dining

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Restaurants Are Ditching QR Code Menus
Customers Reject
a Pandemic-Era
Restaurant Staple
in case you missed it

Customers Reject a Pandemic-Era Restaurant Staple

Eateries are ditching QR code menus

(Newser) - We all got used to an avalanche of changes in our daily routines during the peak of COVID, including ways in which to safely dine in public once lockdowns were lifted. Now, one of those eating-out protocols is falling by the wayside: Restaurants are starting to ditch scannable QR codes,...

Not Everyone Is Happy About Dogs in Outdoor Dining Spaces

Diners are pushing back at dogs in the dining area

(Newser) - Just in time for the summer dining season, the US government has given its blessing to restaurants that want to allow pet dogs in their outdoor spaces. But even though nearly half of states already allow canine dining outdoors, the AP reports the issue is far from settled, with...

Table for One? Go for It
Afraid to Head
to a Restaurant
Alone? Don't Be
OPINION

Afraid to Head to a Restaurant Alone? Don't Be

Vox writer Alissa Wilkinson gives her thumbs-up to solo dining

(Newser) - If you've ever had to dine alone in public and felt nervous or self-conscious about it, you shouldn't. In fact, you should relish the opportunity, according to Alissa Wilkinson, who says she can't imagine not asking for a table for one on a regular basis. In an...

Turns Out There Was a 2nd Ill-Advised Napa Valley Dinner

London Breed dined at French Laundry the night after Gavin Newsom

(Newser) - Gov. Gavin Newsom caught flak for dining at the esteemed French Laundry in November. He wasn't the only high-profile California Democrat to make that choice last month. The Chronicle reports San Francisco Mayor London Breed ate at the three-star Michelin restaurant in Yountville the night after Newsom did as...

Alleged 'Dine-and-Dash Dater' Faces 13 Years in Prison

Paul Gonzales charged with extortion, grand theft

(Newser) - A man who fled at least 10 restaurant dates without paying his bill, earning him the title of "Dine-and-Dash Dater," has finally been nabbed, say law enforcement officials in California. Paul Gonzales, 45, pleaded not guilty Monday to extortion, attempted extortion, grand theft, and petty theft charges, reports...

Mistake Sends Foodies Flocking to Wrong Restaurant

A moment in the spotlight swamps unassuming eatery in the French heartland

(Newser) - Most restaurateurs would swoon for a prized Michelin star. But when an unspecting bistro in central France got one last week by mistake, all the owner could do was throw up her hands as the crowds rushed in. "I'm drowning!" Veronique Jacquet tells Le Parisien . "I...

Gourmet Dinner Party for 25 on Mount Everest? No Problem

Well, there actually were problems, but chef James Sharman and his team still pulled it off

(Newser) - For a chef who's filleted and flambéd in some of Europe's top restaurants, planning a dinner party for two dozen people shouldn't present an issue—unless that dinner party happens to be nearly 18,000 feet in the air. Outside magazine outlines the challenges faced by...

Olive Garden's NYE Dinner Will Cost You $400

Only in New York, kids

(Newser) - Dining in NYC can be expensive, and it's a given that on New Year's Eve, Times Square eateries will be profiting even more from the reveling crowds. That includes the Great White Way's local chain restaurants, set to charge their usual exorbitant prices for the night's...

In the Presence of Women, Guys Stuff Their Faces

Women, meanwhile, feel more rushed when eating with men

(Newser) - In what is likely an attempt to "show off," men eat more in the presence of women than in front of other men, according to new research out of Cornell University . In fact, in the study published this month in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science , researchers say that...

Table for One? We're Dining Alone More

Which might be healthier for light eaters anyway

(Newser) - Dining by yourself used to get you seated with a pitying glance and free refills on your self-consciousness, but America, it seems, has largely gotten over itself on that count: Reservations for one have shot up by some 62% over the past two years, reports OpenTable in an analysis of...

Going Out Alone Is Actually a Good Thing

Drop that fear of looking like a loser, researchers say

(Newser) - Sitting in restaurants or movie theaters all alone isn't nearly as depressing as you might think—in fact, researchers say, you'll actually like it. They decided this after surveying people about whether they preferred to engage in certain activities alone or with others, and then studying subjects' reactions...

10 Most Infuriating Restaurant Trends

Can we ditch the unisex bathrooms?

(Newser) - Fed up with giant wine glasses that leave no room on the table? How about excessively classy ketchup? Zagat offers a new list of restaurants' most irritating trends. A few of the highlights:
  • Tables squeezed way too close together. If you're not Lara Flynn Boyle, it's absurdly difficult
...

At Bon Jovi's Restaurant, Pay What You Can

'Soul Kitchen' lets customers work for their dinner in New Jersey

(Newser) - At Jon Bon Jovi’s new restaurant, you can get “cornmeal crusted catfish with red beans and rice” or “grilled salmon with soul seasonings” without paying a cent. The restaurant aims to feed the hungry—but that doesn’t mean the meal is totally free, the Christian Science...

Oysters From French Region of Brittany 'More Precious Than Pearls'

 French Oysters: 
 'More Precious 
 Than Pearls' 
mollusk review

French Oysters: 'More Precious Than Pearls'

Bivalve connoisseur describes 3-day journey

(Newser) - The world's most delicious oysters can be found in the French region of Brittany, where "they are generally smaller than other varieties but intensely flavored," writes Susan Spano in the Los Angeles Times . She recounts her 3-day oyster tour of France's Atlantic coast, where she devoured...

Movie Theaters Take Their Concessions Menu Gourmet
 Movie Theaters Go Gourmet 

Movie Theaters Go Gourmet

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...

Sbarro Pizza: What's the Point?
 Sbarro Pizza: 
 What's the Point? 
OPINION

Sbarro Pizza: What's the Point?

Bankrupt restaurant chain offers bad food at high prices

(Newser) - There are a lot of theories as to why Sbarro filed for bankruptcy last month—including “too-rapid growth” and the decline of malls. But Justin Peters has “a simpler explanation: Nobody likes Sbarro,” he writes in Slate . “Devoid of atmosphere, charm, and gustatory relevance, with no...

Food and Wine Pairings? All Lies!
 Food and Wine 
 Pairings? All Lies! 
opinion

Food and Wine Pairings? All Lies!

Study suggests wine aficionados often skip the meal

(Newser) - We’re always hearing that this wine goes with that food, and feel guilty when we get it wrong—but what if it’s all a scam? asks Jason Wilson in the Washington Post . A new study suggests it might be: More than 60% of wine sipped by “high-frequency...

How Restaurants Handle the Obamas

 How Restaurants 
 Handle the Obamas 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

How Restaurants Handle the Obamas

Chefs try to stay cool amidst Secret Service crush

(Newser) - Barack and Michelle Obama love to eat out, but how do restaurants handle a presidential visit? David Hagedorn of the Washington Post asked chefs around town, and found that the key is to remain calm. “We are in the business of creating perceptions,” says one general manager. “...

Hey, New York Times, Quit Dissing DC's Restaurants

Washington has had enough

(Newser) - The New York Times delivered its latest review of the Washington DC dining scene last week, and it was as withering as ever, raising its nose at the “spread of Everyman Eating” on Capitol Hill, where restaurateurs don’t even try for a Michelin star. It’s typical, writes...

Paying Restaurant Tab the New Moment of Dread

Gracious habits left with George W. Bush

(Newser) - It used to be that one could go out for dinner with friends, eat, drink, and still be quite merry about splitting the tab. These days, however, the moment the bill arrives is the tense moment of truth: Who made do with PBR while the other slammed martinis, and who's...

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