Posted by Robyn Lee, October 2, 2008 at 4:45 PM
When Steve Kaplan of New York City fractured his tooth after biting on an unpopped popcorn kernel at an Upper West Side movie theater, he demanded that the theater pay his $1,250 dental bill. Civil Court Judge Matthew Cooper denied the claim, saying that unpopped kernels were unavoidable:
Until such time as the same bio-engineers who brought us seedless watermelon are able to develop a new strain of popping corn where every kernel is guaranteed to pop, we will just have to accept partially popped popcorn as part and parcel of the popcorn popping process.
To prevent potential tooth fractures, Cooper suggested eating the popcorn one by one or avoiding popcorn and just eating candy.
According to the Kansas City Star, "The suit says that Applebee's Weight Watchers Cajun Lime Tilapia is advertised as having 6 grams of fat and 310 calories but when tested was found to actually contain more than twice as much fat (14.3 grams) and 25 percent more calories (401) than advertised." [via Washington City Paper]
Posted by Robyn Lee, August 20, 2008 at 5:45 PM
Photograph of Sprinkles cupcakes from Noonch on Flickr
California-based Sprinkles Cupcakes filed a lawsuit against competitor brand Famous Cupcakes over the cupcakery's improper use of the Sprinkles trademarked "modern dot" design. All this over a dot? Yes. The double concentric circle design is officially registered by Sprinkles. Though Famous Cupcakes doesn't seem to use the dot look on their actual cupcakes—just on their logo background—the iconic resemblance is not fine by Sprinkles. [via Eater LA]
Does the name Rosscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in Chicago sound a little too similar to that of the long established Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n Waffles in Los Angeles? Just a tad, perhaps. Besides the extra "s," other similarities include their logo designs and names of their menu items. The Chicago Tribune says that the original Roscoe's is sueing the Chicago imitator and gives some of the history behind the chicken and waffle restaurant.
Posted by Robyn Lee, March 26, 2008 at 2:45 PM
What do you get when you combine whole wheat bread, nondairy cheese, raw carrots, spinach, seedless raisins, beans, vegetable oil, tomato paste, powdered milk, and dehydrated potato flakes? A block of Nutraloaf! If you haven't heard of it before, it might be because it's only served in prisons and is apparently so disgusting that Vermont inmates filed a suit against the Department of Corrections, saying that being served Nutraloaf is a form of punishment and that they would rather go hungry than eat it. [Thanks, Amy!]
Editor's note: I didn't mean to overlook the Talk topic from last week with a recipe for the Nutraloaf. Recreate the magic in your own kitchen!
Posted by Ed Levine, July 26, 2007 at 5:55 PM
Savory New York reports that OpenTable, the online reservations system used by 7,000 restaurants across the country, is being sued for patent infringement by a Texas-based company. This comes at an inopportune time for OpenTable, which is rumored to be eyeing a public offering.
