Philadelphia Passes Soda Tax; McDonald's Tests Sriracha Sauce

Five things to know today

Happy Friday. Here's a delightful gif of a badass waitress in Spain kicking a falling coffee cup into the sink without even looking. Let this be your weekend inspiration to crush it (or just sit on the couch for an all-day Netflix binge — either way).

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In today's food news: Philly just passed a soda tax; is McDonald's (finally) hopping on the sriracha bandwagon?; the story behind Chick-fil-A's famous cows; and putting the medieval diet to the test.

— Yesterday Philadelphia became the second city in the U.S. to pass a soda tax (the first was Berkeley, California). The tax will raise the price of a six-pack of 16-ounce bottles by nearly $1.50; unsurprisingly, one local bottler has immediately vowed to file a lawsuit in hopes of defeating the tax.

— Sriracha will be remembered as one of the biggest food trends of the past decade (second only to bacon, perhaps). It has inspired countless novelty snacks and fast food creations, and now even McDonald's is getting on board: The fast food behemoth is currently testing a sriracha-spiked Big Mac sauce in San Diego.

— How did Chick-fil-A's 3D cow billboards come to be? Apparently they were born out of necessity: In the early years, the chicken sandwich chain couldn't afford a pricey television campaign. Now it's one of the top fast food chains in the country, but the cows are here to stay: They even have their own Twitter account.

— From Atkins to gluten-free, there's seemingly always a new diet trend popping up. Rather than concerning themselves with the latest nutritional fads, one writer went the complete opposite direction and tried out the medieval diet. Heavy on the wheat, meat, and wine, as well as gravy and fresh cheese, eating like a 14th-century king doesn't sound too bad at all.

— Waffle House isn't the only chain with one foot in the music business. Strangely enough, Church's Chicken has launched its own digital radio station, and in addition to piping it into its stores, folks can also listen anytime via Church's mobile app. But will doing so incite a sudden fried chicken craving?

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