Man, McDonald's LOVES New York City. Not only is the burger giant bringing more franchises to Manhattan soon, they also seem intent on co-opting our city's name internationally. Last year it rolled out a line of German "I ♥ New York burgers" as well as a New York Special burger in the UK, a New York Supreme in Scandinavia, a New York Quarter Pounder in Japan, and a NYCrispy in Spain and elsewhere. And now the trend continues. They've just rolled out a half-pound "Big New York" burger meant to feed hungry Israelis. more ›

In November Burger King announced that, for the first time since 1998, it would be changing its French fry recipe. Well guess what? They did just what they said they would. But now they need to persuade people to try (and hopefully like) their new slightly wider fries which they say boast less less salt and a "coating that makes them crisper and keeps them hotter longer." So they are giving them out for free today. more ›

Some disturbing news from a Burger King in Jamaica, Queens: a mother allegedly abandoned her baby boy at the fast food chain, leaving him on a table just before 11 p.m. last night. more ›

We've danced on the razor's edge of beef technology in our day, and can confidently state that when it comes to fast food, less is more. Wendy's is the chain that seemed to epitomize that concept for so long. Sure, there was the occasional gimmick sandwich, but they never tapped P-Diddy as a spokesman and haven't marketed themselves as "healthy" either. Which is why Wendy's new burger, "Dave's Hot 'N Juicy," which hits America today, comes as such a surprising futz with greatness. more ›

Way back in 2009 McDonald's started unveiling an upscale, metrosexual look for its fast food spots featuring new uniforms, subdued lighting, free wifi, and bright colors. So naturally (well, as natural as fast food gets) that prompted arch rival Burger King to announce that it too would be overhauling its 12,000 locations with a "20/20" design featuring "industrial-inspired corrugated metal and brick walls." But apparently somebody finally looked at the financial sheets and noticed that the company doesn't really have the $500,000-per-store in cash needed for the remodel. Burger Business is reporting that the 20/20 design has been deep-sixed. So no red-flame chandeliers for New York, we guess. more ›

Pot-friendly rapper Wiz Khalifa has a very bright future ahead according to some outlets, but he may want to think about upgrading his entourage. One of the member's of his crew was conned out of $750, his cell phone, and his bling in Times Square yesterday. Because what else would happen at 5 a.m. in Times Square? more ›

So the food snobs over at Zagat rated Five Guys the best fast food burger in the country, but what do New Yorkers have to say about their greasy patties? Inspired by a recent Consumer Reports ranking of 18 burger chains, the Post put McDonald's, Burger King, Five Guys, Wendy's and White Castle to the test. And if there's one thing this disparate group of city folk can agree on, it's that White Castle sucks. more ›

That Pop-Tarts Sushi was just an amuse-bouche compared to this monster. The BK Whopper Bar has been chugging along outside of Times Square this month, and though they haven't started selling beer yet, they're getting ready to unveil a burger entirely inspired by New York. Doesn't that make you feel special? Vice President of Global Product Marketing and Innovation John Schaufelberger explained to us that the BK Whopper Bar is somewhat of an "innovation lab" for the company—a place where they can test sandwiches like the "Meat Beast" on omnivorous New Yorkers before they ship them out to the rest of the country. more ›

Perhaps to help customers numb the pain and humiliation of dining in a Times Square Burger King, the fast food chain has announced that beer will (probably) be sold at the crossroads of the world. His Royal Highness is rolling out the precious mead starting next month in Miami Beach, at a "concept" called a Whopper Bar. To start with, suds on the menu will be limited to Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors beer products. "You can have America's favorite beers with America's favorite burger," promises Burger King's North American president Chuck Fallon, with a straight face. more ›

If nothing's cooking with your family on Thanksgiving, or if you'd just rather not slave away in the kitchen all day, there are plenty of restaurants from Astoria to the East River which will be happy to serve you. Click on the images for details on special Thanksgiving menus around town, including Trattoria Cinque in Tribeca, Commerce in the West Village, The Classic Harbor Line yacht (on the river), Counter in the Wast Village, Da Franco in Astoria, Brother Jimmy's BBQ, Ed's Chowder House on the UWS , Fishtail on the UES, The Sea Grill at Rock Center, and Casimir in Alphabet City. more ›

A Long Island man who purchased a Burger King Mac N' Cheese meal for his 6-year-old daughter yesterday says there was "something disgusting in there." (Besides the macaroni and the cheese.) Phil Collura of Rockville Centre tells CBS 2 that after buying the food product for his child at the drive-through, she told him it "tasted funny." And at the bottom of the mac n' cheese cup was what looked like a crushed pill! The girl was taken to a hospital for observation, and Nassau County police say the forensic evidence bureau is analyzing the substance. A police source tells Newsday, "It is unknown at this time if the child ingested any part of the substance." Coming as this does on the heels of the Domino's employees' gross-out video, it's unsurprising the King went into crisis management mode quickly, issuing this statement last night: "Burger King Corp. and its franchisee is aware of this situation and is investigating the matter. As a precaution, the restaurant has removed the product," which is produced by Kraft. more ›

In his publicity blitz to promote The Pink Panther 2, the Pink Panther has been spotted around town. And he definitely ran the gamut of photo ops: Early in the day, he helped out at a Burger King (there's a Pink Panther tie-in planned)...and then he rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange! more ›

Despite eliciting "universal disgust," the new Burger King FLAME™ body spray has sold out at all Ricky's locations AND on the website! Marisol, an employee at the Ricky's on First Avenue between 64th and 65th Streets, says their original shipment of 24 sold out within a matter of days, and frustrated "FLAMERS" have been calling constantly to try and track down a bottle. Although same haters compared the product's scent to the aroma of "a Burger King burning down in a horrible grease fire," Marisol told us it sold out because it smelled "nice. And spicy. It kind of smelled like Axe body spray." Why must you taunt us, Marisol!?! Okay, nobody panic; Grub Street comforts frustrated FLAME™ consumers with news that it's being sold on eBay for $76 (and rising). Or just wait until January (if you can!), when Ricky's will be getting more FLAME™ in stock. more ›

When we announced that Burger King had entered the fragrance business with BK FLAME™ – the new men's body spray promising "the scent of seduction with the hint of flame-broiled meat" – your reactions ranged from "I prefer my men to smell like White Castle" to "I want!" But one blogger was bold enough to actually purchase the FLAME™ at Ricky's during his lunch hour and apply it directly to his bare flesh back at the office. The result was predictably revolting: "Everyone gathered around began coughing. And therein lies the horrible secret of Flame: it’s not burger-scented...Try as I might, I could not smell anything related to meat. If you want to know what a Burger King smells like when it’s burning down in a horrible grease fire, though, this is probably as close as you get to the real thing. The acrid, eye-watering scent will not attract anything to you. Even my dog would start choking if it licked this off my wrist...If this is what The King smells like then I don’t want him anywhere near me." more ›

Just in time for your mom Santa to toss this in your Christmas stocking, Burger King has released a limited-edition men's body spray that evokes the smell of freshly broiled Whoppers. But isn't this what they spray on the burgers already for authenticity? No! According to a press release, "The King is setting hearts ablaze for the holidays with his new scent of choice. FLAME™, a new men's body spray by Burger King Corp., features the scent of seduction with the hint of flame-broiled meat. A favorite of the King, FLAME™ is available for purchase for a limited time at select Ricky's retailers in-store or online." Because nothing's more romantic than the scent of mass-produced beef patties...except maybe the sultry FLAME™ website, which is really putting us in the mood (for salad). more ›

Burger King's new ad campaign is a series of commercials depicting a taste test between the Whopper and the Big Mac. The twist here is that the taste testers are blessed souls living in areas so remote that they've never even soiled their intestines with Burger King! Yes, such oases do exist—or rather they did, before ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky airlifted in the fast food, as the teaser trailers suggest. The campaign calls them "Whopper Virgins," and AdFreak detects a none-too-subtle whiff of corporate colonialism. And Marilyn Borchardt of Food First tells the Daily News it's insensitive because "the ad's not even acknowledging that there's even hunger in any of these places." (But watch the trailer; they do look hungry!) And if these 141 words here have proven anything, it's that the campaign is already a success. more ›

The 1977 Yankee season has been not only written about, but also had an ESPN mini-series made about it. Many of its stories are well known, but there is a strange tale from the season that few know about. Well, unless you collected baseball cards. more ›

The owners of four Manhattan Burger King franchises are locked in a nasty legal battle with their royal overlord. Luan Sadik and his sister, Elizabeth Sadik, rebelled against the mandatory 99-cent menu and the recent dollar Value Menu because the prices couldn’t cover the obscene Manhattan rent and the fast food monarch roared. more ›

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Cops took John Potts to Bellevue Hospital's psychiatric ward for evaluation, after he capped his weekend's worth of crazy behavior by threatening to bash his stepfather's face in with a shovel, then running off and jumping into the Raritan Bay while screaming that he had the bubonic plague. Thursday morning he attacked a peacock in a Tottenville Burger King's parking lot, battering the bird so badly, in front of a crowd of horrified onlookers, that it had to be euthanized. He was yelling then that he was killing a vampire. more ›

The man who throttled, stomped, kicked, and beat a peacock into a mortal state Thursday morning was turned in to police by his own stepfather yesterday. The Staten Island Advance is all over the story. It reports that John N. Potts was arrested yesterday, after threatening to smash his stepfather's face with a shovel in the older man's home. Potts then ran off and jumped into the Raritan Bay, shovel in hand. The Advance describes that as being the end to an extended weekend of craziness by Potts, whose alleged avian homicide was simply a kick-off. more ›

Witnesses said a man in his late teens or early 20s grabbed the helpless bird by its neck, struck it repeatedly with a baseball bat and kicked it in a Burger King parking lot on Page Avenue. more ›

Awesome: The owner of a Burger King at Fifth Avenue and 36th Street is suing its landlord. Apparently the BK at 401 Fifth Avenue got infested with rats "after an adjacent Chinese restaurant shut down earlier this month," according to the NY Sun. And then when Inside Edition caught the rats inside the Burger King (as well as rats in other city restaurants), the owners decided to sue. more ›

Inside Edition, better known for covering tabloid stories and entertainment, has found something that mixes the best of both worlds: Looking for rats in NYC restaurants. Perhaps the most famous restaurant goers these days are city rats, and Inside Edition was on them like paparazzi on Britney Spears:

INSIDE EDITION took to the streets of Manhattan between 1:00 AM and 4:00 AM peering their cameras and flashlights into the windows of a wide variety of eateries, from fast food places to fine dining establishments. INSIDE EDITION found many of the restaurants shared one common denominator, vermin.

The Forms (Steve Albini-recorded) shimmering rock is our new go-to comfort music after a terrible night finally ends. You know, when you've totalled the rental car but the stereo still works and all you need is something until the tow truck comes? This is that formally febrile, meticulously messy something. more ›

A dispute between a manager of a Burger King and a neighborhood teen to a parking lot standoff where they both pulled guns. Sixteen year old Shaka Walcott was fatally shot in the torso while 45 year old Ronald Johannes was shot in the abdomen (he's in critical condition at Jacobi) on Saturday night. While it's unclear what led to guns being drawn by both parties, a week or two ago, Walcott was upset that Johannes wouldn't serve him when he was closing up the shop; they had a fight and Walcott spit on him. During the shooting, an employee said, "People were crying, screaming, yelling, everyone was on the floor." more ›

Have you ever worried that you're not getting fat fast enough? If so, this Google Maps mashup may be the key to your peace of mind. It's pretty bare-bones right now-- just Burger King, McDonalds, and Wendys-- but there are enough data-points to get you started. Hopefully the author will add all the other fast-food chains soon-- especially the New York hometown favorites-- Ray's Pizza and Gray's Papaya. [Via Kottke.] more ›

One of the most depraved crimes in recent memory is being relived at a murder trial in Brooklyn. Raymondo Jack, witness for the Brooklyn DA, testified to seeing Hunter College student Romona Moore tortured and chained in a Brooklyn basement in 2003. Jack had been visiting his friends Troy Hendrix and Kayson Pearson when they showed him Moore. Hendrix and Pearson had kidnapped the 23 year old as she was walking to a Burger King in East Flatbush, and subjected her to beatings, cuttings, cigarette burns and rape. Though Jack questioned the pair why they did this (and remembering they had smirks on their faces), Jack never told the police, simply leaving the apartment to go to a baby shower. Jack did tell his fiancee and fiancee's uncle, and suspects that the uncle called police, who only found Moore dead, dumped near a an ice cream truck. In a defense tactic, Pearson's lawyer tried to paint Jack as a criminal for not reporting the crime, "Did you understand that what you say you saw at that time was inhuman?" more ›