• McDonald's finds cross-border success with Canada videos
  A series of online videos from McDonald's answering food-related questions from Canadian consumers has found success beyond the country's borders. "The way that social media is, each area of the world [McDonald's is in] is able to launch something and other areas can benefit," said Heather Oldani, senior director of external communications for McDonald's USA. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (8/20)      

• NYC drops program that put chefs in school kitchens
  The New York City Department of Education has dropped a program started by the nonprofit Wellness in the Schools that brought in professional chefs to create healthier school lunch menus, saying the program didn't meet new federal nutrition standards. The group and the chefs, including Gramercy Tavern executive chef Michael Anthony, said they plan to remain involved with the schools to promote better nutrition. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (8/17)      

• Fatz aims for younger crowd with updated look
  Casual restaurant chain Fatz has created an updated prototype that moves away from the 24-year-old chain's mountain lodge look to a cleaner look aimed at appealing to the millennial generation. The company has completed the update at two stores and aims to eventually roll it out to all 48. Restaurant Management online (8/17)      

• Other News

• Atlanta-based BIP acquires Tropical Smoothie chain
  FastCasual.com (8/17)      

• Subway to open 1st all-vegetarian eatery in India
  The Times of India (8/17)      

• Tracking the latest trends in social media
  Democrats are more likely to be active on Twitter, three-quarters of Americans are unfamiliar with the concept of the mobile check-in, and more than half of U.S. consumers now have a profile on a social media site, according to this list from Edison Research. FastCasual.com (8/17)      

• Fieri: Overcoming setbacks on the way to your dream
  Listen to your customers and understand how they perceive your restaurant, advises restaurateur turned Food Network star Guy Fieri. Fieri learned that lesson the hard way, after the chop house that replaced his popular Johnny Garlic's concept failed to take off. Entrepreneur online (8/17)      

• Aluminum cans and the BPA debate
  Much of the debate about bisphenol A has centered on plastic baby bottles and sippy cups, but some companies, including Campbell Soup, have decided to phase out the use of BPA in material lining the inside of cans. Still, other companies, such as Coca-Cola, have decided to make no change regarding the use of BPA. The FDA said this year that in-depth studies show the chemical is safe. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Food & Beverage (8/20)      

• New ways to pay for your meal by phone
  From mobile delivery and takeout sites such as GrubHub to money transfer services like PayPal to Google Wallet and Square, consumers have more options than ever for using their mobile phones to pay for restaurant meals. Mashable (8/18)      

• Report: Where the wealthy go to eat
  Wealthy consumers don't necessarily opt for upscale eateries, and many among the country's high-income workers are driving the trend toward healthier, higher-quality fast-casual fare, according to Technomic. Convenient locations and fresh ingredients matter more than price, as do recommendations from friends and the ability to try experimental and ethnic flavors. Forbes (8/17)      

• Tenn. hospitals are part of healthier foods trend
  Tennessee hospitals such as Centennial Medical Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Baptist and Saint Thomas are part of the national trend of offering healthier cafeteria foods. Some hospitals still rent space to fast-food outlets, however, saying it is important to offer diversity and noting some restaurants offer healthier salad bars and menu items. The Tennessean (Nashville) (8/18)      

Top five news stories selected by Restaurant SmartBrief readers in the past week.

McDonald's goes bigger with boxes of chicken (Business Insider)

How Taco Bell got a taste for innovation (Slate)

Why Chipotle won't rush to replace people with iPads (USA TODAY)

Shoney's tries its hand at fast casual (BurgerBusiness.com)

	The Greene Turtle wraps up rebranding (Restaurant Management online)
Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

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