Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Ahhh, fond memories... (kind of). I used to work at a Fuddrucker's after undergrad but before grad school. I must agree, as far as chain restaurants and the like go, they were pretty okay. They also shut down about a year after I quit... seems to be a trend.
Not a bad option at all and much preferable to not only fast food but some other sit down restaurants, if a burger is what you're after... or some of their delicious frozen alcoholic drinks.
My big beef was that, as a server, it was not mandated that you be tipped. Granted, customers pick up their own food and dress it themselves, but I once waited on a 20 person elementary age child's birthday party, replete with balloons, drink refills, and clearing away of the table afterwards (and the gift wrapping after that) only to be left... nothing at all.
Not FDR's fault though, just tends to color my opinion a bit.

Dina Mia's... it's an old-school Italian small business located in the U.P. of MI, and it is sooooo good. I always grab some of their frozen sauce and gnocchi and a pizza or two when I'm up there.

Huge backyard grillin' party!!! Delicious burgers for all and some fresh produce, as well as adult beverages! (Maybe a pinata too?)

Oh, catshigh, I like your idea! There could be a television show called "Foodswap."
As I've said before, I do not like the television version of overcast, overproduced, stereotypical b.s. to promote such an important message (I seriously wonder how much the D.J. is getting paid to make the show more interesting from his virulent hostile comments).
But,... obviously, there are some people who are watching and taking notice.
Yes, the "lunch ladies" hands are tied. The school admin's pretty much are too. It all comes down to state and federal mandates and money. It would be great if he could take it "from the top down," but at this point, a lot of folks in power are untouchable. You get an angry mob of television viewers or conscientious people who finally have a soldier in the visible line though, and...

I have never eaten at Whataburger or Krystal, as they are not located near me. However, I did notice that I am rather sad about this, as they both use the toppings I always order or use at home on burgers... mustard, pickles, and onions only. I chose Whataburger because they also offer salads and grilled chicken sandwiches... they are to Checkers as Krystal is to White Castle, from what I can tell... kind of.

I absolutely love the Honeymoon shirt,... although I prefer it's Spanish translation "luna de miel." For some reason, that phrase brings to mind childhood poems of the Owl and the Pussycat and magic that accompanies a honeymoon with the one you love (presumably eating burgers and fine food and attending a planetarium show, as we did in Chicago during our own). The moon is not made out of cheese! It is honey!!

That is so sweet, I love the name. Having been a military brat, but also spending some time in podunk towns with 1940's sense and sensibility, I admire family traditions and old school places like this.

I like and respect Jamie Oliver. I did not know who he was until my mother purchased me his "Jamie at Home" cookbook, and I realized his sentiments about food are so like my own. There are plenty of comfort foods and not neccessarily low-fat recipes in his cookbook, (I only own the one), but an emphasis is placed on the act of eating, how it is a way to connect with the people in your life, and the horrible effects on the animals, environment, and ourselves that comes with animals bred for slaughter on large scale farming operations that supply our fast food corporations and larger chains/brandnames of groceries.
I think he made this move because he realized that to get the general populations attention... it does take T.V. Obviously, the people who visit this website and will comment on this post care about food and the quality of it and are willing to invest time and money into it. Not everybody does, nor does everyone have those luxuries. He also has written numerous grants to receive money for his activism and seems to be a genuine individual who is now learning how to take on the corporate market on its home field advantage.

My husband and I went to Quartino's on our honeymoon in August 2007. We only had the wine (excellent) and the steamed mussels (also excellent and very price savvy), but I must say that the place was quite busy with other tables ordering pizza that night, and none of them looked like the travesties posted above! I think maybe a heavy handed chef had their way or that someone in the kitchen didn't quite know what they were doing? (more is not always more).... In any case, Quartino's is quite affordable, the wait staff was warm and lightheartedly entertaining vs. pushy or standoffish, and the wine was excellent when we last visited. I recommend it, as a dining venue before a show or for an early evening bite, and... you can always send back the food and ask for more wine.