The Daily Dish: Spain Loses Mafia-Themed Restaurants After Italy Complains
Spain Loses Mafia-Themed Restaurants After Italy Complains
A Spanish restaurant chain called La Mafia is being forced by the European Union to rebrand following complaints from the Italian government, which objected to the use of the name of the criminal organization. According to The Local, the Italians have been trying to get the restaurant to change its name on the grounds that it was "contrary to accepted principles of morality." Several members of the Italian parliament complained that the glamorization and commercialization of the Mafia's name was distasteful. The restaurant chain and Spanish authorities had rejected the complaints, but this week the EU's Office for Intellectual Property officially sided with Italy, which means the chain will have to find a new name.
Tipsy Drinkers Leave Car at Bar, Come Back to Find a Present
Earlier this week, a couple drinking at a Canadian bar decided they'd had too much to safely drive home and instead took an Uber. According to Today, Paula Schultz was expecting to get in trouble for having left her car in the parking lot of Original Joe's in Calgary. When she arrived the next day to pick it up, she found a note on the car, but instead of a scolding, the note thanked her for being responsible and offered her a free pound of chicken wings next time she came to the restaurant. Restaurant manager Jay McLean has been handing out rewards to responsible drinkers for a year and a half in the hopes that it will encourage more people to find other rides home when they've had too much to drink.
Woman Files $20M Suit Against KFC for False Advertising
Food photography is a complicated art, and everyone knows that the pictures in advertisements don't bear a huge resemblance to what the food actually looks like. One New York woman apparently didn't realize this, and she was so angry when she saw the chicken in her KFC bucket that she's now suing the chain for $20 million. According to the New York Post, Anna Wurtzburger thought her $20 bucket of chicken would be "overflowing," the way it looks in KFC commercials. "They say it feeds the whole family ... They're showing a bucket that's overflowing with chicken," she told the Post. "You get half a bucket! That's false advertising, and it doesn't feed the whole family." Wurtzburger reportedly hired a lawyer and is suing the company. She's reportedly seeking $20 million in damages, but the company says the suit is without merit.
Japan Gets Magic Love Apples for Halloween
Halloween is not known for being the most romantic holiday, but love might be in the air for some magically inclined romantics in Japan, who can buy special apples that claim to have actual magic powers. According to Rocket News 24, Japan's Black Cat Magic Shop is selling magic love apples called Poison Apples of Love's Desire for $105 apiece. Purchasers are advised to recite an incantation over the apple while imagining the person whose love they desire. Either the spell-caster or the object of the spell-caster's affection is then meant to eat the apple, at which point he or she will reportedly experience magic-induced affection. The site does not address the morality of using magic to force a person to fall in love, but it does say the apples work just as well baked into pie as eaten raw.
This Popular British Candy Is Coming to America
Maltesers are coming to America. For decades, the U.K. has had a chocolate chip on its shoulder about the quality of British sweets over American candies. There was even serious outcry over the decreased quality of now-American-owned British Cadbury crème eggs last year. The Mars-owned British Maltesers will be available in the United States starting January 2017, Brand Eating reported. These chocolate-covered malted ball candies may be similar to Hershey's Whoppers, but confectionary fans will note the texture and taste differences. Maltesers are already available online and in select movie theaters, but they will arrive on grocery and convenience store shelves after New Year's.