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Previously Reported
in Food Court...
McDonald's hires
daughter of Thai PM (3/30/04)
BANGKOK, Thailand
(AP) -- If Paetongtarn Shinawatra
thought she could keep a low profile
Monday on her first day working
at McDonald's, her hopes were dashed
when her father, Thailand's Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, dropped
by for a takeaway.
Thaksin, who became
one of Thailand's richest men by
investing in telecommunications,
let the phalanx of reporters trailing
him know that even in the family
of a billionaire, the younger generation
must learn the value of money and
hard work.
"Thai kids, when
they finish school, they don't know
how to work," said Thaksin,
as his giggly daughter stood by.
Paetongtarn, 17, will be earning
23.75 baht (US$0.60) per hour in
her part-time job.
Mayo-Rage
Driver Gets 10 Years for Running
Over Fast Food Employee
(12/5/03)
Waynetta Nolan apologized
from the witness stand Thursday,
saying she was "going through
a bad time in my life" when
she ran over a fast food restaurant
employee because she couldn't get
mayonnaise on her cheeseburger.
Jurors were in no
mood for excuses.
After deliberating
for about four hours, the Harris
County jury served up a 10-year
prison sentence for Nolan's April
23 rampage that injured the manager
of a McDonald's restaurant in southwest
Houston.
"I can't imagine
or think of anything more ridiculous
than this. It all happened over
a hamburger," state District
Judge Brock Thomas told Nolan. "I
sure hope it was worth it, because
you'll have 10 years to think about
it."
Woman
rams car into gas pump after clerk
won't sell her alcohol (12/2/03)
Davie police arrested
a woman who rammed her car into
a gas pump early Tuesday morning
causing the pump to explode and
catch fire after an attendant refused
to sell her alcohol. Shortly after
5 a.m., police say the woman, who
appeared to be inebriated, walked
into the Citgo gas station at 3301
N. University Dr. and tried to purchase
wine and beer. The clerk refused
to sell alcohol to her, citing city
and county ordinances that prohibit
the sale of beer or wine before
6 a.m. ''She became irate and started
screaming at the clerk, but he held
his ground,'' Davie police Lt. Bill
Bamford said.
Why Didn't He Just
Recycle the Cans? (3/13/03)
A van in Denton,
TX yielded two corpses, a couple
emaciated dogs and hundreds of beer
cans according to police. James
Mack apparently lived in the van
along with his deceased mother's
corpse. Police found the dead man
slumped over in the driver's seat
after neighbors called the police.
Beer cans filled the van up to the
head rests and it was only after
moving the cans that police found
Mack's mother in the passenger seat.
Neighbors told police that he stayed
in the van to keep warm after the
utility company shut off the gas
in the house. Yet he had enough
money to drink enough beer to fill
a van to its head rests. That's
a man who loves his beer –
and his mama.
Bad Reviews Can
Kill You (2/28/03)
Top names in French
cuisine have joined hundreds of
mourners at the funeral of Bernard
Loiseau, the celebrated chef whose
suicide on Tuesday was blamed on
bad reviews. Some of Mr Loiseau's
fellow chefs caused a furore after
his death was discovered when they
blamed the pressure of food critics
for his suicide. His death came
a week after the renowned GaultMillau
restaurant guide cut his restaurant
rating from 19/20 to 17/20.
Cancer Patient
Sues McDonald's Over Burrito (1/16/03)
The
Houston Press is reporting that
a cancer sufferer is suing McDonald's
because he claims they put too much
black pepper on a breakfast burrito
and it caused him two months of
daily nosebleeds.
Joke
#1: McDonald's officials were stunned
by the claims, as this would be
the first time in history that a
McDonald's restaurant gave anybody
too much of anything!
Joke#2: McDonald's
officials discounted the suit as
groundless. Instead, expert witness
Chief Clancy Wiggum of the Springfield
Police suggested that nosebleeds
are actually caused by picking your
nose too much or not enough.
I've Got Two Words
for You... New Coke (9/4/02)
If
I was forced to pick one fast food
item as a favorite it would boil
down to three things: McDonald's
Filet-O-Fish, old school Roy Rogers
Double R Bar Burgers, and McDonald's
French Fries. Unfortunately, the
braintrust at McD's has decided
to cut the artery-clogging –
and yummy – processed fat from
its fries by nearly half. Fast food
critics applauded the chain for
taking a step forward while Burger
King execs were seen snickering
in the corner.
Isn't There Such
a Thing as "Good Fat"?
(8/20/02)
WASHINGTON (CNN)
— Caesar Barber weighs about
272 pounds, has survived two heart
attacks, and suffers from diabetes
and high blood pressure -- ailments
he blames on a diet heavy in fast
food.
"For years, I
ate fast food because it was efficient
and cheap," he said. "I
had no idea I could be damaging
my health."
Barber, a 56-year-old
New York maintenance worker, filed
suit in July against McDonald's,
Burger King, Wendy's and Kentucky
Fried Chicken.
Scientists Breed
"Naked" Chicken; Animal
Rights Freaks Label it a "Monster"
(5/22/02)
FROM THIS IS LONDON
– by George Wright. A new breed
of "naked" chicken created
by scientists in the search for
tastier, healthier poultry has angered
animal rights campaigners.
Despite its bizarre
appearance, the red-skinned broiler
could become a supermarket success
because it is designed to grow faster
and contain less fat than normal
chickens. It will also be cheaper
to produce since its lack of feathers
means there is no need to pluck
it before it hits the shelves.
Man Eats Nothing
But Domino's Pizza for Five Years...
and Admits It! (4/28/02)
FROM ANANOVA –
A New Jersey man has eaten a medium
pizza and four diet cokes from the
same takeaway almost every day for
five years. Mike Uris has never
been to the Domino's Pizza shop
in Ramsey – he always telephones
his order.
The retired advertising
director estimates he's eaten 2,000
eight-slice pizzas in the five years,
starting each day with six slices
for lunch. He drinks two of the
cokes with lunch and then has one
each with a slice of pizza for dinner
at 6pm and supper at 11pm.
Every few months,
Mr Uris, who never eats breakfast,
gets something other than pizza.
A week ago he had broiled salmon
with mashed potatoes and carrots.
Mr Uris says he first got the urge
for pizza five years ago and has
them delivered ever since. He changes
his choice of toppings every few
months.
Attempt to Poison
Rats Leaves Them Drunk and Alive
(4/11/02)
Pest control officers
in Slovakia trying to kill off a
plague of rats have left the rodents
drunk instead of dead. Council officials
say the rats are now wandering around
the streets in broad daylight. Council
spokeswoman Viera Kleinertova said:
"Instead of killing them, it
seems to have left them dazed and
a bit drunk, and they're now wandering
around the streets." Want to
know what happens when the rats
take control? Check out this review
of RATS:
A NIGHT OF TERROR at Exploitation
Retrospect
Man Killed in Row
Over Chicken Dinner (4/3/02)
A quarrel over a chicken
dinner apparently led to the beating
and stabbing death of a 51-year-old
Chicago man by his roommate, Cook
County prosecutors said Friday.
Prosecutors allege David Norington,
38, bludgeoned Ollie Hale in their
residence in the 1800 block of South
Drake Avenue early Thursday. They
said the two fought over a chicken
dinner. Norington accused Hale of
taking more than his share and attacked
him with an ashtray, pliers, a hammer,
a fire extinguisher, a dumbbell
and, finally, a knife, then called
911 about 2:30 a.m. to report the
incident, prosecutors said.
Hopefully they
Never Used the Term "Fatty
Boombaladdy" (3/22/02)
If Johnny can't read
or write, his school will usually
send a note that his parents will
ignore or get offended by. But what
if Johnny can't fit in his desk
because he's a bit of a pantload?
School districts in Pennsylvania
and Florida have taken the first
bold steps in identifying kids that
have a long, hard future filled
with obesity and "lard-butt"
jokes. At The Hungover Gourmet we
applaud these measures and hope
it curbs adolescent obesity, which
is reaching epidemic proportions
in this country. One wonders when
the first lawsuit will be fired
back by some thin-skinned idiot.
Read
Our Indictment of Childhood "Lunch"
Products
You Eat it First!
No, YOU Eat it First! (3/20/02)
Scientists trying
to create alternative food sources
for astronauts believe we could
grow meat on demand, without slaughtering
fish or animals. In a bid to make
a simple source of nutritious food
for long-distance space travellers,
scientists at Touro College in New
York have managed to make slices
of fish grow bigger. Their achievement
holds out the prospect of growing
meat in industrial quantities from
the muscle cell lines of various
animals or fish. Unfortunately,
nobody has had the cajones to actually
taste the resulting slices...
That's One Rare
Burger for You, and What Will Your
Lawyer Be Having? (3/19/02)
LONDON (Reuters) –
Some restaurants in Britain are
forcing customers who like their
meat rare to sign a disclaimer form
before eating due to fears of the
risk of E-coli and salmonella poisoning,
the Sunday Times newspaper reported.
It said that restaurants
including food chains Planet Hollywood,
All Bar One and Shoeless Joe's were
prepared to serve rare hamburgers,
sausages or minced beef only if
diners complete forms giving up
rights to take legal action.
Pre-Order Your
April 2012 Issue of Playboy NOW!
(3/18/02)
In yet another sign
of the impending apocalypse or the
continued downturn of her career,
pop sensation Britney Spears is
teaming with restauranteur Bobby
Ochs to open a NYC eatery named
Pinkey. The Associated Press reported
that the eatery will be a moderately
priced American bistro. Can't get
enough Britney? Check out the Mystery
of Britney's Breasts, which
proves once and for all that: a)
hard-hitting investigative journalism
is NOT dead; and, b) guys have too
much free time.
Spam, Spam, Spam,
Spam! (3/15/02)
LONDON (Reuters) -
Monty Python immortalized it, the
Soviet Union went to war on it and
fish can't resist it. Spam, the
processed ham and pork luncheon
meat that started life in America
and was wolfed down by war-time
Britons, is 65 years old this year
and has no plans to retire gracefully.
For British Spam-lovers, this is
national Spam week, a chance to
celebrate flabby pink memories of
meals past and find modern converts
to an old pantry standby.
Read
our Spam Recipes
Squirrel Becomes
Latest Fad in Restaurant (3/14/02)
LONDON (Reuters) -
A leading London chef known for
his love of offal dishes is offering
the capital's gourmets a new --
bushy-tailed -- eating experience.
Fergus Henderson, of the fashionable
St. John restaurant, offers gray
squirrel "gently braised with
wine, boletus mushrooms and wild
garlic leaves," British newspapers
reported on Wednesday. He said the
dish was popular at his restaurant,
where he also serves up lamb testicles,
bacon and mash and smoked eel.
Germans Swap Sausages
to Sample Sauteed Maggots (3/13/02)
BERLIN (Reuters) -
Germans bored with staples like
sausages and sauerkraut swarmed
on Monday to sample something new
as a restaurant in Berlin put insects
on its menu. If cockroach pasta
does not sound tempting, grasshopper
and locust couscous or sauteed maggots
with green leaves are some of the
other options now available at Berlin's
Soda restaurant. Chef Lars Scheuble
said he was bored with German food
and thought offering insects on
the menu would be a good idea.
Are Grilled Foods
Associated with Cancer? (7/26/01)
Cancer researchers
have found that grilling and broiling
cause "muscle meats" (red
meat, poultry and fish) to produce
cancer-causing compounds. These
compounds, called HCAs (heterocyclic
amines), have been shown to cause
tumors in animals and possibly increase
the risk of cancers of the breast,
colon, stomach and prostate in humans.
Another cancer-causing substance
forms when fat from meat, poultry,
or fish drips onto hot coals or
stones and then, via smoke and flare-ups,
is deposited onto the food being
grilled. The types of carcinogen
formed in this process are called
PAHs, or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Fortunately, according to AICR's
Director of Nutrition Education,
Melanie Polk, R.D., "There
is no need to eliminate grilling
and broiling completely. Although
animal meats are the major concern,
grilled vegetables and fruits, or
‘blackened' dishes, in which
only the seasoning is charred, present
a substantially lower risk"...
McDonald's Profits
Drop 16 Percent (7/24/01)
CHICAGO (AP) ––
McDonald's Corp. profits dropped
16 percent in a third straight quarterly
earnings decline, but the burger
giant's stock rose modestly Tuesday
on its latest assurance that beef
safety fears are easing in Europe
– its top international market.
Squeezed by weak foreign currencies
and other concerns, McDonald's said
it may close as many as 250 underperforming
restaurants this quarter, primarily
in emerging international markets.
It stopped short, however, of trimming
back an ambitious expansion plan
that has it on pace to open 1,500
new restaurants worldwide this year....
Heinz to Pay $57
Million to Name Steelers' Stadium
(6/15/01)
PITTSBURGH
(AP) - H.J. Heinz Co., the company
famous for its "57 varieties"
slogan, agreed to pay the Pittsburgh
Steelers $57 million over 20 years
to get its name on the team's new
stadium. The condiment company and
the Steelers announced the name
of "Heinz Field" on Friday,
with a huge plastic ketchup bottle
towering next to the new stadium,
which opens this fall, and a Heinz
banner hanging from a scoreboard.
The deal amounts to about $2.85
million a year for the Steelers,
with the Pittsburgh company receiving
exclusive rights to sell its products
at the $281 million stadium. The
deal makes the Steelers' new home
the only one named for a food company.
Heinz could also benefit from the
extra exposure from televised Steelers'
and University of Pittsburgh football
games. The foodmaker on Thursday
reported it lost $170.5 million
in its fourth fiscal quarter due
to low tuna prices, higher energy
costs and one-time items related
to restructuring and asset sales
and acquisitions. Among Heinz brands
are Heinz ketchup, StarKist tuna,
Bagel Bites, Ore-Ida frozen potatoes
and 9-Lives pet food.
Hormel Foods Says
'spam' Can Be Used to Refer to Unwanted
E-Mail (5/31/01)
Chalk
one up for the spammers. In a long-running
squabble between Hormel Foods Corp.,
the maker of the pink luncheon meat
SPAM, and spammers who send unwanted
e-mail, Hormel is calling it quits.
And you can blame it on the British
comedy troupe Monty Python.In a
message posted on www.spam.com,
the "one and only official
SPAM Web site," Hormel Foods
said it no longer objects to the
use of the term "spam"
to denote unwanted commercial e-mail
-- provided that the e-mail version
is spelled "spam," all
lowercase, and is not accompanied
by depictions of the food manufacturer's
distinctive blue-and-yellow can.SPAM,
when it refers to Hormel Foods'
product, should always be uppercase,
the company said.
The
term was coined in the '30s as a
combination of the words "spiced"
and "ham.""Use of
the term 'SPAM' was adopted as a
result of the Monty Python skit
in which a group of Vikings sang
a chorus of 'SPAM, SPAM, SPAM' in
an increasing crescendo, drowning
out other conversation," Hormel
Foods said in its message. "Hence,
the analogy applied because [unsolicited
commercial e-mail] was drowning
out normal discourse on the Internet."The
message, which is buried deep within
the Web site under a "legal
& copyright info" link,
goes on to say that the slang term
"spam" does not weaken
Hormel Foods' trademark on SPAM.
It cites other cases of "trademark
appropriation" that apparently
did not weaken the owner's brand
awareness, including Mickey Mouse
to describe something unsophisticated;
and Cadillac to denote something
of high quality.
Originally
published on imarketingnews.com
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