Who has the audacity to say that ... even think it? Nobody is bigger than McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD). After all, didn't McDonald's change the way we Americans eat? Didn't fast food and drive-thrus become the norm? Didn't McDonald's capture the hearts and, therefore, the appetite of every little kid with its Happy Meals and Ronald McDonald character? Didn't McDonald's even say that the world was ready for their menu and actually expand around the world? Even in France!

The answers to all the above questions is yes. McDonald's set the table (pardon the pun) to the way we view and eat fast food. Its success fostered major competitors like Burger King Holdings (NYSE: BKC), Wendy's International (NYSE: WEN) and Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC). It boasts a number of celebrities who have worked there in the past.

But McDonald's is still McDonald's. It has tried to be hip and cool by actually offering salads, but do you really go to a McDonald's to eat a salad? The movie Super Size Me did not do anything for its image either; yet McDonald's still marches on.

McDonald's went public in 1965 and a $2,250 investment back then would be worth nearly $2 million today. What a great success story; 31,000 units spread out over 119 countries. It is truly one great American export. The brand name alone is among the world's top 10 most recognizable and worth untold billions of dollars.

So, who is going to be bigger than McDonald's? The answer is Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX).

In an area where good coffee is ubiquitous, how does one business stand apart from another? A diverse selection of low-fat bran muffins? Not for me. Free Norah Jones CD samplers? Nope. Sheer, baby-doll negligees with thigh-high boots? Sold.

According to The Seattle Times, along the cluttered roadsides of Seattle's commuter towns, drive-through espresso bars are going to creative lengths to attract business, well, male business at least. These caffeinated joints feature "bodacious" baristas offering not just double macchiatos with almond biscotti, but "flirty service and revealing outfits" (including lingerie and "fetish" ensembles) at establishments with names such as Moka Girls, Bikini Espresso and Natté Latté.

While drive-throughs have long been part of Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX)'s business, many independent espresso stands popped up after the state's smoking ban went into effect a year ago. Says Lori Bowden, owner of Tukwila, Washington's Cowgirls Espresso stand, owners of bars, casinos and convenience-stores at that time began renting parking lot spots to espresso stands. And while the debate rages over who started the whole Red Light District element, no one argues that the Git-R-Done nation -- who might never have entered a Starbucks -- are now frequenting their establishments many times a day.

Offended local businesses have set up surveillance but no laws have been broken, as private parts -- including buttocks -- are always covered. Says Bowden, in spite of customer requests "there will be no 'Thong Thursdays.'"

B. Brandon Barker is the author of Operation EMU