That kind of a week

Some weeks you might as well use a reporter’s notebook to level wobbly restaurant tables. The industry just isn’t making any news.

This, clearly, is not one of them.

Before Day One was officially two hours old, we already had McDonald’s posting another Ripley’s-caliber financial result (domestic comps rising 5.4% in January, a month regarded by most restaurant-chain execs as a possible violation of the Geneva Convention); Starbucks’ unveiling of new breakfast bargains; Domino’s launch of a new ad campaign that humorously riffs on the economic stimulus package and the formation of a new White House cabinet; and Applebee’s getting hit with bad news that few could have imagined (it's not meeting the thresholds needed to maintain its 90% tax abatement on the office it kept in Kansas after being sold to DineEquity in California).

This is also the week KFC is scheduled to introduce its value menu, which will almost certainly be backed by a huge marketing push.

More definitely to follow. Buckle your seatbelts.