Applebee’s and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

Well, it's Wednesday evening, so chances are, by this point, you have a pretty good idea how this week is going. We hope it's going well for you! If it's not, though, take a moment to consider this -- no matter how bad a week you're having, Applebee's is having a worse one. Between a PR meltdown that will be held up in communications classes as an example of how not to interact with your customers until the stars wink out in the sky and an assault on one of their franchises by no less than a figure of villainy than The Joker himself, the restaurant would probably like to just call in sick, pull up the covers, and go back to bed. And as loathe as we are to celebrate someone else's misery... actually, I guess we're not, especially when it's this funny!

I Kinda Don’t Want to Know? Yelp to Provide Health Department Scores for Your Favorite Restaurants

Do you want to know how clean your favorite restaurant is? Honestly, you probably don't -- sometimes you just want to enjoy a good box of Chinese takeout and not think too hard about the process behind your egg foo yung. If you're one of those folks who absolutely must know, though, there's good news on the horizon as Yelp is teaming up with local governments to add health inspection details to its restaurant listings. The service rolls out today in San Francisco with New York following suit in a few weeks, but any municipality will soon be able to offer up its health inspection data and keep you abreast of everything that ever happened in the kitchen of your favorite pizza joint, which you will soon never be able to even look at again. Thanks, Yelp.

Eat, Drink, and Play Pac-Man: Namco Plans to Expand Arcade Business With New Restaurant Chain

Even well into our adult years, we never appear to break out of that desire to seek out venues that in some way emulate our fond childhood experiences spent at Chuck E. Cheese's or ShowBiz Pizza restaurants: Food of dubious nutritional value, arcade games, and enough light and sound to overload the senses of even the most hardy of human beings. With plenty of establishments such as Jillian's and Dave & Busters catering to modern society's rampant case of Peter Pan Syndrome, Namco Entertainment Inc. -- the arcade game division of video game publisher/developer Namco Bandai Games Inc. -- is going forward with their plan to open a chain of restaurants in a similar vein to the aforementioned competition, which will hopefully allow the company to stake a claim in this lucrative market.

All Restaurants in Malaysian City are Required by Law to Have Wi-Fi

Every restaurant in the largest city in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, is now required by law to provide Wi-Fi to its patrons. Both a forward-thinking, but also rather pushy idea, the law will begin in April of this year, and will become a mandatory prerequisite for potential restaurant operators when applying for a license. Luckily for small chain restaurant owners, the new law will kick in for operations larger than 120 square meters in floor size, so small walk-up or takeout establishments won't necessarily need to provide free the Wi-Fi.

Two Dogs Walk Into a Restaurant … [Video]

I don't know what's more impressive about this video: That it was shot in a single take without special effects, or how well-behaved the dogs are. I would be much more upset if the waitress never brought my table drinks. (via Ectoplasmosis)

Restaurant to Serve Lion Tacos

Around half a year ago, Tucson restaurant Boca Tacos y Tequila established Exotic Taco Wednesdays, which appropriately serves tacos with exotic meats, including python, alligator, kangaroo, and Rocky Mountain oysters, which I sincerely hope were called "testicle tacos" on the menu. Owner Bryan Mazon explains that his restaurant serves nearly anything they can obtain, which happens to be African lion this time around, something he is serving in order to "get [his] name out." Mazon announced on his Facebook page that the restaurant will be accepting pre-orders for the lion tacos until February 7, and they will be served February 16. One taco will cost $8.75, which may seem like something of a steep price for a single taco at first, but becoming the new king of the jungle after eating the current king of the jungle would probably make that $8.75 worthwhile. You always wanted to be royalty, right?

One Piece Anime Gets Themed Restaurant in Japan

Fuji TV announced they'll be opening a restaurant themed after the popular One Piece anime on December 11, 2010, and it will remain open until May 31, 2011. Named "The One Piece Restaurant Going Merry-Gō," the restaurant will be decorated like the interior of the anime's Going Merry ship and will feature dishes that appeared throughout the show and manga.

From Anime News Network, regarding the menu offerings:

The menu includes the main character Luffy's favorite piece of meat (complete with the bone that he is often seen gnawing), Sanji's "terrible" soup (as seen on page 99 of the eighth manga volume), and Nami's Fruit Macedonia (as seen on page 31 of the sixth manga volume).

Hey, if the restaurant is successful, they can always open up a second one themed after the Thousand Sunny.

(Anime News Network via Topless Robot)