Americans want food their way, and a new survey shows that "their way" calls for a higher quality, more varied meal than they're getting at the top burger, burrito, sandwich and chicken chains.

Consumer Reports asked subscribers to answer one straightforward question: "On a scale of  1 to 10, from least delicious to most delicious you’ve ever eaten, how would you rate the taste?"

96,208 meals and 65 chains later, some trends emerged: readers expressed an increased interest in the quality of the food, and less of a focus on convenience than they had in the group's 2011 report. One industry expert, Darren Tristano of Technomic, a food-service research and consulting firm, told Consumer Reports that he believes the shift has a lot to do with the increasing role food plays in millennials' social lives.
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You can't get a Mexican Car Bomb at your local Taco Bell. But you will at a new restaurant the fast-food chain is testing in a bid to reach new customers.

How far is Taco Bell branching out? The Mexican Car Bomb isn't even a taco. It's a vanilla shake with Guinness, tequila caramel sauce and chocolate flakes.
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Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up.

For some people, April 1 is just another day. Others see a world of possibilities on April Fool’s Day. You can make this the day to: Install an air horn as a door wall protector, or paint a bar of soap with clear nail polish. Then there are the food-inspired pranks. For instance, replacing Oreo cream filling with toothpaste, or experimenting with mayonnaise-filled doughnuts. (Thanks to boredpanda.com for these inspirations.)
 
Of course, I want to hear any brilliant April Fool/Food jokes that anyone has perpetrated. In the meantime, let’s salute some truly epic ones.
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Taco Bell announced Tuesday it has become the first national fast food chain to drop its kid's meals, saying it will discontinue the toy and food combos at some locations this month and across the brand by next year.

"Kid's meals and toys simply no longer make sense for us to put resources behind," said Greg Creed, chief executive officer of Taco Bell, in a statement early Tuesday. He added that the move will have an "insignificant impact on sales."
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