Anyone who missed the Season Two opener of HBO’s groundbreaking series Treme owes it to him- or herself to see it—or at least to watch this clip.  Having worked in brigade kitchens in both New Orleans and New York City during and after college, I’ve felt that sinking pit of nauseous dread in my stomach that is so brilliantly portrayed in this scene, which was written by Anthony Bourdain. (Whatever you may think of Bourdain and his outsized ego and opinions, no one is better than he is at portraying the reality of restaurant work, as he so ably demonstrated in his memoir “Kitchen Confidential.”) I bet of lot of readers on this website have felt it, too.

There is some sentiment that the culinary schools are filling up with students who see the careers, celebrity and salaries of chefs like Bobby Flay and Eric Ripert and want that for themselves. And in some ways, that’s been good for the industry, lifting the time-worn  image of burger-flipping for minimum wage and elevating it to the glamorous and well-paid stratosphere.

Meanwhile, so-called “reality” series like Top Chef and America’s Next Great Restaurant have also helped make owning a restaurant or helming a professional kitchen seem like a gratifying and challenging endeavor, rather than a career of last choice.

 

But for most real people, working in or owning a restaurant is hard work, and a labor of love that not everyone is up for. Forget the grim statistics about survival rates of new restaurants: Even a successful restaurant is grueling, backbreaking, crazy-making hard work. To refer to another recent HBO drama, having a skill with pies and a great recipe for chicken was not enough to make Mildred Pierce rich and happy. There’s very little romance to it, especially if you’re doing the work yourself.

Anyone who doesn’t believe that should also take a look at Gabrielle Hamilton’s wonderful new memoir, Blood, Bones & Butter. The chef-owner of Prune in New York City is a genius at both writing and cooking, Prune chef/owner, but if you think it’s glamorous to clean up a rat corpse on the back steps or get through a brunch shift by inventing new combinations of swear words, think again.

If you’re thinking of opening a restaurant, contact Synergy Consultants for a reality check and a bit of help.

By Joan Lang

As little as ten years ago, a review was something published in a newspaper or magazine (or possibly part of a TV segment), and while it could cause controversy or consternation, there wasn’t all that much you could do about it except try to learn a lesson from the comments and make improvements where warranted.

All that’s changed with the internet, particularly with sites like yelp, citysearch and opentable, which can have more impact on your reputation—and show up more on searches—than your own website.

If you don’t believe it, try searching for yourself on google, and you may find that your site isn’t the first thing that comes up, or it may not be as noticeable on the results page as that yelp listing with its red ratings stars or Yahoo! Local with its maps. And that makes these sites inordinately influential.

 

Let’s take yelp, perhaps the best known of the user-review sites, as an example. Like Zagat Survey before it, yelp generally has been a good thing for consumers because it empowers them as “reviewers” and gives them access to dozens if not hundreds of opinions as researchers planning an evening out.

On top of this, almost everyone has a secret fantasy to be a reviewer, and some “yelpers” take this role pretty seriously. Yelp knows enough to fan the flames with programs like its Elite Squad, which recognizes big-time posters with all kinds of perqs. Being opinionated or demonstrating a certain amount of attitude is often rewarded. And that means they may not always be kind.

The prudent operator must manage this. We all know of instances where a disgruntled yelper has tried and sometimes succeeded in making trouble for a restaurant they had a bone to pick with. In just one of the latest instances where the restaurateur went on the defensive in a response and the clash went viral, most of the public opinion came down in favor of the owner, but it can easily go the other way.

The great thing about online reviews, including comments on Facebook and Twitter, is that you can get a lot of feedback from them—information you can use to gauge what people think of you, keep doing what they like, and make improvements to what they don’t. You can also engage with customers more directly and share your side of the story if you’re so inclined, make an apology, or offer some kind of incentive to try your restaurant again. If you do it right, this all gets played out in the very public online arena. Just try doing that with a local newspaper review.

 

By NormaLynn Cutler

On Sunday May 22,  during the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago,  the co-founders of Synergy will meet with restaurateurs, aspiring and existing, to review any aspect(s) of their business and share their wisdom, gratis.  Appointments are available to first 5 entrepreneurs only. For more info, contact michaelsynergyconsultants.com.

 

Greetings!

Restaurant Business has just released  “The Social Media 50,” an analysis of the foodservice operations that rank highest on Facebook and Twitter. To our knowledge, it’s the first time the press has taken these steps to evaluate chains on their social media activities and performance.

This project, and the associated article in the latest issue of the magazine, points up how important social media has become to the restaurant industry. Perhaps you’re already using social media to promote your restaurant business, or maybe you’re only thinking about it. In either case, we hope our tips for using these resources give you some fresh ideas.

We’re also sharing our perspective on trends in the increasingly important sandwich category, and our Senior Design Associate, Margee Drews, has written about why the recovering economy may mean that it’s time to give your operations a facelift.

 

To your success,

Dean and Danny

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Go Freshen Up—For Your Customers’ Sake

By Margee Drews

The recessionary clouds are parting, and there’s a bright new feeling of optimism on the horizon. Consumer confidence is coming back and Americans are out spending money again. Thankfully, they’re also going back out to eat. Dining out, after all, is a relatively affordable luxury, and it’s a great way to get out and have some fun.

Don’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet, though. Over the last few years, new restaurant players have emerged and old standbys have reinvented themselves out of necessity. Many restaurateurs have taken the time during the economic downturn to make improvements: revamping their menus, upgrading service, adding new features or redesigning their facilities to make them more efficient and appealing.

That means that the consumer, already on the lookout for new experiences when dining out, has even more choices now than ever.
Does your décor concept speak to this new era?

Does it offer the right backdrop to your new, forward-thinking ways to stay relevant in these competitive times? It’s fun to talk about new experiences, and by freshening up your decor you can give your guests a new experience as well as a reason to “tell all their friends about it.” It can also keep you from becoming obsolete.

Freshening a restaurant need not be an expensive proposition, but it does need to make an obvious statement, to create a necessary impact that achieves your goals and makes your investment worthwhile. Careful thought needs to go into how you spend the capital so that the guest fully appreciates your efforts.

Your goal should be a new experience for your existing customers, as well as a means for attracting new ones.

Your guests begin to experience your restaurant every time they drive by it, and again as soon as they pull into your parking lot. That’s why a restaurant freshening should not just be limited to the interior design but to the facility as a whole.

Think about what the guest experiences initially:
• Is the parking lot safe and in good condition?

• Is the entry monument signage in excellent condition?

• Spring is in the air; does your establishment reflect that, with abundant flowers at the entry and well-cared-for landscaping outside?

New exterior paint may be the single biggest and best investment you can make in a new design package. Prospective guests driving or walking by may never even know you have something new and fabulous on the inside if they don’t see an enticing change on the outside. Lure them in! Then take a good look at what your guests see the very second the front door swings open and they step inside.

• Have you delivered the WOW of what your brand promises?

• Is your lobby or entryway your biggest and best statement?

• Do guests know where to go when they enter? If you have a hostess stand or a place to be met and greeted, is the location obvious?

Of course, attention must be paid to the dining room. Your guests may be spending an hour or more in your restaurant once they sit down. Are they comfortable? Is the interior well-lit and visually exciting? Sit in your dining room for a while so that you can understand what your customers experience. Will they want to linger and enjoy themselves? Will they want to come back?

Good restaurant design will do that for you.

While you’re at, make sure you pay attention to the details, like comfortable chairs, openings and thresholds that can be crossed safely, table lighting that is sufficient for reading a menu. And don’t forget the restrooms; they should also be an integral part of any new design improvements.

By looking at your design through your customers’ eyes and experience you can determine what needs to be done. Remember, this is one of your best chances to get your fair share of the recovery.

Contact Synergy Consultants for a free design consultation or other services to help you give your business a boost.

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Sandwiches in the Crystal Ball

By Joan Lang

Eight years ago, we did a presentation on “hot new sandwiches to watch” for an industry conference on menu trends, and several of our predictions were right on target—even if it took a little while longer than we expected for some of the sandwiches we showcased to get on the mainstream radar.

Case in point: banh mi, the Vietnamese sandwich that everyone from Serious Eats to NRN and Saveur magazine has been singling out lately.

We were reminded of our prediction that this addictively tasty, exotic-yet-familiar sandwich (full of spicy flavors and fresh, crunchy textures) would hit the big-time when we read about the recent opening of Bun Mee in San Francisco.

Now, Bun Mee is the phonetic spelling of this iconic sandwich, which is being brought out of the “Asian quarter” by a New Orleans transplant and former Seattle attorney named Denise Tran. Her clever menu features classic as well as gourmet versions of banh mi, such as Vietnamese Caesar steak salad with mixed greens, grape tomatoes, orange and grapefruit, and tea egg. But we’ve seen banh mi sandwiches on menus in places like Bunk Sandwiches in Portland, Oregon, to a hipster bier café in Portland, Maine. They’re even being served in college cafeterias, thanks to Sodexo’s licensing agreement with celebrity chef Mai Pham.

We were also dead-on with our guess that the Cuban sandwich would achieve widespread popularity on mainstream menus. What these two delicious sandwiches have in common is the fact that they both feature ingredients that are fairly familiar—crusty bread, ham or roast pork, condiments (mayo in the case of the banh mi, and mustard in the Cubano)—with surprising textural and flavor combinations that their fans can’t get enough of.

And in fact their popularity represents an important lesson in how food trends move forward in restaurants in the United States, evolving from something ethnic (strange and slightly intimidating) to downright ubiquitous (like a taco). Sandwiches are a perfect vehicle for experimenting with ethnic flavors and ingredients precisely because the idea of a sandwich is so familiar and comforting to American diners: It’s a sandwich, after all, so how weird could it be?

Here’s the complete list of 10 sandwiches which we predicted great things for back in 2002, by the way. How close were we?

Thinking of making some menu changes? Contact Synergy Consultants to find out how our team can help you meet you goals.

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Fresh Ideas for Facebook and Twitter

By Joan Lang

If you’re using social media to promote your business, congratulations. There are more than 500 million active Facebook users, and every month, more than 250 million people engage with Facebook on external websites . As for Twitter, current estimates project that 20.6 million U.S. adult internet users will use Twitter at least once a month in 2011, up 26.3% over 2010 .

Combined with other tools including foursquare (which has more than 7.5 million users), social media is booming. But are you getting the most out of it?

• Use QR (Quick Response) Codes on ads, flyers, takeout menus and other printed materials that will allow smartphone users to link to your Facebook page (and/or website)

• Take the long view with offers. A free beer may cost you 50 cents, but you’re getting people in the door and talking about your place; very few will drink the beer and run

• Tweet when you have reservations cancel or empty tables at the last minute

• Tweet nightly food or bar specials

• Enlist your staff (and trust them) to tweet their friends and followers and get them following your Facebook and Twitter activities

• Monitor week-over-week sales volumes and reservations; if they’re running behind, offer a special via Twitter and/or Facebook

• Include information about your Facebook page and Twitter on a card with every check, or use a card to solicit emails so you can send out texts and invitations

• Get your fans and followers involved in contests like naming new menu items, deciding what charity to get involved in, or selecting which beer to feature on tap

• Use Facebook Questions to solicit information; since it’s viral, you’ll end up getting a lot of feedback or attention from “friends of friends”

• Have your chef tweet about new menu items you’re developing, or create a photo feature of new items on your Facebook page to generate excitement for a new menu

• Consider putting your menus on Facebook, not just by providing a link to the restaurant’s website

• Post pictures, lots of pictures—of the food, scene, employees, etc. It’s a marketing maxim that will never go away that a picture is worth 1,000 words
• Consider using a tool like livebookings or OpenTable to enable reservations right from your Facebook page. Don’t forget to tweet when you have the service in place!

• Use Twitter to evaluate and address complaints, questions and comments about your operation; you should see patterns develop, and not only be able to respond to your customers, but also fix any systemic problems

Whatever you do with any or all of these ideas, don’t wear out your welcome. Peter Romeo, a restaurant industry blogger and the voice behind Restaurant Reality Check, suggests that two messages a day from your brand —via Facebook, Twitter or texting—are about what you should be aiming for.

And don’t neglect your website. You give up a lot of control to the community on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites, so in addition to managing what people are saying about you there, make sure your website is the very best it can be: up-to-date, easy-to-use, and on your message.

Synergy Consultants offers a full range of marketing services. Contact us for a free consultation.

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Tip of the Month

By Joan Lang

Like bar codes, QR (Quick Response) codes are most frequently used for retail applications, but the restaurant industry is getting on-board, too. These distinctive looking codes can be used in a variety of ways to bring users from printed materials like ads, takeout menus or your business card to additional information, such as nutritionals, or your website or Facebook page. They can also be used to scan in your address and phone number to a user’s contact list.

Check out this video for more information..

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Synergy Execs to Share Business Intelligence at Chicago NRA Show

By NormaLynn Cutler

On Sunday May 22,  during the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago,  the co-founders of Synergy will meet with restaurateurs, aspiring and existing, to review any aspect(s) of their business and share their wisdom, gratis.  Appointments are available to first 5 entrepreneurs only. For more info, contact michaelsynergyconsultants.com.

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By Joan Lang

This time, it almost sounds like a joke. Beverages under 25 calories. Air-popped popcorn for celebrations, instead of cake. No French fries, ever. So say new “guidelines” for employees of New York City’s Department of Health, an organization that has already distinguished itself as the ultimate mouthpiece of the nanny state. With the city’s mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, on a crusade to reduce New Yorkers’ consumption of salt, fat and alcohol—not to mention cigarettes—you have to wonder if the next proscription for the City that Never Sleeps will be caffeine.

 

 

Bloomberg and New York City have been way ahead of the curve on the issue of restaurants posting calorie counts, and the industry has been watching closely to judge the impact of the move, which became effective just about exactly three years ago, on April 21, 2008.

Early studies indicated that customers were not about to change their habits, and now, on the eve of new FDA rules that will affect chain restaurants nationwide, the results are no more compelling. Why, then, all the kerfuffle?

The restaurant industry is nothing if not responsive to its customer base, and customers have been insisting with increasing vigor that they want healthier options at restaurants, even if they don’t actually order them when they get there.

A number of chains have actually been quite enthusiastic about offering so-called better-for-you choices, among them Wendy’s push for salads, Hardee’s new under 500-calorie turkey burgers, and Applebee’s longstanding commitment to both Weight Watchers and a growing roster of choices containing fewer than 550 calories.

Interestingly, a new study from NPD also indicates that customers who ordered these kinds of options spent less when ordering off a menu with calories displayed–$6.20 versus $6.40 on average, although this could be the result of ordering smaller portion sizes. All of which again points to the need for the foodservice industry to just roll with it.

By Joan Lang

Over the years the idea of fusion food has sometimes gotten a bad rep—remember all the jokes about “con-fusion”?—but the news that Houston’s co-founder Vic Branstetter is planning to develop a South African restaurant concept is a reminder that cross-cultural cuisine has a long and logical history in the world.

Take, for example, Vietnam, whose cuisine is becoming increasingly popular in the United States. Two of its most iconic and well-received foods, phở noodle soup and banh mi sandwiches—have roots in French colonialism. The French taught the Vietnamese to make both crusty bread and forcemeat mixtures like pate, both of which figure prominently in the banh mi sandwich; in fact, the word banh loosely translates as “bread” or “cake.” The existence in the sandwich of mayonnaise is also a clue to its origin, probably as a picnic food in the French countryside.

As for phở, the name may be a corruption of the French word feu, pronounced like the famous pot au feu (“pot on the fire”), which also owes its flavor to the step of browning the onions aggressively in the pot before continuing to build the broth. The abundant use of fresh herbs in both pho and the banh mi—indeed, in much of Vietnamese cuisine—is also a legacy of its French heritage.

Ever wonder about the origin of tiradito, the signature Peruvian appetizer of raw fish garnished with chile, ginger and lime? Again, think of immigration. Millions of Italian immigrants came to Latin America when the area gained independence in the 1810s–1820s, while the Japanese began arriving in the late 1800s to seek better lives for themselves.

Whether tiradito was a homesick attempt to recreate crudo, carpaccio or sashimi is the subject of much debate, but it seems certain that tiradito came about as much “fusion” foods do: new arrivals turning their beloved techniques and flavors to the ingredients of their new homes. (The Italians, by the way, are also said to have invented the tango.)

 

Which brings us back to the subject of 10 Degrees South and its South African menu . Like many places that have been shaped by Colonialism, South Africa also reflects its history of arrivals by Portuguese, French, Dutch, and German settlers, as well as Indians and Malaysians—themselves the product of an intensely polyglot culture. No wonder that South African food is often called the “rainbow cuisine.” Bobotie, a kind of curry, is of Malaysian descent; sosaties are beef skewers that owe their origin to satays. Boerewors sausage is based on a traditional Dutch recipe. And South Africa’s famous peri-peri sauce is derived from the piri piri chile beloved by the Portuguese. Mr. Branstetter may be on to something.

By Joan Lang

Notice how many places are touting flatbread these days? Not the Indian naan or Middle Eastern pita—although these seem to be growing in popularity, too—but that doughy concoction that used to be called pizza.

“Flatbread” is a great word for something that’s pizza-like but might have toppings no self-respecting pizzaiola would consider using. There’s lots of new-wave joints specializing in flatbreads, many of them of the organic/local/sustainable persuasion: Flatbread Company; American Flatbread; Urban Flats; Full of Life. The latter promises all-natural ingredients, stone hearth cooking, environmentally friendly filtered water, and such toppings as pistachios, flax seed and artisan-made raw milk cheese.

Hola, in Marshfield, MA, allows the flatbread designation to carry a Mediterranean-style menu that also includes tapas, and burritos and tacos, as well as an Old World collection of wines, sherries and ports. And at the Hubbard Inn, in Chicago, flatbreads (one is topped with merguez sausage, almonds, sumac, blue cheese, yogurt and pear chutney) fill a role along with bar snacks like deviled eggs and goat cheese croquettes with tomato jam as accompaniments to the “Continental tavern” ambience and ambitious cocktail program.

Rebranding a popular but timeworn favorite like pizza is a smart idea. Unlike bruschetta, say—which many people don’t know how to pronounce—or a head-scratcher like farinata (a rustic chickpea-flour pizza-cum-pancake), a flatbread is a known quantity with customers, yet still exotic and upscale-sounding enough to command some attention, and maybe even a premium price.

A neutral palette, flatbread can support any kind of topping, from Mediterranean ingredients to wow-man farmer’s market foods—and even something expected, like pepperoni and cheese. You can grill it, bake it, fire it in a wood oven. Sizes range from bread plate to extra-large, and of course they’re perfect for sharing. They also do triple-duty as an appetizer/bar food, lunch, dinner and even (as Quzino’s does) a sandwich bread or salad container.

And, like pizza, flatbread is the ultimate flash of food-cost and cross-utilization genius. What more could you ask for from any brand?