They have 43,945 shops. They were the first ones to sell the idea of healthy fast food. But as they celebrate their fiftieth birthday, Subway is in danger of being overtaken by its emulators. Fresh is meeting fresher. The rise and fall of Subway, the world’s biggest food chain.

+ From NY Mag: This Is the Story of the Hamburger.

+ “He has even conducted a time study of how the structure of xiao long bao changes upon leaving the steamer and starting to cool in a bid to determine the ideal window in which to devour the hot little pouches before the skin thickens too much.” Christopher St. Cavish has developed a Shanghai Soup Dumpling Index, which could be the nerdiest food guide ever.