Food news is always wild, regardless of the economy. This year was no different. Today we countdown the 5 most popular entities in the food game according to their public impact and the sheer number of visits they sent to our humble little website. Without further ado, we wish 2008 good riddance with the revisiting of the TOP 5 BIGGEST HEADS in the Foodbeast game:
5. CHARM CITY CAKES
Duff Goldman. We watch his show "Ace of Cakes" on the Food Network all the time, as he makes amazing delicacies for the biggest and baddest people the world has to offer. Anywhere from the Superbowl, to movie premieres, Duff and the crew of Charm City Cakes are arguably the some of the most recognized cake artists in the game. If only you could see the back end statistics of what people searched in order to get news and information on this amazing crew. Everything from Charm City Hotcakes, to Duff Goldman is a Sexy Beast? not only were they making cakes, you all were eating it too. Congrats Duff and Co., and of course, nice toys!
4. OLIVE GARDEN
At first, when I looked at the statistics to narrow down the list to only 5 subjects, I was quite surprised to see that Olive Garden articles had garnered some rather high number of visitors for our website. I was always aware that Olive Garden restaurants had a substantial reputation and an impressive following, but it must have been the introduction of several new products + the Playboy calendar collaboration earlier this year that shot them to the top.
3. McDONALD'S
New happy meal toys every other month. The double cheeseburger leaving the dollar menu. The coffee drink war. The Nuggnuts campaign. McDonald's Monopoly revitalized. McDonald's has always been at the top of the fast food game, and this year has been absolutely no different. Regardless of the subject at hand, whenever an article was written about McDonald's, people came in droves to read about it. Personally, I would like to thank McDonald's for the tasty cold coffee drinks in the morning and the cheap grilled chicken wraps that I've become addicted to.
2. TACO BELL
Saying Taco Bell was busy this year is an understatement. With a never ending rush of new products and promotions, there really is no question why these guys are number 2 on our list. Everything from the Volcano Taco, Fruitista Freezes, Triple Steak Burrito, Big Bell Box Meal, Fully Loaded Nachos to the recently released Bacon Cheddar Gordita Crunch, the list of activities coming out of the Taco Bell camp is impressive. These guys plan to take a back seat to no one, and this year has definitely proved it. Congrats Taco Bell!
1. IN-N-OUT BURGER
Drum roll please! Oh wait, you already see the title and picture. Touche. Regardless, it is extremely weird that a west coast fast food restaurant such as IN-N-OUT would make it to the top of a list, amidst companies like Taco Bell and McDonald's. It is very seldom (in fact, probably has not happened in the lifetime of Foodbeast.com) that an addition or change has been made to their famous, super-simple menu.
Why are they #1 on the list then? Well, this past October, one of my more unpredictable sources let me know that In-N-Out would not only be celebrating their 60th anniversary this year, but they would also be reverting their prices to $0.25 hamburgers, $0.30 cheeseburgers, $0.15 fries, and $0.10 drinks for one day only. We are not ones to post rumors, so, at the time, we had a semi-private editors blog where we would post about updates to the website, in our lives, and any food news that was not credible enough to post on the actual front page of the website. Sure enough, when this rumor broke loose, one of the most amazing, intense and widespread word-of-mouth campaigns caught on fire. Cell phones all across California (and across other states I've recently been informed) were receiving text messages from friends, families and people they hadn't spoken with in years...all reminding them that In-N-Out restaurant was celebrating their 60th anniversary with this amazing sale.
Sure enough, the rumor was false; whoever created it is not only a jerk, but has also cemented that fact that In-N-Out has one of the most devout followings of a restaurant that I have ever been witness to. The articles we wrote regarding this rumor alone, tallied more visitors in those few days than most other nation-wide restaurant articles give us all year. It is with a happy heart we give West Coast based In-N-Out the soon-to-be-coveted #1 spot on our 2008 Food Recap List.
Thank you guys so much for reading our cute little publication day in and day out. It truly means the world to us. So now that we recapped this and got all sappy, get out there; eat, live, eat again and make 2009 a year to remember!
