More Changes

This time, we're talking about a different set of changes from yesterday. Today, we talk food. A pair of media reports indicates the slowing American economy is having an effect on two areas of culinary endeavor. They would be soul food and fast food. 

Quiet as it's kept, restaurants in Harlem, once the soul food capital of the universe, are closing down one after the other. They're the victims not only of rising prices for basic ingredients like cooking oil and collard greens, but of changing tastes and demographics as well. The list of shuttered soul food palaces in Harlem alone is startling. Some are surviving, but only by either keeping prices low or changing the menu to reflect the new diversity of the neighborhood.

As for fast food, McDonald's also seems to be feeling the pinch of rising prices and lower profitability. They're making changes to their Dollar Menu, which launched just five years ago and helped the chain draw more customers. The anchor of the menu is the double cheeseburger, but higher dairy and beef costs make it tough to keep the price at a buck. So what do you do? Sell the double cheeseburger for more than a dollar? Use one slice of cheese instead of two? 

Unlike the soul food places in Harlem, fast food eateries like McDonald's won't be closing their doors anytime soon.  But for right now, they do have rising prices in common.