"Sir, I have to ask you to ...," sternly declared the Starbucks employee as I lifted my camera in front of the pastry case.
   "Yes, I know, I'm not supposed to take pictures in here," I replied, taking one.
   How could I resist? Today the coffee chain rolled out healthful food offerings in an effort to enhance its business in the face of a bleak economy and incursions by McDonald's McCafe. I wanted a shot.
 
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   Last night I felt like eating ice cream but didn't feel like driving to Sandy's, the best place on Cleveland's East Side for the soft-serve version but miles away. So my wife and I headed to Baskin Robbins, inside a nearby Dunkin Donuts.
 
   We weren't the only ones who had the urge for something sweet at 7:30 p.m. 

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   The recent acquisition of Church's Chicken by Friedman Fleischer and Lowe isn't likely to make a wing's worth of difference to the fast-feeder's many customers. They'll still have access to the tasty fried bird and re-hydrated mash potatoes the 1,400 unit chain serves up--largely in urban areas--thousands of times a day.

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   Let's begin the day with a quiz, shall we, just to get the juices flowing. As usual, a right answer is rewarded with an explanation of the issue via its Web site. A wrong one leads you where you'd rather not go, particularly if you work for a chain that menus dishes weighing in at 6,782-calories. Good luck!

1. El  Pollo Loco recently launched an ad attacking KFC for using what ingredient in the marinade of its new grilled chicken?

-- soy protein concentrate

-- beef powder

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   Anyone spot Clarence Otis Jr.'s interview in Saturday's New York Times? It's intriguing and worth a look. Otis, CEO at Darden Restaurants, begins by offering the necessary fictions of life at the top. Asked, for instance, to describe the most important lesson he's learned about leadship, Otis offers a familiar refrain. Leaders, he opines:

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   Is that you Miss Piggy, cavorting in the new White Castle commercial? I hope not. Because there's something very strange about an animal who would appear in an ad promoting the consumption of its own species. I'm not a vegetarian, mind you, but I think the slider-maker's ad for pork sandwiches -- funny as it might strike some -- is plainly macabre. A porcine dancer wiggling on stage in front of humans only to pull a chain and splash herself with barbecue sauce -- that crosses a weird food barrier in my book. In short, it doesn't make me hungry. 
   You? 

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   Barclays Capital's Jeff Bernstein lowered FY09 earnings estimates for Burger King Holdings (BKC) this morning, to $1.38, two cents below his initial estimate. He dropped them a nickel, to $1.45, for FY10. He did so after an analyst meeting with the chain's management, in Miami. 
   Bernstein's reason for his action is interesting and perhaps testament to how difficult it is to make money in the current environment, particularly when your competition includes McDonald's. It wasn't so long ago, by the way, that BK CEO John Chidsey was telling investors new premium s...Read More

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   Jeff Sinelli, founder of Dallas-based Which Wich, elicited a nervous chuckle during a panel discussion at the Restaurant Show, in Chicago, last weekend. He was part of a group of CEOs discussing a range of topics when the subject of menu labeling popped up.

Fine Guy: Jeff Sinelli

    Sinelli mentioned a worried call he g...Read More

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   I once watched as a waitress sneezed into her hands and continued talking to a colleague. A hand sink stood five feet away. Do ungloved kitchen workers use hand sinks as often has they should? One hopes so. 
   Gloves are supposed to help prevent the spread of germs but only if they are properly used. If gloves become cross-contaminated, they're useless. Plus, gloves can hinder chefs from telling whether a vegetable or meat is properly cooked. Bare-hands are better for the task.

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   Full-service restaurants are apparently doing an increasingly good job of keeping guests content, in line with the public's overall impression that service is better in nearly every industry. Full-service restaurants in the American Customer Satisfaction Index jumped by 5 percent to 84 on a 100-point scale. The reason, according to the survey's authors:
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   This year's restaurant show, while sparsely populated and with many fewer exhibits, didn't fail to disapppoint this shutterbug. Here are a few shots I took at McCormick Place in Chicago.

The rage in L.A.: Korean quesdadillas (with kimchi)

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