If I were to tell you that the Doritos Loco taco at Taco Bell is the most successful menu item in the 50-year history of that franchise, would you be surprised? I was — not by the Dorito taco thing, which was designed for the portly American palate, but by the fact that Taco Bell is 50 years old.

Hungry yet? Good, because Winston-Salem has a new restaurant, the Millennium Artisan Restaurant, on West 4th Street where the Kernel Kustard used to be. Opened by Gregory Carlyle of the Millennium Center, the place looks to be upscale-casual in nature, Check out the website at artisanrestaurant.

Speaking of high cholesterol, McDonald’s is tinkering with a couple of its classic menu items. The Quarter Pounder may soon come in habanero-ranch, deluxe and bacon-and-cheese styles, while a new egg McMuffin is made with egg whites. The company is testing the new products out in northern California.

On Thursday, Greensboro Urban Ministry holds its annual feast of Caring, 5 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 1000 W. Friendly Ave. There will be soup and bread, pottery, music by Jim Carson and Bobby Doolittle and the unveiling of the annual holiday card designed by William Mangum.

Is it big news that Sonic is adding a few chicken dishes to its menu? Sort of. The asiago Caesar is certainly interesting as far as fast-food items go.

I didn’t realize that the new eatery inside the GrandeLuxe theater in Greensboro was a New Orleans production, from the mind of Adolfo Garcia, whose restaurant concerns in the Crescent City include a Mano, la Boca, the High Hate Café and Ancora Pizzeria & Salumeria.

Room for one more? Denny’s restaurants, looking to bank on the success of Peter Jackson’s upcoming Hobbit movies, is creating a “Hobbit Hole Breakfast” menu that will feature Frodo’s Pot Roast Skillet, Gandalf’s Gobble Melt and Bilbo’s Berry Smoothie, among other items.

Whelp, the food trucks are still rolling in downtown Greensboro every weekday as part of the city’s pilot program. This week, Raleigh City Council hears arguments about allowing the trucks in their center city. Whichever way it falls, we want to see more of the Chirba Chirba dumpling truck in these parts.

In other food news, Wolfgang Puck’s Pizza Bar has opened in Friendly Center. It’s impossible to understate Puck’s importance in the American culinary scene, and the gourmet pizza menu he created at LA’s Spago sets the basis for this new joint, one of just two in the country — the other is in Charlotte, with two more planned for southern California.

Let’s kick off this week with a big congrats to Chef George Neal of 1618 Seafood Grille in Greensboro, the winner of the 2012 Fire in the Triad cooking competition, who took out Chef Michael Harkenreader of Undercurrent Restaurant. This was truly an incredible event, and I eagerly anticipate next year’s competition.

Fire in the Triad winds down this week, with the finals on Tuesday night between Chef George C. Neal of 1618 West and Chef Michael Harkenreader of Undercurrent, both in Greensboro. It will all be over by the time this issue hits the streets, but congrats go to al the chefs and everyone else who made this even so fantastic.

Ever tried Mexican sour gherkin cucumbers? What about pear pop tarts and vegan Braeburn apple pop tarts? Maybe you’re craving muscadine grape jam or curious about Italian purple flat beans — they’ve got it all and more at the Old Salem Cobblestone Farmers Market, open Saturdays from 9 a.

And six Triad restaurants have been given Hope du Jour Awards by Crisis Control Ministry for supporting their fundraiser: 2520 Tavern in Clemmons, J. Peppers in Kernersville, the Hanes Mall Boulevard Village Tavern, Ryan’s, Noble’s Grille and Skippy’s Hot Dogs.

Let’s begin with a quick Fire in the Triad update: Last week Chef Leigh Hesling of the Green Valley Grill and PrintWorks Bistro in Greensboro defeated Chef Jon Willis of High Point’s Emerywood Fine Foods.

The Fire in the Triad cooking competition last week saw Chef George Neal of Greensboro’s 1618 Seafood Grille narrowly beat Chef Tim Grandinetti of Winston-Salem’s Spring House on Monday night. Most events are already sold out, but check the website for more info: www.

Fire in the Triad, the chef competition that spans this month and the next, very quickly became big news around these parts. It began this week, with Chef Timothy Bocholis of Kernersville’s Bistro B & Wine Bar beating out Chef Jay Pierce of Lucky 32.

With all this talk about fast-food chicken and homosexuality, it’s the perfect time to announce that Zaxby’s — Little Richard’s chicken chain of choice — will be opening a second High Point location at 1827 N. Main St. There’s a great “special sauce” joke in there somewhere, but I’m not gonna be the one to make it.

On Saturday, PTFM holds its annual car show. The Dixie Classic Farmers Market, held every Saturday at the fairgrounds, holds its annual summer salsa contest — find an entry form and the rules at dcfairfarmersmarket.com.

As news breaks on the death of Sylvia Woods, proprietor of Sylvia’s in Harlem where the chicken and waffles became a thing, two UNCG grads announce the opening of an outpost of Dame’s Chicken and Waffles in Greensboro, in downtown’s Southside neighborhood.

byBrian Clarey Smug Brit Simon Cowell brought Greensboro’s Jake’s Diner into the national spotlight last week when he stopped by for some grits during a break in taping an episode of his show, “X Factor.� Alas, the “grits� turned out to be mashed potatoes, to the consternation of fellow judge LA Reid.