Big operators like Chili’s, Applebees, The Cheesecake Factory, and others are always looking for ways to improve taste and customer experience while increasing efficiency. These companies spend a lot of money every year in research and development, and studying the trends that come out of the big chain restaurant’s R&D …
Read More »Sardines: Sustainable AND Delectable??
Sardines don’t exactly evoke thoughts of fine seafood to most Americans. Instead, many think of tin cans packed with greasy, mushy fish and some kind of sauce. Growing up, I only ate sardines on camping trips, and then only reluctantly. I doubt anyone would look at sardines on the menu …
Read More »Man Blames 9 Foot Tapeworm on Chicago Restaurant
After eating a fish salad at a Chicago restaurant, in which he claims the salmon was undercooked, a man developed a nine-foot-long tapeworm. The restaurant denies they are responsible for the man’s unwelcome gastronomic guest. The man is, of course, suing. In general, however, scientists are concerned with a growing …
Read More »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 …
Read More »Menu Trends: Native American Fry Bread
In tough times, people always rely on familiar, basic foods to get them through. Trends in the restaurant industry so far in 2009 have borne out this truism. For Native Americans, the equivalent of chicken soup and hamburgers is Indian fry bread, a staple in their diets for 150 years, …
Read More »How To Grow Sales With A Commercial Bar Blender
Summer heat has a way of putting your customers in the mood for cool, refreshing drinks. You already have the standards covered: cold beer, ice tea, and maybe even margaritas or daiquiris, but are you really satisfying your customer’s demand for great cold drinks? Mixology is the study and development …
Read More »Weird Food: Goat Meat Isn’t Really All That Weird
To most Americans, goat meat sounds like a foreign and unsavory dish consumed in far-off places by people who don’t have many other options. In reality, goat is the most commonly consumed type of meat the world over, and not just in the Third World. America is one of the …
Read More »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 …
Read More »Hungarian Pigs Are Cool Again
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 with pork producers, because they require open pasture …
Read More »Wine On Tap. Better Taste, Better Value.
A few restaurateurs in the United States have turned to some revolutionary ideas to overcome the perennial problem of wine by the glass: oxygenation. Sticking a cork back in the half empty bottle and returning it to the undercounter fridge behind the bar is common practice, but not even close …
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