The Internet is abuzz today with a video originally posted on Myspace that shows an employee of a Burger King in Xenia, Ohio bathing in the restaurant sink as other employees watch.

In the video you can hear the teenager exclaim, “It’s my birthday, and I’m taking a bath in the sink at Burger King. Somebody bring me a beer!”

The local Health Commissioner Mark McDonnell was emailed the video and is obviously not amused claiming “any bacteria on his skin could have been deposited giving people food poisoning”.  Um…yum.

Making this story even more bizarre is the fact that the person filming the video tells the manager what’s going on and the manager just continues counting cash out of the register.

Officials at Burger King Corp. were obviously notified and are compiling with health officials.  All employees involved have been fired.

Below is the video from WHIO in Dayton.

Good luck not thinking about this the next time you eat at Burger King.  But hey, at least the boy bathes.

For a Florida man, a spicy Italian sub just wasn’t the same without the right condiments.  In fact, they were so important to Reginald Peterson, he called 911 not once, but twice after a Subway worker left mustard and mayo off his sandwich.

According to the Associated Press, Peterson called the emergency number so that officers could have his sub made correctly.  He then called back when officers didn’t arrive quickly enough.

When the officers finally made it to the “scene”, they tried to explain the appropriate use of 911 but Peterson wasn’t having it. Needless to say, he was arrested on a charge of making a fake 911 call.

Here’s a CNN video about the news story that is pretty funny.  Hey, fast food is important people.

We thought we’d bring you some industry news this morning.

Some of you may have heard about Taco Bell’s latest ad campaign where they were offering rapper 50 Cent $10,000 toward the charity of his choice if he’d change his name to either 79, 89 or 99 cents and then rap his order at a Taco Bell.

Apparently 50 Cent wasn’t amused as he is now suing the company for using his name without permission in their advertising.

The rapper’s lawyer is claiming 50 Cent (his real name is Curtis Jackson) knew nothing about the campaign until he saw a news report about it.  Now he is suing the company for, well, a lot of cents.

According to Reuters, the lawsuit alleges that “many customers believed that 50 Cent had agreed to endorse Taco Bell’s products. Indeed, postings on numerous Internet ‘blogs’ castigated 50 Cent for ’selling out’ by his apparent endorsement of Taco Bell.”

You can read more about the lawsuit here.

Note to self: when thinking of new ad campaigns for Krystal, don’t try to capitalize off a rapper, especially one who has been shot nine times and is still alive.

Chainleader.com writer Lane Cardwell recently posted an interesting story about the restaurant industry and portion size trends. In particular, Cardwell discusses T.G.I.Friday’s Right Portion, Right Price Menu, which the chain debuted almost a year ago.

According to Cardwell (and everyone else in the industry), Friday’s took a huge risk in “offering menu items that are one third smaller for one third less price”. While this may seem like a no-brainer, apparently it was a crazy move by Friday’s.

In fact, the restaurant chain issued a press release in May on the anniversary of the Right Portion menu addition which said, “A year ago, the industry thought we were nuts when we announced smaller portions at lower prices across the menu, all day every day. They said it was a crazy idea and it would not work.”

The post goes on to describe how industry insiders reacted when Friday’s first made the announcement a year ago and how smaller chains are finally jumping on the bandwagon. It’s an interesting read, and you can check out the entire article here.

Thankfully portion size has never been an issue for Krystal.

A product development company in Australia has created a color-changing lid that alerts coffee (and tea) drinkers when their beverage is too hot.

The lid changes from a dark coffee color to a bright red when the lid is applied. As the drink cools, the color of the lid changes back to a dark color. The smart lid also indicates whether or not the lid is properly attached to the cup.

FINALLY!

We had T-shirts that changed colors with heat in the late ’80s - so it’s about time someone developed a coffee lid that does the same.

Elizabeth Lee, food and drink writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, reviewed Krystal’s Banana Pudding and Reese’s Peanut Butter MilkQuake. She then compared the drinks to Wendy’s new Frosty Shake and Chick-fil-A’s Coffee Caramel Milkshake.

How did it, um, shake out? We’ll just let Lee do the talking:

“Our favorite is Krystal’s MilkQuake, an ice-cream-based shake. The new, limited-time flavors are Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, which was the testers’ favorite, and Banana Pudding, a frothy concoction with bits of Nilla wafers blended in. (Vanilla, chocolate and strawberry are also available.)

There are some things you can’t fake, and a milkshake is one of them. When they’re made with real ice cream, they taste better. That’s why these stand out. Good-quality mix-ins also boost the appeal.”

And what about Wendy’s Frosty Shake? Well, Lee claims the shake “tasted harsh and artificial”.

As far as Chick-fil-A’s Coffee Caramel Milkshake, Lee compares the flavor to that of “Quik-Trip’s Frozen Cappuccino, creamy with a mild coffee flavor.” She goes on to say, “It’s pleasant enough at first, but the highly sweetened drink wears out its welcome after a few sips.”

So there you have it. We always knew Krystal’s MilkQuakes rocked, but thanks to Lee’s review, we think it’s safe to say the MilkQuake officially rules.

Click to see how the MilkQuake is made.

In light of the recent salmonella outbreak the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has linked to eating certain raw red plum, red Roma and red round tomatoes, The Krystal Company wants to assure its guests that only grape tomatoes, which the FDA has deemed safe for consumption, are used on Krystal menu items in all locations.

In addition, Krystal does not use any tomatoes distributed by suppliers that are currently under investigation by the FDA.

Therefore, Krystal Lovers may continue enjoying tomatoes on menu items such as the Krystal Chik Club, the Crispy Chik’n Salad, the full-sized B.A. Burger, the Double B.A. Burger as well as the Southwestern Scrambler and Squarito, which are available in select markets.

For more information about the FDA tomato warning, click here.

First it was this. Now Taco Bell is advertising a new drink called the Frutista FREEZE. It’s a FROZEN, SLUSH-looking beverage, which appears to be similar to our own Krystal FREEZE (except the Frutista is only available in two flavors - strawberry and mango.)

We also have no idea what Taco Bell’s Frutista Freeze is made with (a Krystal Freeze contains premium, gourmet flavorings made with pure cane sugar).

We do, however, find it curious they left out the “i” before the “t” so as not to spell “fruit”. Hmmm.

Here’s Taco Bell’s Frutista Freeze site. It’s nice and all, but too bad it doesn’t make us want the drink as much as it makes us want a vacation.

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it twice - imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and after seeing this article we’re flattered…again.

It appears as though a fast food company (ahem, Burger King we’re looking at you) is “rolling out what it claims to be the first burger made for sharing”. Called the 6 Pack, the meal consists of one big Aberdeen Angus patty inside six rolls, stuck together to allow consumers to tear off portions.

Perhaps the Burger King got this idea after his recent visit to Krystal? We’re pretty sure he ordered a Sackful, which Krystal created in 1932 for the sole purpose of sharing with family and friends. Or, could it have been a large order of Krystal Pups or the Mix ‘n Match Combo that inspired the King’s new concept? All we know is Krystal has been in the business of creating food to share for over 75 years now, so we’re actually a little surprised it has taken another company this long.

Now the 6 Pack is only being rolled out in the UK, Spain and Germany, so those of us in the U.S. won’t get a look at the new burger. That’s alright though, if you’re in the mood for some food sharing, just head on over to Krystal — not only will you be able to choose between burgers, Chiks and Pups to share, but you won’t have to bother with tearing them apart like you do with BK’s 6 Pack.

And you know, we shouldn’t be surprised by this latest creation of the Burger King’s. This isn’t the first time he’s used Krystal as a source of inspiration. Take a gander at this. Yeah, it’s Burger King’s FryPod, the container he “invented” to make enjoying fries on-the-go easy and convenient. You know, one that fits perfectly inside your car’s cup holder. Sound familiar? Yeah, it’s just like the fry container Krystal has been using for years and years. Curious, don’t you think? What’s next King? Breakfast menu items stacked in a bowl so that you can mix them together or enjoy layer by layer? Don’t even think about it.

We recently learned that POPAI, the global association for at-market retail, has awarded Krystal with the Bronze Award for the innovative digital menu boards in use at the company’s drive-in concept restaurant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

We’ll tell you more about the cool, retro Krystal Drive-In later this week, as it’s possible more of these could pop up around the South, but in the photo at the right, you can see that this isn’t your ordinary menu board.

In addition to keeping with the ’50s tradition of drive-in eating (you know, where you relax and enjoy your food while sitting in your car), Krystal wanted to enhance the experience by adding in some modern day luxuries.

So, they added a TV to the menu boards. That’s right. You can pull up, order your favorite Krystal menu items, chill out and chow down while watching TV in your car. The TV broadcasts a live feed from the Chattanooga area, and audio is piped through a specific station on your car’s FM radio.

**Claps** No wonder they won the award.

Don’t forget to check in later this week, as we’ll tell you more about the cool features at the Krystal Drive-In. Here’s a hint: watching TV isn’t the only thing you can do in your car.