McDonalds

• A look at the first ever World Championship Cheese Dip Competition. — Serious Eats
• Find out the secret history of Momofuku's infamous crack pie. — Feast
• Forget salmon and eat barramundi instead. — The Atlantic
• Learn a faster, easier way to chop herbs. — The Kitchn
• Ramen basics for the noodle novice. — Chow
• In praise of the Sunday bagel. — The Epi-Log
• Katie Lee, Rachael Ray, and Spike Mendelsohn on what will be the next big trend in burgers. — Grub Street NY
• Six ways customers tick off chefs. — Eatocracy
• On Nov. 2, the McRib returns to a McDonald's near you. — Eater

• Inside Eataly, Mario Batali's massive new Italian market in New York City. — Eater NY
• Top Chef's Amanda shares her dreams of bringing beautiful people food. — Feast
• McDonald's hamburgers are almost entirely indestructible. — Grub Street NY
• Chatting with one of the contestants on Top Chef: Just Desserts. — The Epi-Log
• Chef Charles Phan shares his go-to dish. — Chow
• Do "better" eggs really taste better? — Serious Eats
• Meet the world's most expensive cookbooks. — Huffington Post Food
• Genius! How to poach an egg in the microwave. — The Kitchn

• Is it time to put the cupcake out to pasture? — Huffington Post Food
• A survival guide for San Francisco's many August food festivals. — Grub Street SF
• How to make a Spanish tortilla. — Serious Eats
• Delicious Italian recipes from the Franks. — Chow
• One lady has a meltdown because McDonald's refuses to give her chicken McNuggets. — Eatocracy
• The care and drying of salad greens. — The Epi-Log
• Behold: New York's first ever Pop-Tart bakery. — Eater NY

In some kind of Glee-like, everyone-is-welcome-here appeal, this French McDonald's commercial features a gay teen with his dad. We first meet the boy talking on his phone to his crush, while ogling his class picture. Dad walks over, tray in hand, and says it's a shame he goes to an all-boys school because he'd get all the girls. The boy smiles, a you're-so-clueless grin, and the ad says "Come as you are."

Weird, I thought. Why would France target gay teens? Well, because France is McDonald's second largest market, second only to the US, to start. It has spent the last decade branding itself as French-style fast food. Fast, but not too fast. "We have a food culture in France, Eric Gravier, vice president of McDonald's France told Slate last year, "eating is not a feeding moment, it is a social moment."

Teens flock to their beloved McDo for the low prices and chance to linger with friends, so it's really no surprise this campaign appeals to food's "social moment." The "Come as you are" tag line could be used again and again for the increasingly diverse country — and based on sales, everyone is loving it.

Starting in January, McDonald's will offer free wireless Internet in 11,000 locations through a partnership with AT&T Wireless. The promotion is intended to encourage customers to spend time in the restaurants during nonprime times of day and to boost sales and popularity of its new coffee menu items.

According to the article, McDonald's is also planning new menu items like smoothies to appeal to customers during "snack" times. It's not the first time the fast food chain has offered free WiFi to customers, but I'm interested to see if the introduction of new menu items plus the free WiFi encourages the "coffeehouse" feel the restaurant seems to be going after.

I'm not sure how I feel about McDonald's branding itself as a destination for Internet use — especially given all of the unhealthy menu options. Though it would be nice if the free access in Mickey D's sets a precedent for other restaurants.

Chances are, you're doing some traveling this Summer and toting along healthy on-the-go snacks. But there's always a chance you'll find yourself hungry on the road with no choice but fast food.

Thankfully, many fast food chains are selling surprisingly healthy salads, but beware: fat and calorie bombs also abound. Of course, you're best off avoiding creamy salad dressing and opting for vinaigrettes: one pack of McDonald's Newman's Own Low-Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette has 40 calories and 3 grams of fat, while the brand's creamy Southwest dressing has 100 calories and 6 grams of fat per packet. If you opt for the creamy kind, try cutting the portion in half. Find out which salads have the most health appeal and which ones to avoid when you read more