Italian Grandmas Run Staten Island Restaurant

The Enoteca Maria restaurant of Staten Island, NY serves truly authentic Italian style home cooking every evening.  They can make such a bold claim because anyone who ventures into the kitchen in this small 35-seat restaurant will find an actual Italian Grandma bent over the stove conjuring up classic recipes that have been passed down...

Fish Fraud: Tempting, But Definitely Not Worth It

Customers love ordering good fish when they go out to eat.  Species with powerful name recognition like orange roughy, grouper, and salmon are great sellers on the menu and can be found in restaurants across the country.  But are consumers getting exactly what they pay for?  Some fish species, especially those with a light white meat, can be interchanged fairly easily without the knowledge of the customer. It’s an age-old...

Menu Trends: Smaller Portion Sizes Seen As A Big Value

National chains like The Cheesecake Factory, Chili’s, and T.G.I. Friday’s have rolled out smaller, leaner, competitively priced menu items that are having considerable success targeting two primary consumer concerns: watching their weight and watching their wallets. For years the trend in the food service industry was towards bigger and bigger portion sizes.  The “bigger is better” approach worked as long as customers...

Hungarian Pigs Are Cool Again

It’s hard to believe, but there are fads in pork, just like anything else.  100 years ago, a Hungarian breed of pig called Mangalitsa was the preferred pork breed for restaurants across Europe and the eastern U.S.  Over the last century their popularity declined for a variety a reasons.  The Mangalitsa also fell out of favor...

The Long Hard Road To Sushi Greatness

Matsuhisa restaurant in Beverly Hills, CA Chef Nobu Matsuhisa always knew he wanted to be a sushi chef.  From the first time his brother took him to a sushi restaurant in his native Japan, Matsuhisa has aspired to make people happy with top quality...

Brazilian Chef Recognized On The International Stage

Chef Alex Atala, son of Lebanese immigrants and raised in Brazil, is himself a blending of cultures separated by huge geographical distances and divergent attitudes.  Perhaps this is why he is perfectly suited to bring the flavors of Brazil to global prominence. Chef Atala achieved recognition by creating a hybrid cuisine from...

Menu Trends: Potatoes Make A Comeback

The Good Ol' Potato Everyone remembers the bad rap potatoes got when the Atkins Diet was at its peak – too many carbs meant the potato should be avoided at all costs.  But times, and attitudes, have changed as more and more people realize diets are less about all protein and more about making healthy food choices. ...

Time To Move the Beef!

Prime beef cut prices are at 7 year lows! Some restaurateurs are taking advantage of a 7 year low in choice and prime beef to offer their customers some great values on more expensive beef cuts like sirloin, ...