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What would two dozen servers from across the country tell you if they could get away with it? Well, for starters, when to go out, what not to order, what really happens behind the kitchen’s swinging doors, and what they think of you and your tips. Here, from a group that clears a median $8.01 an hour in wages and tips, a few revelations that aren’t on any menu.

Mysterious Group Buys Building Next to Ground Zero For Mosque Wednesday, December 16, 2009 Jim Hoft A mysterous Muslim group with unknown sponsors has purchased a building steps away from Ground Zero. Hudson New York reported: An identified group with unknown sponsors has purchased building steps away from where the WorldTrade Center once stood — to turn it into potentially one of the largest New York City mosques. At the moment the building, the old Burlington Coat Factory, already serves as a mini-mosque: an iron grill lifts every Friday afternoon for a little known Imam leading prayers a few yards...

The drive-through is where one American obsession—mobility—meets another: consumption. Lately, though, this societal combo platter has come under fire, as people question the drive-through's environmental impact, its place in the evolving landscape of obesity (a 1,420-calorie Hardee's Monster Thickburger without having to leave your seat!), and even who has the right to step up to its crackly intercom. There has always been something odd in the encounter between automobility and architecture; the driver momentarily breaks her sense of hermetic enclosure, while the fast-food employee briefly thrusts himself out of the window, the two meeting amid the sickly sweet commingling of...

"LAMBERTVILLE: Restaurant owner jailed on attempted homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and other charges" 14 May 2009 | Uncategorized LAMBERTVILLE — SNIPPET: "Khalid Altawarh, 36, who also goes by the name David Shookby, took the woman’s Jeep Wrangler and fled the scene when she escaped into the arms of a friend who had stopped by to see if she was all right. She had failed to show up for work that morning, May 8, police said. Plumstead Township, Pa., police Chief Duane E. Hasenauer said Mr. Altawarh has been charged with attempted homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and other related...

You have spoken. The nominations are in for our Best Restaurant Contest! We have your picks and now it's time for you to crown the winners in each category.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Opponents of the so-called guns in bars and restaurant law won their battle in court Friday. Nine local restaurant owners filed a petition in August asking for a hearing on an injunction to challenge the law. In court on Friday, a judge found the new state law to be unconstitutional due to vagueness. The law, which allows gun carry permit holders to take their weapons into bars and restaurants where alcohol is served, went into effect in July. The law will be put on hold until lawmakers return to session in January. Some lawmakers said they would...

TOKYO — The Epicurean king who oversees the Michelin Guide fears he may be banished from France. His shocking crime? Awarding Tokyo more three-star restaurant ratings than Paris, thereby crowning the Japanese metropolis the new gastronomic capital of the world. “Trust me, they’ll wait for me at customs there,” Jean-Luc Naret, director general of the famed guide to exceptional eateries, joked Thursday at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. “Because they’ll say how dare could you have more three-stars in Tokyo than in Paris?” Michelin’s latest Tokyo edition goes on sale in Japan on Friday, and Naret has been in...

A popular Boca Raton chef is in jail and faces aggravated assault chargesYou have to break a few eggs to make an omelet, but one chef decided he would crack a few skulls if he had to make one more dish of mozzarella Caprese. Chef Mark DeCraepeo was arrested Wednesday night after he pulled a gun on two waitresses at his restaurant because he was tired of seeing orders for the appetizer, according to the Sun-Sentinel. "If you hang one more f---- ticket for mozzarella Caprese, I swear to God I'll shoot you in the forehead," witnesses at Pizza Time...

CHICAGO — Burger King Corp. plans to swap its generic fast-food feel and bland tiles and tabletops for a vibe that's more sit-down than drive-through. As part of a plan to be revealed Wednesday in Amsterdam, the company will announce a massive effort to overhaul its 12,000 locations worldwide. The sleek interior will include rotating red flame chandeliers, brilliant TV-screen menus and industrial-inspired corrugated metal and brick walls. "I'd call it more contemporary, edgy, futuristic," Chairman and CEO John Chidsey told The Associated Press. "It feels so much more like an upscale restaurant." But that comes with an upscale price:...

As Montana bars dealt with their first smoke-free weekend since the state’s indoor smoking ban went into effect, ingenuity ruled. In Missoula, according to a great piece by Michael Moore in the Missoulian, the Rhino Bar gave smokers their very own place to light up: a Butt Hutt, created by Dave Golden of Well Done Welding and Jim Bell, a general contractor. Moore describes the hut as a 4-by-8-foot “metal smoking dugout” in the alley behind the Rhino in Missoula. The no-smoking laws spark the type of debate that never seems to get extinguished. Pro-smokers argue that the bans hurt...

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. -- No more Cracker Barrel restaurants ever for one Georgia man. The company has banned the man accused of beating a mother at one of its restaurants from all of its locations for life. Investigators in Clayton County said Troy West beat Tasha Hill at a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Morrow while yelling racial slurs after he nearly hit her 7-year-old daughter while opening the restaurant's door. Cracker Barrel Bans Suspect From Restaurant For Life The beating is leading some state lawmakers to consider pushing for a Georgia Hate Crime Law. "It's past time, but there again,...

Despite the efforts restaurant chains from fast food to fine dining have made to add more-healthful items to the menu, consumers still aren’t buying. In a poll on chainleader.com, 82 percent of respondents say their better-for-you items are selling “lousy.” Recent research shows that customers cite economic factors as a reason for not purchasing healthful food—or as an excuse. Too Great a Cost Chicago-based foodservice consulting firm Technomic says its research shows the recession is hindering consumers’ healthy-eating behavior. Although more than half of consumers say they are more concerned about their eating habits than they were a year ago,...

Most parents have experienced their young children getting restless when waiting for a meal in a restaurant. But not many get the bill at the end of it with a message describing their offspring as a 'little f*****'. This is what happened to parents Craig and Kimberley Cartin at a Mexican restaurant in Halifax, West Yorkshire, where they received the receipt which had 'Thankyyou littell f*****' written on it. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1212583/Family-horrified-getting-restaurant-describing-year-old-daughter-little-f--er.html#ixzz0QoIAO8Vk

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Every Thursday night, Lonnie Bishop and Lisa Case have a dinner date. For $5 each, the couple dines on fancy hot dogs served from a food truck parked outside their favorite wine shop in Los Angeles. The fire engine-red truck labeled "Let's be Frank" is part of a growing fleet of mobile food vendors that serve tasty and inventive fare, often organic. The trend has drawn entrepreneurs looking for opportunities in the recession and diners seeking cheap eats. The new vehicles raise the bar from the traditional "taco trucks" that sell mainly Mexican fare at construction...

The Quick 10: 10 Secret Menu Itemsby Stacy Conradt - August 31, 2009 - 3:26 PM _Flossers: Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to seek out covert items at fast food chains around the country. Be warned, this mission includes very real dangers such as hardening arteries and skyrocketing cholesterol. But we know you won’t let us down. We’ve compiled a list to get you started. 1. In-N-Out Burger’s “secret menu” isn’t so secret these days – in fact, they’ve posted it on their website. But in case you’re not in the habit of surfing fast...

Childhood Obesity Report Calls For Government Regulations to Limit Access to ‘Unhealthy’ Restaurant Chains Wednesday, September 02, 2009 By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer (CNSNews.com) - A newly released report by the Institute for Medicine and the National Research Council details strategies for local governments to combat what it calls an epidemic of childhood obesity, including enacting zoning and land-use regulations that would “restrict fast food establishments near school grounds and public playgrounds.” The report, “Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity,” was compiled by the Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention Actions for Local Governments, a committee of health care...

In these recessionary times, patrons of Hooters are more interested in eying their wallets than scantily clad waitresses, or so it would seem. The Atlanta-based restaurant chain, better known for its buxom waitresses than its cuisine, is joining the gaggle of casual-dining establishments in offering a value-priced menu in the hope of drawing more... umm, clientele. Seeing as the NFL regular season is nearly underway and testosterone is hanging heavy in the air, the new menu features a football theme, says Hooters. It's a seasonal menu for the fall. New menu items start at $4.99 for "Loaded Chips," thick-sliced potato...

(CNSNews.com) – Restaurant chains with 20 or more stores would be required to display nutrition information, including calorie counts and “suggested daily caloric intake” on their menus, under a mandate contained in the health-care reform bill drafted by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

MIAMI, July 31 (UPI) -- The owner of restaurant chain Mr. Chow alleges a rival restaurateur sent a spy to his soon-to-open Miami eatery to learn Mr. Chow's secrets. Michael Chow, who started his first Mr. Chow store more than 30 years ago, added "corporate espionage" to the charges in his trademark infringement suit against Philippe Chow, a former employee who owns a restaurant across the street from the new Mr. Chow, the New York Post reported Friday. The lawsuit claims a 65-year-old man disguised as a chef was present when kitchen staff were being briefed on plans for the...

Men Kicked Out of Restaurant for Kissing (El Paso Times cannot be posted)

Here the second derivative is turning down Here's some second-derivative worsening from the restaurant industry: Restaurant Industry Outlook Softened in May as Restaurant Performance Index Posted First Decline in Five Months The outlook for the restaurant industry was dampened somewhat in May, as the National Restaurant Association’s comprehensive index of restaurant activity registered its first decline in five months. The Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 98.3 in May, down 0.3 percent from April and its 19th consecutive month below 100....

In the famous Agatha Cristie novel And Then There Were None a group of people on an island mysteriously begins to die off due to accident or foul play. Thankfully, this is happening in real life today with state bans on carrying concealed handgun guns for lawful purposes in alcohol serving restaurants. Last year Georgia repealed its ban on concealed carry in restaurants, and today Tennessee's ban died as well after an historic veto override by the legislature. . . . But unlike the world of novels, onerous restrictions on gun rights don't just mysteriously disappear. Gun control laws tend...

What Does a Potential Swine Flu Pandemic Mean to Restaurant Operators? Swine flu is all over the news and discussed at the water cooler, and some people are scared. Presumably some restaurant-goers and employees are among those needing reassurance. Here are some ways to help. -- Restaurants and Institutions, 4/27/2009 12:45:00 PM Today, swine flu is all over the news and discussed at the water cooler. It's the top search term on Twitter, and it has tweeters scared. Some are afraid to go to work or school--or are using it as a good excuse not to attend. Others are wondering...

Recession-hit restaurants are helping themselves to your wallet by serving you an extra side of super sneaky charges. The Post last week found city eateries subtly billing customers for things usually free -- including bread and butter. Although managers claim the prices are clearly marked on menus, the outrageous charges can backfire on restaurants, experts said. Unexpected costs found by The Post include: * A $1-per-person charge for water at West Village restaurant Bobo -- noted on the menu but not mentioned by waiters. The drink is filtered tap water. Staff said the money funds the filtration. "If anyone doesn't...

Consumers have cut back sharply on food spending, shunning restaurants, opting for generic products over brand names, trading in lattes for home-brewed coffee and shopping for bargains. That is hurting sales and profits at many food processors, grocery chains and restaurants. First, consumers have been trading down to lower-priced items. Second, he thinks many households dug into their pantries for staples rather than going to the store, a trend that can't continue indefinitely. "You can't contract at this rate for long," he said. "It's just shocking." Cindy Greco, a 45-year-old Chicago resident, said she's shopping more at Costco Wholesale Corp....

CORAL SPRINGS - Change comes slowly in some places. In Coral Springs, the commission won't be so quick to force new and newly-remodeled restaurants to install baby changing stations in restrooms but the idea is still on the table. Vice Mayor Vice Boccard was hoping the City Commission would pass the "diaper-changing accommodations" law Tuesday night, but his colleagues balked after complaints from the city's Chamber of Commerce. "Now is not the time to add costs… to a business," said Chamber spokesman Bruce Weinberg. He said the tables could cost hundreds of dollars and there would be additional expenses for...

Identity thieves install spyware to monitor transactions from the inside In a press release timed to coincide with the inauguration of President Barack Obama, credit card processor Heartland Payment Systems announced Tuesday that it suffered a grievous security breach sometime in 2008, allowing hackers the opportunity to steal credit card information on what is possibly more than 100 million accounts. Heartland is the sixth largest payment processor in the country, and specializes in transaction processing for small-to-medium-sized restaurants and retailers. According to Wired’s Thread Level, it processes more than 100 million transactions a month. Federal investigators determined the source of...

Don Callender, credited with turning his mother's modest home-based bakery business into a restaurant and pie dynasty in Southern California, has died.

U.S. cities are racing to fix security vulnerabilities revealed by the devastating terror attacks in Mumbai, and many hotels remain “sitting ducks,” experts tell Newsmax.

Bad news ranging from hurricanes to financial market implosions kept customers away from restaurants in recent weeks, helping push Brinker International Inc.'s profit down almost 37 percent in its 2009 first quarter, the company said Tuesday. But if past practice holds, consumers should regain their nerve, and their appetites, in time for the holiday season, the Dallas company's chief financial officer said. If that doesn't happen, the trend could dampen sales during a traditionally strong period for parties and family celebrations. During past periods of collective shock, including 9/11 and the start of the Iraq war, "you see people immediately...

American restaurants are seeing a sharp decline in consumers and sales as the credit crisis continues. Restaurants Hit by Credit Crunch For the first time in two decades, the $550 billion restaurant industry is suffering from sluggish sales. Restaurant owners are being hard hit as credit lines for investment and operating costs dry up in the current economic recession. Increases in food and labor costs have also taken a toll on restaurant finances. The current financial crisis has challenged owners of franchises and private establishments alike. Both have had difficulty attracting customers, paying employees and furnishing kitchens with the necessary...

Waiters have allegedly beaten an Australian tourist to death for being "arrogant" while ordering a beer in an Indian restaurant. The Times of India and local reports said Mr Kelly's beating followed an altercation in which he displayed an "arrogant attitude". Some reports said security staff at the bar joined in the bashing.

Eyewitness News discovered a popular Sanford fast food restaurant that's accused of storing food on the floor inside the men's restroom. The food that was left on the floor in the restroom was just one of several critical violations health inspectors found at a Checkers location in Sanford.

Food price rise affects restaurant menus By Ian Johnston Last Updated: 3:36am BST 13/04/2008 Restaurants have slapped a surcharge on the cost of steaks and dropped popular dishes from their menus as they pass on soaring food costs to their customers. Owners say the rising prices of staples such as rice, beef and chicken are forcing them to cut the size of portions, use more vegetables and re-write recipes to drop expensive ingredients. Fish not fowl: Le Raj restaurant owner Enam Ali has introduced pangush fish as a cheaper alternative to chicken A fillet steak surcharge of several pounds has...

McDonald's will up the ante in the coffee wars Friday by offering free small lattes during breakfast hours in the Seattle market. The 112 restaurants in the Seattle region are the latest to offer McCafe espresso drinks. Prices range from $1.59 for an Americano to $3.29 for a large mocha. A small 12-ounce latte costs $1.99. To correspond with the Western Washington launch, McDonald's has created a Web site: unsnobbycoffee.com. "No crazy names or sizes. No second language required," the site advertises. "Hang out. Have fun. And don't leave without your free espresso coupon." Consumers can play an ad-lib game,...

In June, Brooke Ryan walked into a Nicholasville Road Applebee's restaurant to celebrate an anniversary lunch with her children. She walked out humiliated, in tears and without the lunch. But the incident over breast-feeding her 7-month-old son at Applebee's has spurred the soft-spoken 34-year-old to start a public awareness campaign on the rights of breast-feeding women in Kentucky. "On a small scale, I want Applebee's to change its policy," Ryan said. "On a large scale ... I want breast-feeding to be accepted." The dispute with Applebee's began June 14. Ryan chose a booth in the back of the restaurant away...

1. "It's more about the sizzle than the steak." Business is good for the restaurant industry. Americans now spend roughly half their food budget dining out, and restaurants expect revenue of more than $537 billion in 2007. That's a 67% increase since 1997. But it's not just our collective avoidance of the kitchen that's pumping profits: Restaurants work every angle these days, using marketing psychology to get you to spend more. At legendary Aureole Las Vegas, spandex-clad "wine angels" retrieve bottles from a 42-foot-tall spirits tower. The thinking behind the spectacle: "Anything that gets patrons' attention will get them to...

VALDOSTA, Ga., Jan. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. today celebrates the grand opening of the fifth store to open under the Little Caesars Veterans Program as U.S. military veteran and Little Caesars franchisee Patricia Evans opens her doors for business at 1650 F Baytree Road in Valdosta, Georgia. "The Little Caesars Veterans Program has provided me the opportunity to transition to a new career as my family and I begin the next chapter in our lives," said Evans. "I am proud to be the first woman to open a store under this program, and I'm excited to be...

MISHAWAKA — Local restaurants Ryan’s Family Steak House and Old Country Buffet will reportedly remain open while their parent company undergoes Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to court documents. Managers at Ryans Family Steak House, 4811 Grape Road, this morning directed media inquiries to a toll-free hotline explaining the reorganization. Echoing what Buffets Holdings Inc. reported earlier in the week, a Ryan’s manager said Friday the restaurant will remain open “as usual.” Buffets Holdings Inc. said the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware granted interim approval for the company and its subsidiaries to reorganize under Chapter 11. “All 626...

Would anyone like a free dinner at Golden Corral? Well, there is an easy way if you are an American military veteran. Golden Corral just announced this year’s Military Appreciation Monday will be November 12, 2007, from 5 to 9 pm. For the past 6 years, Golden Corral has been honoring the US Military with a free “thank you” dinner and beverage at any Golden Corral restaurant on Military Appreciation Monday (first Monday after Veteran’s Day), to honor any person who has ever served in the United States Military. In the past the only requirement to receive the free meal...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2007 – A South Carolina-based troop-support group and a national restaurant chain have teamed up to see that at least 500,000 servicemembers get a note of thanks this holiday season. Brian Bohlman (left), a chaplain with the South Carolina Air National Guard, visits with Army Cpl. Brandon Schadrie in September 2006, during his deployment to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. Bohlman, who founded Operation Thank You, a troop-support group, shares notes of support his organization collected from people back home for deployed servicemembers. Photo by Thomas Warner, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Public Affairs  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

Every think twice about handing over a credit or debit card to your restaurant server when paying the check? Maybe you should. While most of the time the payment goes through just fine, when your card leaves your sight, nasty things can happen. Occasionally, crooks use devices called skimmers to steal account information that's embedded in a card's magnetic stripe, which they sell or use to make counterfeit cards to raid a bank account or run up fraudulent bills. It's estimated 70 percent of that type of card fraud, known as skimming, happens in restaurants, one of the last places...

NEW YORK - Don't expect to see the calorie count for Burger King's Double Whopper with cheese on the menu anytime soon. Burger King, McDonald's and Wendy's are among the chains planning to defy New York City's new rule that they begin posting calories on menus Sunday. Other big fast food eateries like Taco Bell and KFC aren't saying whether they will comply, but with just days to go until the deadline, the menu boards in their Big Apple restaurants remain unchanged. All are hoping a New York Restaurant Association lawsuit in federal court will get the new regulation thrown...

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has added Chinese food to its “do not eat” list. Citing Chinese food’s high caloric and sodium content, a CSPI spokesman warned diners to cut back on its consumption. A plate of General Tso’s chicken, for example, has 1,300 calories and 3,200 milligrams of sodium. This is 40 percent more sodium and 50 percent calories than necessary for an average meal. “Our basic ‘rule-of-thumb’ at the Center is ‘if it’s tasty it’s nasty,’” said Bonnie Liebman, nutrition director of CSPI. “If you insist on eating at a Chinese restaurant we recommend...

Howie Carr live thread. It's the first full day of spring and at 2:17 pm EDT, it's now 29 degrees, and there's a four foot tall pile of snow in front of my apartment house in Beverly.

MILFORD -- In response to what the Board of Health sees as a growing health crisis, local restaurants may be banned from employing illegal immigrants as a condition of their food serving licenses. The policy will go into effect this summer. The board plans to notify restaurant owners and managers of the new policy in a letter to be mailed in June. According to a draft, the move comes in response to a growing concern "with the resurgence of some serious infectious diseases nationally and locally." After reporting zero cases of tuberculosis in 2004, the Visiting Nurses Association of Milford...

(RTTNews) - Fast-food giant Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM), which owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut chains, was in trouble again on Friday when local television stations aired video footage that showed wild rats scurrying around the floor of a KFC/Taco Bell restaurant, located at 331 6th Avenue in Greenwich Village, New York. The latest reports, aired on New York's WNBC and WCBS television stations, showed at least a dozen large rats running between counters and tables and climbing on children's high chairs of the New York City KFC/Taco Bell eatery, which was open Thursday night but was closed today.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A leading restaurant association has called for the cancellation of a TV commercial featuring Britney Spears' estranged husband, Kevin Federline, as a failed rap star working in a fast-food eatery. In a 30-second ad for Nationwide Insurance, Federline is shown dreaming he is a rap star but then snaps out of it to face reality -- he's working at a burger restaurant. The commercial is due to be aired during the National Football League's Super Bowl championship on Sunday, February 4, advertising's biggest televised sporting event of the year. Last year's Super Bowl drew more than...

Let 'em eat foie gras, they declare Almost 4 months after ban, a number of restaurants appear to be dishing up the delicacy with impunity By Josh Noel Tribune staff reporter December 21, 2006 NOTE: This story contains corrected material, published Dec. 22, 2006. When the letter came from City Hall threatening punishment if he continued to serve foie gras at his North Side restaurant, Doug Sohn framed the warning and set it beside his cash register. And he kept serving the fattened duck liver without a care. "We displayed it proudly," said Sohn, owner of Hot Doug's, a gourmet...

Pittsburgh. Pierogies. Pierogies. Pittsburgh. You can't think about the Steel City without visions of these delectable dumplings dancing in your head. Because everybody knows that Pittsburghers consume more pierogies than anyone else in the world. OK, maybe just the United States. That certainly should be enough to qualify Pittsburgh as the Pierogi Capital, right? But noooo! That distinction belongs to Buffalo, N.Y. Yes, the city of hot wings and cold weather yesterday bested the 'Burgh to win the Capital of the Pierogi Pocket contest sponsored by Mrs. T's Pierogies, a food company based in Shenandoah, Pa. Pittsburgh received only an...