• Here's one more reason to avoid fast food: a study shows it's linked to depression. So should we start calling them Unhappy Meals? [Telegraph UK] • Speaking of, today Burger King launches changes a year in the making, adding...
• Meat processor Bridgford Foods faces six-figure penalties for violations at its Chicago plant in the Fulton Street/Randolph meatpacking-slash-fancy restaurant district; it's accused of endangering workers. [Sun-Times] • If you needed any proof about the robustness of the organic-foods market,...
• Chicago Public Schools official Louise Essian, under fire for accepting improper gifts from school system food vendors with $75 million in contracts, has resigned. [Sun-Times] • The smiling dude on the Quaker Oats box has a name, Larry, and...
• Now that Wendy's has overtaken it as the country's second-most-popular fast-food joint, Burger King is getting a cash influx from its biggest franchisee— the chain is selling the franchisee nearly 300 corporate-owned locations. [Miami Herald] • Hey, did you...
• See, we want kids to learn about recycling. So it's only natural that the $20 million a year in tax money the politically-connected McMahons made off their school milk contracts was recycled back to insiders like Aldermen Ed Burke...
• If you wince and lose your appetite every time you hear the term "pink slime," you can blame a government scientist named Gerald Zirnstein for coining the term. [Reuters] • Tristesse: The famed Hemingway Bar at the Ritz in...
• Kraft's new global brand name Mondelez could be a problem given that it sounds like a slang term for oral sex in Russia. That's as opposed to in the rest of the world, where it merely brings to mind...
• McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner, who led the company into the coffee-smoothies territory of rival chains like Starbucks, will step down in July, after seven years. He will be replaced by current president Don Thompson, who will become the company's...
• The departure of Oprah's show has been a big blow to restaurants in the West Loop which drew on her executives and audiences for daily business. Rosie didn't compare. [Tribune] George Clooney is the latest celeb to launch a...
• If you're trying to lose weight, an app could be an effective ally, a study shows. There's even one that shouts, "Don't eat that, Fatso!" whenever you look at a cookie. Just kidding. [NYDN] • Great news: restaurant sales...
• The first of the revived Playboy Clubs, launched in Las Vegas with N9NE Group (cofounded by Michael Morton, son of longtime Playboy Club manager/Chicago restaurateur Arnie Morton), has closed in Las Vegas. Others remain in London, Cancun and Macau....
• Will all that green dye on Saint Patrick's Day be bad for you? Eh, no, probably not. [HuffPo] • Today's award for best headline: "Scientists say sex-starved flies drown their woes in alcohol." [AP via MSNBC] • The constant...
• We're not just saying this because it's almost St. Patrick's Day: Irish Whiskey is making a comeback. Think of it as somewhat along the lines of small-batch American bourbon. [Food Republic] • Some guilt with your coffee? Around 30...
• Stephanie Izard will be cooking for NATO members in Brussels in advance of the NATO summit here; they've also been sent a package of Chicago favorites including Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza, Manny's Corn Beef, Vienna Beef hot dogs...
• Bad news, carnivores: A daily serving of red or processed meat may be correlated to an increased mortality rate of up to 13 percent. [NPR] • Tech stuff and music aren't the only attractions of this year's SXSW; competitive...
• Turns out the spices in a curry, even an oily one, are quite effective in reducing blood triglyceride levels. Bring on the turmeric. [Salt/NPR] • Here's a very honest account of coping with — and overcoming — bulimia. [Salon]...
• Mark Bittman urges us not to limit miso to soup; thanks to its incredible umami qualities, it makes a great seasoning, butter, or mayo, he writes. [NYT] • Here's something scary: It may not just be calories making us...
• A Dutch cheese, a low-fat gouda called Vermeer, took first place at the biennial World Champion Cheese Contest in Madison. [Tribune] • If you're curious what an upscale, local-food-focused Starbucks looks like, here's photo evidence of the new one...
• A mother of four was forced by a TSA officer to pump breast milk into her empty baby bottles before she could pass through airport security. Empty or full bottles? Make up your mind, TSA. [NYDN] • Now Jamba...
• Celine Dion is part of a group that bought landmark Montreal deli Schwartz's. Evidently her heart goes on despite a love for smoked meat. [HuffPo] • The French went ahead and outlawed it, and now the FDA is deciding...