Greetings!

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National Menu Labeling – When?

More important than what will be in the bill is when will the specifics of this regulation come out? Even the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) can’t tell us and they were assigned to the task.

As you know, menu labeling was added to the Affordable Care Act (“ObamaCare”) and was assigned to the FDA to design and implement. That design was supposed to be done by the end of 2012 and implementation guidelines to be in the hands of operators by now. When the FDA was asked why they have not produced those regulations as of yet, they responded with:

“There are very, very strong opinions and powerful voices both on the consumer and public health side and on the industry side, and we have worked very hard to sort of figure out what really makes sense and also what is implementable… menu labeling has turned out to be one of the FDA’s most challenging issues.”

With substantial input from the industry, the FDA understands now that there are many issues with portioning, self-serve items such as salad bar and all-you-can eat specials, and the application of toppings by customers such as syrup and butter (which renders any analysis void if not considered). We will continue making sure that the FDA is aware of our concerns as they craft this plan.

Some restaurants already label their menus in various cities and counties across the U.S. The restrictions on these restaurants vary greatly in this patchwork of rules. The federal program is expected to override state and local initiatives, therefore making menu modifications and compliance easier for large chain restaurants. We will wait to see if that is in fact what they do.
How soon can we expect implementation once they get their act together and propose the rules? The FDA has indicated that from time of initial presentation, implementation will be at least 6 months. Even though the FDA is substantially behind on this project, we still expect the 6-month timeframe to be adhered to. We will keep all of you posted as new information becomes available.

The FDA is busy on another front as well—that of creating food safety regulations for producers under the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010. The first of two main rules in this Act proposes requiring food manufacturers to develop formal plans to prevent their products from causing foodborne illness, and corrective steps if problems arise. The second rule proposes setting enforceable safety standards for the harvesting of fresh fruits and vegetables. We continue to monitor implementation of this program for possible cost implications. As you all know, we don’t need any greater upward pressure on our food supplies.

If you are interested in ensuring that your organization remains compliant with all new regulations (state or Federal), feel free to contact Dean Small or Danny Bendas at Synergy.

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Hot New Concepts 2.0

By Joan Lang

There may be nothing new under the sun, but there are certainly new ways of packaging it.
This has been going on in the restaurant industry since, well, not exactly the dawn of recorded civilization but for some time now. White Castle (1921) begets McDonald’s (1940) begets Back Yard Burgers (1987) begets Shake Shack (2004).

The mom and pop pizzeria morphs into artisanal pie shrine Co. (and in the meantime, the handmade pie format gets taken up by the likes of Domino’s and Uno Chicago Grill). And the old-fashioned diner gets totally remade in postmodern style at Au Cheval, with its foie gras scrambled eggs and fried housemade bologna sandwich.

Tapas and tacos and Thai food have all been reinterpreted by a new generation of ambitious young chefs and restaurateurs.
Some of the newest and most exciting restaurant concepts today are retreads of styles or cuisines that have been under the food-sophisticate radar until now, as one by one the ethnic cuisines and iconic restaurant styles move into new territory.

Some examples:

• The New Wave Deli – It stands to reason that a menu format that encompasses foods that are cured, smoked and pickled would get an upgrade. Shorty Goldstein’s, in San Francisco, in fact touts these ancient food preservation methods right up front. And like its predecessor Wise Sons, there’s the familiar menu of Jewish deli favorites like pastrami, matzoh ball soup and chopped liver. But with carefully sourced ingredients and smoked-in-house meats, these latter-day nosheterias are courting a different kind of customer base, younger and more food-savvy

• Contemporary Korean – For the dining-out mainstream, traditional ethnic Korean food has always been a bit more challenging than Thai and Vietnamese—maybe it’s the funk of gochujang (the ubiquitous fermented soybean condiment) and the clinging smoke of tabletop barbecue. But thanks to Korean-American chefs like David (Momofuku) Chang and Roy (Kogi) Choi, traditional products like kimchi and mashups like Korean tacos have opened the field. Two restaurants in New York City (Danji and Hanjan) exemplify what this tantalizing cuisine can become when its trademark flavors and cooking styles are married to Westernized amenities like craft cocktails and warm hospitality

• Street Food from the Subcontinent – Trend trackers have been talking up the rebirth of Indian food for a while now, with upscale restaurants like Dosa in San Francisco and Clay Pit in Austin. But it’s the snacks and tiffin meals—the Indian equivalent of fast food—that still seem primed for crossing over to the mainstream, thanks to the growing popularity of other kinds of ethnic street food. Chutneys has two locations in the Boston area dispensing paratha wraps and “nanini” sandwiches. Merzi, in Washington, DC, specializes in “tandisserie” chicken in a mix-and-match sandwich, bowl or salad format. And Kasa gives San Franciscans the burrito-like kati roll in a hip, modern taqueria-style environment

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What’s the Deal with “Daily Deals”?

Ever since the restaurant industry started couponing, the practice has been a source of controversy: Are coupons and other deals a useful source of sales, or do they devalue brands and train consumers to expect a discount?

The recent recession and subsequent easing of the economy seems only to have rendered the practice more disputed—often in the form of social couponing, a.k.a. daily deals—and the troubles of sites like Groupon (which exploded on the scene in November 2008) have added to the confusion.

By 2011, the daily deal bubble was huge. Almost from the start, however, operator experiences were mixed. Proponents viewed these deals-of-the-day as a means of encouraging trial and bringing in new customers; in the best scenario, deal-users came in and ended up adding on sales in the form of high-margin items like drinks and desserts, and found a new favorite place to spend their discretionary dollars.

Opponents complained that the practice only brought out the penny-pinchers, who selected a restaurant based on the best deal, rarely spent more than the deal was good for (often stiffing the server in the process), and never came back again. Many early adopters on the operator side were overwhelmed by business from coupon holders, and loyal regulars could get lost in the fray.

Brands were quick to embrace the trend by ramping up their own discounting efforts, particularly with respect to new products and LTOs, and have showed continued reliance on couponing, even as independents began dismissing it. Companies like Burger King and Subway are far less reliant on outside sites for getting coupons into the hands of perspective customers, of course, in the form of website-based specials, mobile apps and more—as detailed in this poll by the National Restaurant Association and LivingSocial on the subject of online restaurant marketing. But coupons and deals still have to be carefully managed, as KFC famously discovered several years ago when Oprah talked up one of the company’s giveaways.

In the meantime, Groupon wobbled on, as consumers in a recovering economy became less interested in deals, and larger, more familiar companies like Google and Amazon began offering their own. Now it seems as if Groupon is pivoting away from reliance on down-and-dirty prepaid deal vouchers and focusing attention on a service called Groupon Reserve, which allows customers to book tables at high-end restaurants in 10 test cities, and receive a discount of 20-40%.

But social deals do still get diners out of their homes and offices and into restaurants, according to a recent study from AYTM Market Research, even though the pace is slowing somewhat. As reported by eMarketer, 38.2% of U.S. internet users subscribed to at least one daily deal in March 2013, down from 45.3% in September 2011.

Several smaller companies still consider services like Groupon to be a valuable tool, particularly when it’s part of a larger arsenal, as evidenced by the experience of companies like NYC Bagel, in Chicago.

The same is true now as it was in the very beginning of the social coupon revolution. Daily deals carry great potential advantages for hospitality operators, but a poorly structured deal could turn into a nightmare of lost revenue and unhappy customers. The National Restaurant Association offers some best practices in this post prepared with the assistance of none other than… Groupon.

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Tip of the Month

Agricultural Marketing boards can be a great source of information for operators, including menu and consumer trends, recipes and, yes, marketing materials for promotions and more. Some good ones include:

• Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute
• American Egg Board
• California Avocado Commission
• Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board
• Idaho Potato Commission
• Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board

For more information, check the USDA website, including this link.

Greetings!

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The Burger Rules

By Joan Lang

The restaurant world, that is. The iconic patty continues to be a mainstay from drive-thrus to fine-dining, with no signs of falling out of favor anytime soon.

From 5 Napkin to Edzo’s, Smashburger to Home Run Sliders, the variations keep coming. Here are a few sub-trends within the trend to watch.

1. It’s All about the Blend – What cut of beef is best for your burger? More than one. Today’s trendiest patties combine several cuts, such as short rib, sirloin, brisket, chuck and more for the ideal balance of flavor, fat and texture. Many high-profile restaurants in the New York area even tout custom blends made by Pat LaFrieda, butcher to the stars.

2. Meat as a Condiment – Sure there’s the bacon burger, but now burgermeisters are taking the meat garnish right over the top. B Spot, Michael Symon’s beloved eatery in Cleveland, specializes in such “meat-on-meat” menu items as the Yo! (with fried salami, coppa, hot peppers and more), the New Jack City (chorizo, avocado, salsa verde) and the Fat Dough (pastrami, coleslaw, Swiss).

3. East Meets West – East Coasters and Californians may endlessly debate, cult favorites like Shake Shack vs. In-N-Out, but a few brave souls with regional concepts are striking out across country. Los Angeles’ gargantuan hit Umami Burger, for instance, is preparing to establish a beachhead in Manhattan, while DC’s iconic Five Guys continues its westward infill.

4. Cheffy Signatures – Every chef worth his salt, even the ones associated with white tablecloth, has his or her own version of the world’s best burger. To wit, Michael Mina’s ‘Bourbon Steak Burger’ (read: foie gras slider) at Baltimore’s Wit & Wisdom, or the 40-Day Dry-Aged Prime Steak Burker [spelling deliberate] on the lunch menu at David Burke Primehouse, in Chicago.

5. A Burger on Every Menu – It’s not just steakhouses, taverns and family restaurants that serve a burger these days. Le Perigord, a high-flying French restaurant in Manhattan, just introduced a Beef Wellington Burger that de- and re-constructs that Continental classic. The beef is mixed with clarified foie gras fat, sautéed shallots and exotic mushrooms, then nestled into puff pastry and baked. It’s served with truffle au jus and haricots vert, in lieu of the more proletarian, er, French fries.

6. Chains on the Move – Ever since the “better burger” fast casuals started bouncing onto the scene in the mid-aughts, hopeful concept developers are angling to become the next Chipotle…. or Five Guys (which has grown from five hometown units to more than 1,000 since 2001). Fat Burger is trading on its Hollywood celebrity-favorite status to expand to 103 locations, while Freakin’ Unbelievable Burgers, from Flint, MI, is getting ambitious about franchising.

7. And on the Road – Meanwhile, the beloved East Coast heritage brand White Castle has announced plans to take to the road with its new CraveMobiles, food trucks that will be available first for special events and then expand into mini-versions of the brick-and-mortar stores. Cleverly, they will serve three versions of their must-have sliders but will also serve as test vehicles, so to speak, for potential new core menu items.

8. Where’s the… Lamb? – A hamburger’s not made with beef alone. In fact, some of the most noteworthy in the new crop of burgers use another protein. April Bloomfield, of New York’s Breslin Bar & Grill, favors a chargrilled lamb burger with feta, cumin mayo and thrice cooked chips. Chicago’s new Butcher & The Burger offers the option of locally raised pork, salmon or grass-fed bison patties, among others. And of course there is no shortage of turkey and veggie burgers for the health-conscious.

9. It’s Burger Time – Burgers are being made into a special occasion at more than one well-known restaurant. At Holeman & Finch, Linton Hopkins’ much-loved “public house” in Atlanta, 9 p.m. signals the availability of just 24 of his handcrafted grass-fed beef double cheeseburgers. And Lucky’s Market, in Boulder, kicks off summer with a Friday night Burger Night with $6 burgers and live entertainment.

10. Still Endless Possibilities – After all this, who could possibly still get fired up about inventing a new hamburger? Josh Capon, for one, the much-lauded “burger god” who talked at length to Food Republic on the subject. From potato roll to bacon jam, there’s always room for something new on the burger front.

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Modifying the Gluten-Free Menu

By Karen N. Knoblaugh, MS, RD, Food Allergy Consultants

As more and more people are adopting the gluten-free lifestyle, food producers are having to adapt to this dietary preference to meet consumers’ needs. When Betty Crocker cake mixes, Chex cereals, and Bisquick baking mix come out with gluten-free versions of their tried-and-true products, you know that this “trend” is going to be here for while! As a chef or restaurateur, being able to accommodate these customers is becoming a crucial component for customer satisfaction and safety, as well as for repeat business.

Gluten is found in three grains: wheat, rye, and barley. Oats, which do not naturally contain gluten, are usually harvested and processed on the same equipment as gluten-containing grains, so most oats contain gluten as a byproduct, unless they are specifically noted to be gluten-free. Additionally, gluten can be found in a wide variety of packaged foods and ingredients, such as soy sauce, soups and sauces. Reading ingredient labels is critical to identify gluten-containing components. Very small amounts of gluten can cause big problems for those who are sensitive to it, such as weight loss from malnutrition, iron and calcium deficiencies, and gastrointestinal problems, all of which can take weeks to recover from.

Luckily, there are easy ways to modify many of your recipes to make them gluten free. There is a wide variety of gluten-free flours on the market that you can use to replace wheat flours in your recipes, usually on a one-to-one basis. Soy sauce, which is made with wheat as the fermentation substrate, can easily be replaced by tamari, which is a soy sauce made without wheat. Corn and potato starches and xanthan gum can be good alternatives to wheat in roux, soups and sauce. There are also many gluten-free alternatives to pasta and breads, which used to be off-limits.

It is important to keep these gluten-free foods actually gluten-free, which means that ensuring a clean workspace, uncontaminated mise en place, and clean towels and utensils are critical—just as with any food allergy. Frying gluten-free foods in the same oil that you deep-fry battered foods is not a best practice, as it is possible that a small amount of wheat batter can attach itself to your gluten-free food. Cooking and warming surfaces should also be kept separate for gluten free foods.

As an example, don’t cook pancakes on a griddle, then cook eggs on the same griddle without cleaning it with a wet towel and making sure all crumbs are removed. That customer may be ordering those scrambled eggs because they are supposed to be gluten free. A devoted gluten-free pizza stone can be used for making gluten-free pizzas and flatbreads; just make sure you keep it clean and away from gluten-containing foods. Similarly, don’t warm wheat and gluten-free corn tortillas on the same surface, and keep gluten-containing mise en place in the front row to avoid contaminating other prep ingredients. You get the idea.

Gluten-free dining is here to stay, so learning how you can modify your recipes to provide safe food for your customers is important. Synergy Restaurant Consultants can help you with recipe modifications and making your restaurant more gluten-free friendly.

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Next Wave Mexican Restaurants Have Arrived

A year and a half ago in our annual Top Trends coverage, we predicted the rise of a new kind of Mexican restaurant : casual and fun, with a sophisticated beverage program and menu as inventive as it is authentic.

Kinda like ¿Que Pasa? Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar, one of Synergy’s newest projects, an urban cantina set to open later this summer in Rapid City, S.D.

Developed for well-known local restaurateur Bob Fuchs (who also owns the Firehouse Brewing Co. and Wobbly Bobby British Pub), Que Pasa will be all about fresh, authentic Mexican flavors and menu items with a modern twist, designed to appeal to families and groups of friends.

The “never ordinary” menu includes authentic street-food classics like carnitas and enchiladas, alongside new favorites including Sautéed Shrimp and Scallops in Chipotle Cream and The Boss burger topped with crisp-fried jalapenos, smoked brisket and spicy Jack cheese. The tequila bar is set to feature more than 50 different varieties of the flavorful spirit, as well as hand-shaken margaritas, specialty cocktails, and a selection of Mexican beers.
Que Pasa joins a roster of fascinating new Mexican concepts that are changing Americans’ expectations about South of the Border food, including:

• Mezcalina, Chicago: Taking inspiration from Mexican regional cuisine, this stylish, upscale restaurant highlights unusual ingredients and herbs like hoja santa (Mexican pepper leaf), chayote and calabaza (similar to squash and pumpkin, respectively), specialty chilies, hibiscus and Oaxacan cheese. Signature dishes include Camerones Yucateca (annatto-rubbed shrimp with pumpkin-seed green mole sauce), Pulpo Chintextle (chile pasilla octopus with Mexican tea herb infused oil, avocado-leaf seasoned refried black beans, and rice) and the iconic Chile en Nogada (roasted poblano pepper stuffed with pork picadillo, nuts and fruits on an almond cream sauce with pomegranate)

• Antojeria la Popular , New York City: Touting Mexican tapas, this antojeria (street food snacks eatery) courts value-seeking snackers and sharers with a brief menu of ceviches (i.e., Campeche, with shrimp, jicama, cucumber, mango, lime, ginger and chile piquin) and antojitos (corn based snacks such as chicken mole with queso fresco, toasted sesame and crema on a corn tostada). Yes, there are Oaxacan crickets with avocado and crema on a blue corn tostada, as well tequila-based cocteles, Mexican hot chocolate, and a quartet of beer-based Micheladas

• Takito Kitchen , Chicago: Tiny and hip, this “Mexican-inspired” taqueria is as much about the innovative beverage menu (the Ruibarbo features rhubarb juice, yuzu, cinnamon, Lillet Rose and cult El Jimador Reposado tequila) as it is about the tightly edited selection of shared plates and tacos. There are three different salsas served with masa and rice crackers, hearts of palm salad, and tacos served three to an order with fillings such as barbacoa, pork belly and lamb chorizo

• Nopalito, San Francisco: Billing itself as a “sustainable, organic Mexican kitchen,” this two-location spot celebrates traditional Mexican cookery and the California philosophy of local and seasonal ingredients: fish tacos in ancho chile adobo; pozole (a soup-stew of slowly cooked pork shoulder with hominy); seared trout in pumpkin-seed sauce; enchiladas filled with stewed squash and zucchini blossoms. The takeout-intensive lunch menu features tortas (traditional sandwiches) and egg dishes, and both margaritas and sangria are always available by the pitcher.

Thinking about Mexican food for your menu? Synergy is here to help.

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Tip of the Month

If you’re going to go gluten-free, go all the way. There are all sorts of hidden “traps” where gluten can hind if you’re not careful, as this article from Supermarket Guru attests.

Greetings!

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Thoroughly Modern Menus

By Joan Lang

Dining out, traveling, and talking trends as much as we do, we see a lot of interesting menus. As a group, restaurant menus have been moving away from the traditional appetizer-entrée-dessert progression for a number of years now, but lately we’ve been noticing that some menus have become absolute shapeshifters—modular to the point of being practically without course structure. And that means that customers can have their say as never before in how their own meals are constructed.

Take Range, Bryan Voltaggio’s new mega-restaurant in Washington, DC. Not only are the facilities enormous (14,000-sq.ft., with nine kitchens including a bakeshop, 300 seats, a private dining room and an adjoining cigar bar) but the menu is the very definition of wide-ranging. With well over a dozen sections, items are grouped by technique (“Roasted”), equipment (“Wood Oven”), station (“Cold Kitchen”) and category (“Pasta”). Price is the only relative indication of size. Diners can have raw-bar specialties and pizza, they can order any of seven a la carte breads and among 18 kinds of salumi and charcuterie. They can easily eat vegetarian. And while it remains to be seen if the menu stays this way past its opening frenzy, there’s no doubt that adventurous food lovers can have a field day here.

There’s also the Little Goat, Stephanie Izard’s “diner” in Chicago that serves breakfast all day (heralded by the category Cereal Killers), a “Snack Corner” merchandising the likes of upscale chicken fingers and nachos, and an a la carte Bread Menu that runs the gamut from bagels to broccoli cheese bread and also includes daily soups and a build-your-own house sandwich. You can’t help but get the feeling that you’ve stepped right into Izard’s appetite.

Here are a few other attention-getting menu formats:

• Animal, a trendsetting restaurant in Los Angeles, lists a variety of different items, one after another, that begin with a $3 toast and end with a $29 rabbit entrée, with lots of offal (oxtail, crispy pig tail, veal brains) in between. Order this, two of thats, and one of those to share, and you have a fabulous and adventurous meal. Chef-owners Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo also own a restaurant called Son of a Gun, with categories like “raw,” “seasonal” and “meat” that almost seem quaint by comparison

• Sable, Heather Terhune’s new restaurant in Chicago, touts all-day dining on “social plates”— various kinds of shareables like flatbreads, hors d’oeuvres, Farm & Garden (vegetables, salads and vegetarian items), and mix-and-match fish and meat entrees like fried chicken and tuna tartare tostadas. There’s also breakfast, and a weekend brunch (where cocktails are listed under “Thirsty”)

• The Kitchen, with locations in Denver and Boulder, celebrates the “community” of food in bistro and bar format, respectively, with cozy banquette seating, late-afternoon community hours, dining at the bar and a seriously casual attitude toward well-crafted food. The menu in Denver, for instance, features raw bar, oysters, caviar, starters, and mains, while there are two different venues in Boulder: Next Door, a family-friendly community pub; and Upstairs, a slightly more traditional “community bar.” The commitment is to food quality and fun—for the staff as well as customers

Need help making your menu more amazing? Contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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Wake Up and Smell the Breakfast

By Joan Lang

The recent news that McDonald’s may start serving breakfast all night is just one hint at how much the eggs-and-bacon daypart is heating up. There are lots of other players on the front, indicating the industry’s ongoing search for new sources of revenue.

Breakfast really perked up during the recession, when consumers sought all kinds of ways to eat out more affordably—
from morning meetings and catering to brunch with friends—and it has stuck around even as the economy improves.

The NPD Group reveals that breakfast and brunch sales have boomed post-recession, accounting for an estimated $59 billion in total industry revenues. Morning meal sales skew toward older, more affluent diners, but brunch has become an important social outing for younger diners in major cities.

And the segment is set to grow still more: Mintel predicts breakfast sales to increase 2.8% in 2013, and a whopping 22.1% between now and 2017.

Quick-serve operators now represent 83% of all breakfast availability, according to Datassential’s “Egg Menuing – Breakfast and Beyond” report for the American Egg Board, stealing share primarily from the midscale segment. In part, this is based on the convenience (read: egg sandwiches) and price point of QSR breakfast. But there are a lot of individual winners.

One is The Egg & I, a 70-unit breakfast-and-lunch chain based in Centennial, OH, which has been on a serious growth trend in the past few years, and counts some 90% of its sales from the breakfast/brunch daypart.

For customers, the appeal is a wide-ranging menu of under-$10 items, ranging from prosaic pancakes to specialties like frittatas, Benedicts and Southwestern-style egg dishes. There are also numerous healthy options emphasizing ingredients like egg whites, turkey sausage and steel-cut oatmeal.

For franchisees, the appeal is equally economical: Operating just seven hours a day (7 ½ on weekends), The Egg & I can be staffed by a single shift, and units tend to be in such secondary markets as South Portland, ME, and Panama City, FL. The advantageous food costs of eggs and pancake batter go without saying.

Which is not to say that the quality and creativity of menu offerings isn’t totally stepped up. Among other things, with more boutique hotels opening and partnering with big-name local chefs for their restaurants (and often room service), more of those chefs are lending those names to the morning meal.

Ace Hotels, for instance, with high-profile properties in such cities as Los Angeles, Manhattan, and Portland, OR, have become favored local breakfast destinations—for both business and pleasure—in their respective cities. In New York, the morning crowd can choose between The Breslin, with an Englishey menu designed by April Bloomfield (who also operates the popular seafood restaurant John Dory on-property) and cult-favorite Stumptown Coffee Roasters, where they can order coffee and a pastry and take it to the hip lobby for something a little less elaborate. So you can just forget about the old trope of the locals only going to a hotel for the Sunday breakfast buffet.

Meanwhile, it seems like brunch has never been hotter. At 2 Sparrows in Chicago, Charlie Trotter alums Gregory Ellis and Steven Fladung have made their names with an 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. morning meal that includes the seasonally driven likes of duck confit hash and a “belly sandwich” consisting of blackened pork belly, sunny egg, and spicy aioli on a biscuit. And at Brenda’s French Soul Food in San Francisco, late Sunday risers can partake of such eye-opening fare as beignets, Hangtown Fry, and Grillades & Grits.

Can you say “second Bloody Mary”?

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Secret Weapon

By Karen A. Brennan, Marketing & Branding Strategy

A while ago I was in Los Angeles on a Discovery Tour and visited an haute hot dog concept called The Slaw Dogs. The line-up of builds was impressive. They had dozens of variations, from the Soy Bomb veggie dog to a Rueben Dog with spicy sausage and pastrami, but most impressive was when they brought out their “Secret Menu” of off-menu choices for two women who were undecided about what they wanted. How fun is that?

Weeks later I went to P.F. Chang’s with my sister and brother-in-law, who ordered an off-menu item—Chang’s Shrimp, which had been taken off the menu years before. Since being deleted, it is now a “secret” that those in the know can order. As my brother-in-law told me, “They make it for me.” He loves having the “inside scoop.” It has made him a huge P.F. Chang’s fan, and the fact that he could tell me about it absolutely made his day. And that’s the point: Secret menus make guests feel good because they get what they want and feel like they’re getting special treatment too.

But secret menus are also good for restaurants. Having headed up marketing for several restaurant chains, I know how challenging menu development can be—especially when staying on-trend with new items means that you have to let go of old established items in order to keep the total size of the menu down to an executable level.

I read some research a long time ago that said the single biggest reason people stop going to their favorite restaurant is because the restaurant stopped serving their favorite item. I’ve been convinced of that over the years, as focus groups have repeatedly told me the same story of abandoning a restaurant because their favorite item had been 86’ed.

That’s why some restaurant chains, like the Bravo Brio Restaurant Group where I was chief marketing officer, keep POS keys, recipes and server training materials for deleted items. If a guest requests a discontinued item, like Bravo’s Shrimp Fra Diavolo, and they have the ingredients, they can still make it. It’s really a win-win. The guest gets what he wants because the restaurant has the infrastructure in place to do it, without taking up valuable menu real estate.

And it’s not just deleted menu items that find their way onto a secret menu. Often, secret menus include items that solve a guest problem—nutritional or otherwise. Someone told me if I was too late for breakfast at McDonald’s I could ask for a Mc10:35, a hybrid of an Egg McMuffin and a McDouble . (To test the theory, the other day I asked my local McDonald’s if they had heard of the Mc10:35 and the cashier said to me, “I wish!,” implying that even though their location didn’t serve it, it would be a great idea and would make her and a lot of her customers very happy.)

Secret Menus cater to the undecided, to the health-conscious, to picky eaters and to the splurge market:

• The Undecided—Build-your-own concepts like Neapolitan pizzeria 800 Degrees offer suggestions for great combinations. This can really help expedite the ordering process and lower the anxiety level for indecisive patrons

• The Health Conscious—Panera Bread, in deference to their low carb customers, has recently launched a Hidden Menu with power protein bowls for breakfast and protein options at lunch; Popyeyes offers its sandwiches “Naked” (without the batter); and In-N-Out Burger offers its burger “Protein Style,” wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun

• The Just Plain Picky Eaters—A picky eater friend of mine is executive vice president of a chain of restaurants in New Orleans. To accommodate her preference for no sauces, the chain instituted a special register key just for her that is now commonly used for anyone who prefers “no sauce” presentations. I happen to hate burritos, but I just found out that Chipotle will make my chosen ingredients into a quesadilla instead of a burrito if I just ask—that’s all the incentive I need to go back

• The Splurge Market— McDonald’s Pie McFlurry is what you get when you buy a Baked Apple Pie and a McFlurry and have them blended together for you. Wendy’s offers a Grand Slam with four burgers, and In-N-Out’s cult-favorite 4×4 includes four burgers and four slices of cheese, but legend has it that they once served a 100×100! (NOTE: A side benefit of keeping these items off-menu is that their calorie counts stay off-menu, too—some things are better left a secret!)

What all of these Hidden Menus, Secret Menus and Not-So-Secret menus suggest is that great operators are finding inventive ways to give customers exactly what they want while ensuring the consistency and execution their customers demand. For chains that can’t devote valuable menu space to items that only have limited appeal, but want customers seeking esoteric items to know that they are available, secret menus are a great option.

Secret menus allow operators to simplify the complicated ordering process of picky customers and to maintain consistency on even quirky orders. They also build deeper relationships and an insider feeling among customers that can spur them to share via social media. Shhhhhh….

In fact, in today’s intensely competitive battle for market share, secret menus really are a great Secret Weapon.

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Tip of the Month

Foodable Network bills itself as the “premier WebTV network for restaurant and hospitality,” with videos on such topics as server body language, how to make a Pumpkin King cocktail and fast-casual French cafes (via FastCasual Trends TV). It’s led by Paul Barron, fastcasual.com founder and author of “The Chipotle Effect”; stay on top of new postings with the Foodable twitter feed.

 

Greetings!

To your success,

Dean and Danny

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The Importance of Prime Cost

By Brad Miller, Operations Associate

In the restaurant business, a lot of percentages are thrown around as gauges of success or financial health. Food cost, liquor cost, occupancy cost, labor cost, controllable costs… just to name a few. None are more important, however, than the big one: PRIME COST.

The prime cost is a calculation of your total food, beverage, paper goods, labor and all labor-related expenses (payroll taxes, workers comp, employee benefits and health insurance), divided by total revenues.
Prime cost for a typical full-service restaurant runs 60-65%, and for a fast-casual concept 55-60%. These benchmarks are dependent on your specific operation and are a rule of thumb to follow, not necessarily a “golden rule.” For example, steakhouses can run significantly higher prime costs because of the high costs of proteins, although revenues are higher than that of a hamburger stand. Fast-casual restaurants typically have lower labor costs which can bring your prime cost down.

Why is prime cost so important? It’s the most controllable cost in your business. Food cost, liquor cost and labor costs can be tracked on a monthly, weekly or daily basis, if necessary. Most POS systems have the capability to track labor cost on a daily basis. Most restaurants can easily track food costs by simply tracking purchases, sales and inventory levels once per week. What are the biggest pitfalls in not tracking your prime cost frequently?

• Too little, too late: Finding out that your labor cost jumped up 10% from one month to the next, 30 days after the end of the month, can be difficult to remedy immediately.

• I’m making money, so I don’t care about costs: You may be making money, but will you know if your new employee is stealing steaks from the cooler?

• Lost opportunities: It’s much easier to find the cause of a jump in cost if you know at the end of the week as opposed to the end of the quarter.

Possibly the most important reason to keep frequent track of prime cost? When employees see that management takes the time and effort to track costs, it breeds a culture of responsiveness. Take the time for the simple calculations; it will help in the long run.

If you need help controlling your costs, ask Synergy for a free evaluation.

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The Power of Umami

By Joan Lang

Sweet, salty, sour, bitter… and umami. Derived from a Japanese word for “deliciousness,” the so-called fifth taste has taught us not only about why some foods are so satisfying, but also about the very nature of human appetite.

You may have heard or read about umami (pronounced “oo-MA-mee”), which is generally described as the savory taste. Discovered by Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda more than 100 years ago, umami is the flavor of glutamate, an amino acid that is one of the essential building blocks of protein (Dr. Ikeda went on to submit a patent to produce monosodium glutamate, or MSG, which is the primary ingredient in Accent seasoning).

Not coincidentally, many Japanese foods are loaded with umami, including soy, seaweed, green tea, dried bonito flakes, miso, and the ubiquitous stock known as dashi. Italian food, too: Parmesan and other aged cheeses, tomatoes and olives all have significant umami content, along with mushrooms, truffles, potatoes and nearly every form of meat and seafood, from sardines and squid to shrimp. Anchovy paste and Asian fish sauce are loaded with it (there’s a reason they’re a surprising “secret ingredient’ in so many recipes); so are cured meats like prosciutto and even garden-variety condiments like ketchup and Worcestershire.

In fact, many scientists now believe that umami is the taste of protein, and that our ancient caveman ancestors would have sought it out just as they craved foods that were sweet (the flavor of energy-giving carbohydrates) and avoided those that were bitter (poisonous plants). Most humans’ first encounter with umami, in fact, is breast milk, which contains roughly the same amount of umami as broth. Yet surprisingly, many people denied the very existence of umami until researchers found its receptors in the form of tastebuds, paving the way for the discovery of specific tastebuds for the other four tastes.

Many umami-rich foods are some of the most satisfying foods in the world—think of a big sizzling steak with sautéed mushrooms and a baked potato, or a big bowl of pasta and tomato sauce, showered with grated Parmesan cheese. Foods like these have a deep, almost universal appeal; we crave them. That’s umami in action.

In general, the more umami that is present in food, the more flavorful and satisfying it will be. That applies not just to ingredients, but also to the techniques used to cook or process them, from grilling to drying and aging. Aged cheeses are more flavorful than young ones (or than milk, for that matter); sun-dried tomatoes have a more concentrated umami tomatoey-ness than fresh ones. That steak with sautéed mushrooms derives flavor not just from the meat and mushrooms themselves, but also from the caramelization and intensifying of flavors that take place on the grill and in the sauté pan, creating a real “u-bomb” of flavor. Fermentation also produces lots of umami, especially when you start with foods that are rich in the stuff to begin with (such as cabbage, turned into sauerkraut and kimchi).

Upping the umami factor in food has a number of benefits, not the least of which is enhanced flavor:

• Umami-rich foods increase the feeling of satiation, causing people to enjoy food more and potentially eat less of it
• The use of umami flavors reduces the need for added salt in food
• Umami piques the appetite; it could serve to counteract the decline in taste and appetite that comes with aging and certain types of illness
• Umami softens the bitterness of foods, which could lead to its use in the formulation of healthier diets for children, who are very sensitive to bitter flavors—such as those present in many vegetables

In everyday cooking, umami can make the difference between a great recipe and one that is merely meh. Many Italian braised and sautéed dishes start with a sofrito that contains a judicious amount of anchovy—including osso buco and sautéed escarole—which really bumps up the flavor factor without being perceived as salted and brined fish. A bit of tomato or aged balsamic vinegar adds not only a lively jolt of acidity to food, but also umami complexity. And we all know about that shower of freshly grated Parmesan at the table.

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The Evolution of the Sandwich

By Joan Lang

You know when Bon Appetit magazine does an entire cover story on cheffy sandwiches (“The Greatest Things since Sliced Bread”) that the upscale sandwich trend has hit critical mass.

Once relegated to the role of convenience-oriented breakfast and lunch foods, sandwiches have now attained signature-level cachet, worthy of the attentions of serious chefs and demanding diners throughout the day.

Although the trend started with burgers, many boldface-name chefs are bringing their own take to sandwiches with sophisticated flavor combinations and meticulously sourced ingredients. In the process, they’re making their food more accessibly priced and in tune with today’s expectations for more casual dining experiences—and changing the definition of what a sandwich is.

Chefs like Tom Colicchio (‘wichcraft), Rick Bayless (Tortas Frontera), the team behind Diner and Marlow & Sons (Saltie), Graham Elliot Bowles (Grahamwich), Roy Choi (Kogi Korean BBQ), Nicholaus Balla (Bar Tartine) and Michael Voltaggio (Ink.Sack) were early to the party, in various degrees, and their success has helped to ignite a firestorm of demand for better sandwiches.

One of the newest star-chef entrants is David Burke, who is said to be working on a sandwich concept in Chicago’s James Hotel.

Meanwhile, there have been all sorts of interesting sandwich specialty shops opening up:

• Bel 50 touts itself as a purveyor of artisan sandwiches “curiously crafted,” and indeed sandwiches like burrata cheese with fresh basil and EVOO and grilled Portabella mushroom with roasted tomato, goat cheese and roasted pepper aioli are built on thin, flexible waffles, instead of bread

• Duran serves pretty little open-face European-style sandwiches with dozens of different toppings, ranging from tzatziki and French-style vegetable salad to Mediterranean Tuna, caviar and crab salad

• Animals, a 15-seat sandwich emporium in New York City, features such unusual items as a pulled bacon torta with refried baked beans and chile mayo, and a sandwich filled with curried cauliflower, walnut pate, pickled onions, frisee, cucumber, mint and spice pureed cauliflower “mayo”

• The new Blue Rooster Food Company in Portland, ME, has a wide-ranging selection, from porchetta (sausage-stuffed pork belly, pickled tomato, arugula and citrus mayo on house focaccia) to the Seoul Dog (housemade local natural-casing hot dog with housemade spicy kimchi, toasted peanuts and roasted garlic mayo)

• The selection at Project Sandwich is another world tour of sandwiches: Brazilian (grilled steak marinated in smoked salt, mozzarella, tomatoes, pickles and garlic cilantro chimichurri sauce); Middle Eastern (a vegetarian combo of grilled zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, and roasted red peppers dressed with lemon-garlic hummus); and New Zealand (Nutella and banana)

• Mile End has helped to revitalize the sagging deli segment with its focus on upgraded classics like housemade chopped liver, smoked brisket, smoked lamb sausage and turkey rillettes

• The Spanish chain 100 Montaditos comes to the United States, bringing its eponymous, traditional little 5-inch sandwiches with it, stuffed with everything from turkey, tomato and olive oil to fried calamari

Note the focus on fun condiments, unique breads, and all kinds of textural flourishes. Not surprisingly, the trend is starting to trickle down to the fast-casual and QSR segment in the form of new sandwich platforms, upgraded breads, fillings, condiments and more.

• Wendy’s is introducing a new line of artisan flatbread sandwiches, while Tim Horton’s has its paninis
• Dunkin’ Donuts has latched on to the mega-hot grilled cheese sandwich trend with its Texas Toast Grilled Cheese
• The trend to spicy, crunchy condiments is playing out on Erbert & Gerbert’s new Luna, which includes tangy-sweet chili coleslaw, oven-roasted turkey breast, Swiss cheese, avocado and tomato
• Blimpie had so much success with its pretzel bread test that it’s adding the option to the menu full-time

For information on how to upgrade your sandwich offerings—or open your new dream sandwich shop—contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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Tip of the Month

Want more information about umami? The Umami Information Center is a great source of research, recipes, FAQs, events, detailed information about umami-rich ingredients and lots more. There is also a very detailed article about “Unleashing the Power of Umami” on the IFT (Institute of Food Technologists) website.

Greetings!

To your success,

Dean and Danny

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Going Mobile

These days, it’s not enough to have a great website and a well-developed presence on the major social-media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. Many successful operators have found that they also need a mobile-friendly site or even an app.

Mobile differentiates your brand from competitors’, strengthens your relationship with customers—particularly loyal regulars—and drives profits.

Recent data from Morgan Stanley reveals that the number of smartphones and tablets is now outstripping computers, and mobile browsing is becoming the new normal for internet access. Meanwhile, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, some 50% of smartphone users have a restaurant-specific app on their smartphone, and 55% use such “multi-restaurant” apps as Yelp and OpenTable. Two-thirds (69%), meanwhile, have placed food orders via mobile devices.

Yet a recent SmartBrief poll revealed that the industry is lagging behind on the mobile opportunity, with just over 16% of respondents reporting that an integrated mobile marketing strategy was important to them.

Not surprisingly, big chains like McDonald’s, Starbucks and Chipotle are leading the mobile charge. But it’s not just the major chains that benefit from having a dedicated app. Companies like My Mobile Fans , ChowNow and mAPPsolutely specialize in building mobile apps for virtually any size business, and can help an operation accommodate mobile ordering and payment, whether through Facebook or their website.

And even if you don’t have an app, it’s important that your website be optimized for use on mobile devices. Most mobile owners use their devices to find places to eat, and if they can’t access or read your website easily—for instance, to check the menu or hours of operation—they’ll likely go elsewhere, particularly younger customers. (If you’re not sure about your customers, you can check Google Analytics to see what percentage of people is accessing your restaurant’s website from a mobile phone.)

Compared to mobile sites, desktop websites are typically too busy, are slow to load, and aren’t easy to navigate, leading to frustration on the part of the user. All those graphics and content that you may have spent months or even years developing will gum up the works; you need something that’s simpler and easier to read on a small screen, and can load quickly on any connection your customer may be using. You’ll also want to add such user-convenience features as click-to-call, for reservations and other information.

Jack in the Box recently redesigned both its desktop and mobile sites to reflect the new mobile reality, with an easy-to-navigate layout, more responsiveness, and more interactive features. And Olive Garden is using location-based mobile technology in a campaign to get consumers to try its new lower-calorie entrees.

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Developing Effective Supplier Partnerships

By Jim Campbell, Restaurant Supply Chain Management

What do we mean by a supplier partnership, and why do we differentiate it from an ordinary supplier relationship?

A partnership has deeper roots, and typically it is tied to either high volume or products that are quality-critical to the restaurant concept. While price is always a part of the equation, issues such as quality, supply, research and development, and other considerations are of primary focus in a supplier partnership. It is a relationship that develops and benefits both buyer and seller, and is long-term in nature. Because these relationships take more time to develop and maintain, you must be selective about which suppliers will be designated as supplier partnerships.

Building the Partnership:

As with any relationship a supplier partnership is multi-dimensional and is built over a period of time.

• Mutual interests are a good starting point. Without this the relationship cannot develop beyond the traditional buyer/seller relationship, which can often be adversarial.

• Common goals with respect to quality, value, fairness, and a longer term view of supply chain all contribute to mutual interests.

• Common cultures with regard to social responsibilities, vision, and work ethics promote and foster supplier partnerships.

• Mutual interests drive mutual benefits and develop a trust for both the restaurant company and the supplier. This trust or “comfort zone” enables both parties to focus on much more than simply price and a deal.

Specific Components of the Partnership:

• Communication of your specific needs to the supplier seems like an obvious component of any business relationship. It’s not uncommon that supply-chain managers need to be more specific in terms of specifications. This is a great opportunity to engage with the supplier to discuss and even further develop your specs to better meet the need.

• Plant visits and personal contact with not only the sales personal but the plant manager, production management, quality assurance, research and development, logistics and even the ownership of the supplier. These relationships are valuable to you and your company, and will show the supplier that you want to understand as much as possible about the products or services you are purchasing. Suppliers will value your interest and even more they will begin to respect you. Good suppliers will always be proud to show you their facilities—and those that don’t likely are the wrong supplier for you.

• Partnerships often give you higher levels of access to suppliers’ R&D capabilities and can lead to beneficial innovations.

• As you work closer in these relationships with a supplier partner, you can better assess the production capacity of individual facilities, and suppliers are more likely to level with you regarding actual capacity.

• A real supplier-partner will share raw material supply information that is valuable to your company. Market information on commodities should always be evaluated from multiple sources, such as government agencies as well as private sources. The supplier-partner is always evaluating market prices for their own interests, and it is an additional source for your own market reviews and forecasts.

• Negotiations still must occur, and stress is not uncommon or unexpected:

a) If your relationship develops into a true partnership there should be a sense of fairness throughout the negotiations.
b) You should know the relative value of the service or product you are negotiating.
c) The supplier should share the cost components of their product or service from raw materials to labor to packaging to profit. This will give you a better understanding of the component costs and allow you to better determine real value.
• Verification and validation of performance by the supplier is necessary. This is an expected business practice which applies to finished manufactured products and their pricing. The supplier who manufactures quality will welcome this scrutiny.

Sustaining a Strong Supplier Partnership:

You have to work on it, and continually be engaged with the supplier and the process.

• Develop ideas and products together. The innovative process is not easy but can be rewarding to both parties, and will only serve to strengthen the partnership.

• Don’t avoid confrontations. Be clear and concise and be sure the supplier does the same. Business is a series of confrontations but that doesn’t mean they have to be adversarial in nature.

• Honesty and transparency will serve the partnership very well.
In the end, like any relationship both parties have to work at the relationship and there has to be a payoff for both the restaurant company and the supplier. There will be “bumps in the road” but that is unavoidable. A good supplier partnership will survive the bumps and be even stronger in the end.
For help assessing and developing relationships with your suppliers, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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Build Sales with Lower Proof Offerings

By Joan Lang

Not everyone can or even wants to drink a Manhattan or Negroni delivering four or five ounces of liquor—much less order a second one. A selection of aperitifs and lower-proof cocktails will offer a sophisticated alternative to the more usual beer or wine by the glass for those who want to take it easy, and can also build loyalty and support premium pricing. Many of these options are also a great addition to the lineup in an establishment that only has a wine and beer license. Northern Spy Food Company, for instance, a farm-to-table restaurant in New York City, may not serve spirits but it does offer a number of signature cocktails based on wine, beer and aperitifs, priced at $6-$10.

Aperitifs

These traditional pre-prandial beverages (many of them wine-based and hailing from Europe) represent a bracing but low-alcohol prelude to a meal—most aperitifs are between 16% and 24% alcohol, or 32 to 48 proof. The most familiar aperitifs are Lillet, Campari and Dubonnet, but the category is growing rapidly as interest surges, with the addition of such specialties as Cocchi Americano. This is also particularly true in the area of amari, pleasantly bitter Italian herbal liqueurs, exemplified by Campari, which can also be drunk as a digestif after a meal.

Served neat, chilled, on the rocks or with a splash of soda and perhaps a wheel of lime or orange, an aperitif piques the appetite without dampening the tastebuds. Other options that fall into this category include sherry, vermouth (particularly a higher-end brand such as Dolin or Carpano Antica), and even a refreshing sparkling wine like Cava or Prosecco.

Aperitifs and other lower-proof ingredients can also be the basis for cocktails, including but not limited to:
• Americano – Equal parts Campari and sweet vermouth on the rocks, with a splash of club soda; a jigger or two of orange juice is a nice addition
• Perfect or Half-and-Half (a.k.a. French Kiss) – Equal parts sweet and dry vermouth, chilled or on the rocks with a lemon twist
• Vermouth Cassis – Dry vermouth on the rocks with a dash of crème de cassis, topped off with club soda

Many creative bartenders are also dreaming up their own delicious signature aperitif cocktails.

Beer Cocktails

You may have heard of a Michelada, the refreshing Mexican cerveza preparada made with beer, lime juice, hot sauce, spices and other condiments, served on the rocks in a salt-rimmed glass. But there’s more to the beer-based cocktail than this warm-weather favorite (when I lived in New Orleans, I used to enjoy a Lager and Lime on hot afternoons—Rose’s lime juice over ice in a pilsner with a side of Dixie beer, for custom-blending).

That was a quaff loosely based on the traditional mid-nineteenth century British Shandygaff or Lemon Shandy, which combines ale or beer with lemonade, lemon soda, ginger ale or cider for a light, low-alcohol refresher. Another popular drink made with beer is the Black and Tan, in which stout is poured carefully over a bar spoon into a pint glass half-filled with pale ale, to create two distinctive layers.

Although “cocktails” technically are based on spirits, that hasn’t prevented mixologists from blending up a buzz or two based on beer. Pearl & Ash, a new restaurant on the once-seedy Bowery in Manhattan, features a similar concoction called a Dark Horse Candidate: oatmeal stout, the French wine—based liqueur Pineau des Charentes, almond-flavored Orgeat syrup and a lemon twist (there are also numerous aperitif cocktails as well as interesting beers). And at The Cannibal, the suds-based offerings have included the Witte 75 (beer and gin) and Haven 212 (mezcal, beer, and chile-infused simple syrup)—drinks designed to showcase various high-profile craft brews like Ommegang Three Philosophers.

Wine Cocktails

Forget about wine spritzers: From the sophisticated Kir (wine and crème de cassis) to the iconic Sangria, cocktails made with wine have long been a popular and lighter alternative to their kin made with hard liquor. Though hardcore wine snobs might frown upon anything diluting the grape, there are a number of great options made not only with still or sparkling wine (such as Prosecco), but also the fortified wines such as Sherry and Port.

Many experts extoll the virtues of using wine in cocktails, in fact, bringing body, acidity and flavor to the challenge. Wine can be used as the sole source of alcohol in a refreshingly light, food-friendly beverage; these came into fashion during Prohibition, when spirits were outlawed, but now they’re part of the trend to pairing food with cocktails. Wine can also be used as a mixer with spirits, as in the case of Pimm’s de Verano, made with Pimm’s, Spanish red wine, lemon juice and simple syrup at Elixir , a prize-winning bar in San Francisco that has been around since 1858.

The Vintec Club, which promotes all things wine-related, shares a number of possibilities via its Pinterest page, including Tequila Sangria and the Redhead in Bed (a sunset-colored combination of Riesling, citrus vodka and strawberries).

The lexicon of bubbly-based cocktails is much better-known, including the Champagne Cocktail (poured over a sugar cube dashed with bitters), the Mimosa (with orange juice) and the French 75 and French 95 (two champagne-based cocktails named after World War I 75-mm and 95-mm guns, respectively, containing gin and brandy). In an interesting turnaround on the perception of wine as a lower-alcohol option, these drinks can actually be quite lethal.

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Tip of the Month

If you’re ready to go mobile, Google’s “Go Mo”  site is a good place to start. You can learn about best practices, see how your current site looks to mobile users, and find a number of resources for building your own site or locating a developer.

Greetings!

To your success,

Dean and Danny

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The “Vegetable-Forward” Menu

By Joan Lang

No, not vegetarian; vegetable forward.

It’s a sign of the times. The ever-increasing cost of animal proteins like beef and even chicken, coupled with a fascination for the local, the seasonal and the fresh-from-the-farm, has given rise to menus that pay much more than lip service—a salad or two, a few side dishes—to vegetables.

Restaurants like Noma in Copenhagen, with its foraged plants on the menu, and Eleven Madison Mark in New York, where chef Daniel Humm has famously ground carrot “tartare” tableside, have put the focus squarely on vegetables.

As Noma’s Rene Redzepi himself has said, “The dimensions of flavors you find in vegetables are so much more exciting than [those of] the three or four animals we eat all the time.”

Trend prognosticators are already proclaiming 2013 The Year of the Vegetable. Restaurant.com, an online restaurant deal resource, polled more than 100 restaurants in all segments to see what operators thought would be important trends this year. Vegetables having a more prominent position on menus ranked No. 2 on the list (after healthy menu options.

Kale and beets seem to be on every other menu. Hooters has added salads. A whole new, er, crop of quick-casual restaurants like Snappy Salads and Pitfire Pizza is replacing burgers and fries with Corn and Okra Stew and Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Pizza. Meanwhile, chefs with access to any land at all, even a rooftop, are growing their own vegetables.

 

• Justin Cucci, chef/owner of Root Down and Linger, in Denver, put in an 800-sq.-ft. on-site Root Garden that provides heirloom tomatoes, beets,kale, chiles, herbs, zucchinis and sunflowers (used for their seeds) for both gardens. Guests at Root Down can sit on the patio and view the garden directly, while they enjoy seasonal specialties like Carrot & Gorgonzola Salad with arugula, frisee, Marcona almonds, carrot leaf pesto and Sauvignon Blanc dressing, and Roasted Beet Risotto with Forbidden Black rice, goat feta, Parmesan, candied walnuts and citrus sauce

• Brick-oven pizza chain Bertucci’s has been steadily broadening its appeal into a more full-menu concept under new executive chef Jeff Tenner, in part thanks to such seasonal, produce-driven new items as a roasted vegetable antipasto, Brick Oven Beets with Blue Cheese, and Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza. A new concept, called 2 Ovens, is set to push the produce envelope still further

• In its newly relaunched Marinas Restaurant, the Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley, CA, offers chef Cal Stamenov’s take on “farmed and foraged” ingredients in such seasonal dishes as Smoked Eggplant Agnolini with cherry tomatoes, Manchego and pimente d’espelette; Chilled Garden Cucumber Soup with Maine lobster, minted yogurt, compressed watermelon and cilantro; and Wild White Sea Bass with Di Cicco broccoli, baby spinach and Meyer lemon puree

• The menu at Fresh to Order, a quick- casual chain based in Atlanta, touts freshness and health through a variety of fruit and vegetable items. Current specialties include a spinach salad laced with strawberries, raisins and seasonal fruit; a fig and blue cheese salad with candied walnuts; a grilled vegetable panini; and a variety of multi-use condiments and relishes, such as Roasted Corn Peanut Relish and a citrus- and-ginger Asian Slaw

• Frog and Peach, a 30-year-old classic restaurant in New Brunswick, NJ, now under a new chef-owner, does a 4-course Vegetable Tasting Menu that was so successful when he introduced it this summer that the concept has been extended into colder weather with seasonal ingredients like pumpkin, Asian pear, root vegetables and mushrooms

• You would expect an outfit called Field Kitchen to focus on vegetables, and indeed the menu for the Sweet Tomatoes brand “reinvention” features numerous salads (including Hippy Grains & Kale and a Greek salad), plus such “suitable sides” for rotisserie meats as Roasted Squash Ratatouille and Iowa Creamed Corn

Not that while vegetarians and even vegans would be perfectly happy with these menu items, these are not meat-free-zone restaurants, nor are the menus actively promoted to the sprouts set—instead they are thoughtful seasonal offerings that showcase great ingredients and elevated techniques and flavor principles.

What’s not to like?

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An Untapped Market: The Food-Allergic

By Lara (“Food Allergy Gal”) Holland, a food-allergic foodie and owner of LaraHolland Food Allergy Consultancy

 

How many times does restaurant staff hear these words: “I am allergic to____” or “My child has food allergies to_____”? These can be the most dreaded phrases in the industry, because they hold everything up.

That said, catering to the food-allergic or food-sensitive population is a socially responsible way to bring in big revenues and create customer loyalty.

I am a food-allergic foodie who has struggled with food allergies for the last 10 years. Changing my diet wasn’t about losing weight or being “healthy”—it was about saving my life. There is an entire population of people with late-onset food allergies. And like me, they are foodies who love a well-prepared meal, yet now must worry about everything they put into their mouths.

There are 150 million people worldwide with severe food allergies, and 90% of these people are allergic to one or more of 10 specific foods. So what does this mean for the restaurant business? The food-allergic often cook at home, rarely eat out, and frequently bring their own meals to events: They are in complete food isolation land. Granted, there are sometimes vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free options at restaurants, but very rarely do I see menus offered specifically to the food allergic. For operators, this is actually quite exciting, because there is a major untapped market for serving the food-allergic.

In a recent poll I asked: “As a food-allergic or parent of a food-allergic, what would make you eat out more?” Almost 200 people replied, saying, “I would drive out of my way to eat at a place where I knew the food was `safe,’ and where there were special menus and an educated, sensitive staff.” Some respondents added that they would like to see all ingredients be listed on these special menus or easy-to-read labeling so they could select a menu item with confidence.

So why should your food business care about food allergies?

For one thing, there are legal issues to consider. A recent precedent may actually require you to make changes if your business is subject to American with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance.

As of January 2009, the ADA lists and recognizes people with food allergies as being among the disabled. In January 2013, a ruling against a Massachusetts university awarded a food-sensitive person $50,000 because the university was not carrying food she could eat on campus. Additionally, they ordered that all facilities have items a food-sensitive or allergic person could eat and a special location to store them in.

And then there are the revenues and customer loyalty. According to Global Industry Analysts, the market for food allergy and intolerance products has the potential to bring in $26.5 billion of revenue in the next four years. This is an enormous opportunity for food manufacturers, retailers and foodservice operators to tap into their share of a market that will only grow from here. In fact, Whole Foods attributes its 2012 success almost entirely to serving this population.

Food-allergic/sensitive people will be some of the most loyal customers you’ll ever meet. If you truly take the time to understand their needs and make meals they can enjoy without getting sick, they will travel long distances to eat at your restaurant or shop in your store. They write excellent reviews and ask all their friends to join them there.

If you have items on the menu for “special needs” diners, they will likely order it: Overall, the food-allergic are extremely deprived in the food world. If they see a dessert on the menu that they can actually eat, they will have dinner and dessert. If there is an appetizer, dinner, dessert and a beverage made without the ingredients they are allergic to, guess what? Their meal ticket is larger and you get the revenue.

What can your restaurant do to help serve the food-allergic/sensitive safely?

• Get staff trained and certified by a nationally recognized organization. It pays off! I have seen the difference between a certified food allergy staff and a “ServSafe” approved staff.

• Develop certified food/allergy-friendly menus and special request menus. These menus make it easier to serve special-request items more quickly during busy times, ensure safety of food products without triple-checking ingredients, avoid potential lawsuits for making a food-allergic person sick, and increase the confidence of the consumer and the staff.

• Work with a specialist. Culinary schools don’t teach their students this specialty, and many kitchen staffers don’t understand the importance of the issue. Most Registered Dietitians also don’t get specialty focus training on food allergies and sensitivities. Contact a food allergy specialist or a consultant to help, including Synergy Restaurant Consultants .

• Source alternative ingredients. You can still have regular macaroni and cheese on the menu, but then add a “dairy- and gluten-free mac and cheese” with a little flair and watch sales soar.

For more information on food allergies, log on to Lara’s blog at http://foodallergygal.blogspot.com/

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Dining and Whining: Dealing with Complaints

By Joan Lang

Customer complaints have been a fact of life since the first restaurant opened up for business in 18th-century France. But the landscape is shifting fast now that social media outlets such as Yelp and Facebook have come onto the scene, creating a new class of “citizen reviewers” who have been empowered to put their opinions, including complaints, out there on the internet for all the world to see.

Social media has been so empowering, in fact, that it has completely changed conventions: A new service called Reviewer Card makes it possible for reviewers, including Yelpers, to put a restaurant on notice that it may be reviewed, thus ensuring a better level of service, according to the card’s founders. (Ruth Bourdain, the Twitter-born parody mash-up of Ruth Reichl and Anthony Bourdain, immediately and rightly put this hostage-taking practice itself on notice.)

According to the 2012 Tork Report, a whopping 92% of U.S. consumers say they will complain about a negative restaurant experience, most often online. And never mind that some Yelp reviews may be fake. Operators need to take complaints seriously, and they need to ensure that problems in the restaurant are addressed before they become complaints.

The article “Life in the Age of Yelp” which we published in March 2012 still holds true for how to deal with online complaints: Monitor postings, establish policies for responding, and watch your tone and intent if you do address negative comments. Most experts agree that you should respond to online criticisms, either publicly or privately, in a thoughtful and respectful way —which demonstrates to both the commenter and anyone else reading your response that you take your guests’ satisfaction seriously.

There are also best-practice rules of engagement for old-fashioned “real time” complaints, the kind that come directly to the restaurant in the form of food returns, requests to speak to the management, follow-up letters, and the like. In fact, closely monitoring situations in the restaurant that may lead to complaints—such as a customer not eating their food—is especially important now, because being proactive can prevent them from going public later.

• Watch your customers. Are they looking around for a server or sitting for a long time without their food? Are their water glasses empty? Have three different wines that they’ve ordered been out of stock? It’s crucial to address issues like these for the sake of good hospitality, but it’s also a way to prevent a negative experience from becoming a complaint. You should also encourage staff to inform a manager if they see any situations developing.

• Intercede when you see something that’s not right. Let guests know you are aware there is a problem and that you are willing to take responsibility for correcting it as soon as possible. Offer a free dessert after a meal that has taken too long to arrive, or take the bottle of wine they eventually order off the check—and tell them so when the bottle arrives at the table. Chances are good that they will not only feel better about the experience but they will also tell their friends, and give you another chance.

• Keeping a log of problems and complaints and communicating them with all concerned parties (such as the management staff)—either in an actual book or with a digital tool like ShiftNote —can help identify patterns and point up potential problems that need to be addressed in operations. If three sets of customers in as many weeks say the gumbo was too spicy, maybe it is. It also ensures that all stakeholders are up to date.

• Consider using customer surveys. Make a survey available to guests with the check, on your website, or at a service counter. People who fill these out may be doing so because they’ve had a negative experience or are concerned enough to want to let you know what they think. Address any problems that may surface with a personal response and an offer to correct the situation or an invitation to return and give your establishment another chance.

• Realize that guests can feel awkward about complaining face-to-face. There are programs like Talk to the Manager, which allows customers to anonymously text complaints and comments directly to a manager’s cellphone.

• Engage your staff in the process. Employees who value their workplaces and co-workers help build customer satisfaction. Employees who are provided freedom, self-governance, and an ability to make choices about their work are not only more engaged in their jobs, but they are also more likely to address service issues before they become full-blown complaints.

Want more information about customer service issues? Call Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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Tip of the Month

Continuing education is great, but it can cost a lot in terms of both money and time. The Culinary Institute of America offers a number of free online courses through its ciaprochef.com  site, including such industry-supported eLearning modules as sustainable Alaska seafood, the cooking of Andalucia, and The World Bean Kitchen. There is also a series of four paid online Menu R&D courses conducted each year, as well as videos, recipes and other assets for foodservice professionals.

Greetings!

To your success,

Dean and Danny

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The Latest on Late-Night Dining

In St. Charles, MO, the local Applebee’s offers karaoke and half-price appetizers and drink specials from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., courtesy of the chain’s “bee’s Late Night” alter-ego. McDonald’s has featured its Breakfast After Midnight program in a number of test markets, including 24-hour locations. And in Boston, several serious restaurants are offering casual Asian-style post-party fare such as ramen and Korean-style fried chicken.

These are just a few of the many ways that restaurants are taking advantage of the “nocturnivore” cravings of a new generation of diners who want to eat out late but still well—a segment that early-to-the-trend Taco Bell famously dubbed fourthmeal. It’s a daypart that appeals not only to shift workers and college students on late-night study breaks but also to after-hours revelers and a whole lot of restaurant employees—and it also features prominently in the growth strategies of a number of savvy operators.

It’s all part of a larger trend toward snacking and eating smaller meals throughout the day, and it means that patrons no longer want to be locked into the standard breakfast-lunch-and-dinner schedule. Dunkin’ Donuts chief chef Stan Frankenthaler calls the phenomenon clockless dining, and it’s also driving such developments as 24-7 breakfast menus, late-afternoon bar menus, and smaller snack-size portions on menus (think Mickey D’s $1.99 Angus Snack Wraps and KFC’s Snacker line of little sandwiches).

While the main-meal idea still exists it’s been chipped away by the snacks that are in growing demand by on-the-go consumers, and now account for 20% of all meal occasions, according to the NPD Group. The research firm’s new “Snacking in America 2012” also reports that more than half of all Americans are snacking two or three times a day.

After-dark sales are a big beneficiary in these tectonic lifestyle changes—it stands to reason, especially where sales at lunch and dinner may have maxed out and fixed costs are already covered. At Applebee’s, for instance, the late-night daypart reportedly accounts for 13% of total sales, and has helped to boost demand for higher-margin alcoholic beverages.

Many restaurants satisfy hunger cravings with pared down late-night menus that are more in keeping with what guests want at that hour, and are also easier for the kitchen to execute. The Capital Ale House, in Richmond, VA, concentrates on such “simple servings” as sliders, meat and cheese plates, Belgian-style “frittes” (fries), and chicken wings. Sauce Restaurant in New York City dispenses packaged to-go fare like pasta with sauce, meatball sandwiches, and scrambled eggs with toast from a late-night window that’s open from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, when prep crew is onsite anyway, cutting meat and cooking the long-simmered foods that are a specialty of the dining room. Uni, an upscale Japanese sashimi specialist in Boston’s Eliot Hotel, morphs over into a more casual ramen bar at 11 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, with commensurately egalitarian prices—many an off-duty ramen-loving chef can be spotted there.

Speaking of late-night dining and chefs, in-the-know diners know to follow their favorite chefs to their chosen after-hours dining destinations for some of the best food and fandom. To that end, many restaurants sponsor after-hours Industry Nights knowing that not only will they get post-shift business from restaurant employees but they’ll also attract groupies and friends.

Vincent, a neighborhood bistro in Chicago, co-sponsors a regular first-Sunday-night-of-the-month Koffeeshop – Industry Night that does double-duty as an educational event. And part of the appeal of a new website/app called Chef’s Feed, in which high-profile chefs share their tips for where to eat and what to order, is finding out where they are when their own kitchens close.

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Choosing the Right Contractor

By Gary Wiggle, AIA, Restaurant Design

You have found the perfect location. Your design team has come up with a solution that encompasses your vision. So now, let’s get it built!

Who should I call? My neighbors had a great contractor remodel their house. The contractor who built the offices next door seemed like a very nice person. That may not be enough, however, because as it turns out, this is one of the most important decisions you can make as you start your project.

Building a project that involves specialty systems requires a contractor with experience in that type of construction. Restaurants are complicated—lots of plumbing, mechanical and electrical. Health and safety requirements reviewed by numerous agencies. Coordination of the kitchen equipment installation. Refined interior finishes in the public areas. It takes an experienced contractor to make it all work, and stay on budget and on schedule.
The type of restaurant is also an indicator of your contractor selection. A contractor who has built 20 chain fast food locations may prove to be a poor choice to build your full- service restaurant. A contractor with a great reputation building in food courts may not have the proper experience in building your new ground-up dinnerhouse.

Do your homework. Find out who builds similar restaurants, in type (fast casual, quick serve, full service), size, and budget. Get references and then talk to them and view their finished projects. Did they build for the same client more than once? Look at projects that are a few years old. Did the construction hold up? Are the systems still working? Has the maintenance been reasonable?

If the contractor is being selected early in a negotiated contract situation to help on the budgeting of the project, make sure they are experienced enough to give you accurate numbers—if they’re giving you the numbers that you will be basing all of your financial decisions on, they have to be right. If you have a $500,000 budget and you base all of your financing on these numbers, but the bids come in at $600,000 because the contractor was not familiar with what it takes to build a restaurant, your project is in jeopardy.

When this happens, the tendency is to blame the design team on “overdesigning” the project, when the reality is that it has been underbudgeted. Restaurants are inherently expensive building projects. The amount of furniture, fixtures, and equipment can add up to a great deal of money for even the simplest restaurant. And a successful restaurant, which is what you want, will also be used hard, meaning that durability is important.

Cost cutting to meet a poorly budgeted project typically involves less expensive finishes and poorer quality equipment—maintenance issues that will possibly impact the quality and success of your restaurant.
Do not base your decisions only on budget. It is very tempting to take that low bid. But I advise my clients that the best choice is not the lowest bid, but the lowest qualified bid. Price is very important, but look also at past experience, schedule and references. Is the bid following the plans and specifications or are there a number of substitutions and “value engineering” ideas included to make the number artificially lower? Is the schedule too good to be true? Doing your homework and researching the contractor’s reputation and abilities will always pay off.

Good restaurant contractors are out there! Using the right one cannot guarantee the success of your restaurant, but it will give you the right start to what we all hope is a tasty, enjoyable, and profitable restaurant business.

For help designing or rebranding your new restaurant project, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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In an Era of Hospitality Specialization, More Specialty Bars

Back in the July issue of this newsletter, we wrote about the blurring lines between bars and restaurants. Now, like restaurants, bars are specializing—not just along the lines of wine bars and brewpubs, but even by concept and type of spirits. And is it any surprise that many of these are run by restaurateurs who are diversifying into cocktails that complement the cuisines they love?

• Encore, a new high-end hotel-casino from Steve Wynn in Las Vegas, will play host to VDKA, a martini bar showcasing more than 150 types of vodka, including rare, top-shelf pours and such flavored vodkas as bacon, basil, tangerine, whipped cream and sugar cookie. The new bar will also feature a dispensary system that delivers the vodka perfectly chilled, which thickens the spirit and makes it more smooth

• Zapoteca Restaurante & Tequileria in Portland, ME, stocks more than 100 different kinds of tequila and mescal. In order to help educate guests about this relatively unfamiliar beverage, the restaurant offers tasting flights and weekly samplings, as well as private events that can be arranged via New England’s only certified tequila “sommelier”

• The Third Man, in New York City, styles itself as “an early 20th century Vienna themed bar,” with chef-inspired muddled cocktails and a limited menu of Austrian-style small plates prepared next door at Edi and the Wolf, an Austrian restaurant with the same owners

• Chicago’s new Three Dots and a Dash is a tiki bar (read: rum drinks) being developed by Rich Melman’s sons Jerrod and R.J., partnering with well-known Windy City bartender Paul McGee. It’s located downstairs from the Melmans’ relaunched Bub City, itself a country bar and barbecue restaurant that was originally started by Dad

• New York City has several new speakeasy-style bars specializing in gin, including Madame Geneva, which is adjacent to the popular Saxon & Parole. The cocktail list includes the Singapore Sling, a variation on a French 75, and of course an artisanal Gin & Tonic, and the brief menu of snacks touts such Asianate fare as shrimp toast, salt-and-pepper squid, and fries with vindaloo ketchup

• Seven Grand Whiskey Bar, in Los Angeles, serves—surprise—some 375 kinds of whisk(e)y from around the world, including comparative tasting flights of rye, bourbon, single malt, and Irish, organized for drinkers at three different levels of experience (entry-level to connoisseur). Seven Grand is even home to a Whiskey Society that is dedicated to educating the public about rare whiskies. Parent company 213 Nightlife, which operates 10 high-profile cocktail bars and pubs in the Los Angeles area, also owns Cana Rum Bar

• The underappreciated South American brandy called Pisco gets its own special treatment at Amaru Pisco Bar in the Queens, NY, neighborhood of Jackson Heights. Owned by Rodolfo Mayor, who helped introduce Peruvian-style rotisserie-chicken via the local chain Pio Pio, Amaru showcases some 16 different types of Pisco, for sipping straight or mixing into cocktails, plus a menu of snacks like anticuchos (beef heart skewers)

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Tip of the Month

The National Restaurant Association has released its much-anticipated “What’s Hot” culinary forecast of menu trends for 2013. Based on surveys of more than 1,800 chef-members of the American Culinary Federation, this year’s list runs the gamut from locally sourced meats and produce to whole-grain items on kids’ menus. This year, the NRA also surveyed nearly 200 professional bartenders, who shared their predictions about barrel-aged drinks, food-liquor pairings, and culinary cocktails for next year.

 

Greetings!

To your success,

Dean and Danny

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The Evolving Role of Mobile Apps

Just a few years ago we wouldn’t have written this article—that’s how quickly the world of device-based restaurant marketing has been moving. After all, according to Media Connection, mobile devices have achieved a reach of 100 million consumers 11 times faster than the internet did.

Mobile applications have also become more important, particularly for quick-service chains, as a tool for CRM (customer relationship marketing). And, these apps have become more complex, particularly in light of the multiplicity of platforms in use by customers, from iPhones and Androids to Kindles. That implies all kinds of issues about screen size, functionality, target audience and more for these tiny but powerful marketing tools.

A recent article on qsrweb.com posits that the best apps are now interactive information tools, not just a means for mobile order-placing or finding the nearest location. And that means that they are meant to be customized for each guest’s experience. For more information on how mobile apps can be used to improve not only profits but also customer relationships, download the report “Mobile Media Applications for Restaurants” here.

Take a look at some of the more noteworthy apps that have been introduced in the past few months alone, and what they do.

• The suite of apps available for Domino’s includes versions for iPhone, Android and—most recently—the Kindle Fire, enabling customers to access the entire menu for ordering takeout or delivery to any saved address (office, home, etc.). It also extends many of the company’s website-based online ordering features, including coupon search, store locator and the ability to follow an order with Domino’s Tracker.

• Starbucks, which has been a leader in mobile payment, has continuously upgraded the reach and functionality of its app. With Android having been added this summer, more coffee-drinkers can now access their rewards, and reload their accounts using PayPal. Meanwhile, the coffee giant’s Square Mobile Payment System is now live at 7,000 locations.

• Wendy’s introduced a mobile app this summer that functions as a customized nutrition system, allowing patrons to build a meal based on calorie targets or favorite menu items, giving fans “free reign to customize their tastiest, calorie-conscious creations, all on their smartphone.”

• Dunkin’ Donuts’ mobile app for iPhone, iPod Touch and Android smartphones, unveiled in August, includes payment and m-gifting platforms. In early November, the company added a new “My Offers” tab which enables patrons to get customized geo-targeted regional offers, such as 99-cent hot chocolate.

• Jersey Mike’s Shore Points Rewards loyalty program, which had 650,000 members as of mid-October, has been “mobilized” with an app that also lets iPhone and Android users access special offers through an opt-in text message system.

While full-service chains have been less quick to integrate mobile apps into CRM initiatives, T.G.I. Friday’s has been doubling down with improvements to its mobile ordering app that include not only rewards tracking but more recently music, celebrity gossip, movie news and other information.

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The Finer Points of Wine Service

By Joan Lang

Wine is more important than ever in many full-service restaurants, but it is often mishandled. Here are some tips and ideas to make your wine program more profitable and easy to execute.

 

1. Make sure your wine selection fits with your menu concept in both style and price. This subject could fill a book (and depends upon everything from your location and business plan to your ideology) but in general the selling price is usually double to triple the wholesale on any given bottle. You should, however, factor in the average cost of an entrée and be able to offer at least a few decent wines in that general range. This is much easier now that there are so many New World and other affordable wines available.

2. Serve wine at the proper temperature. Customers should never have to drink a “hot” red or wait for a white wine to come up to temperature so that they can taste it. Storing wines at the wrong temperature can also damage wine. Although fine wines are stored at temperatures that are unique to the varietal and other factors, typical temperature for storing red wine ranges from 52º – 65ºF, and 45º- 50ºF for white wines.

3. There are all kinds of ways to write a wine list—again, dependent upon the style of the restaurant and the personality of its owner, among other things. While you don’t want to overwhelm guests with information, in general your wine list is an educational tool as well as a means to help them make their decision: Country of origin is a must, and for better wines you should also include the producer and vintage, if applicable. A brief description can also be helpful if your audience warrants it.

4. A robust wine-by-the-glass program lies at the heart of a profitable, customer-friendly wine program. A good selection of wines by the glass should encompass at least four to six white wines of differing styles (i.e. rich and oaky, light, slightly sweet) and four to six reds, with the possible addition of a rose and a sparkling wine, depending upon the season.

5. Wine-by-the glass is also a good outlet for overstocks, samples, wine that will be phased out because of a list change, and other quality wines that need to be moved quickly. These can be merchandised as you would any special—blackboard-style or hand-sold against a specific food order.

6. Consider boxed, kegged and other large-format wines that can be served “on-tap.” Quality is much improved from the 1970s and ’80s when these wines were first introduced, and they are much easier to pour, store, and dispose of. There are also the environmental benefits of having less glass around. Under the right circumstances, table servers can even dispense these wines.

7. Boxed wines also make it easy to sell wine by the quartino, half-carafe or carafe, which is a win-win for value-seeking customers and busy service staff.

8. Stemless wine glasses, tumblers and other hardworking glass styles are a good fit with today’s more casual service style; come in a wide variety of sizes, styles and quality levels; and are much more durable, especially in mechanical dishwashers. They are also easier to store.

9. Train, train, train. The single greatest reason that wine programs fail is a lack of server education—not just the bartender but table service staff as well. You don’t need a squadron of wine geeks but you do need staffers who appreciate the role of wine in an enjoyable meal and are comfortable with its service.

a. Conduct regular tastings and service meetings—your distributor can probably help in this regard. It may cost a little money but it’s worth it

b. Supply handouts and emphasize simple, self-evident descriptions like “full-bodied” or “tastes like green apples and
grapefruit”

c. Consider tools like multimedia, videos, online training and even site visits to wineries or restaurants whose wine programs you admire, if your level of service warrants it

d. Allow and even encourage servers to taste that last heeltap of wine from an unfinished customer bottle that’s going to be tossed… after the shift

e. Make sure that anyone who will be serving wine to customers knows how to present the bottle, open it, and properly pour

10. The wine list, if there is one, should be presented at the same time as the menu.

11. Make sure servers can get their wine. A busy bartender or floor manager may not be the best person to ensure that customers receive their wine promptly after ordering, and nothing is more galling to a wine drinker than having to wait until halfway through the appetizers to start in on that bottle.

12. Service staff should never overpour on a bottle of wine or top off glasses too frequently. Many customers perceive this as a hard-sell, and they don’t necessarily mind refilling glasses themselves after the initial pour.

Want more ideas for maximizing your restaurant’s beverage potential? Contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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What Becomes a Legend?

By Joan Lang

The recent news that Boston’s landmark Locke-Ober restaurant would close

First opened in 1875, Locke-Ober was a bastion of fine dining and a cultural touchstone for the city, perhaps best known as the place where JFK enjoyed the signature lobster stew, and where the chairs of regulars were leaned symbolically against the walls when they died.

Famed Beantown chef Lydia Shire took over the kitchen a decade ago, with a mandate to help Locke-Ober keep pace with the times, but the writing was already on the wall: Rather than turn the restaurant into a casual bistro or a small-plates wine bar, owner David Ray opted to close it.

And yet I can think of several restaurants of similar lineage and historic place that are still going strong, including Tadich Grill in San Francisco and Galatoire’s in New Orleans. Granted, both of these cities un-coincidentally support a booming tourist economy and several other heritage restaurants (like Swan Oyster Depot and Antoine’s, respectively), but there’s more to it than that.

What the perennial appeal of such restaurants says to me is that service, ambience and quality food are indeed eternal. In fact, while the fresh seafood and traditional haute Creole cooking of Tadich and Galatoire’s are always satisfying, it’s the spot-on service and timeless atmosphere that always give customers such a sense of well-being in these restaurants.

They may not be trendy, they may not have buzz—and they certainly could be considered pricey for their respective markets—but even in the midst of earthquakes and floods, their seats and coffers are packed. And while they both get their share of out-of-towners, both of these restaurants still hold an important place in the life of their cities.

It’s precisely because of the dependable nature of these two restaurants that they have succeeded; locals know they can have a good meal in a comfortable seat, and be greeted by a waiter—it’s always a waiter—who probably knows their name and how they like their martini. There’s no star-chef arrogance and table-of-the-moment fueled anxiety.

Lawyers and titans of local industry still avoid the lines at Galatoire’s (the place takes no reservations) by coming late for lunch on Friday, whiling away the afternoon over another Sazerac until it’s too late to go back to the office. And as Anthony Bourdain said of Tadich Grill in an SFO episode of the television show No Reservations: “I am ashamed we don’t have something like this in New York.”

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Tip of the Month

Springpad represents an ideal means for sharing thoughts or cataloging projects with colleagues, especially across multiple locations. Post notes, documents, photos, messages, recipes, datapoints, ideas, links to articles and more in a way that can be accessible to everyone of the team-kind of like clipping folders for the internet age, only better.

 

 

Greetings!

To your success,

Dean and Danny

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Fast Food and Fast Casual: The Lines They Are a-Blurrin’

by Joan Lang

Recent efforts by Sbarro management to revitalize the aging mall-based concept into the country’s “pre-eminent” Italian fast-casual brand raises an interesting question: What exactly differentiates traditional QSRs from their newer—and more newsworthy—fast-casual competition? And how can fast-casuals continue to stay ahead when so many fast food brands are upgrading? After all, you can offer more variety and customization, which is one of the hallmarks of the fast casual niche, by simply offering more sauces and condiments.

In many ways the line between fast food and fast casual is a dotted one, but the positioning has been integral to the enviable success of concepts ranging from the well-established Chipotle and Panera Bread to the legions of nascent “better burger” chains like 25 Burgers and Shake Shack .

Both QSRs and fast-casual concepts offer speedy self-service and lower-end prices, but the prototypical fast casual concept features some if not all of the following upgrades to the experience:

• Better food quality, including more variety, ethic flavors and authenticity
• Menu prices and average checks that are 10-20% higher than those of QSRs
• More customized options, such as build-your-own burgers
• Fresh and/or made-to order menu items
• Display cooking or food prep
• Healthier menu alternatives, including vegetarian and gluten-free
• Emphasis on dine-in and take-out, rather than drive-thru
• Upgraded, less “plastic” décor (i.e., freestanding chairs) and building facilities
• A commitment to sustainability, through such efforts as green design, local or “ethical” sourcing, and/or corporate social responsibility programs
• High-tech amenities such as free wi-fi and online ordering
• Beer and wine service where applicable
• Customer appeal beyond the “heavy user” core of young adult males

It’s a field that’s about to get very crowded. This is the niche where every player seems to want a presence, especially since the Great Recession, when even affluent customers began spending more money  at self-service venues. Not surprisingly QSRs have been upgrading  like crazy lately in order to get into it. Even “cheap treats” like donuts  are getting an upgrade.

• Wendy’s is headed more upscale, with a more contemporary new logo and an attractive “urban” prototype , as well as new menu items like the Bacon Portabella Melt.
• Taco Bell’s growing “Cantina Bell” menu notably takes the chain in the direction of Chipotle, with Lorena Garcia designed burritos and bowls.
• Subway is testing a larger and more laidback Subway Café concept, which features not only an upgraded environment but also smoothies, cappuccino and a falafel sandwich.
• Starbucks is working on a Starbucks Evenings concept that includes small plates and wine and beer—the better for becoming a more sophisticated late-night desitination.
• Quiznos is replacing its recession-era $4 “Torpedoes” with a line of $8 prime rib sandwiches (prime rib and hollandaise steak sauce, for instance) and all-natural chicken sandwiches.

Last but not least, it’s working, as the perception of QSR quality by casual-dining regulars improves.

 

For information on how to upgrade your QSR concept, or protect your fast casual from encroaching competition, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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Live Fire Lights up Menus

Food prepared over an open fire never really went away, of course—it’s the original form of cooking, after all—but surging demand for all things rustic and authentic has inspired a revival in “live fire” menu concepts.

 

As a cooking method, fire has a lot going for it. There’s flavor, first and foremost, which can be manipulated not only with traditional methods such as marinades for meat and fresh herbs for vegetables, but also through the use of different fuels, such as applewood, mesquite and even vine cuttings. There are also the different effects produced by direct heat and indirect heat or smoking.

 

And then there’s the marketing value of an open fire. A restaurant that cooks with one smells heavenly—sometimes even from the street—but the backstory is fantastic, too. The sight of chefs taming the flames holds an atavistic appeal that’s hard to beat for drama.

 

A mini-boom of live fire restaurants in the late 1990s, led by such trendsetting restaurants as Fore Street in Portland, Maine, and Beacon in New York City (both of which are still going strong) first introduced food lovers to wood-fired grills and rotisseries.

 

In the intervening years, interest has intensified in such authentic cooking methods as pit-smoked regional barbecue and brick-oven pizza and breads. Now it seems like every chef wants some live fire of his or her own to cook with, including a wood fueled stone oven and an open wood grill.

• At Barrio 47, a Mediterranean restaurant in New York City, the batterie includes a custom-made wood-fired brick oven that produces flatbreads, steaks and slowly roasted meats like short ribs. Now chef Franco Barrio has inaugurated a Tuesday night Farm to Fire dinner series that draws attention to both the restaurant’s sourcing philosophies and its cooking style. The series will run the gamut from veal chop to oxtail cazuela, and finish with suckling pig

• Lakeside, David Walzog’s new seafood restaurant at the Wynn Las Vegas, features an entire menu section devoted to wood-oven roasted lobster and shellfish, along with mesquite smoked prime rib and premium steaks.

• At Embers Fire & Smoke, a new restaurant that just opened in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst the menu is arranged not by appetizers, entrees and dessert but rather by “fire” and “smoke.” For example, the fire section includes a brined, spice-rubbed chicken roasted on the wood fire, served with mashed potatoes and a Parmigiano-Reggiano broth with white wine, garlic, and shallots. Smoked items include traditional beef brisket and ribs, as well as trout and a stuffed entrée potato, roasted then smoked and served with brisket, pulled pork, cheddar, onion strings, and barbecue sauce.

• In Washington, DC, “Top Chef” Mike Isabella has opened Graffiato, where the wood oven turns out not only a variety of creative pizzas but also proteins ranging from seared scallops and charred octopus to crispy lamb and pork ribs

• Even in regulation-conscious Southern California, there’s wood oven smoke rising: Florent Marneau uses his wood-fired oven at Marche Moderne in Costa Mesa to turn out the likes of tarte flambée (a thin-crusted Alsatian tart topped with ham, caramelized onion, crème fraîche and Gruyere); roasted marrow served with toast, sauce Bordelaise, truffle butter and grilled asparagus; calamari with caper emulsion, lemon, parsley and garlic croutons; and roasted sea bass with tarragon-clam sauce, chanterelle mushrooms and crushed fingerling potatoes.

For more information on food trends and cooking techniques to liven up your menu, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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Uncommon Cures for the Slow Night

Most restaurants have a slow period, depending upon their location. Perhaps it’s a daypart or day of the week, like Saturday lunch or Tuesday night. Perhaps it’s during a season when the usual customers are doing something else, like paying their taxes or headed south for the winter. Or perhaps it’s due to an external event beyond their control, like playoff games or construction on the street outside.

Fortunately, there are ways to cope that go beyond the inevitable—and possibly brand-damaging—strategy of couponing. In fact, the best business builders provide a bonus, such as bringing in a new type of clientele or allowing the kitchen to test new menu items. For example:

1. Although most of its lunch menu is streamlined for the business crowd, Big Jones, which specializes in “heirloom Southern cuisine” in Chicago, courts a more leisurely lunch crowd with its new “Boarding House Lunch ca 1933.” Served family-style for all party members, the $16-per-person feast includes biscuits and cornbread, and fried chicken with sides. Dessert is extra, but includes such choices as buttermilk pie and Warm Coriander Oat Cake.

2. Dear Mom restaurant in San Francisco puts a spin on the more typical Industry Night promotion by featuring a “bartender’s brunch” (also open to other late risers) that lasts until 5 p.m. The menu features handover-curing foods like a Fog Cutter egg sandwich and roasted Brussels with lardo, fried egg, and lemon-horseradish crème fraîche—often prepared by guest chefs so the Dear Mom crew can sleep in, too.

3. In Los Angeles, AOC’s “Flights & Bites on Monday Nights” comprises a well-publicized schedule of a particular type of wine (i.e., Portuguese Dry Wines or Nebbiolo), priced at $12 and paired with $10 small plates of complementary cuisine.

4. Restaurants in Denver do an annual Ballpark Plates food festival in August, where $25-$30 tickets allow the buyer to sample from 21 different menus in the Ballpark Neighborhood.

5. Concord Cheese Shop in Concord, MA, has a Friday Night Dinner Club promo which comprises a three-course takeout meal designed to promote romance and relaxation for customers at the end of a hectic week. The selection includes a seasonal appetizer, main course and dessert, plus a complementary bottle of wine, for $75 for two.

6. Among the many nightly Happy Hour promos (a “Case of the Mondays” $5 cocktails, “Champagne Tuesdays”) designed to build early evening business at Lemaire in Richmond, Va., is the Friday night “His and Her Night,” featuring $5 Cosmos and Manhattans for the end of the work week.

7. Yusho, a yakitori restaurant in Chicago (yakitori is a concept where the bill can add up quickly), has recently begun serving Dinner on Sunday night, with a simple menu of five new noodle dishes, plus soft-serve and a housemade soda or draft cocktail for the new customer-inducing price of $20.

8. The newly renovated Five Crowns restaurant features an elaborate $100 per person specially created, multi-course Friday Night Chef’s Supper series which also allows new chef Greg Harrison to test new menu items.

9. To fill more of its 400 seats during late-night hours, Red Door in Chicago implemented a new 10 p.m.-2 a.m. tamale menu, priced at $3 per tamale, with such fillings as bulgogi pork and kimchi, corned beef and cabbage, buffalo chicken, and duck a l’orange—most of which is extra production from the regular dinner menu.

10. The 7-8 p.m. weekend prime time window can be the bane of a restaurant’s existence; Manhattan’s Le Cirque is one of several restaurants using airline-type “load factor” variable pricing to encourage customers to dine at less busy times. Meals are discounted or subsidized by reservation time or night through Gilt City coupons and other tools, and the restaurant fills more tables.

11. Sel de la Terre, a French restaurant in Boston, has instituted a Late Night Seoul Kitchen noodle bar menu that offers lower prices and more casual dining, with Korean fried chicken, steamed buns and noodle soups, all appealing to younger diners, industry types, and other late-nighters.

12. Wednesday night is Date Night at Tao in Brunswick, ME, with a choice of four different prix fixe menu options, priced $40 for 2 to $60 for 2, for a series of 6-8 courses. Most of these are items off the regular menu, which simplifies matters for the kitchen but still offers customers an interesting meal at a good price.

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Tip of the Month

For more information on fast food versus fast casual, check out the article “Fast Food vs. Fast Casual: What Consumers are Seeking”  from a recent American Express Market Briefing.

 

To your success,

Dean and Danny

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The Mathematics of Restaurants

by J. Clyde Gilfillan, JCG3 Development Inc.

The “mathematics” of the restaurant business is really not about math per se: It’s about putting the business into equations (simple terms) that get to the core of what successful companies are doing in this challenging and wonderful world of hospitality. Perhaps these “equations” will ring a bell within yourself and/or your organization.

FOOD + SERVICE + DÉCOR = SYSTEMS

Food, service, and décor are the pillars of our business. In order to achieve the entry price of business in today’s industry, they all must match the concept and brand. This is the culture you want to operate in. Systems—the way to operate within the culture—allow people to execute within a clear and understood environment. Keep systems simple, and your chances of success are on the plus side. Established systems come from a united culture and a united management team. Without systems in place, you are asking your management team to guess what is expected, and chaos could reign.

HIRING + TRAINING + CLARITY + FOLLOW UP = RESULTS-ORIENTED PEOPLE

Results-Oriented People are produced through:

a. Diligent hiring (hire tough) – Find the right fit before the hire and not afterward; don’t hire out of desperation.

b. Uncompromised and thorough training – Don’t bypass this crucial step to rush people through? You will regret it later. Training should be thorough and complete.

c. Clarity of standards, expectations, and performance levels communicated to ALL staff – This step is essential. Clarity is the leader’s #1 job.

d. Follow-up through one-on-ones, meetings, and evaluation sessions – Feedback is crucial in garnering top performance from people. Your staff needs a safe environment to hear and react to constructive feedback on performance—the good parts and the challenges.

e. Culling nonperformers from the team – They will bring down the superstars you have on your team, poisoning the well and causing your best employees to seek a better environment elsewhere. Be diligent in targeting “good” turnover and honor those top performers on your team.

SYSTEMS + RESULTS-ORIENTED PEOPLE = OPERATIONAL CONSISTENCY

Once systems are in place and you have, for the most part, results-oriented people on your team, consistency is only achieved through motivated people who will enthusiastically execute systems with precision. You must provide the environment that engenders this enthusiasm. Constant and/or reactive change endangers the existence of consistency—for your associates and your guests.

OPERATIONAL CONSISTENCY + MARKETING = SALES

Sales are simply a function of the above equations and how you market to promote increased frequency, new trial, and increased party size. Marketing can only provide customers; consistent operations drive sales—always. When you bring customers into your business via marketing, it is the job of Operations to execute so that your patrons will realize the value, goodness, and uniqueness of your product.

SALES + COST CONTROL = PROFIT

Profit is easier to attain if you have managed the above equations and have installed cost control, including but not limited to food and labor costs. This is not a business in which we can prosper by cutting costs—this will eventually catch up to us. However, effective cost controls are a must to maximize profits and ROI. Be “greedy” so to speak: Drive sales and keep costs in line.

As simple as these equations sound, they are not easy to execute. Compromise on one of these areas, and the equations break down. The Mathematics of Restaurants is simply a way to look at a complicated business in a new light—to break it down to manageable aspects at all levels.

For help with the “math” of your business, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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The New Meaning of “Sustainability” Today

This year’s What’s Hot chef survey (in which the National Restaurant Association surveyed more than 1,800 chefs affiliated with the American Culinary Federation about trends in food, beverages, cuisines and culinary themes) put sustainability at position #5 on the list of the Top 10 trends for 2012.

But what does that mean? At a time when initiatives like recycling and local sourcing go almost without saying for many restaurants—and in fact, locally sourced meats and seafood and locally grown produce commanded the #1 and #2 spots, respectively—how exactly does the concept of sustainability play out today in the restaurant industry?

Certainly, it’s a moving target. In 2009, organic produce was #3 on the list; the following year it had fallen off entirely, victim perhaps of loosening regulations, and a mounting body of evidence that organics may not be any healthier than conventional fruits and vegetables anyway. Meanwhile, some three-quarters of respondents in a SmartBrief poll reveal that they source local or sustainable ingredients most or all of the time, and 86% reported that their operations feature “sustainable measures.”

In announcing its 2012 Power Ranking for the 10 most sustainable restaurants in the United States, Food Republic defined the goal as “designing an efficient, eco-friendly environment, reducing waste, recycling, composting, using biodegradable products when possible, conserving water and generally paying more attention to one’s impact on the environment.” Ingredient sourcing, it seems, is a given.

Transparency

Expressions such as “Big Food” and “Big Agriculture” (like Big Pharma and Big Tobacco) say it all: Between foodborne-illness outbreaks, questions about the food supply, concern for the environment, package and menu labeling controversies, and more, consumers seem to be losing faith in the global food system

This October, in fact, the subject of the James Beard Foundation’s third annual National Food Conference will be trust, and how the food and restaurant industries can establish and maintain it. For the post-Facebook generation, in particular, where everything is shareds, nothing must be hidden.

Plenty of organizations are already trying. A recent article in Time magazine credited the open kitchen phenomenon, particularly in such mainstream venues as Chipotle and Domino’s, as being driven by consumer demand for transparency—full disclosure about what’s going on with the food in the kitchen. When you can see it being prepared, goes the thinking, the stuff must be okay.

Other players are getting out ahead of the game on menu labeling; Ruby Tuesday, for instance, has an extremely comprehensive yet easy-to-understand 24-page Menu Guide that breaks out the menu by potential allergern (i.e., eggs and gluten/wheat).

And McDonald’s, which has lately been promoting many sustainability initiatives, has released Best of Green and Best of Sustainable Supply reports that exhaustively detail its worldwide best practices in these areas. The Best of Green report even highlights “Planet Champions” in each of eight areas, ranging from energy conservation to packaging.

Animal Welfare

The humane treatment of animals has become an increasing concern for consumers in recent years, and recently Jack-in-the-Box became just one of the latest in a string of major food companies that have committed to eliminating gestation crates from its pork supply chain.

And this is just the latest in a series of developments that have led to the rising popularity of free-range chicken, cage-free eggs, pasture-raised beef and other examples of animal protein from so-called higher welfare systems.

Restaurants can reap a whole lot of cred from promoting their use of humanely raised meats. Chipotle has raised tremendous awareness and respect for its programs—as this groundbreaking ad confirms. Pambiche, a Cuban restaurant in Portland, OR, features its efforts prominently on its blog and shouts out the local farms whence its meat is sourced on the menu. Businesses that pass muster with an organization like Certified Humane reap numerous PR benefits, not to mention listing on the site. And of course many chefs and customers like the taste and presumed health benefits of meats and fowl that have been raised using more natural practices.

Many observers believe that this issue will have a growing impact on restaurant operations in the future—the only limiting factor at this point for many larger foodservice organizations, like Bon Appetit Management, is not enough supply.

While it’s commendable that so many companies are taking up the cause of animal welfare, the solutions are just not that simple. There’s no denying that the conditions endured by most animals raised for meat are appalling, but factory farming methods were developed to meet the American consumer’s demand for food that is both plentiful and cheap. In the case of gestation crates, the National Pork Producers Council—hardly an unbiased source, admittedly—has warned that eliminating them will raise prices for producers and consumers across the board. Factory farming was created to drive as much cost out of the system as possible, and in order to avoid it consumers and companies both must be willing to put their money where their mouths are.

Greener Practices

From building design to operational practices, some of the most exciting sustainability initiatives being undertaken by the restaurant industry have almost nothing to do with food:

• The city of Tempe, AZ, has partnered with area restaurants to explore uses for spent cooking oil that will keep it out of the waste stream and convert it to an energy source

• Houlihan’s Restaurants has participated in a wine cork recycling pilot program called ReCork

• A Starbucks unit in Tukwila, WA, is made from recycled shipping containers

• Sauce Restaurants, part of Fox Restaurant Concepts in Phoenix, has introduced “green” takeout packaging made from recycled ingredients

• The Four Seasons hotel in Philadelphia saves all of is compostable kitchen scraps, which are then used in its gardens and landscaping

Social Responsibility

We’ll cover the subject in more depth in a subsequent issue of this newsletter, but ethical issues ranging from having a code of conduct for safe working conditions and fair wages, to community involvement and charitable giving have also become an important part of today’s sustainability equation.

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Crazy for Cured Meats

By Joan Lang

Five years ago, most restaurant patrons would have thought salumi was a misspelling—today, chefs and customers can’t get enough of sausages, pates, charcuterie, artisan hams and all the other examples of cured-meat artistry. (Salumi refers to the Italian form of sausages and hams, which arrived on the trend scene first; charcuterie is its French counterpart, and includes pates as well cured meats.)

“Meat plates” are everywhere, it seems, thanks to the rising interest in heirloom pork, nose-to-tail cooking and handcrafted foods. Whether housemade or purchased—or a combination of both—hams, sausages and other cured meat creations are the ultimate shareable starter or gastropub lunch. Along with them go cheeses, nice breads, jams and pickles, spiced nuts, dried fruits and all kinds of other artisanal ingredients.

At The Salty Pig in Boston, customers can build their own bespoke plates from an a la carte list that includes such “Salty Pig Parts” as Prosciutto di Parma, housemade pate and chicken liver mousse, and handcrafted sausages from such well-known producers as Zoe’s and Fra’ Mani. A companion selection of domestic and imported “Stinky Cheeses” and such additions as olives, fig jam and pickled Basque peppers round out the plate makings. Many of these ingredients are also cross- utilized in pre-selected luncheon assortments, sandwiches, pizza and more.

Aldea,  in New York City, offers three different artisanal hams—classic Spanish Serrano; a domestic version from Surry, VA, called Surryano; and the newly iconic Benton’s Country Ham from Tennessee—among its snacks.

Beast and the Hare , in San Francisco, is locally beloved for its small plates and housemade charcuterie, which at any given time might include Italian lardo (cured pork fat), Spanish chorizo, the spicy Calabrian-style meat paste known as nduja, and classic French pate de Campagne—a happy mix of cured meat cultures that goes perfectly with robust selection of beers and wine by the glass.

Meanwhile, Fatted Calf Charcuterie in Napa is running classes in such topics as Whole Hog Butchery and Blood & Guts to sell-out crowds of chefs and citizens alike.

Here are several easy ways to capture the trend:

• Start slow with housemade. Rillettes are one of the easiest charcuterie products to produce in-house—a kind of spread, usually made with finely chopped or ground pork and its fat, but easily also adaptable to duck, salmon and other proteins, which can be served in individually portioned jars along with hunks of baguette and some cornichon pickles

 

Other relatively easy products to make in-house include the aforementioned lardo as well as pancetta and simple pates.

 

• Experiment with hams. The world is full of beautiful hams , including Italian prosciutto and culatello, Spanish Serrano and Iberico, and more recently fine artisanal products from the United States, including Benton’s country hams and prosciutto from La Quercia in Iowa. A tasting plate or a la carte selection of hams and other smoked and dried meats (like speck and coppa) makes an excellent menu offering that can even be assembled at the bar.

 

• Buy artisanal. From a small group of producers and importers that could barely keep up with demand a few years ago to a booming cottage industry, cured-meat producers have thrived. Many cities have great purveyors, and such products are increasingly being carried by specialty distributors and can even be mail-ordered. Various types of salami, smoked meats, pates and terrines, dried and fresh sausages, specialty bacon and more can be sold individually or assembled into plates.

 

• Pay attention to accessories. Bread, cheese and crackers or toasts are a given, but there are also mustards, olives, nuts, relishes and pickles, and fresh and dried fruits to consider. I recently had an excellent plate at Earth restaurant in Kennebunk, ME, that included oven-dried grapes on the branch, more juicy and dramatic than raisins could ever be.

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Tip of the Month

Being More Humane

There are numerous organizations, including the Humane Society, that can help operators define and source products that take animal welfare into account.

Though intended for a retail audience, this article from The Lempert Report provides a good overview.