KFC tests edible coffee cups

Yum! Brands

KFC is rolling out a new coffee cup later this year to celebrate its 50th anniversary, but instead of traditional coffee cup materials, the new Scoff-ee Cup is made out of a cookie.

Yeah, you read that right.

At select KFC restaurants in the UK, the company will use a coffee cup that's fashioned out of a cookie wrapped in edible sugar paper and fortified with a layer of heat-resistant white chocolate that helps keep the cookie crispy and your coffee hot. As you drink your joe, the chocolate lining melts over time, making your coffee a bit sweeter and softening the cookie so it sort of melts in your mouth. Once you've finished drinking your brew, you can eat the cup for dessert. And, of course, the cup's zero waste.

To make things better/worse, the cups, which were designed in partnership with experimental food experts The Robin Collective, are also infused with scents said to help improve mood. These include the likes of coconut sun cream, freshly cut grass and wildflowers, which I guess are scents people actually want to smell while drinking coffee and eating a cookie cup?

The Scoff-ee cup will make its debut in select KFC restaurants in the UK later this year. If you live or are traveling near a participating store, you might want to check it out for novelty's sake. Though, be warned, KFC isn't exactly known for its coffee.

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Signature DC dishes

DC isn't just about half smokes (it's definitely all about the half smokes, but that's different). The dishes that define our burgeoning culinary scene range from old-school to cutting edge, from spicy to sloppy. How many of these 15 signature DC dishes have you eaten your way through?

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CENTRAL MICHEL RICHARD 

Fried Chicken

Central Michel Richard (address and info)
Downtown

Yes, a French culinary icon can make a mean fried chicken. The secret? It’s in the crust. Chef Richard breads the chicken with lumps of country bread before frying it in clarified butter. Central serves the golden brown goodness with mashed potatoes that are just as addictive. Wanna try to make it at home? Pick up a copy of Richard’s Happy in the Kitchen cookbook. Then go back to his place when you inevitably fail.

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LAURA HAYES 

Half Smoke & Pizza

Ben's Chili Bowl (address and info) & Jumbo Slice (address and info)
U Street

This "U Street Taco" is so magical that it actually contains two sig dishes all rolled (literally!) into one. First, the famous Ben’s Chili Bowl half smoke that’s been devoured by a bunch of presidents and Bill Cosby. Then, there’s the Jumbo Slice, which you’ll claim is the best pizza in DC, if someone asks you at 3am.

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LAURA HAYES 

Chicken Thighs with Pepperoni Sauce

Graffiato (address and info)
Chinatown

It’s hard to make Top Chef judges swoon, so it was quite a surprise when Mike Isabella’s pepperoni sauce turned out to be a real panty dropper on the show. Padma and Tom both went wild for it. Fortunately though, you don’t have to crawl into your TV to try it. Just head to Graffiato, where it’s served with Amish chicken thighs. Again: liquid pepperoni!

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FLICKR/SAIKOFISH 

Senate Bean Soup

Senate Dining Room (address and info)

Capitol Hill

This soup is about as boring as politics, but this list wouldn’t be legit without it since it’s mandated that it be available in the Senate Dining Room every day. People have been slurping this slop of navy beans and smoked ham since the early 20th century. Even Oliver Twist wouldn’t ask for more. Pro tip: the public can dine in the SDR, but you need a reservation and Congress must be in session.

Why more restaurants are banning tips

In the United States, customers are expected to add an extra 10 to 20 percent to their tab at the end of a meal - but increasingly restaurants are foregoing these tips.

Leaving a gratuity is de rigueur when dining out because pay for restaurant servers is so low.

While the US federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, wait staff can legally be paid as little as $2.13 in some places. In New York, one of the most expensive US cities, salaries for waiters start at $5.00 per hour.

For wait staff, tips help bolster pay in line with other restaurant workers who don't receive gratuities.

However there is a new trend: Riki Restaurant in New York is one of a growing number of establishments eliminating tips by taking the unusual step of paying their staff higher wages.

"Riki Restaurant is now a non-tipping establishment," read notices at the popular Japanese eatery. "Tipping is not required nor expected."

Protection from customers' whims
The no-tip policy is especially being adopted by upscale restaurants, said Michael Lynn, a professor at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration.

Folding tips into the meal tab protects waiters from being shortchanged by the occasional tight-fisted diner, said Lynn, who specializes in issues related to marketing and consumer behavior.

It's seen as an issue of equity, as restaurants attempt "to equalize the pay between the front and the back of the house," he said.

A downside is the sticker shock that patrons sometimes suffer when browsing through menus that have tips factored into the prices.

"American customers tend to not think of the tip as an expense, and they don't really factor that into their assessment of how expensive a restaurant is," Lynn said.

"It makes a restaurant look more expensive than a restaurant that has 15 percent lower prices, but expects tips."

Gabriel Frem, owner of the upscale Brand 158 restaurant in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale, also sees his establishment's no-tipping policy as a way to protect staff from the whims of diners.

"We interview and hire our employees, not the guest, and we expect to pay them, and be responsible for their actions," he said.

"If they do great, we keep them, and if they don't, we let them go.

"We don't want their pay to be at the mercy of a guest's random calculation, based on unpredictable factors."

Tips vary wildly
As it turns out, tipping can vary wildly from guest to guest -- and not always because of the quality of the table service.

Some patrons withhold tips because they feel the server was not sufficiently cheerful ("I don't like her smile").

Others do so because they didn't particularly care for the food -- even if a meal's preparation is not under the control of the wait staff.

It's also a problem, Frem said, if workers don't know how much income they can count on from week to week.

"We want to ensure that they can pay their bills," he said.

Other managers say greater pay security in tip-less restaurant reduces turnover and improves morale.

The tipless restaurant is still a long way from becoming the norm, but some New Yorkers are beginning to warm to the idea.

"At first, I really thought that if a waiter was rude, I would want my discontent to be reflected in their tip," said Noel Warren, a young New Yorker who dines out at least twice a week.

"But then I thought, why would a waiter be disrespectful in the first place? Probably because he or she has lost faith that customers are going to tip well -- so why put in any effort?"

Warren mused that it might in fact be fairer to take the decision about tips out of the fickle hands of restaurant patrons -- which might even improve the table service that patrons.

"If they were properly compensated for their work, they might treat their customers better," Warren said.

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Restaurant only has seats for one

Joep Niesink/Bloomberg

A scene from the 1984 movie The Lonely Guy perfectly dramatizes the fears many of us have about dining alone. The titular guy, played by Steve Martin, walks into an upscale restaurant and requests a table for one—“I’m alone,” he tells the maître d’—as the room grinds to a halt while a theatrical spotlight follows the sad sack to his seat. A new pop-up restaurant in Amsterdam, which bills itself as the world’s first for solo eaters, aims to remove the social stigma of forking dinner without a companion. In fact, there isn’t a two-top in the joint.

The timing couldn’t be better. Interest in food culture is peaking, and the act of eating, perhaps with a smartphone on the tablecloth, has become divorced from the pleasures of socializing. Those with a misanthropic bent might even argue that dining with others takes away from the culinary experience, diverting one’s focus from the garlicky aroma of a winter black truffle or the buttery texture of top-grade raw tuna to the tedious obligation of sustaining conversation.

“The taste of persons eating alone seems different, and even more intense, according to our guests,” says Marina van Goor, owner of the temporary eatery, which is called Eenmaal. As such, the chef takes care to serve four-course meals (at a moderate €35, or roughly $48, including drink) prepared from quality local and organic ingredients. Even the interior is left intentionally raw and no-frills, to emphasize the simple pleasure of unapologetically eating alone.

Don’t expect to fill the void with social media—Eenmaal doesn’t offer Wi-Fi. “I wanted to show that a moment of disconnection, by eating out alone, sitting alone, can be attractive, especially in our hyperconnected society,” van Goor says. Instead, diners are encouraged to read physical magazines and books.

Van Goor, a designer at the Amsterdam creative agency MVG, hopes media attention drawn to her antisocial restaurant will help birth a bigger brand. She has already launched a line of champagne, with chocolate and tea to follow. The products, however, won’t be packaged as single servings.

The restaurant will continue to act as a sort of ambassador for the concept, and van Goor aims to set up shop in London, Berlin, and the U.S. later this year. ”We wanted to entice people to come to the restaurant and at the same time to give them food for thought,” she says. “We wanted to demonstrate that eating in solitude can be a good thing.” Book your reservation for one by e-mail.

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Waitress pranked with the best shift ever

Chipotle's new menu option

Great news, tofu-lovers of the Northeast. Chipotle is expanding its braised tofu Sofritas to New York and New England, the company announced in a tweet Thursday:

The vegan option is coming March 3, the company told The Huffington Post in an email. Here's what else we know about the Sofritas burrito:

1. It looks like this:



2. It's already available in over a dozen states.

3. About 40 percent of Chipotle restaurants already have the Sofritas burrito.

4. The burrito chain plans to roll out Sofritas nationwide, but it's unclear when that will happen.

5. And it apparently tastes a lot like scrambled eggs.

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Inside Japan's cat cafes

Cat cafes — establishments that allow you to make feline friends while you enjoy your coffee — already exist in Paris and Japan, and as NewsFeed reported today, the concept will soon hit San Francisco. The trend has been slow to catch on in the U.S., mostly due to strict health codes that prohibit the presence of animals in restaurants. But the team behind the upcoming California cafe — obviously named KitTea — plans to make it work by running two separate operations: a tea house and a “cat sanctuary.”

If you’re curious what this concept is really like, a Canadian student studying in Japan created a video tour of a few of the country’s best cat cafes. She says these establishments are “probably one of the coolest things about living in Japan.”

This confirms that it’s time for Americans to just let animals start hanging out in our cafes and restaurants all the time. Health codes are kind of bogus anyway, right?

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Restaurant cliques we are so over

We’re aware that “fancy restaurant clichés we hate” is the definition of a first-world problem. (Many, many people aren’t so lucky as to have such problems.)

However! If we’ve been saving our pennies for ages for that one special-occasion dinner out on the town, the following things are stillgoing to drive us bananas.

1. Towers
If an entrée has a million different little elements, we want to try them all on one fork. Together. At once. Bring on the complementary flavors! When food is layered and formed into a tower, though, this is impossible. Not to mention hella awkward to eat. And then the whole thing topples like a game of Jenga. Which is just not fancy.

2. Foam
Foam is slightly divisive on the editorial team: we have seen it done quite right at Uchiko in Austin, for example, as part of chef Tyson Cole’s “fried milk” dessert, but we’ve also seen it done quite wrong. The thing we’re united about: foam is neither a meal nor a full course. Don’t try to trick us, restaurateurs.

3. Speeches
As is true of a first date, the initial few minutes at a restaurant matter a lot. Is it going to be a comfortable meal, or an awkward one? When the waiter has a long speech prepared about provenance, or reels offexceedingly long lists of specials, you’re generally headed straight to Awkwardtown, USA.

4. Water Glass Refill Overkill
When the busboy hovers at your elbow, refilling it whenever it dips below two-thirds full, that busboy becomes part of your dinner date. And while we’re thankful for an attentive busboy, eventually we will stop hydrating entirely in order to make him go away.

5. “Jacket Required”
Nothing is worse than seeing the man you love in a borrowed jacket. (OK, we’re sure there are worse things, like a plague of locusts or whatever, but still.) It’s one thing to nix blue jeans, because yes, that does sort of cramp our style when we’ve worn our finest rhinestones out to a meal, but a closet full of jackets in this bedbug-ridden age doesn’t seem so fancy to us at all.

6. Gold Leaf
Again, our editorial staff is conflicted on the topic of the ubiquitous gold leaf garnish. For some, it brings to mind the golden ticket moment in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, making them want to clap our hands together with glee. For others—this writer is sadly outvoted—it’s a cheap thrill. Gold leaf is going for less than a buck apiece on Amazon, and it doesn’t taste like a darn thing.

7. The Chair Situation
Has anyone EVER successfully pulled out and pushed in a big heavy chair for a person anywhere, ever? This is supposed to signify how high-end a place is, but in the process of being “tucked into” our table, our dresses get hoisted inappropriately high, our sequins get all mashed up, and we end up readjusting the chairs ourselves anyways. Maybe this is one gentlemanly cliché we can all let go of now?

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Custom-made burgers coming to McDonalds?

McDonald’s (MCD), a company that pioneered uniform, assembly-line hamburgers, is now experimenting with a somewhat antithetical concept: Custom-made burgers. The chain is currently testing them in Laguna Niguel, Calif., where diners make selections on an iPad (AAPL); the burgers cost more than Big Macs, are grilled-to-order, and come with a choice of more than 20 toppings and sauces. The beef patty isn’t cooked until you order, so the sandwich requires extra time to prepare.

It’s a head-scratching departure from the burger-factory model that has allowed the chain to serve food quickly, inexpensively, and profitably. “It goes against what they stand for: speed, convenience, price, and value,” says Darren Tristano, an executive vice president at food industry consultancy Technomic.

On the other hand, McDonald’s isn’t exactly killing it lately. Same-store sales have slowed in the U.S. (They were up only 0.7 percent last quarter and slowed to 0.2 percent in October.) That’s not all: The chain has been plagued by complaints of slow service and inaccurate order responses. In response, McDonald’s has tried to pare its sprawling menu and will redesign its drive-thrus next year to shorten waiting times.

A widespread introduction of custom-made burgers wouldn’t help these issues. What it might do, though, is help the chain stay relevant as consumers—twentysomethings in particular—express interest in customization, Tristano says.

McDonald’s spokeswoman Lisa McComb said in an e-mail that it’s too early to comment on the custom-made burgers, although the test will offer valuable consumer insights. “With these tests, we will have an opportunity to hear directly from our customers in real-time on what they expect from McDonald’s in terms of the overall restaurant experience and their ability to further customize their menu choices,” she said. Even if McDonald’s doesn’t go down the Chipotle (CMG) road, letting customers say what they want on their burgers—”Hey, everyone really likes burgers with guacamole!”—could shape menus in the future.

While the option to customize could help McDonald’s look less like a mechanized food factory, Tristano says most customers would probably continue ordering from the regular menu. “It’s more of a promotion, and marketing, and trying to change its brand image,” he says. Even as McDonald’s expands its premium offerings, its bigger promise to customers is still speed and price.

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Gay waitress denied tip giving donations to Wounded Warrior Project

An openly gay waitress and Marine who was stiffed on a tip because of her "lifestyle" has received an outpouring of support from the public since her story went viral. Now, she wants to pay it forward.

Dayna Morales, a server at Gallop Asian Bistro in Bridgewater, N.J., made headlines last week when she posted her encounter with homophobia to the "Have A Gay Day" Facebook page. Instead of leaving a tip on a $93.55 bill, a family of diners ridiculed Morales and scrawled an anti-gay note on the receipt, that read: "I'm sorry but I cannot tip because I don't agree with your lifestyle & how you live your life."

She took to Facebook to air her grievances about such treatment, explaining, "I served in the Marines to keep ignorant people like them free."

The story wound up exploding online, and Morales received an influx of messages and donations from around the globe.

"People have sent me tips from all over the world just to show support. I have had people from Germany to South Africa, Australia to the U.K., San Diego, everywhere," she told CNN, adding that she received around $2,000. "It wasn't for the money. I never planned on this. I just wanted to vent. The purpose was to inform people it wasn't OK."

Now Morales wants to help others by giving a portion of the donations to the Wounded Warrior Project to help injured servicemen and women, according to NJ.com.

"I plan -- being a veteran -- to send a portion of it to the Wounded Warrior Fund," she told WNBC. "It's great to see everybody's support and I'm thankful for it, but it doesn't excuse or change the fact that it actually did happen."

Morales' employer reportedly plans to match every donation.

The waitress also told the Asbury Park Press that her boss was not mad she posted the check to Facebook.

“We are kind of a big family so they all took it to heart," Morales said about her coworkers' support. "My manager assured me that if they had seen the check before the family left they would have confronted them."

Morales served in the Marines from 2009 to 2011.

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Best brunch spots in DC

BELGA CAFE: Barracks Row is packed with places to get brunch, many of them rather good. But Belga Cafe is the place I return to most often for a fairly obvious reason: The food is so delicious. While the mussels are wonderful, I love the Mais Wafels (a cornbread waffle, avocado, pulled pork, fried egg and crème fraîche) and Wafel A La Quiche (puff pastry quiche, ham, cheese, eggs and cream). There are also quite a few vegetarian options, including the lovely Gebakken Burrata Kaas (fried burrata cheese, arugula, pecans, apples, chives and lime-basil pesto). Wash it down with a champagne cocktail or Bloody Mary for an absolutely perfect brunch. Warning: You will need a nap after you eat. — Sarah Anne Hughes

Belga Cafe is located at 514 8th Street SE.

RED DERBY: While the Red Derby, the divey spot in Columbia Heights, is not a fancy place, they have a solidly tasty brunch and cheap drinks. What's not to like? I'm a big fan of the Derby breakfast bowl, which is tater tots, scrambled eggs, sausage, tomatoes, onions and shredded cheese, all for $8. Other options include a breakfast burrito, salmon and lox on a bagel, BeLT (bacon, egg lettuce and tomato), more sandwiches, omelets and the like. Nothing fancy, but all tasty, filling and cheap, ranging from $6-$11. Along with their normal inexpensive and solid can beer selection and their beer-and-shot specials (which range from $6 for the cheap stuff up to about $12, plus a $10 bartender's choice option, which is fun) there's also coffee with free refills for $2 and $3 bloody marys. Can't beat that. The roofdeck is a nice spot to watch people and eat, and they do have some heaters too, but the inside is always warm and cozy. Friendly bartenders, too. — Andrew Wiseman

Red Derby is located at 3718 14th Street NW.

GRANVILLE MOORE'S: Though it faces plenty of stiff competition among its many foodie-baiting neighbors along H(ype) Street NE, Granville Moore's deserves the top slot in the brunch category. First, consider the aesthetic appeal: the place is about as unobtrusive as they come, with its low-key entrance and squatter-chic second floor, and the atmosphere is equally unpretentious. The place is nice and dark and filled with booths, excellent enclaves for piecing together the sordid details of the evening before, while a coveted spot by the single window caters to the vacant-stare set. The menu is appropriately decadent and straight-forward. You can soak up your regrets with their own renditions of eggs Benedict and French toast (both available with veggie sausage for veggie-types), their signature moules and frites or the Sunrise Burger—their incredibly satisfying bison burger with a fried egg and bacon on top. —Matt Cragle

Granville Moore's is located at 1238 H Street NE.

THE ARGONAUT: I've already waxed poetic about The Argonaut's make-your-own Bloody Mary bar in ourBloody Mary Best Of List, thus I feel it necessary to call out their excellent food, which makes this H Street spot one of the most solid brunches in the city. The menu features classic brunch options like Steak & Eggs, French Toast, and a hearty H Street Breakfast platter (two eggs, rosemary potatoes or grits, toast. But I'm a big fan of the Florentine Benedict (nothing fancy going on here, just done really well). If you're looking for non-breakfast brunch options, the tempeh tacos are also killer. Oh, and sometimes they have a Chorizo Omelette as a special, which is one of the best omelette's I've had in the city. —Matt Cohen

The Argonaut is located at 1433 H Street NE.

ORIENTAL EAST: The Chinese don’t do brunch; they do dim sum, a glorious procession of tapas-sized dumplings, buns, and other sweet and savory snacks. Oriental East draws a crowd that lines up as early as 10 a.m. for a table as this cavernous glass dining hall a few steps from the Silver Spring Metro station. Bring a friend (or five), as you’ll need help eating the dazzling selection of comestibles, served by an army of waitresses pushing carts around the dining room. Some of my favorites include the pork buns, har gow (shrimp dumplings), pai gwat (pork spare ribs with black beans), wu gok (taro balls), and lo bak gaw (radish cake). If you can’t make it to Oriental East, there are a few other dim sum staples in the area, including A&J Restaurant and Hollywood East Café, though nothing in D.C. compares to what you’ll find on the West Coast. —Alicia Mazzara

Oriental East is located at 1312 East West Highway.

TABARD INN: For a classic D.C. brunch, the Tabard is the place to be. For a simple brunch, just get some cinnamon sugar doughnuts and a cup of coffee. If you require something more substantial, try the buttermilk fried chicken biscuit sandwich. Make sure to snag a reservation by calling 202.331.8528. — Sarah Anne Hughes

Tabard Inn is located at 1739 N Street NW.

SAINT-EX: I'm not going to lie, even if their food was terrible, I'd still include Saint-Ex's brunch on this list simply because they have Millenium Falcon toast. Yes, that's right, toast shaped like the Millenium Falcon. Nerdgasm. Fortunately, their brunch menu is also quite good, and given the ever-evolving status of 14th Street NW, you never really have to wait long for a table during the coveted brunch hour (thanks, Ted's Bulletin!). Saint-Ex's brunch perfectly straddles the line between artisanal and hearty, with creative takes on classic dishes like the Fried Green Tomato Benedict, Slow Roasted Pork Belly with poached eggs over tomato garlic grits, and the house scrapple, served with scrambled eggs and, yes, Millenium Falcon toast. —Matt Cohen

Saint-Ex is located at 1847 14th Street NW.

BIRCH AND BARLEY: I imagine that eating Sunday brunch at Birch and Barley is kind of like stepping onto the set of a shoot for Food & Wine magazine. The interior is modern and gorgeous, and so is the food. Everything is familiar, but better. Take the corned beef hash, with house-made corned beef and topped with a duck egg, because chicken eggs are for suckers. Thick-cut French toast and quiche flavors rotate depending on the season; right now you can expect fall favorites like honeycrisp apple and pumpkin. And don’t forget to order the house-fried donuts or sticky buns for the table. If you’re more in the mood for lunch, Birch and Barley also offers a number of flatbreads and entrees off their regular menu as well. —Alicia Mazzara

Birch and Barley is located at 1337 14th Street NW.

CASHION’S EAT PLACE: Both your stomach and your conscious will leave Cashion’s brunch fully satisfied. The seasonal brunch menu always features a heavy selection of fresh, locally-sourced meats, dairy, poultry, and produce. Rest assured, the crab on in the eggs benedict is actually from Maryland; the shrimp in the shrimp and grits is not from Vietnam; and that the pig in the pork hash was pasture raised a few miles away. But even if none of that matters to you, Cashion’s brunch is still delicious thanks to the high-quality ingredients and meticulous preparation. —Alicia Mazzara

Cashion’s Eat Place is located at 1819 Columbia Road NW.

KANGAROO BOXING CLUB: Fair warning: You may want to clear your schedule for the next few hours after brunching at KBC. The Columbia Heights barbecue-themed spot features a heavy brunch menu that will certainly leave you needing a nap. And what sort of brunch options can do this, you may be asking? How about the Pastrami Smashed Potatoes, or the 'Merikan Breakfast platter, or the quite ominous-sounding Four Horsemen of the Aporcalypse, which combines four different kinds of meat and a fried egg. Oh, and there's the Stuffed French Toast, which is stuffed with vanilla cream cheese and fruit, and encrusted in caramelized frosted flakes (I once asked a waitress about that mad concoction and she said the chef came up with the idea while stoned). You've been warned. —Matt Cohen

KBC is located at 3410 11th Street NW.

FARMERS FISHERS BAKERS: If your ultimate brunch dreams involve an all-you-can-eat buffet, look no further than Farmers Fishers Bakers. The expansive Georgetown restaurant is routinely mobbed on the weekend as diners load up their plates with everything from traditional brunch items to fried chicken, tacos, and sushi. There’s even an entire station devoted to dessert, along with roving trays of hot biscuits, gooey cinnamon rolls, eggs Benedict, and sushi. FFB also has some top notch cocktails, from a refreshing Pimm’s Cup to rotating punch specials. The buffet will set you back $30 for unlimited food; drinks are extra. —Alicia Mazzara

Farmers Fishers Bakers is located at 3000 K Street NW.

MASA 14: There is an age-old brunch dilemma, and it is the question of whether to order something sweet or savory. Luckily, at Masa 14, you don’t have to choose—literally. The restaurant’s $35 pre fixe brunch special will net you unlimited tapas and brunch cocktails, so you can eat and drink yourself into a coma by trying everything on the menu. Expect Masa 14's signature Asian-Latin twist on brunch dishes, like lychee bellinis, bacon fried rice with kimchi, breakfast tacos, and chilaquiles. —Alicia Mazzara

Masa 14 is located at 1825 14th Street NW.

PERRY’S: Who doesn’t love a drag performance with a side of eggs? Perry’s hosts an ever-popular drag queen brunch every Sunday. For $25 you get unlimited trips to a brunch buffet, but the main event is the drag show. If you want a chance to be serenaded ladies (gentleman?) in sparkly dresses while sipping your mimosa, be sure to line up early to snag a coveted table. The small dining room makes for relatively cramped quarters for the performance, so expect things to get interactive in the most entertaining way possible. —Alicia Mazzara

Perry’s is located at 1811 Columbia Rd NW.

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Five secret menu items at fast food restaurants

Animal style fries at In-N-Out

What is it about secret menus at fast-food joints that gets us so excited? It must be the small thrill we get when we "beat the system," when we share a knowing glance with an employee, when we're privy to a secret that the other customers aren't aware of. And just about every fast-food stand has at least one off-menu item that they'll gladly prepare for you, from a peanut butter and bacon burger to a sandwich with four different types of meat. For your fast-food dining pleasure, we've tracked down the wildest menu hacks at all your favorite fast-food restaurants.

When we walk into a Chipotle and demand a Quesarito, the others in line instinctively think more highly of us. This is just a fact of life. Not only do we know that they'll make a quesadilla - another off-menu item - and then load it up with burrito fillings and roll it up like a burrito, the fact that we have the cajones to stroll up and actually order the thing puts us in a league above your usual fast-food customer, who meekly orders by meal number. But we order off a secret menu. We don't need your stinkin' meal numbers. We operate independently.

The one problem with secret menus is the fact that they're usually - duh - a secret. Unless you go the Panera route and send out a press release touting your secret menu items (complete with calorie counts), most people will be left to their own devices when it comes to figuring out the hidden menu items. Oftentimes it's just a matter of ordering something and seeing if you can get away with it, like extra bacon or cheese (or mashed potatoes and gravy on your KFC sandwich), but sometimes there are legitimate off-menu items, with nicknames and everything, that you can order (with a knowing wink, if you prefer), and the cashier will know exactly what you're talking about.

Now, we're not claiming that every single outpost of these chains will be able to prepare all of these off-menu items for you, especially during the lunch rush, but if you catch them at the right moment, you really never know just how accommodating these chains can be. So there's no harm in trying!

Burger King: Ham and Cheese
This is technically a regional offering, so you might find it on an actual menu here and there, but if you don't, just ask for it. They have the ingredients back there.

Shake Shack: Peanut Butter and Bacon Burger
If adding peanut butter to your bacon burger is your thing (we hear it's pretty tasty), the friendly folks at Shake Shack will be more than happy to add a smear to yours.

In-N-Out: Animal-Style Fries
In-N-Out advertises its own "Not-So-Secret Menu," which is home to what is arguably its most legendary creation: the Animal-Style burger. A patty cooked with mustard is topped with lettuce, tomato, special sauce, pickles, and grilled onions, and it's delicious. But what about Animal-Style fries? An order of fries topped with cheese, secret sauce, pickles, and grilled onions? Otherworldly.

Wendy's: Barnyard
Wendy's actually has a fairly comprehensive secret menu, complete with named items like the Grand Slam, which is four patties in one burger (also affectionately called the "Meat Cube"). Our favorite? The Barnyard: a burger patty, a spicy chicken fillet, ham, and bacon, with a slice of cheese in between each. Carnivorous perfection.

Chipotle: Quesorito
This tops our list for several reasons: One, you'll sound awesome ordering it. Two, it's actually a double secret menu item, because it includes two off-menu items. Three, it's freakin' delicious. It's created by making a traditional quesadilla (a giant tortilla gets filled with cheese then pressed), but after it's been pressed they'll open it up and load it with all the fillings you want. Finally, it's rolled up into the shape of a (giant) burrito. It's nothing short secret menu perfection.

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Ways that restaurants get you to spend more

Times are tough for restaurants. The average check size has increased just 1.7% per year over the past five years, according to NPD Group, a market research firm. That’s because diners are watching what they spend at restaurants by forgoing pricey extras, such as drinks and appetizers, says Bonnie Riggs, NPD Group’s restaurant industry analyst.

In response to penny-pinching patrons, restaurant owners are compelled to find creative ways to get customers to fork over more cash. We’ve identified nine common tactics -- ranging from the subtle to the overt -- with the help of restaurant industry veterans, consultants and researchers. All are designed to increase the cost of your next meal out.

1. The Upsell
Servers will attempt to upsell you during every step of the meal-ordering process to increase your bill, says David Bakke, a former restaurant manager who is now an editor for the blog Money Crashers. When you order a burger, for example, you’ll likely be asked whether you want cheese with it. Or if you order a steak, you might be asked if you would like a side of creamed spinach. Price-conscious diners should ask immediately if proposed extras will add to the bill.

2. The Downsell
Beware a little reverse psychology from your server. Some restaurants will recommend lower-priced items on their menus -- often with the good intention of providing better value and encouraging repeat visits. Still, the approach can lead customers to spend more in total for several lower-priced items than they might have spent on a single, higher-priced meal, says Tom Frank, one of the creators of the P.F. Chang’s restaurant concept, who advocates the value-selling approach.

3. Wordy Menu Descriptions
Think $12.95 is too much to pay for a salad? What if it’s a Kentucky Bibb lettuce salad with heirloom tomatoes, Maytag blue cheese, crispy bacon and homemade bourbon-infused vinaigrette?Carefully crafted descriptions can soften the price in a customer’s head, says Gregg Rapp, a menu engineer with 31 years of experience helping restaurants increase profits. In particular, descriptions that use geographic labels (Austin Tex Mex), nostalgic terms (Uncle Bob’s barbecue), sensory triggers (sizzling, savory, creamy) and brand names (San Marzano tomatoes) are most effective at creating a sense of value for customers.

4. Menus Without Dollar Signs
Another way restaurants “soften” prices is to leave dollar signs off their menus, Rapp says. A study by researchers at Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research found that diners given a numeral-only menu spent 8.15% more, on average, than customers given a menu with dollar signs.

Rapp also advises restaurants to omit the dots that connect prices to items on menus. The dots make it easier for patrons to scan menus for the cheapest price, then to follow the line of dots over to the item to order it.

5. Menu Item Placement
Savvy restaurant owners will place items that they want to sell most in the top spot under each course offering, Rapp says. Sometimes these items might be the highest-priced, such as lobster or foie gras. Other times, the items in the top spots will carry the highest profit margin (think cheap ingredients such as pasta that can be gussied up). Restaurants also will place boxes around higher-priced items to draw diners’ attention to them.

6. The Daily Special
The daily special is pushed heavily by servers, Bakke says, because it often costs more than regular menu items and can carry a higher markup. But patrons might not realize this because the price of the special isn’t always printed in the menu. Servers usually just rattle off a list of specials without quoting dollar figures. It’s then up to patrons to ask for the price of each special -- or potentially face a costly surprise when the bill arrives.

7. The Background Music

The music a restaurant plays can affect the amount of money you spend. A study by Scottish researchers found that customers spent 23% more on food and drink when slow music was playing than when the soundtrack featured fast music. And a separate study by British researchers found that restaurant tabs were 10.4% higher when classical music was played than when pop music was piped in.

8. Souvenir ItemsMany restaurants -- chain restaurants, in particular -- make a lot of money selling souvenir items in addition to food. One source with 23 years of experience as a waiter, bartender and supervisor at a popular restaurant chain says that customers often don’t want to feel like they’re being pushed to buy a souvenir, though. So when the source (he asked not to be named to protect his employment prospects in the industry ) asks patrons whether they want a small or large cocktail, he tells them that they get to keep the glass if they order a large. Usually, he says, they go for the large.

9. RefillsBecause many restaurants don’t charge extra every time the server adds more coffee to your cup or iced tea to your glass, it’s easy to assume that refills will be free everywhere you go. However,some restaurants charge for refills but only divulge that fact in the menu’s fine print -- or not at all. A table of four that orders refills during the meal and again during coffee service might unwittingly add $20 to a tab. If it’s not clear whether refills are free, ask.

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How to sample the world's best ethnic food...in the U.S.

Waitress receives $10,000 tip after racist receipt

A Tennessee Red Lobster waitress has received a huge tip from a group of strangers after saying she experienced racism on the job.

Last month, Toni Christina Jenkins, 19, claimed a customer wrote "none" under the tip section of his bill and wrote the n-word for the total.

She posted a picture of the bill on Facebook, saying “This is what I got as a tip last night… so happy to live in the proud southern states...God Bless America, land of the free and home of the low class racists of Tennessee.”

The customer, Devin Barnes, has publicly denied using the epithet -- although he admits writing "none" -- and has hired a lawyer, according to the New York Daily News.

The story went viral, prompting support and threats for Jenkins, who was temporarily suspended from her job.

A California man set up a fundraising page for Jenkins that raised more than $10,000.

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These guys tip their servers $200 and film their reactions

Five foods you shouldn't order at a restaurant

Let me be clear, this is not an article on how to live more cheaply or act affordably. I once, having saved up for months, blew $300 on an omakase dinner at a world famous sushi joint in Vancouver (and then I cried), a once in a lifetime kind of thing. I love good food and restaurants, so for me it's not about price point, it's about value and empowering yourself in your own kitchen.

Also: it's totes cool to judge me on aforementioned sushi. In fact, I’m judging me, right now. I am harsh.

The thing is, when I go out, I want something that I can’t get at home. Show me something new! Wow me! Show. Me. The. Honey. I realize that many people go out so they don’t have to cook at home, but I also believe they are sometimes intimidated by trying. Bottom line, the following items have ridiculously high profit margins and are a terrible value. I am often stupefied at the ridiculous cost of some of these items when you and I know what they cost to make yourself.

So, in no particular order, here’s what I’m never, ever, ever, ever ordering in a restaurant. Like, ever.

Steak
There is nothing a restaurant can do to a cut of meat that I can’t do at home. There isn’t a quality cut of meat that they can get that I can’t (and I have always loved this tutorial from America’s Test Kitchen on how to “age” meat like restaurants do. Bam, just saved you about $10/lb).

The best steaks have absolutely nothing done to them but temperature control. Don’t even get me started on places like Ruth Chris and other expensive steakhouses. If a chef is doing something fascinating to beef, awesome, but otherwise? Skip it and DIY.

I’ve talked about how to make steak before, but what about prime rib? You’ll buy it by the rib, figure a rib for every 2 people. You can season it a million different ways, but I like rubbing it with a paste of mustard, salt, pepper and garlic. Put it in a preheated oven at 350F, on a rack (you can DIY a rack by twisting tin foil into a coil). Cook until internal temperature is 130F, let rest for 15 minutes, then carve.

Additional trick: to make carving easier, when you buy the prime rib, ask the counter to cut off the actual ribs and tie them back on (you want the ribs, they add to the taste).

Lobster/Crab
I know, I know. You’re thinking, who actually eats lobsters in restaurants except characters in movies?

Thing is, if you live in the right locales, and even if you don’t, lobster is relatively affordable (note the relative), easy to cook, fun to eat and ZOMFG delicious. We’ve been shoehorned into thinking about lobster as a frozen lobster tail -- both expensive and IMO, missing the best parts (like the claws), and not NEARLY as good as fresh lobster.

So hit up your local Asian market for lobster, this year ranging from $9-12/lb (skip your grocery store, those lobsters tend to sit there forever and are really expensive. Asian markets=higher turnover, so fresher lobsters, better price). Pick up a 1.5-2lb lobster (anything smaller is silly), and cook per my hysterical friend Tamar Haspel’s how to cook a lobster instructions here.

That’s right, 20-30 dollars, plus some butter, and you’re eating a lobster dinner. Lord only knows what you’d pay in a restaurant. Plus, at home, no one will judge you as butter drips off your chin. Except me. I am pre-judging you, quietly, right now. Here’s how to eat a lobster.

Roast Chicken
Plenty of people will tell you to never order chicken in restaurants, but, hey, sometimes restaurants are doing interesting, awesome stuff with them. What’s NOT awesome in a restaurant? Roast chicken. Well, it is awesome, but I can be awesome at home, and for far, far less. So save the bird for home cooking and venture into another area of the menu. I’ve covered how to roast a chicken before here but let's say you want to pump it up a notch -- consider brining your chicken first.

Take out a pot (big enough to fit a small child, but small enough for your fridge) and fill it with water and a handful of salt. Throw in a handful of sugar, then add peppercorns, bay leaves, and garlic. Add the chicken, and make sure it's completely covered with water; then let it sit for 24 hours in the brine. (If you don't have room in your fridge, use a cooler and ice.) Remove, cook as normal, it will be extra juicy and delicious. Want it to look like a restaurant chicken? Simply use poultry shears or a really hefty knife to carve your chicken.

Wedge Salad
Perspective: a wedge salad is ICEBURG lettuce (the "unemployed boneheaded stoner cousin who laughs at Tom & Jerry" of the vegetable world), with some blue cheese dressing, and perhaps, bottled bacon bits.

For the love of God, please don’t pay someone $8, $10 or even $12 for this. It's offensive. At home, slice a head of butter lettuce or romaine into quarters, place cut side up. Now top with some super thinly sliced red onion and real, you-made-them-yourself bacon bits -- maybe even go with pancetta. Some cherry tomatoes aren’t out of place here, and finally -- Roquefort dressing. Crumble real blue cheese, Roquefort, Stilton or Gorgonzola into a bowl, and mix with buttercream, a splash of vinegar, salt and pepper and then pour liberally onto salad. Crumble some additional cheese on top.

Broccolini
Broccolini is broccoli with a really good agent. While more expensive than regular broccoli, it's not a $12 side dish. It's a $3 vegetable. Buy it, wash it, trim the very ends off, throw into a baking dish with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt, and then place in a preheated oven at 400 degrees until the top of the broccolini is toasted and brown on top. Throw some Parmesan on top.

Roasted Potatoes
My people: flock to me and I shall share the great secret of our times: how to get those crispy roasted potatoes. Buy a bag of brown skinned potatoes, usually a few bucks for a bag. Wash them, cut into 2” chunks. Place in a microwave proof dish with a lid and 1” of water and a pinch of salt, and microwave on high for 8 minutes.

Carefully remove (the steam is a killer), drain, wash under cold water. Drain really well on paper towels, I have known chefs who used a hair dryer here. Throw onto lined cookie sheet, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 400 degrees until the potatoes have a great crust.

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Top 10 secret menu items

Secret menus are huge these days. From Starbucks to Denny's, it seems like just about every restaurant has a fansite dedicated to all the great options its servers aren't allowed to tell you about. They're a lot of fun too.

Ordering off-menu is like being part of a club, slipping the cashier a password that upgrades your "hamburger and fries" to an "animal style with fries well done," in the case of In-N-Out.

The only problem with all of this is that, unfortunately, secret menus don't actually exist. For all their noise, coverage and popularity, the fact is that restaurants just don't have them. The closest anyone comes is places like In-N-Out Burger, which has posted a list of extra options online based on popular customer requests.

"We don't have any unofficial or official secret menu items," said Mark Baldwin, a spokesperson for Chick-fil-A. "We're just able to customize our offerings to meet whatever taste preference a customer may have... We have fresh squeezed lemonade, and we have iced tea, so if people come in and say 'Can I have an Arnold Palmer,' we'll give them half tea and half lemonade."

So, with that in mind, here are some of the best ideas people have had with what their favorite restaurants can do:

#1. Poutine, A&W/Kentucky Fried Chicken
To get this entry, you'll need to go to a joint KFC and A&W location, one of those increasingly common fast food mergers where they've built both restaurants into the same building. They're not that easy to find; the last time I saw an A&W "All American Food" was somewhat ironically in Malaysia.

Still, it's really worth it in a greasy, hate-yourself-the-next-morning, I-just-slept-with-my-best-friend's-wife sort of way.

This fast-food poutine is a serving of A&W French fries smothered in gravy from the KFC counter right next door. This isn't the traditional way of serving poutine--up in Quebec they serve the dish smothered in cheese curds as well as gravy--but it's also not typically served up in a small, orange box either. What it lacks in cultural accuracy, A&W's secret menu option more than makes up for in flavor. This one is well worth trying.

#2. Biscotti Frappuccino, Starbucks
I waited as long as I could before Starbucks made an appearance here, and you'll be seeing the coffee shop chain again fairly soon. But for right now, the biscotti frappuccino needs a mention. First, however, a warning straight from the barista's mouth: Starbucks gets busy, sometimes really, really busy. Your friendly neighborhood barista is almost always more than happy to mess around with crazy drink combinations for you, except for when she's got 12 people waiting in line. Then all she wants is to crank through her routine and get people out of the store.

By all means. have some fun and go off menu, but do it when everyone has a little room to breathe. Don't be that guy who brings rush hour to a standstill, because he decided to get creative.

When you do, however, make sure try the biscotti frappuccino. It's any ordinary version of the frozen drink, except with a biscotti blended in to give the entire thing a great cookie crunch. It's a fantastic idea, and hopefully we'll see it on the board sometime soon.

#3. Nachos, Chipotle
Chipotle is a simply great idea, and a great, simple idea. It's the fusion of Mexican food with ingredients that won't make you sick and die. The concept is brilliant, and I'm astounded it took someone as long as it did to get around to it.

One of the other great things about Chipotle is that, according to a spokesperson for the company, the employees will try to make pretty much anything they can for you. As company policy, if they've got the ingredients, and your order's not too crazy, they're willing to give it a try. Which brings us to nachos.

An order of Chipotle nachos is fantastic. It comes with a plate full of chips, covered with cheese, meat, beans and choice of salsas. I personally always prefer the corn salsa, but that one's up to you. If there's any confusion, just make sure to specify what you want on your plate. It's not as portable as a burrito, but then again, who really cares?

Study: Men wish women would chip in on dates but are afraid to ask

When women debrief each other about their recent dates, one of the first questions that comes up is, “Did he pay?” Well, most men are still paying for dates, but wish women would pay sometimes too, according to a paper presented over the weekend at the American Sociological Association’s annual meeting in New York City.

The ritual of men taking out women dates back to the time when men earned more because most jobs were not accessible to women. By treating women, men were also showing their ability to provide for them in the future. But now that the percentage of men and women in the paid labor force is about equal — and 28% of women are making more money than men in households where both partners work — the study’s authors wanted to know if that shift in gender roles has contributed to women’s expectations about who pays the tab.

The study, which surveyed 17,607 unmarried, heterosexual men and women using a questionnaire posted on NBCNews.com, found:

• 84% of men and 58% of women said that men paid for most dating expenses.
• 39% of women hoped men would not ask them to contribute.
• 44% of women were annoyed when men “expected” women to pay.
• 44% of men said they would stop seeing women who never pay for dates.
• 64% of men believed women should pick up from time to time, though 76% said they felt “guilty” saying so.
• 4 in 10 men and women said that dating expenses were usually shared within the first month, and nearly three-fourths (74%) of men and 83% of women said they’re shared by the sixth-month mark.

The survey, which also included a narrative component, showed younger, college-educated men and women were more likely to offer to share the costs of dating. “We usually split the cost or pay every other time,” a 24-year-old female participant wrote. ”It is a shared experience so it should be entirely shared, unless one partner is treating the other for a special occasion.”

The paper’s authors wrote women should take note of the 44% of men who said they would break it off with women who don’t offer to help pick up the tab, as it may help explain why their suitors have suddenly dropped off the radar. As one 25-year-old male participant put it: “I’m fine with paying for the first few dates. However, if the relationships are supposed to be 50/50 then each partner is expected to invest in the partnership financially.”

But while women may be paying more of their share, most men still want, and are expected to, pick up the bill in the beginning. According to the paper, “Many men’s willingness to absorb the price of early dates and more than half the costs later on keeps chivalry alive, gender roles distinct, and some privileges for both sexes intact.”

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Fourteen best dates in DC that aren't dinner and a movie

PHILLIPS AFTER 5: Phillips After 5 is a great date destination because it's about three dates in one — an art museum, live entertainment, and booze and snacks. The event only happens on the first Thursday of each month, so the date will be all the more special. New exhibits are frequently added to the collection and cover lots of art styles. Music, discussions, and food vary month to month; August's, for example, will feature local food truck specialties, a jazz violinist, and area distillers talking about cocktails. Promising evenings can continue after the 8:30 close in nearby Dupont Circle. Definitely make reservations in advance online ($12 per person) and bring cash for drink tickets. —Nicole Dubowitz

Phillips After 5 take place on the first Thursday of every month at 1600 21st St NW.

FIRST FRIDAY: I’ve always hated museum dates, mostly because I think it’s an inefficient way of both seeing a museum and getting to know your date. First Friday, on the other hand, is just the right blend of art, culture, and a dash of free wine. On the first Friday of every month, a host of Dupont Circle’s galleries stay open late, plying gallery crawlers with the promise of interesting art, wine, and snacks. You don’t have to be an art history buff to take in the scene—in fact, it’s much more fun to take turns making faux-erudite comments, such as “I really enjoy the artist’s use of negative space,” and “Did you know that white is the absence of color”? (Remember, the wine definitely makes you sound smarter.) Whatever route you choose, I recommend ending up at the Hillyer (9 Hillyer Court NW), which usually has some pretty edgy, conversation-worthy pieces. — Alicia Mazzara

First Friday takes place between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on the first Friday of the month, mostly around 21st and R Streets NW.

CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY TOURS: A few friends have made dates out of a tour the Founding Church of Scientology on 16th Street NW, followed by a visit to a nearby bar or restaurant to rehash it. Assuming you both don't get indoctrinated (or just one of you, because that would be awkward) it could be a fun time to learn about something completely different, and maybe figure out why Tom Cruise, Beck and others are so into it. In 1955, L. Ron Hubbard founded Scientology in D.C. a few blocks from the building, which is on the corner of 16th and K. Keep in mind, they may try to convince you to join, that your body is full of the spirits of people that an intergalactic dictator named Xenu flew to Earth, dropped into volcanoes and killed with hydrogen bombs 75 million years ago, and so on. Fun stops afterwards could include Townhouse on R Street, Kramerbooks & Afterwords on Connecticut Avenue, or the new Thomas Foolery on P Street, for more silliness. — Andrew Wiseman

The Church of Scientology is located at 1424 16th Street NW.

H STREET CORRIDOR: Plan a full evening of date activities, from dinner to a show to drinks afterward, on H Street NE without having to wander more than a few blocks. Begin the night by sharing a massive serving of Schweinshaxn (pork shank), washed down with half or full liters of German beer, at Biergarten Haus. The back patio is open year-round, a lovely beer garden in the summer and a cozy fireplace-warmed space in the winter months. Then, make your way to a show. Atlas Performing Arts Center is just down the street and offers a variety of date-worthy events: dance, theater, storytelling. Or, for something edgier, catch live music (or an Air Sex Competition) at the Rock and Roll Hotel. If you're still enjoying each other's company by this time in the evening, grab a slice at Dangerously Delicious Pies, open 'til midnight Monday through Thursday and 3:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Then, toast your excellent evening with drinks and dancing at Sticky Rice.—Elisabeth Grant

Biergarten Haus is located at 1355 H Street NE; the Atlas Performing Arts Center is located at 1333 H Street NE; the Rock and Roll Hotel is located at 1353 H Street NE; Dangerously Delicious Pies is located at 1339 H Street NE; Sticky Rice is located at 1224 H Street NE.

SENSORY DEPRIVATION TANKS: For reasons still slightly beyond my comprehension, my boyfriend has been lobbying for us to take a his and her trip to a spa offering floatation therapy. Visitors spend an hour in a sensory deprivation tank, a dark pod filled with salty, body-temperature water and a complete absence of sound. Proponents claim it promotes a state of total and utter relaxation unrivaled by even the best massage, as well as a state of mental clarity akin to meditation. I personally am afraid of going totally mental from listening to the sound of my own heart beat while trapped inside a tiny, watery capsule. And that would be unromantic. But if floating your cares away sounds like great a way to bring you and your partner together, a dunk in a sensory deprivation tank might be the wacko date idea for you.—Alicia Mazzara

You can deprive your senses at Hope Floats in Bethesda (6405 Redwing Road) or Om Float Spa in Manassas.