Yet another fast food chain. I guess in America, all you have to do is to throw a rock and most likely you will hit some fast food joint. Quiznos's menu includes sandwiches, subs, salads, soups and the like. They even have a catering service. Furthermore, they have stores worldwide, so you can enjoy a Quiznos even if you are not in America! However, recently it seems that Quiznos' popularity has taken a nosedive and they have closed a number of stores. And worse still, they have been hit with serveral lawsuits.

Other than Chinese food, Pizzas are the next favourite food for Americans who love take-out. Or perhaps that is just delivery. We have come to love the ease of just picking up the phone and having food delivered to our location. And of course, we just love eating Pizzas in front of the TV. Domino's Pizza is an international chain of Pizza parlours and if I am not wrong, the second largest in the United States next to Pizza Hut. But I like Domino's Pizza better. Perhaps it is because the standard of Pizza Hut has dropped quite bit since I started mass consumption of the stuff. Or perhaps I am just tired of the same old menu. Domino's Pizza do offer a more diverse menu than Pizza Hut. Their lineup includes various pizzas with tons of different toppings and crusts, pasta, salads, sandwiches, chicken wings and desserts. My favourite is the Ultimate Pepperoni Feast. Oh, yes, they do delivery as well!

Sick of the regular burger? Sick of all the same types of fast food? Don't worry about not having your fast food fix - they have fast food Mexican style! What is better than that? Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, gorditas, chalupas and all those Mexican specialties and they are indeed different. But no matter what, fast food is still fast food, so don't expect like they are a authentic cuisine world's apart. You need to go to a real Mexican restaurant to enjoy that. If you never tried Mexican food before, Taco Bell's meny is an easy one to get to. They are meant for the mass market. Anyway, if you are interested, you should visit their website and take a look at their menu. Quite an interesting lineup of tacos and burritos if you ask me. They operate or franchise more than 5,800 restaurants in the United States alone and many more in other countries. Seems that Mexican food is becoming the favourite of many people nowadays. Very good thing, since I am starting to get sick of burgers and subs.

We love fast food. We also love Italian food. So why not combine both into a fantastic dining experience. Na, not even close and not even exactly Italian but hey, we got to compromise somewhere right? Pizza Hut is famous for the fast food style Pizza. And unlike real Italian Pizza, we get American Pizza which has tons and tons of toppings on top of the Pizza crust. I somehow prefer original Italian style Pizza because piling toppings high up in the air sort of defeats the purpose of eating Pizza. And the thick crust taste exactly like bread. If I want to eat thick slices of bread with tons of toppings with ketchup, might as well eat a burger. Anyway, Pizza Hut has over 34,000 restaurants and take-out kiosks in 100 countries. They are nearly as popular as McDonalds in this regard. Other than Pizzas, their sidedish includes pasta, wings, stuffed rollers, cheesesticks and so on. Yes, they do delivery as well. Which reputable Pizza joint doesn't do delivery? And if you can't get enough of Pizza Hut, they do catering as well.

Not to be confused with Hershey Creamery, this company deals primarily with chocolate. So if you love chocolate like me, you would surely have heard of this brand. Even if you are not really a fan of chocolate, you might have heard of their chocolate sauce used in many baking and dessert recipes. If not, then I can't help you at all. And I don't believe that there is anyone out there who doesn't like chocolate. It is so very delicious. And great chocolate do not need to be very sweet too. Basically Hershey's produces chocolate confectioneries. Their chocolate bars are stuff of legend. Now their range of chocolate delights include chocolate bars with almonds, cookies n' creme bars, chocolate drops, Hershey's nuggets, extra-dark chocolate, chocolate & candy, baking chocolate, chocolate syrup and milk shakes. They are one of the largest chocolate confectionery manufacturer in the world with over 13,000 employees. See, I told you chocolate is very popular.

Welcome to Ruth's Chris Steak House. Look around. Have a seat. If this is your first visit, prepare to taste the greatest steak you've ever eaten. When you visit Ruth's Chris, you soon understand that this is no ordinary restaurant. - 
Ruth's Chris Steak House

America is flooded with fast food chains and restaurants. If you throw a coin in any direction in America, the chances are you will hit someone in a fast food chain uniform. However, unlike most other fast food chains, Arby's speciality is Roast Beef Sandwiches. They tend to target the adults rather than the kids by offering a different menu, which would make sense since the children segment is overcrowded. Arby's menu includes salads, deli-style sandwiches, wraps and submarine sandwiches.  If you hate burgers, but love fast food, then their restaurants are the place for you. For the rest of us, come on, try something different for a change. Visit their site to read up on the interesting history of Arby's. 

The world famous mineral water producer. They are based in France and their mineral water is from the Evian-les-Bains region, which they claim is as pure as drinking water can be. And unlike most other brands, Evian is all about class. I am not sure whether Evian mineral water's quality is any better than the rest, but it sure is cool to drink Evian water. Even clubs and pubs serve Evian water. They have often portrayed Evian water as a health spring. But of course I doubt that Evian mineral water is seriously that great. Mineral water is just mineral water. The taste isn't going to be that different from the rest of the bottled mineral water out there.

It is all about tea! On Stash Tea, other than dropping them in the Boston Harbour at night, you can actually drink the delicious stuff. They carry all types of tea - white tea, green tea, black tea, oolong tea, herbal teas and so on. Check out their online catalogue for their full range of teas and accessories. If you love tea, you will be glad to visit their site. They started out as a small retailer selling to natural food stores in America and they have expanded operations to become one of the largest tea supplier in the entire United States. And they are available in Canada too. What could be more refreshing than a good cup of tea in the morning? Coffee? Na, other than the caffeine boost, I don't really like coffee. I will stick to tea.

My all-time favourite fast food restaurant. Can't get enough of Burger King's cheeseburgers, fries, chicken tenders, Whoopers, shakes and many of their wonderful delicious creations. Of course as fast food, they are unhealthy and disgustingly full of fats and what-so. But unless you are like me who spends half their waking hours eating fast food, don't worry about it. Burger King even has salad in their menu for those who like the green stuff. And you should check out their website under nutrition - it states clearly there that their food is not junk food. And they can be found nearly everywhere in America, not to mention in many parts of the world as well. Hopefully one day I can stop eating fast food, but they are so addictive. Everytime I drive pass a Burger King restaurant, I can't stop myself from going into their drive-thru and ordering some burgers and fries. If you are still craving for more, visit their site to check out their latest offerings on menu. And to find a restaurant near you, make use of their "store locator".

Wrigley is synonymous with chewing gum. You know, the little stick of gum which you pop into your mouth and you chew and chew till it tastes like leather and then you blow a bubble with it? After that just stick it under the chair. Yes, that one. Although they have many other flavours, the original ones are still my favourite. I will always carry  pack of Wrigley with me when I go out. It is like my mobile phone, can't leave home without it. And they claim that chewing gum is good for you. Don't believe me, visit their site and see for yourself. They claim that chewing gum can help remove food residue from the teeth. That is just amazing! For me, the reason why I like chewing gum is because it keeps my mouth occupied. If not, I would be shooting my mouth off to anyone that comes close to me. Actually very good for those grumpy old man, however chewing gum might be a problem for them since they don't have any teeth. Anyway, Wrigley do not just produce chewing gum, they have many other sweets and confectioneries available as well - Skittles, Life Savers, Eclipse and many more.

It is interesting to note that Kellogg's actually made famous the "toasted corn flakes" by adding sugar to it. This make it appeal more to the masses and thus began the biggest food craze ever seen. I love breakfast cereals although I have to admit I stopped taking them since I realized that breakfast does not need to be a boring thing. Yes it is convenient and easy to prepare - what is so difficult with just pouring out the cereals and adding milk to it? But after a while, I need more. Anyway, Kellogg's now has a wide range of cereals for sale - Rice Krispies, Special K, Toppers, Fiber Plus, Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes (my favourite!), Apple Jacks (also my favourite!), Honey Loops and many more. What most of us don't realize is that the cereal market is a very competitive one. If a product doesn't sell well in the first few months of launch, it is immediately taken off the shelf. So don't be surprised to see their product lineup changing pretty often. Usually the older types of cereals are the best sellers.

One word - poultry. And other types of meat. You might not know it, but most likely the sausage or that steak you are eating right now, it has been processed by some Tyson subsidiaries. They are the largest producer of meat and poultry in America and the second largest in the world. They are like the Mike Tyson of the meat world. Of course other than just meat produce, their product line includes processed (or so called value-added) meats like chicken franks, hotdogs, beef patties, sausages, ready-to-eat meals and other frozen or canned goods. And as with all big business, especially businesses dealing with processed foodstuff, they have their share of lawsuits and controversies. I don't understand why these people are so damn greedy, especially when we are talking about things which will affect their consumers' health. In my opinion, it will not only affect their reputation, it will affect the entire consumer confidence in the food industry on the whole.

Ahhh....baked beans! Probably one of the most popular foods when we were growing up. Every parent in the house would be stuffing our faces with baked beans. Why? No, not because it is healthy or nutritious but because it was easy to prepare. If you can open a can, you can "make" baked beans. And yes, tomato ketchup. The most loved in the world. You will have to admit, everything goes well with ketchup. Of course Heinz produces much more than just baked beans (which taste horrible by the way). Their product lineup includes tomato ketchup, frozen potatoes, pickles, baby foods, snacks, slimming foods, ready-to-make meals and so on. Wow, I didn't realize that they have some many other brands but this is to be expected from a multi-national company. If they don't expand, they would probably be bought over by some other major company. Don't you just love food capitalism? Sadly, it might not be us consumers who benefits from all these though. We might get a lot of choices, but the intense competition forces them to cut corners.

Sara Lee reminds all of us of their famous sponge cake. You know - the way the Sara Lee cake is cut so easily and smoothly....ahh...I think I might just be heading down to my supermaket to get some delicious cake for myself. Sara Lee is one of the most endearing brands, especially when you are a houswife or you are kid growing up in the 1990s. Their homely image made their a very popular brand then. It is all about marketing here. They produce a number of frozen and packaged foodstuff like cakes, breads, jams, spreads, beverages, frozen oven-ready meals and so on. Your kitchen probably contains at least a few of their products. However, it is interesting to note that even with their "homely" image, they do have a track record of not following regulations, even after they were caught. I don't know about you, then that would make me think twice about buying their products. Big corporations dealing with food nowadays seriously frightens me.

This is one of the world's most famous ice-cream chain. Their hallmark is the numerous flavours they offer to their customers. I remembered in the past when they had this "31 flavours" slogan which was just so wonderful at that time. Most ice-cream parlours sell only a few types of flavours. Not only that, they allowed you to test the flavours first. So you get this very famous little pink spoon where a small amount of ice-cream is placed for your sampling. Of course nowadays, it is very commonplace. So now Baskin-Robbins offers even more ice-cream flavours including classic ones like mint chocolate chip, very berry strawberry and oreo cookies & cream as well as other flavours like cotton candy, baseball nut, winter white chocolate, love potion #31 and many many more. They also serve sundaes, beverages and cakes. They have over 5,800 stores in over 30 countries. What can I say, everyone loves ice-cream.

If you don't like your ice-cream too hard or firm (aka you are just too old), then surely soft-serve ice-cream should be to your liking right? Even those people without any teeth will find it no problem eating soft-serve ice-cream. And Dairy Queen is one of the pioneers of soft-serve ice-cream. They have been making and selling them since 1938! Now, they not only sell soft-serve ice-cream, they also sell burgers, sandwiches, hotdogs and fries. They even have this ice-cream "blend" where they combine soft-serve ice-cream with toppings, cookies or even candies. In other words, they are some sort of a fast food and ice-cream franchise. Looking at their menu with all those burgers and delicious looking ice-cream, I understand why they are so popular. They have over 5,700 stores in over 19 countries. It is interesting to note that they are also one of the pioneers of "franchising".

What is the most common thing everyone do when they wake up in the morning? No, it is not brushing their teeth. No, it is not make their bed. It is actually have a cup of Joe. Coffee makes the world go round. Without it, judging from the huge amounts of coffee we take each morning, most of us cannot function. Sure, it is mainly that drug called caffeine that is what we are actually craving for, but who cares right? Nescafe is one of the biggest manufacturer of instant coffee in the world. Instant as in crap tasting. And if it wasn't "instant", they probably won't be that famous and popular anyway. Even though we love coffee, if it takes a lot of effort to make a cup, then we will always look for alternatives. And Nescafe has a huge variety of instant coffee as well - Gold Blend, Black Gold, Alta Rica, Classic, Decaff, Suraya and so on. Hey, even if it taste like crap, consumers still want some to pretend the coffee they are buying from the supermarket is "premium".

No, they are not a subsidy of Blackberry nor do they make mobile devices at all. Technology and gadgets? Who needs them when we have delicious desserts on the menu? And what is better dessert than frozen yogurts? Eating them makes you feel less guilty than when you bite into that sinful deep dark chocolate mousse right? Anyway Pink Berry makes one of the best tasting frozen yogurts in the world. Well, I am not too sure about the world but from the numerous frozen yogurts I have tasted, they rank pretty high. Our very unique menu includes Pomegranate, Chocolate, Mango, Coconut and Green Tea frozen yogurts that comes with fresh fruits toppings as well as other dry and liquid toppings. Oh, they have this Fresh Fruit Parfait which looks so delightful. Visit their website and find out more about their yogurt. Before I forget, all their frozen yogurts are made from non-fat milk, so you do not need to worry about getting chubby from eating too much of their yogurt. You should instead stop eating too much burgers and fries.

Human's best invention to date is the snack food. Snack food used to be a small piece of bread with some jam or a slice of cheese in-between but now there is a huge range of snack foods available. And sadly,most of them are not healthy. You have fries, potato chips (the favourite of nearly everyone I know), popcorn, biscuits, tortilla chips and so on. Mostly full of saturated fats, salts and even sugar. And we just might eat too much of such snacks that even proper meals are affected. That is too bad. Anyway, Frito-Lay holds some of the worlds famous brands in snack foods - Doritos, Cheetos, Lay's, Ruffles, Cracker Jack, Baked and many many more. You can easily find them in the supermarkets as nowadays buying snack foods is the norm. All you have to do is to check out those shopping carts and you will most likely spot some snack foods in them. But honestly, I think a little snack food is okay. Just that I believe we are conusming too many foods with saturated foods and too much salt in them.