Orange County Food Blog

​Fascinating article in Business Week this week about Subway's stumbling into the goldmine that is their current $5 footlong sub deal -- a promotion that started as a lark at an "obscure Miami franchise" and has grown to give the chain $3.8 billion in sales. This is the kind of story professors use as case studies in business school.

Coincidentally, about the same day the article came out, I was also drawn to the cheapness. Because it's really all about the cheapness, isn't it? But frankly, I quite liked my Spicy Italian. The article is correct though: $5 is "the magic number" for the sandwich. And also, like the story mentions, I took the other half and ate it for dinner after crisping it up further in the toaster oven.

​Wahoo's, started in 1988 by a bunch of surfers in Costa Mesa, is about to celebrate its 21st anniversary. The problem is that the founders were so laid-back that nobody really remembers when the first store actually opened. They aren't letting this stop them from having a good time, though, so they're starting their 21st birthday celebration on Saturday, Nov. 21 with a party and giveaways.

In the nine months since their 20th birthday celebration (which Edwin told us all about back in February), they've expanded onto the UCI campus, added menu items (a tofu bowl, chicken-spinach rolls and a chopped salad), and held a contest to name the new additions.

As part of the 21st birthday celebration, every person who visits a Wahoo's on that day will get something (items such as a gift card or a free meal), but the first 21 people into each of the restaurant will get a bag o' stuff, including some action sports-related swag.

Doors open at 11 a.m. at all OC Wahoo's locations, so put on your surf shirt, show off that nautical star tattoo, and get your grilled fish taco on (seriously, Wahoo's, you're 21 now, go buy some deep fryers and give us some fried fish taco love!). Make sure to ask for the Indonesian sambal (Mr. Lee's Chili Sauce) that is the object of Edwin's admiration.

Wahoo's Fish Taco has 15 locations in OC; find your nearest one at their website.

Edwin Goei

​ Among all the posts that I've written here this year, none have gotten more comments and curiosity than the one where I announced that the Utah-based chain Cafe Rio was opening its first California outlet in Lake Forest.

Nevermind that there's already excellent Mexican all over our fine county -- people seem to want this place to open, and to open quick.

Edwin Goei

​Topz "The Healthier Burger Grill" seems to be shutting down all over. The Hutton Center location was completely barren, the space already available for lease. And the Orange store's phone number has been disconnected. Reports of other Topz locations locations shuttering include West Hollywood and also a location in San Mateo.

I would want to see what other locations are still in business, but their main company website is down with a nothing but a logo, a contact e-mail address, and the ominously worded "Stay Tuned... New website underway!"

Yes, this appears to be a lamentable but all-out meltdown of a place that had aspired to offer lower fat burgers and baked fries (the funniest oxymoron this side of "jumbo shrimp").

​It used to be that chefs would shy away from admitting where they grabbed a late-night bite as they made their weary way home after another grueling 16-hour shift in the kitchen. Now it's almost a matter of pride.

It seems that local boy Amar Santana of Charlie Palmer isn't the only chef partial to a Double-Double, Animal-style, from In-N-Out Burger, as he revealed last month. A survey by Esquire puts the chain at the top of the list of chefs' favorite fast-food haunts.

David Myers, of Sona, Comme Ça and Pizzeria Ortica, who enjoys the same order as Santana, sums up the experience, saying: "It's fast, it's hot, there are code words--what's not to enjoy?"

Meanwhile, Alton Brown, host of Iron Chef America, goes all gooey when describing the old-fashioned shakes, claiming "they make me tear up just thinkin' about it." Whoa, there!

National chains given the nod by chefs include Chipotle, Jack in the Box, Dairy Queen, KFC and Wendy's.

Surprisingly, perhaps, there's no mention of Fatburger, although it's probably just a coincidence that a huge recall of beef reported today includes ground beef sold to the burger chain in May.

According to a spokesperson for the company, the meat was inspected before shipment, and while initial tests indicated that E. coli might be present, further tests "produced a conclusive negative (contamination free) result."

Thankfully, no illnesses have been reported.

The chain is giving away something different every day until Friday, which is the dénouement-- or, rather, dé-moo-ment?, because you have to dress up as a cow to qualify for the full meal.

For the original post, CLICK HERE.

Excuse me while I take a stand, but I just don't get the huge fuss over Wholesome Choice. I visited the Irvine store recently, not the newly revamped Anaheim Hills one, and found it overcrowded and underwhelming. Sure, they have some good ethnic foods and a popular food court, but if you need to buy regular groceries such as cereal and butter, the range is far more limited. To me, the fruit and vegetable selection was poor and the meat and fish counters deeply uninspiring.

But one thing that did please me was the alcohol selection. In among the Greek Metaxa and other (relatively) obscure spirits were a couple of excellent award-winning organic English ales--both incredibly hard to find around these parts--made by Duchy Originals (the company founded by Prince Charles, no less) and Suffolk's St Peter's Brewery. Now that's impressive.

I guess the moral of the story, for the customer, is: visit for the detail, not the bigger picture.

Edwin Goei

In what seems to be the second documented case of "jump-the-gun-itis" we've seen in recent weeks, it's been widely reported that Maryland-based chain Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries sent out coupons to eager customers prior to the opening of its first ever California store.  This wouldn't be that bad if it weren't for the fact that they actually printed a grand opening date on the things -- a date on which they were still not yet open.

A friend of Lesley's sent her this message "Had a coupon in mail for Boardwalk Burgers and Fries - MetroPointe - 1st West Coast location? Was supposed to have Grand Opening June 20. No phone message. No answer. Walked over on Sunday for fun... all locked up and dark... Still has "opening soon" sign. We gave our coupon to some people going by! Off my list."

Well, if you're reading this, Lesley's friend, I verified that Boardwalk has now opened.  It actually has been open since this past Monday, June 22nd.  They were off by two days.  As Maxwell Smart would say, "missed it by THAT much!"

Today I walked in, surveyed the place and noticed that apart from a new coat of paint (and the absence of raw fish), it has the same vibe and cavernous space as the short-lived Irezumi Sushi before it.  But already, there were more customers in there than I've ever seen at Irezumi.  I had no idea that when I broke story about the place back in March that there were so many East Coast transplants jonesing for this chain to open...or maybe everyone was just there to redeem those coupons.

Whether you have a coupon or not, I have scanned the menu for you to peruse below.  Click it to enlarge.

Just when you think you've heard it all, along comes a crazy person from Holland with waaaaaaaaaaay too much time on their hands (and presumably waaaaaaaaaaay too much pot in their hands).

Check out KFC's Dutch website: and click on Chicken Impossible.

It's the whole theme tune, from start to finish.

Think of the effort involved!

There are nine other tunes on the site too, but this one is the best--although I don't think that's the right word, somehow.

It's hard to know what to expect when you see "mom's sandwiches" on a menu. Could it be down-home comfort food--just-carved meat slathered in mayo, cheese and a whole lotta love? Or will it be fat-free luncheon meat and cardboard bread, the kind of thing your mother might sneak into your lunch box hoping you won't be able to tell the difference?

CBC's new offerings, called just that--mom's sandwiches--lean toward the latter. They're okay, but nothing more. The bread's fresh, the wholegrain mustard (optional) tangy, but the meat (in my case, turkey) was definitely of the substandard, wet and limp Oscar Meyer ilk.

Perfectly edible, and probably quite healthy (indeed, this particular variety has fewer than 350 calories). But dull enough to put you in a coma. Really, if I want a sandwich that plain, I'll stay at home make it myself--for far less than six bucks.

Next time, I'm sticking to what CBC does best: cakes, cookies and other stuff that's bad for me.

The survey from the "burgundy bible" rates this duo the best fast-food coffee and most popular fast-food mega-chain, respectively.

Which makes me wonder if the reviewers--more than 6,000 of them, who visited more than 100 chains across the country--are living in a parallel universe. One in which Starbucks' coffee actually tastes of coffee, and Subway's so-called sandwiches aren't made of plastic meat and ersatz bread.

Other results are easier to swallow: Irvine's own In-N-Out Burger took the top spot for fast-food burgers, and Cheesecake Factory scooped the award for best desserts in a full-service chain.

As for best full-service chain (Edwin, look away now)? PF Chang's.

Don't know about you, but I don't place much weight on Zagat anyway, largely because its reviews apparently come from wide-eyed tourists who seem to get a kick out of seeing their cringeworthy comments, slathered in quotation marks, in print.

Admittedly, a few "outtakes" from this new report did raise a chuckle, such as:

"Avoid this restaurant like the plague, which you might be able to catch at a few of its locations"... Gee, wonder why that one didn't make the final cut?

But there are some real howlers in there too--metaphors that are cheesier than Johnny Hallyday at a Camembert convention (help, I'm lapsing into Zagat-ese!):

 "Steak as tough as a longshoreman"

"Noisier than an engine room on a tramp freighter"

"Service blows harder than a Kansas tornado"

For the full survey, CLICK HERE.

According to the Daily Pilot, In-N-Out wants to put up a 65-foot freeway sign at the site of where Kaplan's Deli used to be; right off the Harbor exit from the 405.

"As much as I like In-N-Out, I don't want to subject the city to what amounts to a 65-foot billboard at the entrance to the city," commission Chairman Jim Righeimer said.

...and;

"Several residents also told the commission that they enjoy the restaurant's burgers but think the proposed location would cause severe traffic backups..."

Anyway, I'm not sure that the sign In-N-Out wants to put up will be one of their infamous 3D relief billboards, but I remember seeing one once, I think somewhere in Riverside County.  They used to stock it with dry ice or something.  At regular intervals smoke would spew out between those giant patties.  Sometimes, the smoke machine (or whatever it was) would malfunction and shroud the entire thing in a haze.  That always looked so cool.  

But I can see where the Costa Mesa residents are coming from.  If I have to see one out my window every morning...I dunno...that might suck.  Especially if it's just one of those boring 2D ones that doesn't spew out smoke.

Yes, folks, the Portobello Mushroom Six Dollar Burger (award-winning, no less) will be back on the menu for good at all US locations, we're told.

It's been a hit with customers ever since its launch in 2005, and, due to popular demand, it'll be back on the menu permanently.

Hey, it may be a life-threatening hunk of fat and beef, but at least there's a portion of veg in there too!

Just as the new ads for Starbucks are lazy, the ones for McDonald's new coffees are horrendously grating, not to mention lowbrow. "McCafé Your Day" is bad enough, but how about "A Better Day is Possiblé"? Huh?. Or  "It's All About The Accent Mark"? Accent mark???.

So I naturally assumed that the drinks would be awful too. After all, the worse the ad, the worse the food, right? (Note: this doesn't always work in reverse--Denny's and Jack In The Box sometimes create brilliant ads, but I'd hardly call their grub wonderful).

But it's not really fair to criticize without trying them, so, rather than make do with a drive-thru, I headed down to a genuine, full-fat McCafé yesterday (CLICK HERE to find your nearest).

The verdict? Although totally indistinguishable from one another (see photo), the latte and cappuccino were not bad. Not bad at all.

Notice I didn't say good--I can't bring myself to. They were... surprisingly pleasant? They were creamy, with the right amount of foam on top, and, shock horror, you could actually taste the coffee.

True, I did burn my mouth on the first sip as they were way too hot.

True, I hadn't realized I needed to ask for sugar when I ordered the drinks, although it's surely better to make it straight and then allow the customer to add their own?.

And, true, for an overall "experience", surrounded by screaming kids and shopping carts in a megastore, it was hardly romantic or even relaxing, and not exactly in keeping with the faux "French chic" slant of the ads.

But, still, it exceeded my expectations, and not just in terms of price ($2.79 for a medium/16oz latte, nearly 50 cents less than the equivalent at Starbucks).

And that's the point. While the likes of Peet's and Kéan, in a league of their own, don't have any reason to start quaking in their boots, Starbucks does. It may be trying valiantly to hang on to loyal customers by proclaiming "Beware Of A Cheaper Cup Of Coffee", and slashing the cost of the odd drink here and there (its grande iced coffee recently dropped to $1.95), it has ignored the question of taste. Of course, people want to pay less, but there's more to the equation: if a competitor's product is cheaper and as good as their current one, they'll make the switch.

Don't believe me? Try it for yourself. For nothing: some McCafés are still handing out free samples. At the one inside the Wal-Mart in Santa Ana (3600 W. McFadden Ave.), it's from noon till 2pm this coming Friday (May 15).

To Celebrate National Beverage Day tomorrow, Arby's is giving away a free fruit-flavored iced tea to anyone who utters the magic words "I'm parched. FruiTea me." No coupon necessary.

Frankly, some of the varieties sound revolting (Diet Blackberry, anyone?), but if your hangover's bad after Cinco de Mayo festivities tonight, that might not bother you.

The fact that there are two diet versions (the other one being Diet Peach) makes me wonder just what goes into the regular ones. Didn't tea used to be calorie-free?
 
I know, I know, it's not just tea that goes into the drinks. Turns out that it's pure cane sugar that gives the Mandarin Peach FruiTea 90 calories and the Passion Fruit 100.

Hey, at least it's natural.

Yes, that's right--the first 30 people to put their name down (call, visit or email the restaurant via its website) will get to cram their cake-hole with tacos at the restaurant's annual contest.
 
In addition to a bursting belly, the winner will also receive a gift card to Tacos & Co, so they can come back and do it all over again, should they wish.

The event takes place tomorrow, Tuesday May 5, at 7pm.

Tacos & Co, University Center, Irvine, (949) 653-8081.

Yet another round of Starbucks closures was recently announced, including a dozen locations in Orange County. Combined with those from the previous wave that are yet to shutter, that makes 15, four of which (in bold below) have definite closing dates at this time.

The branches set to close are:

Anaheim Hills: 721 S. Weir Canyon Rd. (Sycamore Canyon Plaza)
Brea: 2435 E. Imperial Blvd. (Brea Union Plaza). Last day May 10.
Brea: 745 N. Brea Blvd.
Cypress: 5373 Katella Ave.
Dana Point: 24502 Del Prado
Dana Point: 2 Ritz Carlton Dr.
Garden Grove: 13411 Euclid St.
Garden Grove: 12881 Haster St. Last day May 8.
Huntington Beach: 7862 Warner Ave. Last day May 8.
Lake Forest: 22621 Lake Forest Dr. Last day May 10.
Lake Forest: 23841 El Toro Rd. (near Rockfield)
Mission Viejo: 27680 Marguerite Pkwy.
San Juan Capistrano: 32341 Camino Capistrano
Trabuco Hills: 27775 Santa Margarita Pkwy.
Westminster: 6777 Westminster Blvd.

The list includes two in Long Beach, which is also part of the OC Weekly's remit:

3401 Cherry Ave
3399 Long Beach Blvd., which is on the official list of closures but may be getting a reprieve, according to the manager there. Stay tuned.

It's a shame for the stores' employees that the coffee behemoth's new ad campaign--which includes such lame taglines as "It's Not Just Coffee. It's Starbucks" and "Beware Of A Cheaper Cup Of Coffee. It Comes With A Price"--is launching too late to save them.

Hopefully for Starbucks it'll help turn the tide on its slumping income, which recently slid a massive 77 per cent (and apparently that's not as bad as expected!)

CLICK HERE for a vid of Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz getting down with the kids and discussing the new print ads--over a cup of coffee (what else?)

Subway has been flogging its five-dollar foot-longs for ages--I'm sorry, they should be paying us five dollars to eat that slop--but now TGI Friday's is joining the gang, meaning we we eat out for around the same price (or thereabouts, if we're frugal).

I'm not a big fan of the chain, I admit. Call me fussy, but it might have something to do with the fact that, on my last visit, the server let her long, twisted fingernails hang into my food as she brought the plate to me. Anyway, that was about 12 years ago. I'm prepared to give them another shot at some point, but, until I can bring myself to do so, I think it's best left to college kids with awful taste in heavy metal (check out the horrific website if you don't believe me).

But TGI devotees might well be interested in the fact that, from now until the end of May, all of Fridays' sandwiches and salads--including nine new items--cost just five bucks. That's more than half off some items. They're full sizes and you get fries or salad thrown in too. Quite a bargain.

Among the offerings debuting are a BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad, a Meatball Sandwich and a Jack Daniel's Chicken Sandwich (are they really still trying to flog that JD-smothered rubbish? When will they learn that booze and food go well at the same time, but not together?)

Meanwhile, Cinco de Mayo--next Tuesday--is being celebrated with two five-cent deals: select appetizers at the bar (from 4:00pm to 7:00pm, with the purchase of a drink) and blackberry margaritas, the chain's new drink. Plus, if you're a TGI Friday's loyalty card holder--there are 900,000 of you out there, apparently (who knew?) - you get extra Stripes and free chips and salsa.

Yes, that's right. Not only is the whole country being offered a free piece of Kentucky Grilled Chicken today (Monday, April 27, aka UNFry Day), but Southern Californians are also benefitting from a further deal: buy an eight-piece or larger KFC meal from May 4 to May 31 and you'll receive four free KGC pieces (drumsticks/thighs). That's a lot of bird.

The deals come at a tricky time for the company. Last week, Yum Brands, which owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, announced a 14 per cent drop in profits for the first quarter of 2009, apparently partly due to the fact we're cooking at home more than before.


So the launch of the new grilled chicken, with less fat and sodium and fewer calories (and fewer herbs and spices) than the traditional fried version, could be a timely move that lures in a new breed of customers.

But why single out SoCal? According to the peeps at KFC's Louisville HQ, "Health-conscious Southern California is ground zero in the grilled chicken movement."
 
For some reason, the same logic doesn't apply to San Diego and Palm Springs, areas that are being left out of the four-piece deal. (Or maybe they eat so much damn chicken that they'd bankrupt the company if they were included).

Of course, the buzz surrounding KFC's new menu hasn't gone unnoticed by Orange County's own El Pollo Loco. Tomorrow, Tuesday April 28, they're running a pretty generous "Taste the Fire" freebie, comprising a flame-grilled leg, a flame-grilled thigh, two tortillas and fresh salsa. The deal runs out at 8pm and doesn't apply to delivery or drive-thru. As with all offers, some locations may choose to opt out.
 
In terms of calories and saturated fat content, the KGC and El Pollo Loco are virtually identical on some items. Take a chicken breast (the skinless one at EPL): there's just one calorie separating them.

So where will I be getting my chicken fix? Both places, although I'm not sure I can forgive KFC for what might be the most annoying promo website ever.

First, there's the gibberish tagline ("It's Time To Unthink How You Get Your Grill On"), but it's the "wacky characters" that do my head in. Check out the woman in the orange shirt--don't you just want to punch her through the screen? And don't even get me started on the preppy twins.

Tesco, the UK supermarket behemoth, has just announced record pre-tax annual profits of £3.13bn ($4.5bn), which is surprising, given that the UK is in the middle of a raging recession.

What's not surprising--to me, anyway--is that Fresh & Easy, Tesco's US operation, has, at the same time, made a loss of £142mn ($205mn).

I recently revisited Fresh & Easy, after a disappointing first trip last year. This time, I was impressed with certain items, such as bags of salad that were outstandingly fresh (OK, hardly groundbreaking stuff), plus tangy lemon and cilantro houmous and good-value ($8) family meals that would feed a small army, including some perfectly edible, if not terribly authentic, chicken burritos. There are plenty of bargains, too, including 98¢ produce packs and huge boxes of tea bags for less than $2.

I'm also impressed by the some of the wines. Indeed, I'm not the only one: so far they've garnered around 60 awards, including no less than nine from the San Francisco Chronicle's Wine Competition in February. One, Vista Point Chardonnay, which retails at a stunningly low $1.99, took a bronze medal at last year's San Francisco International Wine Competition, and also beat Trader Joe's "Two-Buck Chuck" in a recent blind tasting on the marvelously entitled Caroline on Crack website.

On the other hand, the two major downsides I'd noticed on my initial visit were very much still in evidence. There's simply not enough choice when it comes to non-Fresh & Easy-branded goods (cases in point: toiletries, dry goods and candy bars).

And expiration dates, a bugbear even with loyal customers, are still within the next few days. I welcome the idea of fresh food, but it gets ridiculous when you have to eat your entire week's groceries within the next three days. Anyway, I'm not sure I even trust the dates: a pack of cooked chicken ended up in the trash as it had gone bad by the morning of the expiration date (isn't there usually a little leeway?).
 
Fresh & Easy confirmed to me that they won't break even by the end of 2009 (as suspected), and there's no date for when they will. They are continuing to open in the US, but there are no further OC stores planned for the near future.

What's your experience of F&E? Have you been impressed or disappointed?

It's kind of poetic actually. Two fast food outlets replaced by one that touts its un-fast-food-ness. What's more it's The Flame Broiler, a homegrown chain that began life 14 years ago in Fullerton. Their claim to fame? Rice bowls that are made without frying, trans fats or MSG.

The two fast food joints it will replace are Wienerschnitzel‎ and Steak Escape at the Crossroads in Irvine.

And I don't mean that you get two Flame Broilers for the trade; there are two other Flame Broilers in Irvine already (This one will make three).

You see, at the Crossroads, Wienerschnitzel‎ and Steak Escape were neighbors. Both were cramped as all hell, with just enough room to order your heart-cloggin' combos and leave. Flame Broiler's going to need to knock down a wall and claim the space taken up by both stores to set up shop.

What's more interesting is that it's going to be located directly facing Sagami, which is a mom-n-pop Japanese joint that offers rice bowls of its own.

If Sagami's worried, they needn't be. I know The Flame Broiler's Achilles' Heel: They take off the skin from its chickens, which Cartman, Kyle, Stan and Kenny will tell you, is the BEST PART!

A few weeks back we brought you news of a survey of America's healthiest fast-food chains (Panera Bread topped the list). Now comes the reverse: America's unhealthiest fast-food restaurants.


A report by health and nutrition experts David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding, authors of "supermarket survival guide" Eat This, Not That!, gives a big fat D- to Baja Fresh, Romano's Macaroni Grill and On the Border, while Chevys, Uno Chicago Grill and Chili's fared only slightly better, with a D. By comparison, Ruby Tuesday, Dairy Queen, Denny's, Carl's Jr and Baskin-Robbins raked in a relatively healthy D+.



Zinczenko and Goulding, you may remember, are the guys who denounced the large version of Baskin-Robbins' Heath Bar Shake as the "Worst Drink on the Planet"--and rightly so: it packed a whopping 2,310 calories and 108 g fat. It was later discontinued, although the medium size is still available if you'd like to suck down 1,420 calories and 67g fat. (Unbelievably, it's not the most fattening shake on the menu.)

For this latest study, the duo ranked 66 chain restaurants according to the total number of calories per entrée. They also gave extra marks to eateries that provided fruit and vegetable side dishes and/or whole-wheat bread. Finally, they deducted points from places whose menu items included excessive amounts of trans fats, or which offered fat-laden desserts.

The worst contenders, racking up an F, were Applebee's, IHOP, Outback, T.G.I. Friday's, which currently offer no nutritional information. Pretty inexcusable, I'd say.
 
And the least unhealthy? (I struggle with saying 'healthiest'.) McDonald's, which scored a scholarly B+.

Photo Courtesy of Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries

As long as we're talkin' about chains from The South penetrating our borders and tickling our tongues, let's talk about Boardwalk Fresh Burgers and Fries. It will open at South Coast Metro Pointe, next door to Arriba's (no word yet on an actual date).

If you're paying attention, this is the space left empty by Irezumi Sushi, from the now failed and infamous Mor Project .

The burger chain is actually an offshoot of Broadwalk Fries, a Maryland based chain that made its name selling fries and other boardwalk snacks like funnel cakes and hot dogs.

A glance at their menu sees no surprises.  Burgers customizable with toppings like sauteed mushrooms, yadda yadda yadda.

And of course, there will be fries fried in peanut oil (like our friends at Chik-fil-A) and served in a paper cup.  But here's something interesting:  Since they're out of Maryland, a can of Old Bay is featured prominently on one of their pictures as a possible french fry seasoning.  

It's anyone's guess how Old Bay dusted fries and the whole beach-themed enterprise will be received by OC, especially when we've got plenty of home-grown burger joints here.

So let's get the formalities out of the way: TK Burgers, In-N-Out, Fatburger, The Counter meet Boardwalk.  Shake hands.  Now fight!  Fight to the death!

As previously posted, Arby's was giving away free Roastburgers last Sunday, to promote the new roast beef sandwich and also, apparently, to compensate us for the hour we lost switching over to Daylight Saving Time.

Now they've seen fit to extend the offer through this Saturday, March 14.

Simply print out this coupon, buy a soft drink, and a free Roastburger (available in All-American, Bacon & Bleu and Bacon Cheddar varieties) is yours.

Another Mimi's Cafe "re-opens", and another giveaway! 

I don't usually read the Costco Connection -- the corporate propaganda Coscto puts out every month and sends to every member in the mail -- but this month is different. The cover story was all about the food court, its past and future. And I've gotta say: it was quite an interesting read -- especially if you've enjoyed the $1.50 hot dog and drink combo like I have, which we dubbed as the Best Hot Dog on our 2007 Best Of Issue. 

To mark the switch to Daylight Saving Time this Sunday, March 8, participating locations of Arby's will be giving away one free Roastburger per customer with the purchase of a soft drink of any size. All you have to do is go in and say you want to change your burger. And if you can do that with a straight face, then frankly you deserve a free lunch.

The sandwiches come in three varieties: All-American, Bacon & Bleu and Bacon Cheddar.

Spokespeople for Arby's are explaining the giveaway as an opportunity for us to compensate for the lost hour of sleep by spending less time in the kitchen. And, apparently, it also means we get to "break out of our greasy fast food burger ruts".

A slightly tenuous link, perhaps, but one thing's for sure: this Sunday, we'll be thinking Arby's.

Although I posted last week about doom-mongering health-related news, such as the fact that the higher the number of fast-food outlets in your neighborhood, the more likely you are to have a stroke, and, my personal favorite, the revelation that one drink a day is apparently a death sentence for women), it seems that there is a bit of good news about fast food after all. We can, apparently, eat it and not die.

After surveying the country's 100 largest fast-food chains, Health magazine has released its rundown of the ten healthiest (for the full article, CLICK HERE). Topping the list? Panera Bread, which garnered praise for its half portions of soups, salads and sandwiches, plus its commitment to hormone-free chicken.

Number two--Jason's Deli--I'd never even heard of (for a good reason, it turns out: Riverside is the only California location). But, with its focus on organic ingredients and recent elimination of HFCS from its food, it's one to watch if it does come our way.

Of other locally found chains, Chipotle landed the number six spot, and Einstein Bros Bagels ranked nine.

There are some surprises within the top ten, not least McDonald's. Yes, Mcy D's made the grade for its Grilled Chicken Classic sandwich and wraps--provided you skip the mayo and sauce, natch--as well as its Egg McMuffin, which weighs in at just 300 calories.

And that's just it - it's all about choice. All these places offer such a wide variety of menu options that you can eat sensibly if you choose carefully. This might explain why the Corner Bakery Café also made the list, at number five, despite its display cabinets of mouthwatering bundt cakes and brownies, designed to derail our diets in a nanosecond.

Having said that, you can have too much choice. It's what I call the "teriyaki test"--if a non-Asian place is doing teriyaki (Jack In the Box, anyone?), it's a menu item too far. Steer well clear.

Today is Mardi Gras (aka Fat Tuesday), so it's fitting that I'm writing about how unhealthy we're becoming as a nation - indeed, as a planet. According to the Guardian, the number of new cases of diabetes being diagnosed in the UK is growing at a faster rate than in the US. Now that is depressing. And when I read the headline in the LA Times yesterday--"Fast food restaurants and stroke--a link?"--I was so bummed I nearly reached for a second tub of Ben & Jerry's.

We could soon see more panic-inducing health-related stories if the current boom in fast-food joints continues. Last week, KFC announced the creation of 9,000 new jobs in the UK (which brings a whole new meaning to the term 'credit crunch'), while, closer to home, El Pollo Loco continues its nationwide expansion. Everyone's weighing in on the topic: According to a Wall Street Journal article, sales in quick-service restaurants are expected to rise by 0.4% this year, while full-service restaurant sales are expected to decline by 2.5%. Hell, McDonald's has even been declared 'recession proof', as Edwin mentioned in a recent post.

OK, so we've known for years that fast food is, on the whole, bad for us, and that sales increase when the economy is faltering because it's cheap. But while we're stuck in this godforsaken recession and until there are better healthy fast-food options, what are we to do? Right now, we're worried about paying the mortgage and hanging on to our jobs, not about how many grams of saturated fat this or that burger has. But it's not just that... To me, fast food means comfort food. That's why gourmet burger joints are as popular as Michelin-starred bistros. Put it this way: If I'm going to the golden arches, it ain't for a salad.

I'm not saying we should go all out and forget about our bodies entirely - or that we should have carte blancmange to stuff our faces from dawn till midnight. I'm just saying that these kinds of headlines don't do much except increase our stress levels. And, frankly, we could do without that right now.

The headline speaks for itself.  CLICK HERE if you'd like to read the article.