Perhaps youve noticed that Burger King has shut down all of its locations for remodeling. The redesign, which a company Chairman and CEO John Chidsey says will be more contemporary, edgy, futuristic, will feature rotating red flame chandeliers and TV-screen menus.

Glad you asked - in fact there are quite a lot of noteworthy news items and events that are dropping, as the kids say, this week..

Moving on, the slate of foodie events this week is as thin as- as thins as a slice of chateaubriand, as a matter of fact..

In keeping with a long-held policy at YES! Weekly, I guarantee that everyone who sends me free food gets a mention here in Amuse Bouche - though I do not guarantee that I will endorse your product..

No time for jokes people. Big things a-brewin'. Madison Park Caf%u9829n Greensboro touts new shipments of tuna, veal skirt steaks, oysters and frog legs available while supplies last.

Dig it: This month's Men's Health magazine ranked the 100 most fast-food-addicted cities in the US, and, remarkably, the Triad fared pretty well. While Charlotte grabbed the No. 3 spot, Raleigh ranked No. 5 and Durham landed at No. 20

It seems that Starbucks is succumbing to the gastronomic juggernaut that is McDonald's. In the spring, Ray Kroc's Folly took aim at the Buck's latte-sipping clientele by turning every McDonald's into a McCafe offering a cheaper - and, incidentally, grossly inferior - product.

I have received anecdotal over the last several months from area restaurateurs who say they are not exactly getting creamed in this stagnant economy, but that their numbers are off from those heady days of 2006-'07. But you know who has made a killing.

One of the ironies of working in the restaurant biz is that while you spend the evening serving NY strip steaks or foie gras, after your shift you generally make a run for the border.

Something, or someone, has been eating my tomatoes - but I'm pretty sure it's a critter because only the choicest bits of the tomatoes are getting sucked out, like a vegetarian vampire has been prowling my backyard.