Tofu challenge for McDonalds

Finally a chain of Fast Food joints that could finally wipe the smile off Ronald McDonald's face.

The wild bison are running scared as Hirshberg is no vegetarian but at least he's planning to offer realistic choice.

Chicago Tribune news : Nation/World: "SOMERVILLE, Mass. -- Gary Hirshberg isn't the first parent to become frustrated by the lack of healthy fast-food options for his kids during a road trip. But as president of Stonyfield Farm yogurt company, Hirshberg was in a position to do something about it.

Now, six years after that fateful vacation in northern California, Hirshberg is overseeing a project he hopes will spark a revolution in the fast-food industry. It's called O'Naturals, a small chain of fast-food restaurants in the Northeast that offers everything from carrot ginger soup to organic smoked tofu , much of it made with organic or natural ingredients.

O'Naturals opened its fourth store in April in a former bakery at the edge of the trendy Davis Square neighborhood in Somerville, a Boston suburb, and plans are under way to expand the chain across the nation through franchises.

'We call it `fast food with a mission,'' said Hirshberg, who envisions his restaurants shaking up the restaurant business in much the same way that Whole Foods Market shook up the grocery trade.

At a time when McDonald's is championing salads and Burger King is offering a veggie burger, Hirshberg and a handful of other entrepreneurs are taking things a step further, emphasizing how the food is produced as much as how it tastes."