Your new menu sports spiffy graphics, an eye-catching layout and an inventive roster of dishes. But have you paid any attention to the names of the menu categories? If the headings “appetizers,” “entrees” and “sides” are starting to sound a tad boring, maybe it’s time for a change. Then again, just how clever should you get with the lingo? Consultant Gregg Rapp, a menu engineer based in Palm Springs, California, critiques some variations on the traditional menu nomenclature. 

It’s one of the costliest decisions you’ll ever have to make, and it has nothing to do with food. One of your employees has a gripe, and he’s threatening to sue or complain to a state agency. Should you settle or should you fight? These days, the complaint is most likely to involve sexual harassment or wage and hour violations, say restaurant lawyers. It’s all too easy to run afoul of laws like the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, for offenses like mistakenly exempting managers from overtime pay.

In order to lose weight, Americans need to eat less. Thing is, a whole lot of us will devour whatever’s put in front of us, long after we’ve ceased to be hungry. In one study, participants who were given smaller portions of food reported as much satiety as those provided larger portions. Yet another study showed that people who were given different flavors of jelly beans all jumbled together ate far more than those who received the same number of jelly beans arranged by color and flavor.