Link roundup

1. Taco Bell's business is way down and they're blaming it on that lawsuit that inaccurately described the meat content in their food. Via.

2. Spirit Airlines CEO:

Between New York and Florida, for example, both we and JetBlue fly the A320 airplane. They put 150 seats on the plane, we put 178.

Via.

3. If you're a TMNT fan, here's how to get in to a promotional event at SDCC for the new series.

4. I'd greatly appreciate a Spotify invite if you have one. UPDATE: Got one.

5. New preorders at the BBTS - - The Walking Dead and Gears of War board games.

More fine dining at McDonald's

Fine dining at McDonald's photo gallery. Clever marketing or genuine prank? Via.

Desperate advertising by McDonald's

McDonald's employees advertising outside of a Sonic in Connecticut.

Link roundup

1. Good article about Taco Bell and how much effort is put into getting reliable food to customers fast. For example:

Every Taco Bell has two food production lines, one dedicated to the drive-thru and the other to servicing the walk-up counter. Working those lines is no easier than wearing the headset. The back of the restaurant has been engineered so that the Steamers, Stuffers, and Expeditors, the names given to the Food Champions who work the pans, take as few footsteps as possible during a shift. There are three prep areas: the hot holding area, the cold holding area, and the wrapping expediting area. The Stuffer in the hot holding area stuffs the meat into the tortillas, ladling beef with Taco Bell's proprietary tool, the BPT, or beef portioning tool. The steps for scooping the beef have been broken down into another acronym, SST, for stir, scoop, and tap. Flour tortillas must be cooked on one side for 15 seconds and the other for five.

When I take my place on the line and start to prepare burritos, tacos, and chalupas—they won't let me near a Crunchwrap Supreme—it is immediately clear that this has been engineered to make the process as simple as possible. The real challenge is the wrapping. Taco Bell once had 13 different wrappers for its products. That has been cut to six by labeling the corners of each wrapper differently. The paper, designed to slide off a stack in single sheets, has to be angled with the name of the item being made at the upper corner. The tortilla is placed in the middle of the paper and the item assembled from there until you fold the whole thing up in the wrapping expediting area next to the grill. "We had so many wrappers before, half a dozen stickers; it was all costing us seconds," says Harkins. In repeated attempts, I never get the proper item name into the proper place. And my burritos just do not hold together.

2. Animated gif shows what's it like to visit 4chan.

3. New Last Exit to Nowhere film contest with 10 t-shirt prize. And here's the winner of April's photo contest.

Food link roundup

1. Taco Bell is testing out shells made out of nacho cheese-flavored Doritos.

2. News about the Chipotle spinoff restaurant, ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen:

Chipotle Unveils Details about New Asian Restaurant Concept
DENVER, Apr 12, 2011 -- Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) has unveiled additional details for its new restaurant concept slated to open this summer. The concept, ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, is inspired by the traditional shophouses found throughout Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Shophouses are classical two or three-story buildings where families live upstairs and run restaurants or fresh markets on the ground level.

The ShopHouse menu will pair the bold and complex flavors of southeast Asia with fresh, sustainably raised ingredients; grilled and braised meats, a variety of fresh vegetables, aromatic herbs, spicy sauces, and an array of garnishes. Customers will move along a service line and customize their meal according to flavor preference and diet, in a format similar to the one that has become the hallmark of Chipotle's success.

"I have always believed that the Chipotle model would work well with a variety of different cuisines," said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. "Chipotle's success is not necessarily about burritos and tacos, but rather about serving great, sustainably raised food that is delicious, affordable, and convenient."

"Anyone who has traveled throughout Southeast Asia can tell you that food there is served very fast -- it's also full of flavor, nutritious, and affordable," said Ells. "This cuisine gives us a great opportunity to prove the idea that the Chipotle model can work with other cuisines."

ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen is scheduled to open summer 2011 in Washington, D.C.

3. Cupcake fondue.

4. Recipe for Matzo Brei With Pear And Dried Sour Cherries.

5. Recipe for Gluten-Free Mozzarella Sticks.

*Buy Happy Meal toys at eBay.

Link roundup

1. "Take a look at perhaps the most unusual prison job rehab program in the country. Here, convicts are trained to become deep-water divers and graduate to well-paying — and sometimes dangerous — jobs upon their release." Via.

2. One absolutely stunning claim about John Thompson after another. I can't imagine how this guy has a job if this stuff is true.

3. I sure hope this Ask Me Anything Request at Reddit gets fulfilled: "An Olive Garden employee who has been sent to Tuscany by the company to learn the art of Italian cooking."

Jack in the Box Munchie Mobile

The Jack in the Box Munchie Mobile food truck will be driving around San Diego for the next month, and then will show up in Los Angeles. That's Jack in a chariot pulled by a tiger and polar bear. Via.

*Buy Fast Food toys at eBay.