Restaurant Sales Climb with Bad-For-You Food

The “food police” and media have portrayed the CEO of CKE Enterprises (CKR) as fast food's demon. Even late-night talk-show hosts David Letterman and Jay Leno have poked fun at the bad-for-you Monster Thickburger. But, Andy Puzder, who created fast food's first edible Frankenstein: the Monster Thickburger, insists that all he's really trying to do is offer consumers what he believes most want: tasty food. "These products sell better than health-conscious products," he says. "We don't tell consumers what they want. They tell us,” says Harry Balzer, vice president at NPD. “ But they do not have the will." Especially when eating out, which is increasingly often. More than 47% of the money Americans spend on food will be spent at restaurants in 2005 vs. 25% in 1955, says the National Restaurant Association. "There's lots of money to be made providing delicious food that's not good for you," says George Hemingway, engagement manager at Vivaldi Partners, a consulting firm. "Americans like to go out and eat good food. Generally speaking, good food is bad for you." http://news.yahoo.com/news