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Titanic Lunch Menu May Fetch $150K

John Johnson — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:48:02 CST

A lunch menu from the Titanic's final day afloat is expected to fetch about $150,000 when it goes up for auction in England next month, reports the Telegraph . The menu came from a first-class table: The wife of San Francisco banker Washington Dodge tucked it into her purse at...

Shh! Secret Restaurant Menus

Evann Gastaldo — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:50:00 CST

In-N-Out Burger’s “secret menu” (veggie burgers, etc.) has gotten way too famous to really be considered a secret anymore—but Coupon Sherpa rounds up little-known items at other fast-food joints: Chili’s : Though it’s not on the menu anymore, you can in fact still order the restaurant’s namesake dish. Long...

That Menu Is Playing With Your Mind, Wallet

Harry Kimball — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:32:27 CST

In the recession, restaurants casual and white tablecloth alike are desperately updating one of their secret moneymakers: the menu. Numerous studies have concluded that customers spend more when items have sumptuous descriptions, a relative’s name is included, or, most importantly, the $ sign is banished entirely. Whether you can conscience...

The Most Overused Menu Descriptions

Nick McMaster — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:14:01 CDT

Tired of menus that use the same old phrases over and over? So are the food critics at the Chicago Tribune . They nominated nine menu clichés for the compost pile: "Grilled to perfection": Subjective to the point of meaninglessness. And why always grilled, and not “boiled” or “baked”? Can only...

Tough Times Push Chains to Try New Fare

Matt Cantor — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:00:00 CDT

Desperate times are driving chain restaurants to desperate measures—straying from their bread-and-butter dishes and diversifying the menu. KFC now sells grilled chicken, Domino’s offers subs, and McDonald’s dips into the world of espresso coffee, USA Today reports. “This is a defining moment for the industry," says a National Restaurant...

'Housemade' the Latest Word in Fine Dining

Katherine Thompson — Sun, 24 May 2009 16:16:13 CDT

A word that isn’t yet in the dictionary has been cropping up on menus across America: “housemade” is the new trend. Don’t confuse it with “homemade,” which has lost its buzz and now suggests an unprofessional cook or a hokey menu-writer. “Housemade has more cachet,” one restaurateur tells Newsweek .

Now Taking Reservations for Sometime Next Year

Evann Gastaldo — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 11:43:29 CDT

Move over, French Laundry. The US' most in-demand dinner seat is in "flyspeck" Kennett Square, Pa., 35 miles from Philadelphia, Portfolio writes. Talula's Table takes reservations for its single, 12-seat table one year in advance. "My parents paid me $30 to stand out here," says one teen angling for a...

New McD's Menu Muscles In on Starbucks

Kevin Spak — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 11:15:00 CST

You’ll be able to get cappuccinos, lattes, and frappes from a certified barista beneath the Golden Arches this fall, reports the Wall Street Journal, as McDonald's takes on Starbucks. It’s the fast-food behemoth's biggest menu addition in 30 years, and the company expects it to bring in $1 billion annually....