Chefs & Restaurants Articles

The Decade in Restaurant Trends

by Hanna Raskin, Posted Dec 29th 2009 @ 11:00AM

Woe to the unfortunate eaters who faithfully followed the past decade's dining trends: Smaller portions, rising prices and the unabated craze for comfort food (especially dishes involving pork products) would presumably have left them far fatter and poorer than they were in 1999.

But for diners who enjoyed the last 10 years in small doses, the aughts were downright delicious -- thanks to local sourcing, a vigorous insistence on fresh and seasonal ingredients and, yes, all those pork products.

If there was one trend that defined the first breaths of this millennium, it was a general resistance to trendiness. In years ruled by buzzwords like "authentic," "heritage," "artisanal," "traditional" and "classic," what was deemed cool at the decade's outset pretty much stayed that way: If there's an organic greens and sustainable seafood backlash brewing, it hasn't perked yet.

Still, we're pressing ahead with a restaurant trend-by-year taxonomy. Nitpickers will notice that the assignments are sometimes rather arbitrary: Was 2003 or 2004 the year that celebrity chefdom raged most fiercely? Is it fair to call 2005 the year of foam, considering it was already old hat in big cities and still years away from arriving in small towns? Argue among yourselves.

Filed under: Trends, Chefs & Restaurants, Restaurants

Applebee's Lets You Contact Your Server From Table Computers

COMMENTS 6

by Jennifer Lawinski, Posted Dec 15th 2009 @ 5:30PM

applebee's Photo: Omar 2080, Flickr

A new table-top computer device installed at several Central Florida Applebee's franchises this fall allows customers to summon their servers at the touch of a button.

"It puts the guest in constant contact with the server," James Whyte, general manager of an Orange City Applebee's, tells the Orlando Sentinel.

The system, designed by ESP Digital Media, based in Charlotte, N.C., was first installed two years ago in Tampa Applebee's franchises owned by Casual Restaurant Concepts, Inc. It is being piloted in other markets, the paper said.

Casual Restaurant Concepts, based in Tampa, owns Applebee's franchises across Central Florida. The company didn't respond to Slashfood's request for comment.

Filed under: Food News, Chefs & Restaurants, Restaurants

What Can I Get You Folks? - Applebee's Lets Guests Electronically Summon Servers

COMMENTS 17

by Hanna Raskin, Posted Dec 15th 2009 @ 5:00PM

Photo: saschapohflepp, Flickr

Remember the Omnibot? When Radio Shack first introduced the short-lived 1980s sensation, it promised buyers could "astound and impress their party guests" by relying on the personal robot to deliver their drinks.

Now Applebee's is borrowing the Omnibot's shtick, employing a newfangled electronic system that's designed to downplay the human element of service. In restaurants across central Florida, servers are now outfitted with watches that vibrate whenever their guests press tabletop buttons.

Applebee's diner Virginia Wesson this week told the Orlando Sentinel she loves her button, since she often has trouble getting her server's attention.

"This way, they have no choice," Wesson said. "They make sure you can't be ignored."

Filed under: Chefs & Restaurants, New Products, Restaurants

Steak-Out Mounts Revival in Texas

COMMENTS 0

by Hanna Raskin, Posted Dec 14th 2009 @ 3:00PM

steak Photo: Roland, Flickr

A steak delivery chain that's closed half its outlets is pinning its turnaround hopes on a state that seems perpetually starved for beef.

"If you can't make a steak delivery system work in Texas, then something's very wrong," concedes Mark Kime, who opened the state's first Steak-Out in Fort Worth late last month.

The Steak-Out concept -- summarized on the company's Web site as "from our grill to your door" -- was created in 1986 in Alabama by David Martin, who helped grow the chain to 70 stores. There are now a mere 30 outlets spread across a dozen Southern and Midwestern states.

According to a recent story in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the chain shut down 10 stores over the last 18 months for under-performing and failing to comply with company standards. Chief Operating Officer Peter Petrosian told the paper that Steak-Out plans to revitalize its operations by recruiting more franchisees like Kime, who's spent 17 years in the restaurant business.

Filed under: Chefs & Restaurants, Restaurants

'Real Cajun' - Cookbook Spotlight

COMMENTS 0

by Jacqueline Terrebonne, Posted Dec 14th 2009 @ 2:00PM

real cajun cookbook Photo: Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.

'Real Cajun: Rustic Home Cooking from Donald Link's Louisiana.'
By Donald Link with Paula Disabrowe
Photographs by Chris Granger
Clarkson Potter 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Although Donald Link's restaurants, Cochon and Herbsaint, are located in New Orleans, these recipes are not the food of that city. Far from the touristy restaurants, his food comes from a place off the highways and byways that run along Louisiana's bayous. The book lives up to its title-serving Cajun food at its simple and rustic best. This collection is filled with family recipes that have been honed and perfected with the skill of chef but without losing site of how people cook at home.

In creating this book Link said he set out to "preserve a way of life and give people an idea of how it really is." He's repairing the misconceptions of Cajun food that came with the blackened craze that swept the country in the '80s, and his recipes demonstrate and explain the wide variations between Cajun and Creole.

Along with the recipes, he shares insight into Cajun traditions and the country cooking that can usually be made in just one pot and never requires any fancy kitchen gadgets. There are plenty of recipes that make wonderful week-night meals, such as the Post-K Meatloaf that separates the flavor base of brown sugar and a generous portion of bacon from the actual meatloaf. But the real magic happens in those recipes that call for hours at the stove-perfect for this time of year when the warmth of a simmering pot keeps away the chill.

Filed under: Chefs & Restaurants, Books, Restaurants, Reviews, Cookbook Spotlight

Editor's Picks - Best of the Rest

COMMENTS 4

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Dec 11th 2009 @ 5:00PM

Photo: law_keven, Flickr

More acidic oceans, a consequence of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, can produce jumbo-size shelled marine species, including lobsters, crabs, and shrimp.
In other CO2 news, Max Burger restaurant in central Stockholm claims to be the first restaurant chain in the world to publish carbon dioxide emissions on its menu.
Congress will get a school lunch next week when the USDA will serve them chicken fajita strips, sliced ham and canned green beans, the same products the agency gives schools across the country.
Woman caught on a hidden camera sneaking into a New York apartment by coming in through a crawlspace and raiding the pantry. Resident believes she had been secretly living there for weeks.
Ganja Gourmet becomes first marijuana restaurant to open. It's located in Colorado, where medicinal marijuana is legal.
Memorabilia from the bankrupt restaurant Tavern on the Green will be auctioned Jan. 13-14. Items will include the Central Park restaurant's crystal chandeliers, silver candelabras, stone sculptures and other decorative items.
Finally, Food & Wine has compiled lists of the best airport dining spots and the best places to dine out during the holidays, including Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix.

Filed under: Newspapers, Food News, Food Politics, Chefs & Restaurants, Restaurants, News

Is This the Restaurant of the Future?

COMMENTS 7

by Jennifer Lawinski, Posted Dec 11th 2009 @ 3:30PM

cotton candy Photo: _e.t, Flickr

Small plates. Swanky hotel addresses. Open floor plans. Avant-garde olives.

As customers balk at the cost of luxury dining, is this future for high-end restaurants?

With its tapas-style menu and nightclub ambiance, The Bazaar by José Andrés, a Beverly Hills, Calif., bar and restaurant, grossed $13 million last year when other luxury establishments like D'Amico Cucina in Minneapolis and Chantarelle in New York City are closing their doors, the Wall Street Journal reported.

"This restaurant-packed at a time when many others are discounting or closing their doors-may be the future of fine dining," the Journal reported.

Filed under: Food News, Chefs & Restaurants, Restaurants

104-Year-Old New Orleans Restaurant Galatoire's Changes Hands Twice in 24 Hours

COMMENTS 2

by Jennifer Lawinski, Posted Dec 10th 2009 @ 5:30PM

Photo: matt.ohara, Flickr

What a difference a day makes. In just 24 hours the storied Galatoire's restaurant on Bourbon Street in New Orleans -- owned for 104 years by the same family -- was sold. And sold again, the Times-Picayune reported.

At the end of the day Wednesday, New Orleans mayoral candidate and entrepreneur John Georges had a majority stake in the James Beard award-winning Galatoire's, famous for its Creole cuisine and Friday business lunches that last all day.

"You're not investing in a restaurant when you're investing in Galatoire's," Georges told Slashfood. "Galatoire's is just a way of life in New Orleans."

Filed under: Food News, Chefs & Restaurants, Restaurants

Bocuse d'Or Fever Hits American Culinary World

COMMENTS 2

by Jacqueline Terrebonne, Posted Dec 8th 2009 @ 2:00PM

Bocuse d'Or

Have you heard of the Bocuse d'Or? A year or two ago, the answer would probably have been a firm no. But over the last couple of years, it's been popping up in the news and around the dinner tables of foodies more and more frequently.

Maybe you caught the "Top Chef" episode, where contestants competed in a Bocuse d'Or-inspired challenge. Or perhaps you've read about Andrew Friedman's just-released book "Knives at Dawn," which tells the tale of the most recent American team -- from the rigorous training to the big competition, which involves preparing two ridiculously complex dishes served on enormous mirrored platters.

The contest, often described as the Olympics of the culinary world, began in 1987 in Lyon, France, under the leadership of Chef Paul Bocuse, who Tim Ryan of the Culinary Institute of America described as "Elvis Presley and the Beatles rolled into one" at Monday's semifinals announcement. Despite America's recent thirst for cook-offs and throw-downs, the high-end culinary competition has been slow to gain recognition in the United States. But last year, heavy-hitters Daniel Boulud, also from Lyon, and Thomas Keller got behind the American effort to change all that.

Filed under: Food News, Chefs & Restaurants, Events

Bocuse d'Or USA Announces Semifinalists

COMMENTS 3

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Dec 7th 2009 @ 7:00PM

Without further adieu here are the 12 semi-finalists bidding to represent the USA in 2011. Or as superstar chef and chairman of the board for Bocuse d'Or USA Foundation, Daniel Boulud simply put it, "Voilà."

1. Luke Bergman, the Modern, New York

2. Danny Cerqueda, Carolina Country Club, Raleigh, N.C.

3. Michael Clauss, Daily Planet , Burlington, Vt.

4. Kevin Gillespie, Woodfire Grill, Atlanta, Ga.

5. James Kent, Eleven Madison Park, New York

6. Mark Liberman, Roxy's Black Sheep, West Palm Beach, Fla.

7. Christopher Parsons, Catch, Winchester, Mass.

8. Jennifer Petrusky, Charlie Trotter's, Chicago

9. John Rellah, New York Yacht Club, New York

10. Jeremie Tomczak, French Culinary Institute, New York

11. Andrew Weiss, the Chef's Workshop, Las Vegas

12. Percy Whatley, the Ahwahnee, Yosemite, Calif.

These semifinalists will compete on Feb. 6, 2010, at the CIA in Hyde Park, N.Y., to determine who will go on to represent the USA at the Bocuse d'Or competition in Lyons, France, in 2011.

Filed under: Food News, Chefs & Restaurants, Celebrities, Restaurants, Chefs