Stephanie Gravalese

1 week ago | forbes.com | Stephanie Gravalese

Good Friday is widely recognized—even by those who don’t observe it. For some, it’s simply the Friday before Easter. For others, particularly within Christian traditions, it’s a solemn day of reflection tied to the crucifixion of Jesus, believed to have taken place on this day according to biblical accounts. The day’s cultural footprint often stretches beyond the church. It’s not a federal holiday in the U.S., but it still prompts annual questions: Are banks open? Can I eat meat today?

1 week ago | forbes.com | Stephanie Gravalese

After nearly a decade of snack wrap fan demand, McDonald’s posted just seven words—and the craving is louder than ever. I’ve been covering the Snack Wrap saga for a while now. In December, I looked at how fans helped force the conversation—turning a discontinued menu item into a cultural movement. By February, the story had evolved into something deeper: a collective craving tied to memory, identity, and the food we turn to when the world gets loud. Now, McDonald’s is finally answering.

1 week ago | forbes.com | Stephanie Gravalese

In a time when a fast food meal can cost nearly $20, Red Robin is offering something absurd: thirty burgers for the same price. The Bottomless Burger Pass—a monthlong invitation to get one burger a day, every day, for $20—practically begs to be shared on TikTok. Quirky, bold, vaguely absurd. A fast food fever dream dressed up in black-and-gold branding. But behind the gimmick is a cultural moment worth paying attention to. The Bottomless Burger Pass isn’t just a deal. It’s a kind of emotional theatre.

1 week ago | forbes.com | Stephanie Gravalese

There’s no shortage of food travel shows, but few have found their groove quite like Stanley Tucci. The actor-turned-cultural translator has become a kind of internet-approved food dad: stylish, unbothered, and genuinely interested in what’s on the plate—and who put it there. In Tucci in Italy, premiering May 18 on National Geographic, he digs deeper than ever into the relationship between food, place, and identity.

1 week ago | flipboard.com | Stephanie Gravalese

He moved from California to rural Italy because he ‘didn’t want to be anywhere near a McDonald’s or Starbucks’CNN — A bargain-price home in a beautiful town — with a cleaner and a handyman thrown in for good measure — would be enough of a deal for many people to make the leap to Italy, but American Keith Richardson had one other key requirement. The property where he intended to start his new life must not …