Food & drink

Food & drink

It's called the Wait App, and it's online at thewaitapp.com The app was created by an unidentified developer and is not affiliated with the Irvine-based food chain. It uses crowdsourcing to track both drive-thru and walk-in wait times at the new restaurants in Antioch, Lebanon and Murfreesboro, all in suburban Nashville. At 11:30 a.m. CST on Tuesday, Dec. 22, the app showed drive-thru wait times of 27-36 minutes and 23-44 minutes for walk-in diners.

When it first reaches you, the idea of seafood is one of cleanliness. Maybe it's the associated freshness of the ocean, or its reputation as a healthy food. However, underneath upscale presentations or coastal dreaming, there is a complex and opaque part of the global food system at work, and it's not always at the front of mind when shopping for fish and seafood.

Even with all the information at our fingertips, something as essential as eating healthy can seem like a complex formula to master - but it really doesn't have to be. That's why Tasting Table spoke to Destini Moody, RD, CSSD, LD at Live It Up superfoods, to find out how to easily craft a complete meal. "I always tell my clients that you want every meal to have a protein, a healthy carb, and some sort of fruit or veggie," she said.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Portola Valley is now home to a new Japanese restaurant, Hibari, offering kappo-style dining. Kappo, which means cut and cook, refers to a multi-course meal where the menu is up to the chef. Think omakase-style, but with dishes that go beyond sushi. It's often considered less formal than other omakase formats, with the chef passing dishes to diners over the counter.

The restaurant's first-ever brunch service will include a Big Mac mantou (a steamed bun with cheesy beef, onions, kimchi, and Russian dressing), a McRib bao (a bao bun made with pork rib and Chinese barbecue sauce), a Filet o Fish bao (fried fish on a bao with American cheese), and more whimsical fast food creations. There will also be drag performances and cocktails.

Dirty sodas - customizable drinks that combine regular soda with flavored syrups, cream, and surprising add-ins - have become the new drink of choice for many Americans. The early version of dirty soda was created to fill a void for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who refrain from drinking coffee and alcohol due to their religious beliefs. However, what started as a local Utah phenomenon has since exploded into a nationwide, viral beverage takeover.

When it opened last fall, Somerville immediately became one of the city's toughest reservations. The first fine-dining concept from partners Ajay Relan, Yonnie Hagos and Issa Rae of Good Vibes Only (GVO) hospitality group, the glitzy supper club is a sepia-toned tribute to South-Central, named in honor of the Central Avenue hotel where musicians like Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday once stayed while touring jazz and blues clubs along the busy thoroughfare. This month, it was ranked on The Times' 101 Best Restaurants guide.

At 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday, every seat is taken at the Original Red Onion in Rolling Hills Estates, deep in the Palos Verdes Peninsula. As 20 parties wait for tables, a steady stream of takeout orders flows through the kitchen, and bustling bar patrons hold generously poured jalapeño mezcal margaritas that spill down the green cactus-shaped stems. Throughout the restaurant's multiple rooms, servers maneuver rolling carts of carne asada and saucy enchiladas between tables while they empty and refill chip baskets and salsa bowls.

The culinary essence of the festive season is a kind of sanctioned chaos. Never mind that, from one angle, Christmas is mostly just rigidly observed collective food traditions and grown adults dying on the hill of whether yorkshire puddings should be served with turkey. I don't think I ever really feel that warming yuletide rush until I have turned a disparate assemblage of leftovers into what, to the casual observer,

Instead of a half chocolate and vanilla frozen custard, you get a couple of scoops of vanilla custard with an ounce of fudge sauce. That thick and concentrated chocolate sauce gives your shake a rich and decadent flavor. One Redditor stated that it tasted like a "melted milk chocolate bar and is the best ever!" Our taste tester agreed. "That vanilla custard gives the shake an ultra-creamy, mellow foundation while the fudge brings in a deep, silky chocolate note."

These little terrines are filled with a rich and silky chocolate custard that is best prepared one day in advance of serving, making them ideal for entertaining and cooking for a crowd. This classic recipe relies on a short list of ingredients and demands a high-quality dark chocolate to deliver its rich, deep flavor. It's fortified with a splash of orange liqueur that faintly perfumes the custard.

This recipe started as a plain cheesecake that my mother began making in the 80s and has evolved into a flavorful and versatile one that can be used with any flavor or add-in! I like to get creative around the occasion or holiday I make it for.

Indeed, in January, the Atlantic's Ellen Cushing declared that America is in a party deficit, quoting a 2023 Bureau of Labor Statistics report that found only 4.1% of Americans attended or hosted a social event on an average holiday weekend. That figure was down a whopping 35% since 2004. Maybe the pandemic is to blame. Or the loneliness epidemic. Or smartphones.

If you're a fan of Wendy's Frostys, you know this ultra-thick dessert usually comes topped off with a lid. But did you know that there's a Wendy's hack that involves ordering a Frosty without a lid? It's common sense once you realize why. When there's a lid, employees leave a bit of space so that the Frosty doesn't overflow when they put the lid on.

Earlier this month, when a sudden swirl of social media rumors began to suggest that the polarizing bakery chain was closing down, some of the online reactions were downright gleeful. "Too sweet and too expensive!" went one typical comment. The chatter was so loud that Crumbl cofounder Sawyer Hemsley took to TikTok to dispel the rumor, explaining that the fast-growing chain is just moving offices as it prepares for its next wave of expansion.

Internet fans have famously dubbed Diet Coke the unofficial "fridge cigarette" - and it is in this spirit that we invite readers to indulge in a proverbial smoke break and consider the soft drink's impostors. In Tasting Table's ranking of five Diet Coke copycat sodas, Sam's Diet Cola fell to last place. It's ultra-affordable, but by our count, it doesn't get the job done.

It's no secret anymore: Moms are the magic-makers-in-chief when it comes to the holidays. And with so much on our minds, from dinner menus to gift lists and everything in between, we'll take any little easy shortcuts we can get, thanks. These TikTok holiday hacks are perfect for just that - and they actually work. No, these are not the weird "hacks" that make you roll your eyes at the internet these days.

The Scottish whisky market has slipped into a supply glut as US tariffs and falling demand weigh on the country's distilleries. Global scotch sales fell 3% in the first half of 2025, marking the third consecutive year of decline after decades of growth, according to the alcohol data provider IWSR. The slowdown comes as distilleries grapple with uncertainty around Donald Trump's trade tariffs, as well as declining rates of alcohol consumption.

Space City is a cultural melting pot, with hundreds of nationalities represented in its 2.3 million inhabitants, an extraordinary diversity that is reflected in the city's exciting culinary scene. From Viet-Cajun spots in Chinatown to family-owned Tex-Mex joints and Michelin-starred restaurants, there is just so much to discover and enjoy when it comes to dining in Houston. And now, the newly opened Dirty Dawgs food truck has captured the attention of residents with its gourmet halal hot dogs served on Hawaiian rolls.

In the age of boring bowls, Ope Amosu's ChopnBlok in Houston brings a welcome jolt of flavor, energy and joy. One of my favorite dishes was the red stew, made from a base of peppers and onions with this kind of smoky fluorescence from palm oil, and it's served with sweet, chewy plantains and a heap of rice and beans.

If you're hungry or coming with a friend, order the falafel plate special ($12). It is one of the best value meals in town. The hearty dish comes with five pieces of crispy, hot falafel, on herb basmati rice with a sidecar of dill sauce. A small Shepherd's Salad arrives on the side, a mix of romaine lettuce, dates, goat cheese, pecans, and roasted corn tossed in a honey-Dijon vinaigrette.

"LA's so casual," Sonenshein says. "This is still a casual spot in a lot of ways - you can wear jeans and come in for lunch and whatever - but I think we're treating service really like a craft. We have felt how special it feels as the diner. And I think we started to see this as an opportunity for ourselves."

Brooklyn bistro Chez Ma Tante's Jake Leiber reportedly signed a 4,437-square-foot ground-floor lease at 555 Greenwich Street in Hudson Square, NY Post reports. It's new construction (finished in 2023) with a history: The 6.5-million-square-foot Hudson Square Portfolio is made up of 13 buildings, including 555 Greenwich, and sits on land originally bestowed to New York City's Trinity Church in 1705 by Queen Anne of Great Britain.

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. When it comes to blurring the line between food and art, few cuisines achieve that quite like Italian. A seemingly endless variety of pastas and sauces combine to create plates that are like a hug passed through the generations, and there's no denying that the worst day can be made a little bit better with a hearty Italian meal.

The Cheesecake Factory is known for its tome-like menu, marvelous food options, and, of course, popular namesake desserts. With so many sweet treats to choose from, it's hard to imagine any of the many Cheesecake Factory cheesecake flavors falling short. Unfortunately, one decadent offering failed to measure up under the scrutiny of Tasting Table's review. Albeit a delightful confection on its own, the Cinnabon Cinnamon Swirl Cheesecake is worth omitting from your next dessert order.

It took one bite into the massive fried chicken leg from Jonas Koh's food stall to know that he is doing it right. The leg -the biggest I've ever seen in my years of eating Singapore's hawker fare- was crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside, and coated in spices without being overpowering. The onion and chili sambal paste on the side, Koh's pride and joy, added spice and sweetness to the dish.

It's one of those cocktails that continuously gets ordered.