USAToday.com - Fine dining at Michelin-starred restaurants around the world can come at a price. But what you get for those high price tags (which can often be accompanied by sticker shock) are outstanding dining experiences that can take you to a castle in Switzerland or to an underwater culinary experience in the Maldives. From Japan to Europe to the Big Apple, luxe dining menus are often designed tasting courses paired with wines, which substantially adds to the consumer's bottom line.

Japanese restaurants all over the world often charge premium prices for lavish seafood experiences. Masa in New York City, for example, costs $450 per person before beverages, gratuity or tax, all of which can easily take the bill up to roughly $600 per person for its tasting experience. And be sure not to cancel a reservation at Masa — that, too, will cost you (close to $200 per person). Continue

A federal judge has ruled in favor of a music licensing agency that claimed a popular Hampton Beach karaoke bar ripped it off by allowing its patrons to sing its catalog of songs, including "Get Down Tonight" by KC and the Sunshine Band.

Judge Paul Barbadoro accepted a motion for summary judgment Monday against Stacey Janes after owner Charles Hughes refused to respond to the motion. The bar, located at 9 Ocean Blvd., was sued earlier this year by Broadcast Music Inc., known as BMI, alleging seven claims of copyright infringement based on the unauthorized public performances of its music.

The bar is now barred from using the agency's music without a license and may have to pay $750 to $30,000 per song that was played. A damages hearing has been set for 10 a.m. Jan. 16.

BMI attorney Todd A. Sullivan said his client intends to seek $2,500 per violation for a total of $17,500, plus attorney fees. Continue

Chicagotribune.com - Kraft Foods has prevailed, at least so far, in the battle over the Cracker Barrel label.

The issue before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was whether Cracker Barrel Old Country Store should be prohibited from marketing a line of meat under its name because it could be confused with Kraft's line of Cracker Barrel cheese.

In an opinion written by Judge Richard Posner, a three-judge panel ruled today that a ban should remain in place while the two companies fight the issue out in court. Kraft sued Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in January, claiming trademark infringement.

 Kraft has been selling Cracker Barrel cheese for about 60 years, according to the lawsuit. The 620-strong restaurant chain Cracker Barrel Old Country Store was founded in 1969. Continue

Foxnewsinsider.com - Georgia restaurant owners were cited for flying flags that honor those who serve our country. CJ’s Hot Dogs proudly displays the American, Georgia and military flags over their establishment. 

Veteran Told to Remove 'God Bless America' From Work Emails

This morning on Fox and Friends Weekend, co-owners Darren Miller and Dean Patterson spoke to Clayton Morris about their fight. The city of McDonough first said the flags were a violation of the right of way and had to be taken down. Now, Miller says they're backpedaling by calling it a permit issue. Continue

The i.Menu Expo will be co-located on the show floor at the following food shows in 2014:

i.Menu Forum, Naples, Florida - January 20 2014

The i.Menu Expo is the Technology pavilion section of all major Foodservice/Restaurant /Retail/Hotel Expos/Trade shows throughout North America showcasing the future of dining and hospitality with our partners. The i.Menu Expo is a designed for restaurant/hospitality/retail owners/managers looking for new solutions using the Tablet & Smartphone technology (Like the iOS, Android, Blackberry & Windows), Tablet Accessories, Web-based Applications, Customized Hospitality Apps, Cloud Services, Interactive Touchscreen Tabletops and Mobile Merchant Payment Partners as their new menu system and business back-end office solution.

The Expo will have software developers (Apps), Innovative Accessory Makers & hardware vendors from all over North America showcasing their business solutions for the hospitality industry. Come see the developers & accessory makers in our own theatre presentation area demoing their products & solutions during our expo. The Expo is created for hospitality associates who are looking to access experts in this field, learn about dining tablets & new technology vendors, network with the leaders in the hospitality industry and to find cost-effective ways to improve productivity and improve company bottom lines

To submit your App, Product or Service in our next Edition which is coming out January 2014 please click here

Bizjournals.com

Zumi Sushi is being sued for more than $340,000 by a California production company that claims the Hillsboro Village restaurant aired a Manny Pacquiao boxing match without permission, according to a suit filed Tuesday in the Davidson County Circuit Court.

In the filing, J&J Sports Productions, which own the rights to air pay-per-view boxing events through HBO, says Zumi Sushi "did unlawfully publish, divulge and exhibit" the fight at the restaurant for its own "commercial advantage or private gain." Continue

Naplesnews.com - A woman turned her husband in to authorities after finding video of unsuspecting women who were filmed in various states of undress inside the restroom of a Panama City Beach restaurant.

Twenty-nine-year-old Michael Edward Dunning faces multiple charges of video voyeurism and is scheduled to appear in bond court later Friday. Continue

KVUE.com - There may be a serial restaurant food copier on the loose.

Of course, Austin-based Torchy's Tacos is suing the Texas Taco Company for theft of trade secrets, specifically the company's "Taco Bible" that contains recipe and presentation instructions. CultureMap was first to report on the that lawsuit. But it turns out that just may be the start.

CultureMap has learned that Texas Taco Company co-owner Adrian Hembree also has been accused of a similar act by Anthony Russo of locally-based chain Russo's NY Pizzeria. Continue

NEW YORK (AP) - November 8, 2013 (WPVI) -- Saying no to a toddler's demands for a McDonald's meal got a father branded an inept parent, he says in a lawsuit claiming a psychologist urged a judge to curtail his parental visits over the dinner debacle.

David E. Schorr says psychologist Marilyn Schiller pronounced him incapable of caring for his nearly 5-year-old son after he offered a choice - dinner anywhere but McDonald's, or no dinner at all - and let the boy choose the latter. He then took his irate son home to the boy's mother's house early from their Oct 30 dinner date, according to a defamation suit Schorr filed Tuesday Continue

ABCnews.go.com  Angelo Lutz, a convicted "mobster" who has built a restaurant business in the five years he has been out of prison, says life would have been remarkably different if, 20 years ago, he had chosen food as a career instead of being a bookie.

"The same effort I put into illegal activity I now put into legal activity at an extra 20 percent, and there's no more wasted talent," said Lutz, 49. "All my resources are channeled into a legitimate business. If I had done that 20 years ago I would be a millionaire today." Continue