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]