Swallow, a Philadelphia BYOB, relaunched their menu today and their new offers are specifically designed to take the current economic downturn in mind. They've ditched their previous modern Italian menu and have replaced it with an entire menu of macaroni and cheese. The menu allows you to design your own entree. You first pick small (base price $5) or large ($7) dish and then determine which two cheese you'd like. For an additional $2-3, you can choose three veggies, meats or herbs to mix into your mac and cheese. In addition the build your own menu, they have a selection of favorites that you can pick from if you're feeling overwhelmed by the number of choices.
This is the first time I've heard of a restaurant scrapping an entire menu in response to the economy. It could either be a brilliant move or a tragic misstep.
[via Meal Ticket]
12-02-2008 @10:04PM Stacie said... Meh. If funds are tight, I'd use my scarce restaurant dollars on something I couldn't easily make at home.
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12-02-2008 @10:38PM amyco said... $1.50 for an extra herb? $12 for a large bowl of mac and cheese? How frugal is that? I would add all meat and then take it home and sprinkle on my own darn parsley. Maybe I am missing something...
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12-03-2008 @8:45AM affidavid said... the misstep isn't tragic, it's asinine. when this doesn't work maybe they'll ditch the mac-n-cheese and turn their entire menu over to pb&j.
you start with a base of two slices of bread for $5, then choose a peanut butter (creamy or chunky) and a jelly or jam off the menu. for an additional $2-3 you can swap for a different nut butter (almond, cashew) or eschew the jam for items like chocolate, sliced banana, nutella, etc.
50 cents to have the sandwich cut in half, 75 cents to be cut diagonally.
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12-03-2008 @10:01AM ryan said... http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-publick-house-brookline
The Publick House in Boston has kind of the same sort of Mac N Cheese.
I believe they start with cheese tortellini, 4 artisanal cheeses, and then $4-6 per add in.
My friend had bacon and scallops in his. It looked great. I went with the fish and chips, on recommendation from our waitress.
It is also a very awesome beer bar to boot.
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12-03-2008 @11:15AM e said... Doesn't seem all that frugal to me either. Granted their prices prior to the overhaul were on a totally different level. But it still doesn't seem all that affordable, or unique in a neighborhood that houses many gastropubs and restaurants all of which seem to serve macaroni and cheese.
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12-03-2008 @1:16PM Rt said... Affi,
Stop, you're killin' me! I have to laf at what some people call frugal. How great must their aversion to work in the kitchen be? Maybe it is the shopping.
It reminds me of the cartoon about airline pricing. If you wanted to use the emergency oxygen it was an additional $15.
Carried to its extreme this goes to tipping. One would think employees are paid by the business and not dependent on the largess of strangers. I'm led to believe tipping is an insult in Japan while parts of Europe consider 'overly generous' tips to be a form of charity and equally insulting. In the US it's a scam. The business takes a cut of the tips, as do the cooks, dishwashers, and the dog of the restaurant owner.
But that is another matter entirely.
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