Eight Worst Belt -Busting Menu Items

America overreacts to silly threats: Lenore Skenazy

(NEWSER) - Remember earlier this year when Applebee's accidentally served alcohol to a toddler ? Lenore Skenazy does, along with what she sees as the ridiculous overreaction of both the national media and the restaurant chain. It was "as if serving toddlers stiff drinks had been company-wide policy," she writes in the Wall Street Journal . Unfortunately, it's a perfect example of how America goes into overblown panic mode over perceived threats to kids that really aren't threats. More»

Menus at Denny's, Olive Garden, and TGI Fridays each feature diet traps

(NEWSER) - Happy Meals may come with fruit now , but that doesn't mean gut-busters have been wiped from menus. And while Applebee's Provolone-Stuffed Meatballs dish is the stuff of legend, the Daily Beast also ferrets out a few surprises on its list of worst new fast food:

• California Pizza Kitchen's Caramelized Peach Salad With Grilled Chicken Breast: Seems like a cruel trick, but this entree salad with seemingly harmless peaches and a light vinaigrette actually has 1,187 calories.

Provide wait service for meals in your seats

(NEWSER) - Dinner and a movie? How about dinner at the movies? Many moviegoers aren’t stopping at the concession stand before the show begins, theaters find, so they’re trying a new tactic: serving full-fledged meals at viewers’ seats. At an AMC in Kansas City, for instance, viewers can reserve luxury seats with tables between them, NPR reports. When they’re ready to order, moviegoers press a button to call the waiter. More»

Mom says 15-month-old started 'saying hi and bye to the walls'

(NEWSER) - A family outing to an Applebee's near Detroit on Friday night took a turn for the weird after a 15-month-old was served a margarita in his sippy cup. The boy's mother, who thought the toddler was drinking apple juice, soon noticed him acting strangely. "He was saying hi and bye to the walls," she said. "He eventually laid his head down on the table and we thought maybe he was just sleepy." The mother tasted the juice and discovered it contained booze. More»

(USER SUBMITTED) - Americans like it creamy and meaty. In a recent survey of 5,000 of its "mystery shoppers," research firm Market Force asked respondents to rank their favorite family-oriented chain restaurants based on food quality and convenience. The Cheesecake Factory clobbered the competition with 13% (the numbers were adjusted for number of outlets) saying it was their favorite. More»