Patricia Cobe

When a Denver franchisee told Katy Malaniak, Quaker Steak & Lube’s senior director of food & beverage, “We really need to do something with queso,” she jumped on the idea for The Lube’s fall LTOs.

Tomato lovers may start getting gloomy as summer draws to a close, but there are still plenty of reasons to rejoice. Local red, yellow, orange, purple and striped beauties are at their peak well into September and even October, depending on locale. And restaurants are going beyond salads and BLTs to make the most of them.

A hurricane is disruptive whenever it hits, but as the full force of Irene swept the East coast over the weekend—the most lucrative days for restaurants—industry folks had to instantly come up with their own disaster plans. And they had to let their customers know pretty quickly. Alerts sent out through Facebook, Twitter, texts and blogs ranged from the serious to the quirky.

Many restaurants and bars are helping thirsty customers beat the heat with inventive drinks this summer. There’s a cool way to cool off no matter what's your beverage of choice—beer, wine, cocktails or house-made lemonade.