I mention all this because it smacks of how on a recent Friday night my wife and I ate at a seafood restaurant, and when it came time to pay our bill, the server, throwing us both for a loop, asked if we wanted separate checks. It was as if we weren’t really together -- just as Putin seemed to be disconnected from the individual on the other side of the conference room. My wife and I both smiled sheepishly at the server’s question, but then my wife blurted out, laughing, “Excuse me?”

An approach to bringing a newness model to market for fast-casual and quick-serve restaurants would be to follow a seasonal model. A hybrid that might follow natural seasons but could also be based on campus seasons or even sports seasonality. This model could also realize a bit of practicality and sustainability by reuse of seasonal, visual assets. Similar to a reoccurring stage theater production or department store visual inventory, as a season ends, it is replaced with last year’s package.

The South is an area known for its struggles and its dichotomies - its lush landscape saw slavery tarnish its beauty. The South is a place with a rich array of luscious and hearty foods, but it’s also a place where food and place have been completely intertwined. Of course slavery serves as the ultimate example of Southern struggle and contradiction. According to PBS, corn was grown on the larger plantations, while smaller ones stuck to the profitable cotton crop. It was grown by slaves to make up most of their diet.

But forge on to the mains, which should not be missed. Billed as “Kick Ass MaC & Cheese,” this creamy delicious kid-friendly dish is here made with Argentinian pork sausage, organic mixed cheeses and crumbs; or grilled king prawns in Singapore black pepper sauces served with fried buns, which, Goldstein notes, he learned how to make “from my Uncle Raymond in Singapore;” or roasted salmon steak with Thai yellow egg crab curry and crispy garlic bread, a dish he mastered “from my Thai chef Pachuen at the Aberdeen Marina Club.” 

Lindsay O’Donnell works in marketing for Whole Foods and writes a vegan food blog. She grew up in Vancouver and lives there now. “Everyone’s a total health nut. It’s really multicultural. There’s a lot of Asian fusion everywhere and seafood and poutine and things like that. Vancouver is definitely like a yoga hippie city.” Instead of showing off their Chanel or Nike labels, O’Donnell said people brand themselves with coconut water, a yoga mat, and knowledge of the latest food cleanse.