If you thought forcing chain restaurants to post menu info was overstepping, check out what's going on in LA: "Jan Perry, a Los Angeles city-council member, is spearheading legislation that would ban new fast-food restaurants like McDonald's and KFC from opening in a 32-square-mile chunk of the city, including her district. The targeted area is already home to some 400 fast-food restaurants, she says, possibly contributing to high obesity rates there..Ms. Perry's initiative seems to be a rare instance in which a major city brings health issues into restaurant zoning." [WSJ]

Ever wonder why the Golden Arches and its brethren, accused of causing all the obesity in the city, congregate in low income neighborhoods? Why it's tax breaks of course! Per a piece in Metro: "The city has awarded ICIP benefits to fast-food chains like McDonald’s, White Castle and Dunkin’ Donuts, effectively giving them tax breaks to move into low-income communities. This contradicts recent actions by the city targeted at the chains, such as new requirements to post calories. Last spring, a Health Dept. report linked obesity in Harlem to a lack of healthy-food options." [Metro via Queens Crap]

For the third year in a row, NYC White Castles have a V-day deal for the genuinely broke or weirdly ironic slider lovers of the city. They're offering table service, candle-lit dinners, and a special menu, and reservations are running out. Per the press release: "It seems that so many of our loyal customers either met in a White Castle or have a fond childhood memory that continues to bring them back into the restaurants time and time again." Pure romance. [Eater Wire]