Recession? McDonald's Is Loving It

Indian restaurants following assembly-line model

(NEWSER) - Chipotle gained success by serving up Mexican food assembly-line style, and a new crop of Indian restaurants is now following that model. The New York Times takes a look at the growing niche, focusing in particular on Bombay Bowl in Denver, where the employee T-shirts promise "Simple Food. Endless Choices," and the sleeves wrapped around the Indian flatbread cheekily state, "All for me and naan for you." Customers can follow a step-by-step menu to create their meal, and employees will guide them to build a bowl, a plate, a salad, or a roti roll by choosing a protein, a sauce, a chutney, and of course, a level of spiciness. Another restaurant suggests adding a steamed dumpling to create a "value meal." More»

Pork suppliers told to phase out hog crates

(NEWSER) - McDonald's is winning praise from animal welfare groups for taking action to create a more humane McRib. The fast food giant has told its suppliers to come up with plans for ending the use of gestation crates for adult female hogs, the Wall Street Journal reports. Most breeding sows in the US spend their entire lives in the tiny pens, which are so small that they cannot turn around. McDonald's says it has decided the pens are "not a sustainable production system." More»

Matthew Yglesias: Steve Ells is to fast food what Steve Jobs was to tech

(NEWSER) - Steve Jobs, meet Steve Ells. Both men founded companies that have revolutionized American culture: Chipotle is doing for fast food what Apple did for technology, writes Matthew Yglesias at Slate . First of all, "Chipotle’s growth since its 2006 IPO should be seen as a great American success story," especially in such a difficult economic climate. The firm added 67 new stores in the fourth quarter of last year alone, and its stock has soared 500% in five years. More»

But most remain upbeat about their future: Pew survey

(NEWSER) - The economy is doing a number on those aged 18 to 34, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center :

• Half say they have taken a job they didn't want.
• More than a third have gone back to school because of the job market.
• Nearly a quarter have taken unpaid work to gain experience.
• About a quarter have moved back in with the folks.
• More than 1 in 5 have postponed having a baby, and about the same number have put off getting married.

Get ready for sausage wraps, breakfast burritos

(NEWSER) - Can't wait until lunch for that burrito? Taco Bell's got your back: The fast-food chain is joining competitors in offering breakfast. The launch began today in 800 of its 5,600 restaurants, largely in the western US; if it's a success, the company hopes to take the morning menu nationwide by 2014. Among the options, priced from 99 cents to $2.79: breakfast burritos with eggs and meat, sausage and egg wraps, coffee, and orange juice. More»