• Two L.A. gang members recently pleaded “not guilty” to extorting $50 a week in “rent” from area food-truck vendors. We definitely would have asked for tacos instead. [LA Now/LAT]
• Happy Friday. It’s looking more and more likely that we are in fact on the verge of a global food crisis. [Moral Hazard/Forbes]
• Price increases for food and fuel are starting to hit Southern Californians in their wallets. [O.C. Register]
• A pastor who purchased a burger at A Westwood McDonald’s for her dog found dead worms inside. We’re sure the dog wouldn’t have cared, but ewww! [Beverly Hills Courier]
• Well-known U.K. chef Bjorn van der Horst, who has worked with Gordon Ramsay, was stopped at an airport and taken into detention for owing $93,000 in unpaid child support. Sheesh, what is in the water over at the Ramsay empire? [NYP]
• Turns out composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is a big-time wine collector. We sympathize, since we find ourselves needing a drink to tolerate The Phantom of the Opera and that other stuff he writes. [WSJ]
• Who knew it was so cutting-edge: Subway, of all places, is testing out gluten-free menu items. [Chart/CNN]
• The USDA is poised to introduce new school-lunch guidelines that cap calorie counts in meals and emphasize whole grains. Enjoy those nachos while they last, kids! [ABC News]
