burger King actually hired someone to spy on another group, the Student/Farmworker Alliance, that works with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers:

In March, a woman named Cara Schaffer contacted the Student/Farmworker Alliance, saying she was a student at Broward Community College. Her eagerness aroused suspicions, but she was allowed to join two of the group’s planning sessions. Internet searches by the alliance revealed that she was not a college student.

Ms. Schaffer is the 25-year-old owner of a private security firm. Her company, Diplomatic Tactical Services, seems like the kind of security firm you’d find in one of Carl Hiaasen’s crime thrillers. Last year Ms. Schaffer was denied a private investigator’s license; she had failed to supply the Florida licensing division with proof of “lawfully gained, verifiable experience or training.” Even more unsettling, one of her former subcontractors, Guillermo Zarabozo, is now facing murder charges in United States District Court in Miami for his role in allegedly executing four crew members of a charter fishing boat, then dumping their bodies at sea.

According to the company, the spying was done for security purposes in an effort to prevent any violent acts and ensure the safety of its employees and assets. Which would be justified if the group had a history of violence, which it does not. At all.

So, this could be fun. Sit back, relax, and watch the corporate backpedaling.

Burger King probes e-posts [Miami Herald]
Burger with a Side of Spies [New York Times]
Coalition of Immokalee Workers March Today On BK Headquarters [MP: South Florida]
Burger King [Official Site]

The only problem? The paper's reviews read like they were written for people who had never stumbled into an Applebee's, Bertucci's or Red Lobster in their entire life. Except for a select demographic of 10,000 or so people who live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, we'd say everyone reading the paper has eaten at one of these restaurants at one time or another.

But we read on and discovered something: The Timesers liked the chain restaurant! Even if they wrote about them condescendingly:

“Surprisingly decent” was the consensus among nine reviewers who visited chain restaurants in the suburbs around New York City. They peeled back Bloomin’ Onions, meditated on Zen chicken pot stickers and attempted to ignore the calorie count of an “appetizer” that included Buffalo wings, fried mozzarella and stuffed potato skins.

So what's your favorite restaurant chain? We're partial to Bertucci's and Chipotle ourselves.

Deja Vu Dining [NYT]
Bertucci's [MenuPages]
Bertucci's [Official Site]
Chipotle [MenuPages]
Chipotle [Official Site]

Look out Daniel Boulud — a $167 hamburger (GBP85) has debuted at selected Burger Kings in London.

Burger King's new Kobe beef burger will be topped with blue cheese and will be sold at the chain's Kensington and Chelsea, London locations. According to Lucy Barrett of British mag Marketing, it's all just one gonzo PR stunt:

"The idea of a burger that no one buys is not as ludicrous as it seems. Burger King will use it to promote a gap in perception between it and McDonald’s. It could lead consumers to reassess the quality of the brand."

The burger, which will use wagyu beef, was inspired by a similarly priced truffles-and-brie sandwich that UK chain Selfridges was supposed to roll out. However, there was one change made to BK's sandwich... They ditched the idea of topping it with foie gras after encountering pressure from PETA.

No word about how the animal rights activists feel about all that yummy, yummy beef.

Burger King Goes Black Tie [Portfolio]
Burger King to offer exclusive London burger [Marketing]
Burger King agrees to drop foie gras from GBP85 burger [Marketing]
It's a whopper of a price [The Sun]

Damn. It.

Wawa is officially cashing out of Center City. The venerable Center City West Wawa at 20th and Chestnut will be closing on Tuesday and the 17th & Arch Wawa will close at the end of May. According to Johnny Goodtimes:

"Wawa is leaving the city. The Wawa at the corner of 20th and Chestnut is going to be closing at the end of the month, and I have it on good authority that the others will close when their leases expire. Which means that a) they are turning their backs on some of their most loyal customers and that b) the spokewoman I spoke with a couple of months ago when I did a story on the Rittenhouse Wawa was less than truthful with me and in, turn, Philadelphians when she said that they weren't leaving the city."

We hear that the 10th & Arch Wawa will be the latest remaining Wawa in CC to remain open... But that even they will be shutting down at the end of their lease.

Thoughts?

Screw Wawa [Johnny Goodtimes]

After reading yesterday's item in trade mag Restaurants and Institutions about a drive-through dispute that resulted in a double stabbing in Texas (!?), we got just curious enough to Google the term "fast-food rage" (but without the quotes).

Turns out there are all kinds of examples of idiots wailing on one another while in line or in the parking lots of fast food restaurants. Usually, it seems to have to do with vehicular disputes, more like road rage that happens to be taking place in the parking lot of a McDonalds, though there is this one case in Georgia back in August where a woman got so mad at perceived line-jumping inside the store that she tried to run down a couple outside. Yikes!

But none of these fights seem to stem from the one behavior in fast food restaurants that makes us seriously consider throwing a punch: the jerk who takes too long at the self-serve coffee machine. Seriously, if you don't drop that cream in and mix it as you're walking away so the rest of us can get our fix, we think manhandling you out of there should be a viable option.

But a Google search for "coffee rage" (with and without quotes) turned up only this incident in Boston, to speak of, where a couple of customers got into it in the drive-through of a Dunkin Donuts. Again: road rage, not coffee rage.

People, here this now: You're spinning your wheels fighting each other over French fries and drive-through windows. If a state of terror existed around the self-serve coffee dispenser, the world would be a better place.

Fast food drive-through rage leads to double-stabbing [Restaurants and Institutions]
Fast food flare-up: Possible road-rage at McDonald's [KTVB Idaho]
Angry Woman Gets Revenge At McDonald's [Associated Press]
Food Fights Across Boston [Universal Hub]
Photo: Coffee Rage album cover, lifted from Mad Blasts of Chaos

We're going to commit a heresy here, but Philadelphia is every bit as much a hamburger town as New York. We'd rank the hamburger at the Standard Tap against the legendary Corner Bistro burger any day. Hell, the burger at Good Dog (stuffed with roquefort and topped with onions) even tops the BLT Burger.

But, as we mentioned previously, NYC chain Goodburger is opening in Philly, courtesy of a partnership between Goodburger and Pete Pashalis (Pietro's Pizza). Here's the word straight from founder Nick Tsoulos:

“With goodburger’s success in New York, we felt sure that it was a concept whose time had come,” he says. “Because of my work with Pietro’s, I’m familiar with the Philadelphia market, and I know that people here are ready and waiting for a truly great burger.”

The “not so” secret to goodburger’s success lies in the hands of their well-trained “burger chefs,” who cut, grind and form each goodburger by hand in their own facility, maintaining total control and quality of each and every burger. Everything at goodburger is cooked to order, and unlike many fast-food concepts, goodburger uses only china plates and silverware for in-house dining and environmentally-friendly biodegradable packaging for take-out. Also working to set them apart from the crowd is their list of wine and beer, served on-site.

In addition to single and double goodburgers, the menu offers a selection of other sandwiches, including house-made, all-natural turkey burgers and chicken sandwiches featuring Bell and Evans chicken, veggie burgers, French fries served plain or with their signature cheddar cheese blend, Texas steak chili and milkshakes made from Ben & Jerry’s premium ice cream.

“We think of the goodburger as a fresher, more flavorful burger than any other one out there,” says Tsoulos. “We’re proud and excited to bring our burgers to a great food town like Philadelphia.”

Opening day at 1725 Chestnut Street is April 26 May 3. We'll have the menu up the minute they open.

goodburger [MenuPages]
goodburger [Official Site]

[Image via Gothamist]

It's gonzo publicity stunt time at The Capital Grille. To celebrate the Flyers taking on the Washington Capitals on the NHL quarterfinals, the chain's Center City location will temporarily rename itself "The Flyers Grille." A banner has been put up on the Capital Grille sign (right) to show the change and to root for the home team. Of course, the DC location of the national steakhouse chain will be rooting for the Capitals. Boo!

Inqlings [Inquirer]
The Capital Grille [MenuPages]
The Capital Grille [Official Site]

What is it about formerly McDonald's-owned Mexican chain Chipotle that gives it such a ferocious cult following? Fast Company tried to find out. Apart from commiting the sin of calling Chipotle "the Bono of the fast-food business" (!), they think it comes down to a combination of quality food and a social responsible message:

"Good food wrapped in a socially responsible message has created legions of Chipotle fans -- and a superhot business. Acquired by McDonald's in 1998 when there were only 14 Chipotles, the company went public in 2006 with 500 stores and watched its stock rise from $22 to $110 in 18 months. The now-independent outfit is enjoying an 80% revenue run-up over three years, and by year's end, it will have 840 stores and top $1 billion in annual sales."

Chipotle is influencing America's food supply chain as well — both Burger King and Wendy's have started considering imitating their humane-pork options.

Chipotle [Official Site]
Ode to a Burrito [Fast Company]

[Photo: Carnitas burrito, Flickr: skeptict]

Burger King has just licensed out their name for a series of, err, "potato snacks." Not potato chips. Potato snacks.

We just got word from snack makers Intensely Different that they have officially unveiled a line of Burger King potato snacks. The chips/snacks/whatever come in two flavors: "Ketchup & fries" or "flame broiled." Yes — hamburger flavored chips. Are they the American version of British bacon flavored crisps? Who the hell knows. But, because we love you, here's the company's description of the "flame broiled" chips:

The BK™ spin on chips is nothing short of a revolution. Our hearty flavor now packs a crispy punch. A savory bag of crunchy, bite-sized flame-broiled taste whenever you want it.

Meanwhile, we admit this sounds like an April Fool's kind of post. I mean, hamburger flavored potato chips? But it's not. However, here's a fast food related prank for you.

Intensely Different [Official Site]

We generally try to avoid large chains. Very broadly speaking, the food isn't usually that awesome and the experience results in us giving our money to some sort of mega-corporation that has a ton of policies we find objectionable. The exceptions to the rule? New England based pizzeria Bertucci's, which makes truly solid margherita pizzas, and nationwide burrito chain Chipotle. Chipotle's burritos have often satiated our craving when we find ourself in a Mexican-food wasteland (read: much of New York City) and if you have any self-control (we don't), they can easily comprise two meals. We also love the company's focus on sustainable foods (the company uses rBGH-free sour cream, an ever-increasing amount of organic produce, and meat from green companies like Niman Ranch).

Recently, we learned of a reason to like Chipotle even more when the Washington Post reported that the chain has started using pork from Shenandoah Valley based Polyface Farms in its Charlottesville, VA location. Polyface is, of course, run by Joel Salatin, the man immortalized in Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma. Although Chipotle has faced numerous challenges, including the need to install a new kitchen in Charlottesville, over the seventeen months its taken to bring Polyface products to the restaurant, it hasn't given up. Here's hoping that Chipotle takes this focus on local farms nationwide!

Bertucci's Brick Oven Pizzeria [Official Site]
Chipotle [Official Site]
In Trial Run, Chipotle Heads to the Farm [Washington Post]
Polyface Farms [Official Site]
The Omnivore's Dilemma [Michael Pollan]

[Photo: Carnitas burrito, Flickr: skeptict]

Adventures in chain restaurant dining: Red Robin is offering three mini-hamburgers topped with swiss cheese, fried onions and mayonnaise... on a skewer. The rationale? Simple — everyone enjoys heart bypass surgery. But we kid! This is some primo junk food.

Red Robin [MenuPages]
Red Robin [Official Site]

Bonte and Pat Bombino's. One is an chain that opened earlier this decade to fight the Starbucks monolith in Philly and the other is South Philly's newest Italian restaurant. But one thing unites them both: Killer desserts made from fried dough.

As Bonte goes, their waffles are pretty authentic. They're the closest the Delaware Valley comes to authentic Brussels/Antwerp/Liege-style waffles, that's for sure; the batter is delicious and the sugar crystals burst in your mouth. Although something's a bit off with them (a bit of over-sweetening to suit the American public? a fear of the lard-lacing that dominates Belgian waffles?), Bonte still hits the mark.

But Pat Bombino's has a hidden treasure on their menu: Homemade donuts. Philadelphia mag's Joy Manning just tried them out:

I knew I was in for something good at Pat Bombino’s, a new Italian joint on Ninth Street, when the server warned me that I’d have to wait 10 minutes for the doughnuts served there because each plate is individually fried to order. Why would I want anything else? And just as I expected the piping hot puffs, served with melted chocolate and orange dipping sauces, were sweet perfection.

Viva la fried dough.

Bonte [MenuPages]
Bonte [Official Site]
Pat Bombino's [MenuPages]

In this world, there are two types of people: Those who love the Olive Garden and those who don't. For those who do, the chain is now selling two new dishes as part of their "Our Passion for Cheese" promotion. Now, without further ado, let's go straight to the Olive Garden's press release about their new dishes:

Our newest entrées feature two special cheeses from Northern Italy: fontina and asiago. Fontina, a creamy cow's-milk cheese, has been made for centuries in the Valle d'Aosta, located in the Italian Alps. It pairs well with the grilled marinated chicken breasts, tortelloni and spinach alfredo sauce found in our New! Fontina Chicken. Asiago, a rich cheese made in Italy's Veneto region, complements the grilled steak medallions, tortelloni and alfredo sauce in our New! Asiago Steak.

Mmm... heart attack on a plate.

Olive Garden [MenuPages]
Olive Garden [Official Site]

Over in Russia, McDonalds drive-thrus work a bit differently...

Drive Thru [English Russia]

Trader Joe's looms like a mighty castle over the corner of Market & 21st. But who really makes all of the store-brand goods at Trader Joe's? Chow did a taste test of Trader Joe's private-label products to find out.

Among other things:

Trader Joe's Parmesan Garlic & Herb Pita Chips = Stacy's Parmesan Garlic & Herb Pita Chips
Trader Joe's Goddess Dressing = Annie's Naturals Goddess Dressing
Trader Joe's Vienna Style Lager = Gordon Biersch Märzen
Trader Joe's Indian Fare Punjab Eggplant = Tasty Bite Punjab Eggplant

Who Makes Trader Joe's Food? [Chow]

The venerable Wawa at South 20th & Locust Street is closing on Friday. Blog The Illadelph photographed the note on the door at Wawa (above). There's a lot of rumors going around regarding the closing, which we won't get into... Suffice to say — they're gone for good.

But all is not lost. For quick Rittenhouse Square-area breakfasts, we've learned from Food & Drinq that Snackbar is entering the fray. The high-falutin' restaurant is going to start selling coffee, doughnuts, bagels, fruit, juices and newspapers to-go starting on Friday.

Rittenhouse Wawa Effs Loyal Customers [The Illadelph]
Snackbar Adds Mornings [Food & Drinq]

The founder of barbecue chain Famous Dave's (which has locations in the Northeast and Springfield) is opening his own amuseument park. "Famous Dave" Anderson is opening the $135 million KeyLime Cove, a 400-room water park resort located halfway between Milwaukee and Chicago. Here's the scoop:

At KeyLime Cove, that world is a tropical resort, awash in pastel colors, with umbrella drinks, floral scents and a layout of shops and restaurants designed to resemble a Key West street. The 65,000-square-foot water park has huge tube and body slides, a lazy river, whirlpools and other features. Anderson also touts an attention to details. The bedsheets have a higher thread count than those found at other hotels, so they're more comfortable, he said. The rooms feature flat-screen TVs, high-end Keurig coffee makers and other amenities. Guests, including children, can use their wristbands - equipped with radio transmitters - to pay for meals, arcade game tokens and other items, allowing them to explore the resort without having to carry cash or credit cards. The restaurants include D.W. Anderson's Eatery and Ice Cream Parlor, which Anderson hopes to turn into a chain of free-standing, franchised locations. The menu features burgers and other comfort food.

What can you say... Dave likes naming the restaurants after himself.

Famous Dave's founder takes on Dells with water park of his own [JS Online]

[Image via Madison A to Z]

Good news for coffee fans: On Tuesday, February 16 (you know, tomorrow), Dunkin Donuts will be offering 99c lattes from 1pm until 10pm in hopes of promoting their espresso drinks. We thought we would share that as a public service. After all, we know there is a Dunkin Donuts in your neighborhood.

Get Dunkin Donuts latte for 99 cents on Tuesday February 26 [Slashfood]

The Lone Star Steakhouse chain is in a bit of trouble. Lone Star, which has Philly-area locations in King of Prussia and Langhorne, announced today that they are closing 27 restaurants and laying off 1500 employees.

The Langhorne branch, we hear, is among the casualties.

Your pink slip is showing [The Scoop]

Over at Chow.com, they've started going in for video reviews of fast foods. This week, James Norton checked out Pizza Hut's new gourmet pizza.

Pizza Mia Pizza [Chow]

The breakfast slingers at IHOP have been giving away free pancakes on National Pancake Day (aka Shrove Tuesday) for years. It's part of a longstanding promotional effort done in tandem with the Children's Miracle Network — in 2007, IHOP raised more than $625,000 for the charity.

However, there was a problem this year... Shrove Tuesday/National Pancake day falls on Super Tuesday in 2008 (and to our NJ/DE/NY readers... vote!). So IHOP did the natural thing... and enlisted the efforts of a real life lobbying firm to ask state governors to change the dates of their primaries. But they reached a good compromise:

With 15 states planning key primary elections on Feb. 5, 2008, IHOP wrote the state governors and asked them to change the date of the elections.

Despite the lobbying efforts, the Feb. 5 votes are going ahead as planned. In what is being billed as a compromise, IHOP says it will celebrate "National Pancake Day" on Feb. 12. Several state governors, meanwhile, have pledged to proclaim Feb. 12 to be "National Pancake Day."

There is no word on whether IHOP has asked the Vatican to shift the timing of Lent.

Heh.

IHOP resolves 2008 Pancake Day 'flap' [National Post]
IHOP Roosevelt Ave [MenuPages]
IHOP [Official Site]

[Image via Charles Phoenix]

Starbucks is discontinuing hot sandwiches. The chain, which rolled out bacon, egg and cheese, florentine egg and other sandwiches into Delaware Valley locations a few months back decided that they just cost too much damn money to make. But Starbucks managers are peeved. One writes:

Good move. But all the new stores in my district that have recently opened have had warming ovens installed in anticipation of sandwiches. Hope they can return unused oven, or this is a HUGE capital write-off, which is a one time hit, but should be right around the time of the next bean stock buy in price.

Regardless, we learned another thing. One that will make our friends who are going to college very, very happy: Starbucks is experimenting with selling dollar cups of coffee:

Starbucks has been testing $1 extra-small cups of drip coffee with free refills in some Seattle stores, which Schultz said it's doing to respond to the economic pressures many of its customers are facing. Some analysts say it could draw in new customers and drive up sales if they decide to upgrade to a $4 mocha or other high-margin espresso-based drinks.

Starbucks Axes Sandwiches As Part of Fix [Yahoo! Finance]
Schultz: It takes courage to pull warm sandwiches from the menu at a time like this [Starbucks Gossip]

[Image via Mmm-Yoso]

Alright. So when it comes to convenience stores, we're rabid Wawa fans. Given the choice between 7-11 or Wawa, we'll go to Wawa every single damn time. So we don't stop by 7-11 too often. Because of that, we were completely unaware that 7-11 stocks vegan sandwiches. The Daily News interviewed sandwich manufacturer Moshe Malka, whose goods show up at 7-11s throughout the Delaware Valley:

"I started out in Wyndmoor," he said. "I was picked up by a health-food store distributor, so I started making more veggie stuff. Right down the block from me there was a 7-Eleven. I went in there and said, 'Hey, I'm right next to you, making vegetarian sandwiches. Why not put it on your shelf, and if you don't sell it, I'll take it back.'

"It took a couple of weeks for people to realize that these things were there, but then they started selling. The owner eventually sold that store to a Korean guy, and he was even more interested in carrying the line. Even better, he had a brother who owned five other stores, and the word spread. Now 7-Eleven is looking at introducing the product throughout the corporation."

7-Eleven's seitan-ic cult [Daily News]

Fast food chain Sonic does not have much of a presence in Philadelphia proper — their nearest stores are in Lancaster County and the Jersey Shore. However, the Wall Street Journal just did a feature (including video!) on the popularity of the restaurant's new snackable ice. Choice quote:

Ice isn't just for chilling drinks anymore, or for packing fish and treating sprains. It's a hot snack. Some Sonic Drive-In franchises sell it in cups and in bags to go. Ice-machine makers are competing to make the best chewable ice, with names like Chewblet, Nugget Ice and Pearl Ice. One manufacturer calls the ice-loving South the "Chew Belt."

Awesome!

Chew This Over: Munchable Ice Sells Like Hot Cakes [Wall Street Journal]

One last pizza-related post to comment on. The good folks at Pizzeria Uno (whoops, Uno Chicago Grill) wanted to let us know that frozen Uno pizzas are now being distributed to stores in the Delaware Valley. So if you have a Costco or a New Jersey Pathmark in driving distance... Delicious treats like "pizza skins" (a pizza crust filled with mashed potatoes, cheddar cheese and bacon) or "barbecue chicken flatbread pizza" can now be purchased for home consumption. Personally, we're pizza-delivery types but whatever, right?

Uno Foods [Official Site]

Can the greasy, gnarly charms of Taco Bell peacably co-exist with TB's new "diet" Fresco Menu? We don't know. I mean, hell, we feel guilty for liking Taco Bell — but a few times a year we'll make the drive down there for a Mexican Pizza, a 7-Layer Burrito or a Chicken Burrito Supreme with extra fire sauce. We admit it. We admit it.

But Chow.com just taste tested Taco Bell's new lower-calorie menu, which just takes regular menu items and swaps out the cheese, cheese sauce and sour cream for a onion/tomato/cilantro salsa. Here's the verdict:

From a nutritional perspective, Fresco makes only a slight difference for smaller items such as the Soft Taco, but it has a reasonably impressive impact on gut-busters such as the steak Burrito Supreme, which goes from 390 calories and 14 grams of fat to 330 calories and 8 grams of fat. Moreover, the addition of salsa (and deletion of cheese) from the Burrito Supreme shifts it palpably away from merely being a tube of tortilla-wrapped meat paste toward tasting a little bit more like … food.

Will Salsa Conquer Processed Cheese? [Chow]

[Image via Chow.com]

Heh. Pizza Hut has just introduced orders via text message. Omg!

We'll stick to non-chain pizza, thanks.

omg! u can txt order pza hut! [Slice]

The parent company of the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse chain, which has been in Rittenhouse Square for years, is suffering legal problems at the hands of a fired part-time waiter who claims discrimination against nonwhite employees at one of the group's restaurants.

Mohammed Rahman, a former waiter at Smith & Wollensky's Park Avenue Winter restaurant in New York, claims he was discriminated against for being Muslim & South Asian. A class action suit by 50 current and former employees of the Park Avenue Cafe was thrown out of court, despite reports that three Bengali waiters and captains at the restaurant claimed they were being discriminated against "by being fired or having their hours cut drastically."

Although the class action suit was thrown out of court, federal judge James Francis is allowing Rahman's suit against Smith & Wollensky to proceed.

Mixed Ruling for Smith & Wollensky in Class Action [NY Sun]

[Image via Slyck]

Hey, Pei Wei Asian Diner. You call yourself Asian but we know that, at heart, you're as American as mom and apple pie. Your food is influenced by a few generations worth of the American palate, from 1960's style goopy Cantonese food to the Americanization of sushi in the 1980s (paging Sasha Issenberg...) but we love you anyway. We've ate at your restaurant a few times and it's good to have a healthier option in the suburbs. Man can't live on cheesesteaks alone, right?

But the Daily News' chain gang stopped by the City Avenue Pei Wei and had a middling experience:

We started with Edamame (salted soybeans) for $2.95 and this simplest of dishes was properly prepared. If they screw up the edamame, run. [...]

Sweet & Sour Shrimp with fried brown rice ($9). "Very tasty but a little heavy. For someone who doesn't eat Chinese that often though, it was a good meal. The sweet and sour dressing was delicious. The shrimp was tasty as well. The rice was OK but not great and the green peppers were good. You do get your money's worth."

Honey Ginger Shrimp and Broccoli with steamed brown rice ($9): "The portion size was good for the price. Dish was decent, a step above Chinese takeout. However, the rice tasted as though it may have sat under a heat lamp for a while, rather than fluffy and freshly steamed."

The column's final verdict? The restaurant is alright.

Good food, good prices at Pei Wei [Daily News]
Pei Wei Asian Diner [MenuPages]
Pei Wei Asian Diner [Official Site]

[Image via Daily News]

Five Guys has become a popular hamburger chain for a reason: They're damn, damn good. In fact, Food and Drinq found out that the Michael Salove Company has signed leases for eight new Five Guys restaurants in the Philly region. New locations will open to complement the already existing Center City and Clifton Heights locations. These stores will be located in:

• Bala Cynwyd, PA (Bala Cynwyd Shopping Center)
• Warminster, PA (Street Rd. & York Rd.)
• Broomall, PA (Lawrence Park Shopping Center)
• Ewing, NJ (Parkway Plaza)
• Mays Landing, NJ (Hamilton Commons)
• Sicklerville, NJ (Town Square Plaza)
• Moorestown, NJ (East Gate Square)
• Voorhees, NJ (Eagle Plaza)

Thus, the exurbs were conquered one cheeseburger at a time.

Five more Five Guys [Food & Drinq]

[Photo via Serious Eats]

Hamburger standby Five Guys might have some incredible food, but don't even think about taking a picture in there. Adam of Blogalicious reports:

Stopped by Five Guys, Chestnut Street’s red-and-white-tiled burger bar, for lunch yesterday and imagine our surprise as we lifted our camera for a few snapshots and two employees got all up in our grill. No pictures! No pictures! Management must sanction! Sheesh, they’re burgers, not nuclear warheads. Managed to fire off a shot of the hot, fresh, well-salted spuds, but was intercepted before we could capture the beauty of our foil-wrapped cheeseburger.

Five Alive [Blogalicious]
Five Guys [MenuPages]
Five Guys [Official Site]

[Image via Blogalicious]

The free sample of dubiously sweet-sauced chicken, whether in its Cajun, Japanese or Chinese permutations, is a proud mall food court tradition. But what is it like to actually be the person who gives out those toothpick-stubbed chunks of fast food goodness? The Washington City Paper's Erin Zimmer decided to find out:

The samples start life not far from where their sources end theirs, at a poultry plant in the Carolinas where boneless dark meat—typically leg and thigh, since white breast meat dries up—is tossed in what Napoliello calls “washer and dryer-like machines.” Hundreds of pounds marinate in Kelly’s signature sweet, soy-sauce-based “Cajun” formulation. [...] At Kelly’s Cajun Grill in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, chicken samples don’t seem to last two hours. On a weekend before Christmas, one visored Kelly’s employee hustles through an entire bowl of chicken samples in five minutes. Back at the counter, she hands over her bowl to be refilled; the staff prioritizes filling it over actual customer orders. People in line pause, respecting the holy transaction.

It turns out there's even a war between Kelly's Cajun Grill and Panda Express over who invented the radition of giving out mall chicken samples. Who knew?

Free Bird [WCP]

[Image via Washington City Paper]

Comedian Patton Oswalt's most famous bit involves the KFC Famous Bowl (shown above), which he memorably called a "failure pile in a sadness bowl."

So satirical newspaper The Onion challenged Oswalt to eat a "Famous Bowl.". Oswalt took the Onion up on the challenge:

Kentucky Fried Chicken had filled a bowl with gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, breaded chicken, and finally, cheese. Shut-ins, people afflicted with Prader-Willi Syndrome, and manic-depressives also do this. If you're trying to make a fortune in the food and beverage industry, those are the three demographics to shoot for—the Famous Bowl is one of the bestselling items on the KFC menu.

KFC calls it their version of the shepherd's pie. Shepherds in Kentucky must be full of rage and slathered in confusion. They must hang their fat, skin, and muscles from bones carved with runes of surrender. [...]

The Famous Bowl has a black plastic bottom and a clear plastic top that fogs appealingly from the jungle heat of the beige glop inside. Here's where, in a quirky indie-film moment, I'd eat a sporkfull and realize… "Hey, this is pretty good!" I had considered that reaction as I drove the Famous Bowl home. It sat on the passenger seat next to me like a sullen runaway I'd picked up on the interstate. I wanted us to bond somehow. I wanted to eat my words. I like when things work out unexpectedly.

The Famous Bowl hit my mouth like warm soda, slouched down my throat, and splayed itself across my stomach like a sun-stroked wino. It was that precise combination of things, and so many other sensations that did not go together. At all.

The gravy, which I remembered as being tangy and delicious in my youth, tasted like the idea of blandness, but burned and then salted to cover the horrid taste. The mashed potatoes defiantly stood their ground against the gravy, as if they'd read The Artist's Way and said, "I'm going to be boring and forgetful in my own potato-y way!" The corn tasted like it had been dunked in fake-corn-flavored ointment, and the popcorn chicken, breaded to the point of parody, was like chewing a cotton sleeve that someone had used to wipe chicken grease off their chin.

The cheese had congealed. Even in the heat and steam of the covered Famous Bowl, it had congealed. I stabbed it with the tines of my spork and it all came up in one piece. I nibbled an edge, had a vision of a crying Dutch farmer, and put it down.

Recommended.

The Bowl At The Howling Rim Of Famous-Ity [The Onion]

Wanna learn how to make pizza from the corporate chef of one of the biggest pizza chains in the country? Sbarro's Joe Borruso will teach you how in this clip from CN8 shown above.

Pizza on CN8 [YouTube]

Hooters has numerous locations in the Philadelphia area. But the chain doesen't restrict their charms to the United States: Hooters just opened their first Israeli location.

How are the locals reacting to the combination of cute girls and wings? Well, Israeli newspaper Haaretz just sent their food critic over to Hooters:

After all, we have all sorts of things from the U.S. - Nile fever, McDonalds, and even a few poisonous snakes - so why not Hooters? The odd thing about all of this, even to the must curmudgeonly critic, is that none of this seems the least bit vulgar. As you talk to the waitresses a bit, you realize they seem to be nice post-army college and university students; that their costumes, as skimpy as they may be are more "cute" than "sexy"; and most of those dining here, ranging in age from 4 to well into their golden years, seem to be having a genuinely good time, taking it all comfortably in stride as if attending a show put on for their entertainment. Children are given balloons and toys with which to play and adults are treated with warm friendliness. The food is probably best described as traditional American fast food. Thankfully, as I discovered, it is far from junk food. We opened our meal with four dishes that arrived at the table at the same time. A Tex-Mex style quesadilla: a tortilla folded over melted cheese proved soft and full of flavor and the tomato salsa served with it was well made; the fried onion rings were tasty as well; and the cheese sticks we tried, of puff-pastry dough rolled about a soft, meted cheese were great fun to eat.

Thus, the Israelis discovered mozzarella sticks and they were good.

American, from the deep frying to the friendly service [Haaretz]

Soon South Floridians will get to enjoy those Morimoto truffles too...

If the New York Post's Page Six gossip column is to be trusted, chef Masaharu Morimoto is opening a Miami restaurant. According to the Post, he was recently spotted in Miami at restaurants Brosia and Domo Japones. Hell, the Post even has a quote (with 99.99999% possibility coming straight out of the Morimoto/Stephen Starr camp) to the effect of "he is very excited about a Miami restaurant." See — wage tax and government shenanigans to the contrary — good things do occasionally come out of Philly.

Iron in Miami [New York Post]

Taste Daily gives us a good look at the Americanized Asian cuisine of PF Chang's spin-off chain Pei Wei Asian Diner:

They took signature sauces from their full-service restaurants (like garlicky Mongolian and sticky Mandarin Kung Pao — to be tossed with your choice of proteins or veggies and served over rice) and favorite dishes like the Asian chopped chicken salad and lettuce wraps and put them in a nothing-over-$9 modified fast-food atmosphere.

Ah, suburbs and chains... two tastes that go well together.

Where We're Eating: Pei Wei [Taste Daily]
Pei Wei Asian Diner [MenuPages]
Pei Wei Asian Diner [Official Site]

It looks like the pride of South Philly, Sarcone's Deli, is franchising. The CityPaper reports that co-owner Anthony Bucci is planning to franchise out the Sarcone's brand:

"If you open a Sarcone's, you're going to get the name, the bread and all our recipes," says Anthony. But can a guy in, say, Albany really replicate a Sarcone's hoagie roll — especially since bakers swear it's the local water that helps produce the best results? Not an issue — Anthony says they'll be equipped to ship Philly-produced dough to franchise locations."

Also, we'd like to take this moment to state a simple, non-sarcastic truth. We've bought bread in New York, Paris, San Francisco and plenty of other cities. The seeded Italian loaf from Sarcone's Bakery is the best bread we've ever had, out of all of them. The combination of the crunchy exterior with the yeasty inside made Balthazar in New York and Acme in San Francisco look like a bunch of chumps. Seriously.

Sarcone's Deli [MenuPages]
Feeding Frenzy [CityPaper]

Man, we HATE when people drive their cars through the fronts of fast food restaurants. Check out what happened at the Red Lion Road location of Wendy's when a driver made a wrong turn and created his own drive-thru window.

Driver misses Turn, Winds Up Inside Wendy's [WCAU]

[Image via WCAU]

A fun little promo for the kids over at local mini-chain Santa Fe Burrito. The day after home games for the St. Joseph's Hawks b-ball team, Santa Fe locations are offering free St. Joe's basketball cards (pictured above). Plus, they've provided fans of Santa Fe with a $1.00 coupon as part of the promotion. Not too shabby...

Santa Fe Burrito [MenuPages]
Santa Fe Burrito [Official Site]

Just don't call it Pizzeria Uno...

The writers of the Chain Gang column in the Daily News articulate our feelings about Uno Chicago Grill (nee Pizzeria Uno) damn near perfectly:

The Chain Gang never really noticed when Pizzeria Uno changed its name to Uno Chicago Grill, but it probably happened when the deep dish pizza maker added about 1,000 items to its menu, turning it into something like Pizzeria Bennigan's.

The service? It's clunky. The food? The pizza is fine, the deep-fried appetizers are better and the main dishes are just alright. But don't go there if you have allergies:

One note about servers (and the Gang has noticed this throughout our travels): With so many people affected by nut and seafood allergies, servers need to know what's in their food.

A simple question about nuts in the apple crisp came back with a "yes," then a "no," then a "maybe," then a "yes." It seems to the Chain Gang that every restaurant in the country should have a laminated list on the wall at the door of the kitchen: These Foods have Nuts! These Foods Have Seafood!

It's one thing to die eating rare sushi. It's another to keel over due to chain restaurant cobbler topping.

The sweet, sweet world of suburban chain restaurants with employee retainment issues and low pay. We wouldn't trade it for anything in the world...

Pizzeria Uno becomes a Grill [Daily News]
Uno Chicago Grill [MenuPages]
Uno Chicago Grill [Official Site]

[Image via Daily News]

South Street falafel n' fries stand Maoz just got a shoutout on Uwishunu. We're big fans of the place for their salad bar, where you can top your falafel with all the veggie toppings your heart can desire. Our personal favorite? The salad combo meal with lots of Moroccan carrot salad, fried cauliflower, hot sauce, cabbage, fried eggplant, garlic sauce, cilanto sauce, hummus and tahini. Damn that stuff is good.

Maoz: Brightly colored and tasty [Uwishunu]
Maoz [MenuPages]
Maoz [Official Site]

Now this is scary. Wendy's held a contest to create a hambuerger for their 2008 menu. The winner was Los Angeles screenwriter Ian Van Camp's Philly Style Hoagie Burger: Lettuce, onions, tomatoes, 2 hamburgers, 2 slices of cheese, salami, ham and Italian dressing on a bun.

Hamburger? Italian dressing? Err, yeah. Philly deserves better.

Wendy's Unleashes User-Generated Hamburger [A Hamburger Today]

This is genius.

After Stephen Colbert's failed bid for the White House, KFC decided to console Colbert the only way they know how...

By offering Colbert the presidency of KFC. TMZ reports that the talk show host's official duties will include "sorting the "left wings" from the "right wings" and a "State of the Chicken" address."

The New York Daily News's Daily Politics Blog posted a copy of KFC's letter to Colbert in MS Word format that we've helpfully HTMLized for y'all.

Press entreaty after the jump.

Continue reading "Stephen Colbert For KFC President!" »

One of the Philadelphia area's great ice crea stands is located way out on the Main Line... and it's a chain. Handel's Homemade Ice Cream & Yogurt is a small Ohio-based chain whose Berwyn outlet just got a shoutout in the Inky. Rick Nichols was impressed by it:

The ice cream is made fresh - with Handel's cream base from an Ohio dairy - on the premises daily, a claim that can be made by Cold Stone Creamery and Capogiro, the gold-standard gelateria in Center City. Conversely, Philadelphia's old-time Bassett's now has its ice cream made at a plant in Johnstown, Pa.

Fresh ice cream does make a difference. The flavors are more potent, the texture creamier and more pliable. Handel's is perfectly medium-bodied; airy, but not flyaway thin.

This leads us to one of Handel's talking points, that it adds fruit and nuts by hand and "whole" so that they retain their integrity and flavor. Indeed, in the masterful black cherry ice cream, I watched Buchanan dot circles of plump, sweet cherries the size of small plums between layers of extruding ice cream.

A stand that truly delivers [Inquirer]
Handel's Homemade Ice Cream & Yogurt [Official Site]

[Image via Inquirer]

Over in NoLibs, Honey's Sit 'n Eat makes some great latkes.

Latkes, those artery-cloggingly awesome Jewish potato pancakes, have long been a Hanukkah favorite. Give them some sour cream and applesauce... and you've got the side dish of (Jewish) kings.

But all's not right in the latke world. God help us all, the winner of the White Castle recipe contest were a strange dish called "The Latkes You Crave." Yes, White Castle slider latkes:

The recipe takes the hamburger patties off the buns and crumbles them into a batter of potato, onion, flour, eggs and seasonings. They are then cooked in vegetable oil and served warm with traditional latke sides (applesauce and sour cream).

Wow. Just wow. It's like wartime rationing when they stretch the meat with grains... but totally deep-fried. Wow.

White Castle recipe contest [Slashfood]

As the new DiBrunos Brothers location at the Comcast Center nears completion, the company has the scoop:

Di Bruno Bros. will not abandon those things that have thus far made it a recognizable and trusted Philadelphia business: We will offer the same delicious panini, salads, and prepared foods that make our Rittenhouse Square and Pronto locations so popular. In addition there will be a European-style coffee bar with everything ranging from espresso to tea to snacks on the go. Finally, because it is impossible to have a Di Bruno Bros. location without cheese, the new Comcast location will be no exception: there will be, as always, a fine selection of cheeses from all over the world, accompanied by a great selection of charcuterie and other gourmet products.

Di Brunos Spotlight [Official Site]

We've previously waxed rhapsodic in paroxysms of fear about the 920-calorie Hardee's Country Breakfast Burrito. But Chow.com decided to put the burrito to the test:

But fill you up this burrito most certainly does. It consists of a tortilla wrapped around two omelets wrapped around a warm core of melted mystery cheese, bland gravy, sausage, and bacon bits. Oh, and diced ham. Right. And also hash browns. Basically, everything but pancakes. I’m looking forward to the inevitable 1,300-calorie Pancake-Wrapped Country Breakfast Burrito that brings a McGriddle approach to this already sprawling morning entrée. The only thing more surprising about this burrito than its three kinds of pork products is the fact that it’s surprisingly edible, texturally smooth, and soothing in a “hot breakfast” kind of way. The only real disappointment is that amid the crush of ingredients, many of the components go missing in action. The gravy, though a fine lubricant, has little discernable flavor, and the bacon and ham are overwhelmed by the taste of the sausage.

God help us all.

Country Breakfast Burrito [Chow.com]

Poor Rock Bottom Brewery. The Daily News's Chain Gang column stopped by the chain's KoP location and came to a conclusion: There were lots of potatoes & the beer was good.

Ouch.

More specifically:

After a monster appetizer, four main dishes and three desserts, our verdict:

The beer is good.

The Gang started with the two-tiered appetizer sampler ($14.99), which featured a mountain of gooey nachos, onion rings, Buffalo chicken wings and something called a Titan Toothpick, which is kind of like a Mexican egg roll - smoked chicken, Jack cheese, peppers and onions wrapped in a tortilla and fried. All were OK; nothing stood out.

The Chain Gang appreciates a smart-aleck waitress as much as we appreciate a good meal, so Rock Bottom scores points for its sassy server, who pitched those menu items like a Cole Hamels fastball - hard.

But "the best steaks anywhere"? Come on. That's laying it on as thick as the steak's gorgonzola cheese sauce.

The Tenderloin with Roasted Garlic ($21.99) was a well-prepared piece of meat (the cheese sauce left a bit of a smoky aftertaste) with stuffed garlic cloves so giant the Gangsterette who ordered it was intimidated.

"Steak should not be stuffed with anything," she said. "It's not chicken, pasta or a turkey, damn it!"

Like many of the dishes, the steak came with a side of white cheddar mashed potatoes that our waitress raved about as if those spuds were the rarest of truffles. The Gangsterette found the mash appealing.

"The cheese wasn't overpowering, and it didn't mess with the smoothness of the potatoes," she said.

They reminded the Gang leader of a cross between Wheatina and spackle.

Hey... that "Titan Toothpick" sounds absolutely repulsive. Mmm... coronary bypasses.

Lots of potatoes & the beer was good [Daily News]
Rock Bottom Brewery [MenuPages]
Rock Bottom Brewery [Official Site]

Until 5pm, Taco Bell is offering free hard tacos.

Major League Baseball (the promotion's co-sponsor) has the info.

Free Tacos [MLB]

Don't mess with the blogger behind The Sneeze's pizza. He recently discovered that you can order Domino's Pizza online.

But there's a catch... The pizza chain's web ordering technology allows patrons to specify specific toppings for the left half and right half of their pizza. He decided to test whether he could order a perfectly-aligned mushroom & pepperoni pizza:

The dividing line was exactly 90 degrees up the middle, but mushrooms were on the left!

I realize it's all arbitrary and the options are presented for clarity, but if you're going to force me to make the choice, then that's what I think I should get.

He could not.

The Great Pizza Orientation Test [The Sneeze]

We somehow forgot that Domino's Pizza offers a new cheesesteak pizza. In the video above, a few enterprising types give it the taste test. Mmm... corporate cheesesteak with rubbery cheese.

Domino's Philly Cheesesteak Pizza [YouTube]

When describing the new, 920-calorie Hardee's breakfast burrito, there are a number of cliches we could totally go with. The whole Fast Food Nation/Super Size Me milleu. The Good Morning Burger jokes on The Simpsons. That Onion article about hamburgers. But we're going to take the high road and just state the facts about the genius publicity stunt known as the Country Breakfast Burrito (TM).

It's an oversized flour tortilla filled with two omelets that in turn are filled with bacon, sausage chunks, diced ham and cheddar cheese. The omelets are topped with hash browns (ok) and sausage gravy (!). According to Hardee's spokesperson Brad Haley, "it makes this big contry breakfast portable." It can also be purchased with extra fried potatoes:

The government's Center for Nutritional Policy and Promotion recommends a daily caloric intake ranging from 1,600 calories for sedentary women and older adults to 2,800 calories for teenage boys and active adults. Hardee's sees its core customers as young men ages 18 to 34, Haley said, though it expects a wider range for breakfast items.

The Country Breakfast Burrito is generally available for $2.69 by itself or $4.09 for a combo that includes hash rounds and coffee.

If you want to try one of these monstrosities though... you've gotta travel. The nearest Hardee's locations are in Delaware and York, PA.

60 grams of fat for breakfast! [CNN]
Hardee's [Official Site]

Well, you still have a few hours left to get your free burritos at Chiptole. The Mexican chain recently invaded Philadelphia and to celebrate the opening of their City Avenue location, burritos are on the house until 8pm. We'll have the menu shortly.

New Store Giving Away Free Burritos Today [NBC10]

Philadelphia mag's Taste Daily blog just got the word that Center City Chaintalian Buca Di Beppo is going to close as part of a corporate restructuring:

Well, apparently Philadelphia has spoken: The Minneapolis-based company, which has upwards of 90 locations in 25 states, is set to close the Center City branch as soon as a replacement tenant is found. It would be nice if we could lure a David Ansill or a Mark Bee to the neighborhood, but with rent at $31,875 per month for the 8,500-square-foot space, I have a feeling that we’re more likely to get a Sullivan’s, Cheesecake Factory or P.F. Chang’s.

Buca Di Beppo To Close [Taste Daily]
Buca Di Beppo [MenuPages]
Buca Di Beppo [Official Site]

Unfortunately, it seems like bubble tea is still a bit too exotic for middle America. So leave it to the chain restaurants to Americanize the drink.

We just got an e-mail from Red Robin promoting their new "Blueberry Pomegranate Limeade" (pictured above). It's great to see how Red Robin trademarked "Bottomless Beverage," really. But why is "yummy" in quotation marks? Is it merely a hypothetical "yummy" or what? We wanna know.

Red Robin [MenuPages]
Red Robin [Official Site]

A proposal working its way through the City Council will require chain restaurants to display nutritional information in restaurants:

The bill had a hearing in City Hall yesterday before the Committee on Public Health. If it became law, fines would be as high as $500 per violation.

Chains with 10 or more locations nationwide would be affected: Applebee's and the Capital Grille, Olive Garden and Domino's, Dunkin' Donuts, Auntie Anne's, Red Lobster. And so on.

Not surprisingly, nutritionists, nurses, and public-health officials favor the idea, and they gave statistics to support their side.

"More than 120 million Americans are either overweight or obese," testified Amy Margulies, a registered dietitian. "More than 15 million have some form of heart disease. And in 2004, Americans spent 10 times more on eating out than they did in 1974."

But then there was Larry Dore, a teacher from Roxborough in Center City yesterday for jury duty. He was coming out of a Dunkin Donuts with a small coffee (with cream and sugar) and a feeling of indignation. The bill, he said, sounds ridiculous.

"You know when you're going in what you're going to get," he said. "And it isn't fat free."

His was not as unfortunate a menu selection as Andrew Hennessy's.

A lawyer from Bryn Mawr, Hennessy walked out of the same Dunkin' Donuts with coffee and two doughnuts: chocolate glaze and coconut. This was lunch; he had skipped breakfast.

"I'm not opposed to the legislation," Hennessy said. "But I'm not sure it would alter my eating habits."

Patrick C. Conway, chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, reminded the committee that restaurants provided jobs and economic growth for the region.

As proposed, he said, the regulation would cost too much, and be well nigh impossible to carry out because each dish can vary in so many ways - and each calorie count can change.

As Mr. Conway knows, posting laminated signs on the walls of fast food restaurants is expensive. Audacious, man!

Should the city, like Mom, tell you what's good to eat? [Inquirer]

Buy beer? At the supermarket? We can dream, can't we? Supermarket chain Wegmans is leading a campaign to legalize beer sales at Pennsylvania supermarkets. They want to legalize the purchase of up to two six packs at a time... That isn't too much to ask for, right?

Consumer Choice [Wegmans]

West Chester merchants are up in arms over an impending Starbucks invasion. Two locations are opening in WC (with one at the University and one downtown) and Bucks County Coffee manager John Jacob Becker is worried it will hurt the bottom line of local merchants (of course including himself):

“I think part of what they’re doing by opening a shop in the library is to pave the way for a downtown business location by preemptively taking the business from small local merchants,” Becker said. “When they open the store downtown, the local economy will be less equipped to compete.”

Ah, Starbucks. People love to hate ya.

[Image via MIT]

New York cartoonist Greg Erskine used to work as a host at the Olive Garden. We recently came across his comic strip I Am A Host at The Olive Garden. Supposedly all based on true experiences, it's one of the best things we've come across in a long time. Enjoy.

I Am A Host at The Olive Garden [gregnog.com]
Olive Garden [MenuPages]
Olive Garden [Official Site]

News-of-the-weird website Fark.com is holding an open thread for their readers on fast food restaurants of the past. Which was your favorite?

What was your favorite chain restaurant that is no longer around? [Fark]

A few openings, rounded up over at the Inquirer's Food and Drinq blog:

• Pei Wei Asian Diner, P.F. Chang's budget spinoff chain, is making a concerted effort to break into the Philly market. Locations are opening up in Springfield (October 8) and on City Avenue (October 22). Can anyone explain why the Philadelphia 'burbs are in love with chain restaurants that have all the soul of a cardboard box?

• Old City Belgian gastropub/potential mussel haven Beneluxx Tasting Room is aiming for an October 5 opening. Right now they're sorting out some issues with the LCB.

• A new steakhouse might be opening near Washington Square.

Odds & Ends [Food & Drinq]

Thanks to Neatorama for this great photo.

"Starbucks" In Goa, India [Neatorama]

Al Yeganeh, the inspiration for Seinfeld's beloved "Soup Nazi" character, is in trouble. His chain, The Original SoupMan, began a nationwide expansion blitz, which includes a Cherry Hill Location. Only, as the Associated Press and the New York Times' City Room blog report, there are problems in soupland:

At least eight of the company’s roughly 40 stores failed within the first two years of the launch of the national company. Some franchisees told The A.P. that they want to be released from their contracts because of poor profits or bad relationships with the company; several others have sent the company letters threatening to sue... Some franchisees had also complained that the company did not have a plan to handle the summer months, when soup sales decline. Mr. Rarrick said Original SoupMan has struck a deal with Cold Stone Creamery to create hybrid stores that will sell soup and ice cream.

Our advice to Mr. Yeganeh: Get an outside advisor and work on a revised business plan. Fast.

SoupMans Expansion Effort Stumbles [CityRoom/NYT]
The Original SoupMan - Cherry Hill [Official Site]

Hmm. Maybe we misjudged sandwich chain Potbelly Sandwich Works after all. It turns out Food & Wine just waxed rhapsodic about Potbelly's 215 branch, even putting it in the same category as Osteria and Tinto:

"I had a few hours to while away before a good friend’s wedding festivities and would have loved to try any (or several) of the restaurants on my Philly wish list—namely, Marc Vetri’s Osteria and any of Jose Garces’s spots. I even salivated at the sight of Potbelly Sandwich Works, the ultra-cheap sandwich chain that Chicago star chef Grant Achatz told me he’d go to once a week if he could."

In other Potbelly news, Taste Daily just did a feature on them as well.

Potbelly Sandwich Works [MenuPages]
Potbelly Sandwich Works [Official Site]
Top Philly Import [Food & Wine]
Potbelly Sandwich Works [Taste Daily/Philly Mag]

[Image via Taste Daily]

A great nostalgia piece showed up in Salon today about Taco Bell & childhood. We'll be the first to admit we had an intense pre-teen love for the Taco Supreme and the Enchirito as well:

They were good. Or, at least, I remember them that way, in defiance of my gastronomic superego's insistence that Taco Bell food is a dismal simulacrum of the real thing. That's the perversity of memory: No matter how sophisticated my palette has grown, nor how politicized it has become, I still feel a nostalgic fondness for Taco Bell tacos, triggered by sense memories of that first bite, when the shell would disintegrate into a heap of tortilla shards and meat on the orange wrapping paper that doubled as a tray. The sublimity of that crunch, the sensuous contrast between brittle, ultra-thin shell (worlds away from the chewy, chamois softness of the griddle-warmed tortillas served by Tijuana taquerias) and moist, spicy-sweet meat: Taco Bell tacos combined the delights of Pringles chips and sloppy Joes. For a kid in the late '60s and '70s, what could be better?

Remembrance of tacos past [Salon]

The Big Mac is celebrating its 40th anniversary. In honor, why not watch a Big Mac commercial from 1975?

Big Mac Commercial from 1975 [YouTube]
An American Icon Of Obesity Turns 40! But Who Cares? It's a Damn Good Burger! [DiscoverInsanity]

This week, the Daily News' "Chain Gang" column skipped the national ApplebeesChilisTuesdays in favor of something more local — sandwich mini chain Slack's Hoagie Shack. The food turned out to be a mixed bag:

"Slack's new "Godfather" ($6.99) works well either there or to go. Drizzled with oil and piled high with sharp Provolone cheese, prosciutto, Genoa salami, Capicola and roasted peppers on a seeded Amoroso's roll, the "Godfather" was a sandwich we couldn't refuse.

One Gangster said it would replace the standard Italian hoagie he usually ordered.

As for those standard Italians ($5.20), they also scored well.

One Gangster devoured his so fast he clamored for another. Another said the sandwich, although not the best he'd ever had, was far superior to the Italian hoagies at chains like Quizno's and Subway.

Gangsters watching their figures ordered Slack's Cacciatore Salad ($6.25), made with diced, grilled chicken, sweet peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, croutons and Parmigiana cheese. It too traveled well, tasted good and was plenty filling. Way better than those McDonald's/Wendy's salads.

The Meatball Parmigiana ($5) was OK for the price, but the meatballs were spongy and non-descript. Once you've had the meatball sandwich at By George! in the Reading Terminal Market, it's hard to eat one from a different place."

Check out the menus for their Port Richmond, Grant Avenue, Far Northeast, Huntingdon Valley and Springfield locations.

A heap of hoagies from Slack's [Daily News]

[Image via Philadelphia Daily News]

If Michael Klein is right over at the Inquirer, New York steakhouse Wolfgang's is in talks to open in the former AAA headquarters at Market & 20th. Opened by longtime Peter Luger waiter supreme Wolfgang Zwiener, the mini-chain (two locations) is in talks with World Acquisition Parners to open in the space. In addition, a branch of Brazilian steakhouse Chima is scheduled to open in early 2008 at 20th Street and JFK.

Inqlings [Inquirer]

Interesting. If a local real estate developer has his way, Philly might be home to a potential starbucks rival. Joseph Grasso of Walnut Street Capital purchased Atlanta's Saxby's Coffee for an undisclosed price and is moving the chain's headquarters to Philly. Currently, Saxby's has two stores in the Philadelphia area (In Malvern & Horsham) and a nationwide presence. They bill themselves as a "milder, homier alternative to Starbucks" with lighter coffee and a more family-oriented feel. Next on the agenda for them... the inevitable massive franchies expansion:

"It plans to grow - to 150 stores in the Philadelphia area alone, where it now has two, with a third to open later this month. They plan to have 750 stores nationally within seven years."

Local developer buys anti-Starbucks Saxby's [Inquirer]
Saxby's Coffee [Official Site]

Like it or not, Philly (especially our more suburban reaches) loves the chain restaurants. Especially the Italian chain restaurants. The Daily News' Chain Gang is investigating the crucial question of... Who makes the best chain Italian food in a city full of amazing (and independent) Italian restaurants? Your competitors: Maggiano's Little Italy, Buca Di Beppo and Vinny T's of Boston.

Maggiano's: "Ordering "Family Style" at Maggiano's can be a great deal if you have a tapeworm, because the happy waitstaff will bring you seconds, thirds, etc., until, like the man in "Monty Python's Meaning of Life," you simply explode. If you like normal-size portions, "Family Style" is pricier than ordering a la carte, but you do get to try a lot of dishes and bring home a lot of leftovers."

Vinny T's: "The Famiglia Platter salad ($8.95) with a red wine vinaigrette was only adequate, its lettuce a day past its prime. The entrees were enormous and varied in quality. At the top of the list was the Chicken Carciofi (we went with the $27.95 large), chicken breast pieces with amazing artichoke hearts, mushrooms and tomatoes. It took up an entire serving tray, so its side dishes of oven-roasted potatoes and roasted vegetables got their own plates."

Buca Di Beppo: "To round out our tour, we went to the Las Vegas of Big Italian, Buca di Beppo, where the kitsch is piled as high as the pasta. This over-the-top, over-decorated restaurant, with Louis Prima and Dean Martin recordings on a seemingly endless loop and a bust of the pope in the back room, has a carnival feel from the moment you enter, and a wait staff that's as much show as tell. The food's not bad, either."

Pasta till you say 'basta' [Daily News]

If you want to get kids to eat healthy, the solution is pretty simple: put your food in a McDonald's wrapper. A Standford University study kinda sorta confirmed the obvious: Children's tastes in food are affected by branding and packaging:

"Even carrots, milk and apple juice tasted better to the kids when they were wrapped in the familiar packaging of the Golden Arches. The study had youngsters sample identical McDonald's foods in name-brand and unmarked wrappers. The unmarked foods always lost the taste test... The study included three McDonald's menu items -- hamburgers, chicken nuggets and french fries -- and store-bought milk or juice and carrots. Children got two identical samples of each food on a tray, one in McDonald's wrappers or cups and the other in plain, unmarked packaging. The kids were asked if they tasted the same or if one was better."

Marketing tricks tots' taste buds [Boston Globe]

Mmm. Bacon. Wonderful bacon. Wendy's just introduced a new burger called the baconator. Two patties, two slices of cheese... and six slices of bacon. Kind of amazing in a heart attack-inducing kind of way. A Hamburger Today also reminded us about the bacon cheeseburger, a burger whose patty is made entirely from ground bacon. We live in a golden age for morbid obesity, kids.

The Baconator [Wendy's]
Wendy's Baconator: Six Strips of Bacon [A Hamburger Today]

Here's 30 seconds of YouTube zen in a panoramic shot of the Suburban Station Church's Chicken.

Chuch's Fried Chicken [YouTube]

Let's get all chain food for a miute and talk about Applebee's Tyler Florence-designed line of dishes. The chain's partnership with the celebrity chef? Well, it's intended to give Applebee's a bit of class or whatever you want to call it. One of the dishes on call is the "Aloha Burger", with grilled pineapple, pineapply salsa, bacon, jack cheese and teriyaki mayo. The Palm Beach Post tried out the burger... and Were not impressed:

"Literally, this burger was a mess. By the time I got to the last third of it, the juice from the grilled pineapple had saturated the bun, which held the burger together about as well as a wet tissue. I do give Tyler much respect for marrying a perfectly ripe, freshly cut pineapple with a succulent Angus patty. I had flashbacks to the first time I ate a pineapple and ham pizza. It's an odd coupling that works. But this didn't."

Is the Aloha Burger the (pine)apple of their eyes? [Palm Beach Post]
Applebee's [MenuPages]
Applebee's [Official Site]

Fast food time. Chick-fil-A COO Dan T. Cathy visited the Springfield Park Chick-fil-A to celebrate it being the highest regional grossing restaurant in the chain:

“We just elevate the chicken sandwich by giving it good customer service,” Cathy said, adding that any particular environment has a direct influence on product.

“The term restaurant means a place of refreshment, an oasis from the tough world out there,” he said, adding that customers are invited to visit the Chick-fil-As for a relaxing atmosphere. “It actually affects the taste of food.”

When surrounded by a serene location, Cathy said serotonin increases and endorphins are released, creating a pleasing sensation."

Well, if you say so.

Chick-fil-A cut above rest with customer service [Delco Times]
Chick-fil-A [Official Site]

No, not the late Tavern on Green. New York's legendary restaurant Tavern on the Green is in talks with consultants Carl Marks to raise funds for a national expansion. No word yet on a possible Philly branch, but our proximity to new York and the past examples of The Palm and Lombardi's make it a distinct possibility.

Tavern To Raise Green [NY Post]

Big news in corporate restaurant land: IHOP is purchasing Applebee's for $2.1 billion. The deal is going to take place in late 2007 and will be IHOP's first experience in (yup) non-IHOP Restaurants. Of course, Applebee's and IHOP will remain as seperate restaurants. $2.1 billion is a lot of buffalo wings.

IHOP Purchasing Applebee's [CNN/Money]

Congratulations to the crew over at Insomnia Cookies on their opening in New York. Back in our college years, we were deeply appreciative of their caffeinated, late-night treats. The Village Voice just tipped us off that Insomnia Cookies is expanding to NYU. It turns out that the company has been doing rather successfully as of late, with brick-and-mortar stores opening in Syracues and Ann Arbor as well. Good going.

Late night cookie delivery! [Eat for Victory / Village Voice]
Insomnia Cookies [Official Site]

As Starbucks continues their steady rise to global dominance, the coffee chain has been keeping up by regularly adding new menu items. After this past spring's introduction of hot breakfast sandwiches, Starbucks decided to up the ante. Ladies and gentlemen, may we introduce Starbucks salads?

Nationally, the company will offer a pair of salads: a tomato mozzarella salad containing fresh mozzarella cheese, grape tomatoes and basil and a Southwestern variety containing roasted corn and black bean salad topped with grilled chicken.

The new series of salads are currently undergoing test marketing in the midwest but are expected to make their way to the east coast shortly.

Salads to perk up Starbucks menu [Chicago Tribune]

Whole Foods, everyone's favorite organic food mega chain, just opened a branch in London. It's their first overseas location, and—hey! Their complaints are just like ours. You see, the food is overpriced there too:

But ...well, I'm just a bit ambivalent about it. I've been to several of their stores in America, and they are great - but then, they have brands we don't have, labels we don't recognise. Which automatically makes things seem more exciting (the converse is presumably true, though it's hard to imagine anyone visiting this country getting a thrill of excitement from a bottle of HP Sauce). I can happily while away the hours in New York's Union Square branch, people-watching with a smoothie. But somehow the Kensington location just reinforces the fact that this is wholefood for people with very whole bank balances.

Whole Foods Market: a missed opportunity [The Guardian]

[Photo via Ian West / PA]

Continuing on the hamburger tip, let's step into the world of fast food for a minute. Courtesy of food blog Will Work For Food, we came across a list of McDonald's menu items from around the world. In Australia, a special pasta happy meal is marketed to children. In Brazil, the McCalabresa is a hamburger-sized slab of pepperoni served on a bun. Quebecois McDonald's patrons can get McPoutine. Over in Greece, hamburgers are rolled up in pita bread with yogurt sauce, tomato, lettuce and onions to make the Greek Mac. Israelis get to enjoy McShawarma and McKebab. The hot item in Japan is a Tamago Double Mac—two beef patties, pepper sauce, bacon... and a poached egg. Pakistanis are hip to the McChutney Burger. It goes on and on... but our favorite has to be Poland's McKielbasa.

Royale with Cheese? [WWFF]

Marathon Grill owner Cary Borish was just interviewed by Philadelphia Magazine about running the Center City mini-chain and their newest location at 10th and Walnut. The just-opened location brings them up to seven restaurants in Center City and University City.

Running a Marathon [Philadelphia]
Marathon Grill [MenuPages]
Marathon Grill [Official Site]

[Photo via Messy & Picky]

Here's an excerpt:

The outer-borough location allows ample room for this Five Guys, and the place was airy, clean, and orderly. All grilling and frying is done in the open in a large space behind the counter. Above the counter is the menu, which lists but a few items: burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese, and fries (regular or "Cajun" spiced). Hanging from the menu is a sign that would normally send me running: "We Cook All Our Meat WELL-DONE."

Yes, burgers here, unfortunately, are cooked to well-done as per company policy. While this would seemingly result in a dry puck of a burger, ours, while not dripping with juices, were moist enough. The 3.3-ounce patties are packed moderately loose by hand each morning and are cooked atop a griddle, which, along with the coarse grind, makes for a great crunchy crust. The joint gets the cheese-melt just right, too.

Five Guys Center City [MenuPages]
Five Guys Clifton Heights [MenuPages]
Five Guys [Official Site]

[Photo via Serious Eats]

Bad news for fans of barbecue chain Smokey Bones: They are going out of business. The chain's corporate owners, Darden Restaurants—who also operate the Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Bahama Breeze—announced that Smokey Bones is no more this past Friday. Both their Northeast Philadelphia and Langhorne locations closed over the weekend, as part of a nationwide closing of Smokey Bones restaurants. For their part, Darden claims that "where possible, we give employees of a closing restaurant opportunities to transfer to our other comapny restaurants."

Smokey Bones [Official Site]
Darden to pull the plug on Smokey Bones [NRN]
Darden Restaurants [Official Site]

We just got word that local mini-chain Peace A Pizza (with locations in Wayne, King of Prussia and Springfield, among others) is stepping up their expansion efforts in Montgomery County. A new branch will open shortly at 1140 Old York Road in Abington and a help wanted ad has already been placed on Craigslist.

Peace A Pizza Springfield [MenuPages]
Peace A Pizza King of Prussia [MenuPages]
Peace A Pizza Wayne [MenuPages]
Peace A Pizza [Official Site]

We don't know which is scarier: That Jack In The Box is offering cheesesteaks, or the cringe-inducing commercial above.

Seriously, just watch it. They manage to both include every awful stereotype of white ethnic Philadelphians we've ever seen and to give intern-turned-mullethead "Kevin Sweeney" the worst fake Philly accent outside of Ed Harris in "A History of Violence" too. Want to try the elusive Jack In The Box cheesesteak? Good luck; the nearest location to Philly is in Charlotte, NC.

Jack In The Box commercial - "The Intern" [YouTube]
Jack In The Box [Official Site]

Let's give a hearty welcome to the Philly food blogosphere to DiBruno Brothers. The gourmet mini-chain recently launched The Queso Files and have been putting out a substantial, interesting product for a store blog. From them, we learned that the Italian Market DiBruno's will set up a "piazza" at their S. 9th Street & Melrose St. location with weekly events like a performance from the Paul Green School of Rock, a charity event with Rae's Daniel Stern and food tastings.

The Queso Files [Official Site]
DiBruno Brothers' Pronto Italian Market [MenuPages]
DiBruno Brothers' Pronto Center City [MenuPages]
DiBruno Brothers'[Official Site]

The idea of a seafood chain from the Midwest is an odd one. But then there's the Oceanaire Seafood Room, which opened near Washington Square several months ago and has become a popular high-end destination. It's an unexpected twist; Oceanaire is headquatered in Minneapolis and this is the city of Old Original Bookbinder's and a half-dozen other seafood legends. In this week's Inquirer, Craig LaBan ate at Oceanaire and found a nice, kitschy restaurant that unfortunately botched his lobster:

The kitchen had only one puny 1.5-pounder left, a shockingly short supply for a restaurant this grand. Even more disappointing was how it was presented: steamed and removed from the shell after we'd specifically requested it broiled in the shell. It was glaringly unsatisfying. And our sheepish waiter, who seemed as professional and outgoing as every other server I'd encountered here, was genuinely concerned with the mistake, which he conceded was his.

But what gesture did he offer for this $43 botch? A complimentary bread pudding that runs $6.95.

The Oceanaire [Inquirer]
Oceanaire Seafood Room [MenuPages]
Oceanaire Seafood Room [Official Site]
Old Original Bookbinder's [MenuPages]
Old Original Bookbinder's [Official Site]

[Photo via Philadelphia Inquirer]

The juggernaut of suburban dining known as the Cheesecake Factory just launched a new salvo. Nation's Restaurant News is reporting that their corporate parent, The Cheesecake Factory Inc. is launching an Asian restaurant chain called Rock Sugar Pan Asian Kitchen. The first branches are scheduled to open in Los Angeles before the end of 2007. As for the food, it's going to be the same pan-ethnic Americanized globetrotting as Cheesecake Factory but, y'know, Asian. Oh—and they're totally not competing with PF Chang's:

The venture will feature the cuisines of Thailand, Vietnam, East India, Malaysia and Indonesia, according to Howard Gordon, the company's senior vice president for business development and marketing.

Gordon said the menu for Rock Sugar - a reference to a common ingredient in Southeast Asian cooking - is still under development, but that it will not include Japanese or Chinese dishes.

"We're not going to be in competition with P.F. Chang's," he said, referring to the Chinese menu at P.F. Chang's China Bistro, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., which recently launched a sister brand called Taneko Japanese Tavern.

Cheesecake Factory [MenuPages]
Cheesecake Factory [Official Site]

Food blogger The Girl Who Ate Everything just took a trip to the newly opened New York branch of Maoz. What she found was a restaurant much like the beloved South Street falafel-slinger:

"After you order your falafel sammich you're instructed to top it with whatever you want from their salad bar before they neatly wrap it up for you. It's a cool idea, but there's hardly any space in the falafel-exploding sammich for any toppings to be...topped. I squished in whatever I could to get the most out of my free salad.

[...]

My "Maoz Royal" pita sandwich stuffed with lots of falafels, some eggplant and plenty of hummus was surprisingly huge. Although I ended up eating the whole thing (because I tend to eat everything against the wishes of my belly), I'd go with the "junior" size next time, which I assume still packs a dense chickpea punch."

fried chicken, gelato, falafels and burgers (and indigestion?) [The Girl Who Ate Everything]
Maoz [MenuPages]
Maoz [Official Site]

[Photo via The Girl Who Ate Everything]

You knew the time would come when someone would turn cooking into a video game. The new Wii game Cooking Mama Cook Off allows players to virtually make paella, lasagna and pierogies, among others:

Unlike other games controlled solely by button pushing, Cooking Mama is played on a Nintendo Wii system with a wireless motion-detecting remote. This means players control the game with physical gestures.

For a cooking game, this translates as wielding the remote like a knife, "chopping" midair as onions are simultaneously chopped onscreen. Cracking eggs has you tapping the remote against an imaginary bowl (tap too hard and yolk plops onto the counter onscreen); and buttering a pan means tilting the remote as if it were the pan's handle.

After each task, an anime chef named Mama—maternal only in the fact that she's wearing an apron—grades your performance based on accuracy and speed. Successfully completing a dish means unlocking one more of the game's 55 different recipes, which range from spaghetti with squid ink to mochi.

Cooking Mama Cook Off [Official Site]
Virtual Cooking [Bon Appetit Today/Epicurious]
Dave & Buster's [MenuPages]
Dave & Buster's [Official Site]
Nifty Fifty's [MenuPages]
Nifty Fifty's [Official Site]

Based on this Craigslist post, it looks like midwestern sub chain Jimmy John's is expanding into the Philadelphia market. It will be interesting to see how another national chain will fare in the land of the hoagie. Quizno's and, to a lesser degree, Subway, have both been able to thrive in Philadelphia and environs. A look at the menu of one of their Chicago locations shows that they indeed call 'em subs. Will they also be referred to as subs by their Philly locations? Time will tell—but please just call them hoagies.

Jimmy John's Sandwiches wants YOU [Craigslist]
Jimmy John's [MenuPages]
Jimmy John's [Official Site]

[Photo via Planet 99]

There's a blog for every taste in this world. We recently came across The Art of the Buffet, dedicated to the "art to eating at an all you can eat restaurant." Buffets have proliferated over the past twenty years, mainly as a result of American agricultural policy and globalization. Economic logic: Processed foods are cheap to produce. Serving processed foods in large quantities will attract cost-conscious diners and (especially) families. We're not going to get into whether it's good or bad or rant about the quality of food at most buffets or the poor dietary choices of patrons. But we will say that we're not the only ones who have had experiences similar to this:

Tonight we went back. Low and behold, there were the Lobster Grabbers. (For those of you new to this site, check back in past articles for the Lobster Grabbers) What would they do now? There is no lobster any more for them to grab. Would it be the crab legs? No, it was the sushi! The Lobster Grabbers have now converted to become the Sushi Grabbers. The guy literally filled a dish with every piece of sushi that was in the tray. And did the restaurant refill it the entire time that we were in the restaurant eating? Of course, not. My suspicion is that they did not refill the tray because they knew that as soon as they did, this guy would bounce up and grab every piece again. Not so good for the rest of us.

The Philadelphia area has numerous buffets, mainly concentrated in northeast Philadelphia and the suburbs. South Philly's Ruby Buffet could easily serve as the archetype of the Chinese-American buffet. We're fans of the West African/soul food buffet at Fatou and Fama in University city and of Kings Court Buffet near West Oak Lane, which seems to have some of the best buffet sushi in the area.

The Art of the Buffet [Official Site]
Ruby Buffet [MenuPages]
Fatou and Fama [MenuPages]
Kings Court Buffet [MenuPages]

After the jump, muffulettas in Philly and beyond.

Continue reading "Muffuletta In Philadelphia" »

Philadelphia is Wawa's home turf. We're proud of that. Wawa's lemonade-and-iced tea? A caloric bit of heaven. Their hoagies? A guilty 3am just-got-home-from-the-bar pleasure. So we're aware that 7-Eleven runs a distant second in the Delaware Valley convenience store stakes.

Still, it is damn cool to find out that 7-11 is converting 11 stores around the country into Kwik-E-Marts as part of a promotional campaign for "The Simpsons Movie."

How Kwik-E-Mart will the Kwik-E-Marts be? Pretty Apu-riffic, actually. Their exteriors will be done to replicate the Kwik-E-Mart and 7-Eleven will have special items like Krusty-O's, Buzz Cola and iced Squishies for sale. No word yet on whether any will open in the Philly area.

Real Kwik-E-Marts? Woo-Hoo! [Richmond Times-Dispatch]

The Daily News' Chain Gang skipped their usual fast food and casual dining fare in favor of getting lunch at Smith & Wollensky. Consensus is that it's not among the most expensive lunch options in Philly and that, though pricy, it could make a good spot for client lunches. Recommended dishes? The mozzarella and tomato salad, the Wollensky salad, the seared tuna salad and a "Prime Rib Dip." However, opinion is that the $16 steak sandwich (yup, as in cheesesteak steak) is just a bit too expensive for what it is.

A mighty tasty - and filling - lunch [Daily News]
Smith & Wollensky [MenuPages]
Smith & Wollensky [Official Site]

For those looking for a dessert with something, well, different.... you're in luck. We have it on very good authority that local gelato kings Capogiro are now offering a new Thai Coconut Milk flavor. It's available at both their 13th Street and 20th Street locations and though we haven't had this particular flavor yet, Capogiro seems to have a knack for the exotic/spicy gelato. If that's too much, there's always the ever-popular Chocolate-Banana gelato. Recommeded.

Capogiro [Official Site]
Capogiro 13th Street [MenuPages]
Capogiro 20th Street [MenuPages]

10th and Snyder 7-11 [Zoe Strauss]