When [Sandy Summers] tried to recruit real nurses to hand out fliers outside the restaurant, [Jon Basso] posted on his Web site a photo of firefighters turning fire hoses on Alabama civil rights demonstrators in the 1960s. He digitally erased the faces of the demonstrators and replaced them with Summers' image.

The state of Arizona was the first to challenge Basso's "nurses." In September, an assistant state attorney general sent Basso a letter questioning his use of the word "nurse" to describe his waitresses. So as not to confuse people who might think the waitresses are real health-care professionals (they are not), the letter suggested Basso drop the "nurse" from his menu and ads.

Basso complied, to a degree. For those who might not have figured out that his waitresses lack nursing degrees, he put a disclaimer on his Web site, saying, "Heart Attack Grill nurses are NOT REAL NURSES." The waitresses who wear the skimpy nurse outfits say they mean no disrespect to actual nurses. They describe their revealing uniforms as fun and harmless costumes - no more threatening than what children wear for Halloween.