McDonald's has ended its custom-burger menu test called "Create Your Taste" in the US and replaced it with a new version called "Signature Crafted Recipes," the company confirmed to Business Insider. 

"Create Your Taste" allowed customers to build burgers from more than 30 premium ingredients, buns, and sauces, including bacon, caramelized grilled onions, chili lime tortilla strips, guacamole, and jalapenos.

Customers ordered the burgers from touch-screen kiosks inside McDonald's restaurants.

It was arguably the biggest menu change for McDonald's in more than 40 years, since the introduction of breakfast. Many franchisees invested roughly $125,000 per location to install the "Create Your Taste" kiosks in their restaurants. 

But within the last month, it suddenly began disappearing from restaurant menus from San Francisco to New York, Business Insider learned based on information from more than half a dozen McDonald's locations across the US.

McDonald's spokeswoman Becca Hary confirmed the change.

"CreateYourTaste was a test, which we used as the name for customizable burgers in select cities," Hary told Business Insider. "McDonald’s is now testing a customizable burger platform under the name 'Signature Crafted Recipes.'"

"Create Your Taste" began rolling out in select states in late 2014 and started expanding nationally the following year.

Customers liked ordering from kiosks and personalizing their food, according to McDonald's. And the burgers got largely positive feedback in online reviews. 

In mid-2015, the company said it had plans to roll out "Create Your Taste" to 2,000 restaurants nationwide, or roughly one in seven of McDonald's more than 14,000 restaurants in the US. At the time, it was available in seven states.

But there were a few problems with "Create Your Taste." Some customers complained that the burgers were too expensive and took too long to cook.

Business Insider’s Hollis Johnson tested the program at a New York City McDonald’s and paid $10 for a burger with bacon, tomato, onions, cheddar cheese, guacamole, and two sauces, along with sides of fries and a drink. That’s about twice the cost of a Big Mac meal. His meal took eight minutes to prepare. 

Some franchisees also complained about the cost of the program, and said it slowed down kitchen operations and targeted an upscale customer that McDonald's shouldn't be going after.

McDonald's decision to get rid of the full "Create Your Taste" menu and replace it with "Signature Crafted Recipes" should help solve some of these issues.

"Signature Crafted Recipes" has fewer options for customization than "Create Your Taste" with bundled toppings that should make it easier for kitchens to handle. The company started testing it earlier this year.

"Our customers appreciate the additional choices and the control of being able to order from kiosks," Hary said. "We’re always testing and looking at new ideas and concepts to provide our customers with a great restaurant experience."

The Signature Crafted menu allows customers to choose from one of three proteins — beef, buttermilk crispy chicken, or grilled chicken — and one of four topping bundles: maple bacon Dijon, deluxe, buffalo bacon, and pico guacamole. A sriracha topping bundle is also available at some restaurants. 

The menu is available to order from the touch-screen kiosks that were used for "Create Your Taste."

SEE ALSO: McDonald’s made a major change to its nuggets, and now sales are soaring

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When you head to a restaurant, you might have your heart — or stomach — set on a particular dish.

Or, you might be a little more open to suggestion.

That's the opportunity menu engineers and consultants are looking for. Behind the scenes, before you're even thinking of dinner, they put careful thought into the way you choose what foods you eat.

Here are 11 of the sneakiest psychological tricks restaurants use to make you spend more money:

SEE ALSO: 9 tips to save money on food, from the woman who wrote the book on eating for $4 a day

1. They don't use dollar signs

A dollar sign is one of the top things restaurants should avoid including on a menu, because it immediately reminds the customers that they're spending money.

According to research from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, guests given a menu without dollar signs spent significantly more than those who received a menu with them. Guests spent less even when the prices were written out with words instead of numbers, such as "ten dollars," which still triggered the negative feelings associated with paying.

2. They are tricky with their numbers

Menu designers recognize that prices that end in 9, such as $9.99, tend to signify value but not quality. In addition, prices that end in .95 instead of .99 are more effective because they feel "friendlier" to customers. Most restaurants just leave the price without any cents at all because it makes their menu cleaner, simpler, and to the point.

3. They use extremely descriptive language

Research from Cornell University revealed that items described in a more beautiful way are more appealing to and popular with customers. According to further research from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, descriptive menu labels raised sales by 27%, compared with food items without descriptors.

On an NBC "Today" show interview, menu engineer Gregg Rapp poses an example of Maryland-style crab cakes. They are described as "made by hand, with sweet jumbo crab meat, a touch of mayonnaise, our secret blend of seasonings, and golden cracker crumbs for a rich, tender crab cake." This brings the ultimate sensory experience to the reader, and the descriptive labeling will make customers more likely to be satisfied at the end of the meal.

Interestingly, brand names in menu descriptions also help sales, which is why chain restaurants such as T.G.I. Friday's use Jack Daniel's sauce or Minute Maid orange juice on their menus. The more adjectives, the better.

The ex-wife of former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle is speaking out about what it was like to discover her husband was a pedophile.

Katie McLaughlin told "CBS This Morning" in a new interview that she "knew nothing about his involvement" in sex crimes against minors until the FBI came knocking at the door of their home in Zionsville, Indiana — which they shared with their two young children — last year.

"That's how I found out," McLaughlin said. "They walked in, and you're just in shock."

When asked whether she understood what was going on at the time, she said, "No. No, I didn't understand any of it, to be honest. I mean you just — you float out of yourself because the FBI shouldn't be in your house."

McLaughlin is now suing Subway, alleging the company knew about Fogle's sexual interest in children since 2004 but never did anything to address it.

The lawsuit says Subway was notified at least three times about Fogle's "sexual interest in and activity with children" but kept featuring him in ads and did not notify authorities.

Fogle was convicted and sentenced last year to nearly 16 years in prison for traveling across state lines for sex with a minor and receiving and distributing child pornography. He's serving his sentence at a federal penitentiary in Colorado.

McLaughlin and Fogle married in 2010 and had two children together, now 3 and 5 years old. She filed for divorce last year after Fogle pleaded guilty to the charges, and she now has sole custody of their children.

McLaughlin told CBS that her husband had "two lives."

"You know, he was home with the kids and I in one life, and he was out on the road in a different life, and he was able to keep those two very separate in a way that I couldn't even fathom," she said.

Subway has declined to comment on McLaughlin's lawsuit.

Watch McLaughlin's interview with CBS:

SEE ALSO: Jared Fogle's ex-wife is suing Subway, alleging that it ignored complaints about his sexual interest in children

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McDonald's is finally gearing up to launch mobile order-and-pay technology, meaning customers will be able to order and pay for their food from their smartphones, the company told Business Insider.

The technology will start rolling out next year in the US and international lead markets, which include Australia, Canada, France, and the UK, McDonald's spokeswoman Becca Hary said. 

By 2018, it will be available at 20,000 to 25,000 restaurants worldwide, she said.

Mobile ordering has been a big boon for the fast-food industry. But McDonalds, the biggest fast-food chain in the world, has curiously lagged its peers in adopting the new technology.

Companies like Starbucks and Chick-fil-A have seen massive success by offering the service.

It benefits both customers and restaurant chains by cutting down on customer wait times and improving order accuracy, among other advantages.

McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook talked about mobile ordering in July 2015, saying that in the future customers may be able to order ahead with the chain's app and when they arrive to pick up their food, the restaurant will be notified of their arrival via geo-location services tied to their phones.

Then the burger chain starting testing mobile ordering earlier this year at 22 locations in Columbus, Georgia, but later ended the test, according to Ad Age.

McDonald's has missed out on a big opportunity by lagging its peers on mobile order-and-pay, according to some industry experts.

"This isn’t new technology, it’s something that should be fairly standard nowadays," says Neil Saunders, CEO of retail consulting firm Conlumino.

While McDonald’s still hasn’t rolled out mobile ordering, it has been adding digital kiosks to its restaurants that perform the same functions as mobile ordering, but cost a lot more. The kiosks – which are in about 7,000 restaurants globally — cost about $125,000 per restaurant to install.

Like the kiosks, mobile ordering allows customers to skip lines at the register and avoid interacting with restaurant employees or exchanging money.

This is a key advantage for time-strapped people wanting to grab food on the go — which describes a majority of McDonald's customers, considering some 70% of them order through the drive-thru.

"Many customers dislike the process of selecting what they want, standing in line and ordering, and then waiting for their food," Saunders said. "It is the slow bit of fast food. As we have seen with Starbucks, many would prefer to pick what they want in advance and then come and pick the products up when they are ready."

Starbucks launched its mobile order-and-pay program one year ago. About 25% of Starbucks customers now use the company's app to pay for their orders and 6% — or 1 in 20 people — use it to order ahead.

The app remembers customers' orders, making it easier for them to reorder, and it's linked with the company's rewards program — of which there are now more than 12.3 million active members.

Starbucks now has more customer money stored on its app and reward cards than some banks, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year.

Chick-fil-A's mobile order-and-pay app has also seen similar success.

Since its launch in June, more than 8 million people have downloaded the Chick-fil-A One app, which remembers customer orders and tailors rewards to their buying habits, just like the Starbucks app.

For McDonald's, a program like this makes a lot of sense.

Cutting down on customer wait times and improving order accuracy has been a main focus of the company's turnaround over the last year.

And it seems like customers are interested in interacting with McDonald's on their phones. Without mobile order-and-pay McDonald's already has an impressive number of app downloads — about 14 million, to be exact, according to information that the company shared with Ad Age.

Over the long term, mobile order-and-pay could also help alleviate growing labor costs by cutting back on the number of employees needed at the register.

"This would be helpful to the company at a time when wage pressures are becoming a heavier burden on the cost line," Saunders said. "It would also give McDonald’s an opportunity to track consumer behavior and buying patterns and stimulate spending with offers and deals."

McDonald's says its planning to accelerate its investment in digital, which includes its kiosks and app, over the next two years. 

"Providing our customers with choice and convenience is an important part of the restaurant experience at McDonald’s," Hary told Business Insider.

SEE ALSO: McDonald's just pulled the plug on its biggest menu change in years

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In the final days before voters head to the polls to select the next US president, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz wrote an open letter to his employees slamming the "epic, unseemly" election.

"Let's each embrace the universal virtues of respect and dignity, refusing to allow the hatred on cable news, the ugliness of our politics, and the lack of political role models for our kids to define us and to dictate how we treat each other," Schultz wrote, according to CNN Money, which obtained a copy of the letter on Sunday.

He told employees that he feels "anxious" about the election and asked them to share "kindness, compassion, empathy" and love, according to CNN Money.

Schultz endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in September, but he didn't outright ask his employees to vote for a specific candidate.

"I think it's obvious that Hillary Clinton needs to be the next president," Schultz said in an interview with CNN's Poppy Harlow in September. "On the other side, we've seen such vitriolic display of bigotry and hate and divisiveness, and that is not the leadership we need for the future of the country."

Schultz said backing Clinton was not "a perfect situation, but I think it's the right choice."

Schultz has long been outspoken about his political and social views.

Rumors surfaced last year that he was considering launching his own campaign for the White House.

He put an end to the speculation with an op-ed in The New York Times in August 2015 announcing he wouldn't run. However, in the September interview, he hinted that politics may be in his future.

"My own life experience has given me a unique perspective on the plight of working-class American people," he said. "I'm a young man who has a lot of time in the future. ... I would never say never — but this is not the right time."

SEE ALSO: Ivanka Trump is trying to distance herself from her father’s campaign to save her brand

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The election of Donald Trump as the next US president poses a major risk to restaurants and retailers, according to Morgan Stanley analysts.

The biggest risk to the industry would be the loss of millions of consumers as a result of Trump's proposed immigration reforms, the analysts wrote in note in September.

As part of his immigration plan, the Republican presidential candidate has said he would deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

Deporting those immigrants — estimated to include 5 million to 10 million people — would eradicate a vital group of low-end consumers and low-wage workers from the country.

"We see Trump's immigration policy as the biggest risk, largely because of the significant impact that deportation could have on consumer demand and labor," the analysts wrote.

Some of Trump's proposed policies, including income tax reductions, could have a positive effect on the economy by putting more money in the pockets of some consumers. His proposed corporate-tax reductions could also benefit restaurants and retailers.

But the analysts said it's unclear whether Trump will be able to implement those policies.

Even if he succeeds with implementation, the risks associated with his immigration reforms would cancel out any potential advantages, they wrote.

"The policies proposed by Trump would theoretically support an increase in high-income consumer spending, but elevated economic policy uncertainty, as well as a possible deportation-linked decline in consumer demand and labor under a Trump presidency would counteract the consumer spending benefit from lower taxes," Morgan Stanley US consumer economist Paula Campbell Roberts wrote.

Morgan Stanley identified Jack-in-the-Box, El Pollo Loco, and Wingstop as among the restaurants that would be hurt the most by a Trump presidency.

That's likely why the fast-food industry didn't give much money to the Trump campaign.

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Money can create uncomfortable rifts in conversation, especially when the bill arrives at a restaurant. We've all experienced the awkwardness that settles in as everyone stares at it, silently wondering, "Who's going to take that?"

Here's another familiar dilemma: If you're out to dinner with a friend who makes a significantly lower salary than yourself, are you expected to step up and cover the whole bill? Should your friend offer to pay if they earn more?

The short answer: Absolutely not.

"Just because one person makes more money than the other, it's not expected that they cover the entire cost, or even more of the expenses," Diane Gottsman, national etiquette expert and the owner of The Protocol School of Texas, told Business Insider. "They may offer to pay, but unless they suggest it, it should not be an assumption."

There are exceptions to the rule, however. While it can create undue tension within friendships for one party to always pick up the bill, it's sometimes expected of family members.

"Let's say you're taking your in-laws out and you're an older couple in your 30s and 40s. You and your [partner] are making a lot of money now, but your in-laws are not. In that case you would offer to pay," Patricia Napier-Fitzpatrick, founder and president of The Etiquette School of New York, told Business Insider.

At the end of the day, honesty is the best policy in any situation. If your in-laws (or parents) feel uncomfortable or embarrassed by the gesture, go ahead and let them pick up the check or offer to split it, Napier-Fitzpatrick said.

And if a higher-earning friend suggests a restaurant out of your price range, speak up rather than feeling frustrated and going into debt over a meal, Gottsman said.

There are times where friends will offer to treat you — and vice versa — but the bottom line is that it should never be expected.

SEE ALSO: Here's how to split the restaurant bill in any situation

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The Labasin Waterfalls Restaurant serves meat and curries, just feet away from a waterfall in the Philippines.

It's located in Villa Escudero, a self-contained, 800-hectare working coconut plantation.

After eating, you can go for a dip under the waterfall which runs off from a nearby dam.

Produced by Claudia Romeo

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When you're out to dinner with a group of friends, it's expected that everyone will contribute to the final check, whether you pay for your exact meal or split the bill evenly.

But when you're with your family — or accompanying someone else's — things get trickier. Typically, one person picks up the entire check, David Weliver, founder of financial advice website Money Under 30, told Business Insider.

"Usually, the most senior family members might be reasonably expected to pay unless the younger family members have more means or they want to make a special gesture," he says.

But what about when you're with your in-laws — should you expect them to pay for you?

In many cases, they will. But it's better to make the gesture and offer to cover it yourself, especially once you're out of your 20s.

"Let's say you're taking your in-laws out and you're an older couple in your 30s and 40s. You and your [partner] are making a lot of money now, but your in-laws are not. In that case you would offer to pay," Patricia Napier-Fitzpatrick, founder and president of The Etiquette School of New York, told Business Insider.

But if they feel uncomfortable or embarrassed by it, go ahead and let them pick up the check or offer to split it.

With family, it's usually not about the money, Napier-Fitzpatrick says. "It's showing respect for them and how many times they've treated. It's a nice thing to do, a gesture of independence," she adds.

And while it's nice to offer to cover the check, it's important to remember that there are no hard and fast rules. Take every meal on a case-by-case basis, Weliver suggests.

SEE ALSO: Here's how to split the restaurant bill in any situation

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Earning a spot in the Michelin Guide is a sure sign you've made it as a chef. 

For the second year in a row, the New York edition of the world-famous Michelin Guide is out a few days earlier than expected.

According to Eater, which obtained the 2017 edition after spotting a copy of the guide on sale at McNally Jackson Books in Soho, the list included 10 new restaurants in the one-star category. The full guide comes out on Thursday.

A one-star rating is considered "a very good restaurant in its category," two stars indicate "excellent cuisine" that is "worth a detour," and three stars represent a restaurant that offers "exceptional cuisine" that is "worth a special journey." 

The six three-star restaurants from last year maintained their status, and Aska has been named the city's best new restaurant.

Here are the rest of the results (* indicates a restaurant that is new to the list):

Three Stars:"Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey"

Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare

Eleven Madison Park

Jean-Georges

Le Bernardin

Masa

Per Se

Two Stars:"Excellent cuisine, worth a detour"

Aquavit

Aska*

atera

Blanca

Daniel

Jungsik

Ko

Marea

The Modern

Soto

One Star:"A very good restaurant in its category"

Agern*

Ai Fiori

Aldea

Andanada

Aureole

Babbo

Batard

Betony

Blue Hill

The Breslin

Cafe Boulud

Cafe China

Cagen

Carbone

Casa Enrique

Casa Mono

Caviar Russe

Contra*

Delaware & Hudson

Del Posto

Dovetail

Faro*

The Finch

Gabriel Kreuther

Gotham Bar & Grill

Gramercy Tavern

Gunter Seeger*

Hirohisa

Jewel Bako

Junoon

Kajitsu

Kanoyama

Kyo Ya

L'Appart*

La Sirena*

La Vara

Luksus at Torst

Meadowsweet

Minetta Tavern

The Musket Room

Nix*

The NoMad

Peter Luger

Piora

Public

Rebelle

The River Cafe

Semilla

Sushi Ginza Onodera*

Sushi Inoue*

Sushi of Gari

Sushi Yasuda

Sushi Zo*

Take Root

Tempura Matsui

Tori Shin

Tulsi

Uncle Boons

Ushiwakamaru

Wallse

ZZ's Clam Bar

SEE ALSO: The best steakhouses in America, according to OpenTable

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The INSIDER Summary:

• Michelin just released their bib gourmand list for New York City.
• The list features restaurants that serve good quality food but at affordable prices.
• Most of the restaurants on the list are in Brooklyn.

Not everyone can afford to eat at Michelin-starred restaurants.

That's what Michelin's bib gourmand list is for.

Michelin's version of "cheap eats," the bib gourmand awards feature restaurants at which you can get two courses plus a dessert or a glass of wine for under $40 (tax and tip not included).

One hundred and thirty three restaurants made it onto this year's New York City list, with 28 new additions since last year.

Although all five NYC boroughs are represented, the bulk of the restaurants on the list are in Brooklyn.

Here are this year's winners:

Achilles Heel

al Bustan

Angkor

Arharn Thai

Atoboy

Baker & Co.

Bar Primi

Basil Brick Oven Pizza

Beyoglu

Biáng!

bún-ker

Buttermilk Channel

Casa del Chef Bistro

Chavela’s

Cho Dang Gol

Chomp Chomp

Ciccio

Congee Village

Coppelia

Cotenna

Dim Sum Go Go

DOMODOMO

Don Antonio by Starita

Donostia

East Harbor Seafood Palace

Egg

El Atoradero

El Parador

Enoteca Maria

Falansai

Frankies 457 Spuntino

Freek’s Mill

Ganso Ramen

Gastronomia Culinaria

Gladys

Glasserie

The Good Fork

Gran Eléctrica

Gregory’s 26 Corner Taverna

Hahm Ji Bach

HanGawi

Havana Café

Hecho en Dumbo

Hide-Chan Ramen

High Street on Hudson

Hill Country Chicken

Hometown Bar-B-Que

Hunan Bistro

Hunan House

Hunan Kitchen

Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria

Il Poeta

J.G. Melon

Jin Ramen

John Brown Smokehouse

J. Restaurant Chez Asta

Katz’s

Khe-Yo

Kiin Thai

Kiki’s

Kings County Imperial

Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen

La Morada

Land of Plenty

Larb Ubol

Laut

Lea

Lil’ Frankie’s

Little Pepper

Llama Inn

Lulu & Po

Lupa

MáLà Project

Manila Social Club

Mapo Tofu

Mexicosina

Mile End

Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread Too

Momofuku Noodle Bar

Momofuku Ssäm Bar

Momokawa

Mu Ramen

New Malaysia

Nyonya

Olmsted

Oso

Paet Rio

Paulie Gee’s

Pearl & Ash

Phoenix Garden

Pippali

Porsena

Prime Meats

Prune

Purple Yam

Ribalta

Rider

Roberta’s

Rubirosa

Runner & Stone

Russ & Daughters Café

Rye

Salt & Fat (Closed)

San Matteo

San Rasa

Shalom Japan

Shanghai Café

Sip Sak

Soba-Ya

Somtum Der

Sottocasa

Speedy Romeo

The Spotted Pig

Streetbird Rotisserie

Supper

Sweet Yummy House

Szechuan Gourmet

Tanoreen

Tertulia

Thelma on Clinton

Tong Sam Gyup Goo Yi

Tra Di Noi

Turkish Kitchen

Uncle Zhou

Uva

Vida

Vinegar Hill House

Xixa

zero otto nove

00+Co

Zoma

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Uber is launching a restaurant guide.

That's right, your favorite car service is getting into the food guide business.

It actually sort of makes sense — thousands of people use Uber every day, and many of those trips begin or end at restaurants.

Here, Uber shared with us the 12 most popular spots in cities across the country — or rather, the 12 restaurants people are too lazy to walk or take public transportation to.

Park Tavern, Atlanta

Legal Harborside, Boston

Parlor Pizza Bar, Chicago

Rustic, Dallas

Viewhouse Eatery, Bar & Rooftop, Denver

Perch, Los Angeles

American Social, Miami

Acme Feed & Seed, Nashville

Vandal, New York City

Sandbar Mexican Grill, Phoenix

Sienna Mercat, Pittsburgh

Southern Pacific Brewing, San Francisco

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You're out to dinner with friends when the bill arrives. One person suggests splitting it evenly. Another argues that each person should only pay for what they ordered. While it may feel like you're stuck in an episode of "Friends," you're not alone — we've all been party to this particular tension.

So how do you split the check?

"The overarching rule is that unless discussed ahead of time, everyone should assume the check will be split evenly," David Weliver, founder of financial advice website Money Under 30, told Business Insider.

That means if you ordered a $12 salad and your friend chose a $15 burger, be prepared to pony up the extra buck or two. Another time, the situation will surely be reversed in your favor.

To avoid subsidizing your friends' dinner when they're splurging on steak and you're sticking to salad, stay cognizant of what everyone's planning to order and aim for the same number of courses.

"If everyone is having one glass of wine, have one glass of wine," says Patricia Napier-Fitzpatrick, founder and president of The Etiquette School of New York.

And don't be afraid to ask "Are we getting appetizers?" if you're unsure how much your dining mates are planning to spend. It's better to go into the meal knowing how to order accordingly than to end up surprised — and potentially miffed — at the end.

"You don't want to feel taken advantage of, but on the other hand, you don't want to seem cheap. So order approximately the same amount of food, order the same number of courses," Napier-Fitzpatrick says.

There are, of course, exceptions to the rule.

"If you're smartly watching your spending and don't want to split a check when you ordered a salad and a water with friends who each order three courses and multiple cocktails, ask the server ahead of time for separate check," Weliver says.

If you know you're on a budget or aren't planning to drink, it's okay to opt out without having to pay for everyone else's more expensive orders — but be sure to communicate this with your waiter at the beginning of the meal.

"That's one of the rules for splitting checks," Napier-Fitzpatrick says. "If you know you're going to split a check, tell the server when you place your order."

SEE ALSO: Here's how to split the restaurant bill in any situation

DON'T MISS: How to split the restaurant bill when one person makes significantly more money

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If there's one thing Uber knows, it's where people are going.

Because of that, when it comes to judging New York's City most popular restaurants, the ride-hailing company is ignoring all of the "best of" lists and critics reviews and evaluating the restaurants strictly on the data it knows: the number of drop-offs at the restaurant.

The company recently unveiled its analysis of a year's worth of drop-offs in the city to see which restaurants had the most dropoffs from November 1, 2015 to October 1, 2016.

Here are the top 9 most popular restaurants in New York City, according to Uber's data:

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9. Nobu Fifty Seven

Cuisine: Japanese

Website:http://noburestaurants.com/fifty-seven/

Address: 40 W 57th St

8. ACME

Cuisine: American

Website:http://acmenyc.com/

Address: 9 Great Jones St

7. ABC Kitchen

Cuisine: American

Website:http://www.abckitchennyc.com/

Address: 35 E 18th St

Though not everyone is on board with the term "Silicon Beach," it's hard to deny that Los Angeles' tech scene is growing to rival its northern neighbors in Silicon Valley.

Communities like Santa Monica, Venice, and West Hollywood — where many startups have set up shop — are known for their proximity to the beach and laid-back lifestyle.

But Los Angeles is much more than sun and sand — there's a huge food and drink scene to enjoy there as well. Startup execs can sample top-notch cuisine from a large variety of restaurants, many of which place a priority on locally sourced ingredients and innovative construction. 

We've asked some of our friends working in Silicon Beach startups where they like to eat and drink in their neighborhood. Their suggestions covered quite a bit of ground, from coffee shops in Hollywood to vegan establishments in Venice. Whether it's for a quick power lunch or after-work drinks, the focus is on fresh, high-quality ingredients they can enjoy on the go. 

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Groundwork Coffee

671 Rose Avenue, Venice

3 Westminster Avenue, Venice

Other locations in Downtown LA, Santa Monica, North Hollywood, Hawthorne, and Portland

This Venice-born organic coffee shop, which has grown to include several other locations in Los Angeles and Portland, is a favorite morning stop for many Silicon Beach-based entrepreneurs. Christopher Gavigan, The Honest Company's cofounder and chief purpose officer, and Ariel Kaye, founder and CEO of Parachute, both listed it among their favorites.

"While the coffee at this Venice staple is the perfect morning pick-me-up, it's the avocado toast that keeps me coming back," Kaye told Business Insider. 

The avocado toast comes topped with corn, sweet chili sauce, queso fresco, and a soft-boiled egg. Kaye's direct-to-consumer bedding and home goods startup recently opened a one-room hotel in the neighborhood.

Café Gratitude

512 Rose Avenue, Venice

Other locations in Downtown LA, Larchmont, and San Diego

Cafe Gratitude offers a 100% plant-based menu and an uplifting message. You'll spot the words "What are you grateful for?" on the plates and positive affirmations on the menu. 

Said Gunnar Lovelace, cofounder and co-CEO at the organic-food site Thrive Market: "Great food, shared values, and their chocolate cake is addictive!"

"The Parachute team practically runs on their matcha lattes," Parachute founder and CEO Ariel Kaye said. "We need a tab."

Back on the Beach

445 Pacific Coast Highway, Santa Monica

When it comes to happy hour, Back on the Beach offers an experience you're unlikely to find in most other cities. 

"It's the only restaurant where you eat with your feet in the sand, literally on the beach," Sam Polk, cofounder and CEO of Everytable, said to Business Insider. "I go there on Friday evenings after a long week to decompress, and also meet friends and family there every Sunday for beach volleyball and brunch. It also helps that my brother, Daniel Polk, is the head chef!"

Egg sandwiches, huevos rancheros, and an ahi tuna salad are menu highlights at Back on the Beach. Everytable is a new healthy fast-food chain that has different prices based on the median income of residents living in surrounding neighborhoods.

McDonald's is expanding a test of its most dramatic menu change in decades: the addition of fresh, never-frozen beef.

The fast-food chain is adding fresh beef patties to 75 restaurants in Northeast Oklahoma, following a test that started earlier this year in the Dallas-Forth Worth area.

The fresh patties will be used in McDonald's Quarter Pounder burgers, which include the Quarter Pounder with cheese, the Double Quarter Pounder with cheese, the Quarter Pounder Deluxe, and the Bacon Clubhouse Burger.

"These burgers are hotter and juicier than our previous quarter pound patties, and are made with fresh 100% North American beef that’s simply seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper," McDonald's Chef Chad Schafer said in a statement.

McDonald's rival Wendy's has long used its fresh beef as one of its main selling points.

Switching to fresh beef represents a massive challenge for McDonald's, but one that could potentially pay off through an improved public image and better-tasting burgers.

The company has long relied on an extensive network of suppliers who make, freeze, and ship beef patties to its more than 14,000 restaurants in the US.

Expanding the test would require a massive shake-up to that supply chain.

Some franchisees have warned that at the restaurant level, it would introduce a whole range of new food-safety issues.

"I have major concerns over food safety and our lack of ability to serve a large number of customers quickly," one franchisee wrote in response to a survey by Nomura analyst Mark Kalinowski in July. 

The potential for foodborne illnesses is higher when uncooked meat is kept at a temperature above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the USDA.

But other franchisees said the change could improve business. 

"Faster cook times, juicier product, seared product versus stewed meat," one franchisee wrote.

Another said, "Many customers perceive unfrozen to be better for you. Perception is everything."

SEE ALSO: Walmart is crushing Target in one crucial way

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