"menus" news and stories

Technology has managed to make all manner of service employees practically obsolete -- bank tellers, travel agents, grocery store checkers. Are waiters next?

When you think about it, the newfangled gadget that tech startup E la Carte released this week has been sort of a long time coming. It's basically a more rugged version of an iPad that allows you to touch-screen your way through a restaurant menu, order and even pay.

The crotchety misanthrope might ask, "How is it that I've been able to scan and bag my own groceries for years, but still I have to make chit-chat with the waiter at Applebee's?"

Right now, reports our our sister site TechCrunch, only about 20 eateries have the device, mostly in San Francisco and Boston. But E la Carte says it has a long waiting list of restaurant owners eager to try the thing. One reason is because restaurants that have tested it have reported a 10 to 12 percent spike in overall revenue, since E la Carte is great at up-selling. ("Would you like a side salad with that for only $3 more?" Here's a lovely picture of the side salad. All you have to do is press this button.)

As we near 2011, restaurant chains have some menu scrunching to do. With consumers increasingly demanding to know what's in their food and federal menu labeling regulations coming into play, restaurateurs will have to bridge the gap between informative and appealing.

To see just how chains may be affected, Nation's Restaurant News has rounded up "5 Trends for a Post-Menu-Labeling World," taking cues from a new report from Mintel, a Chicago-based market research firm. The report, titled Mintel's Menu Insights, includes a survey showing that "62 percent of consumers say they plan to eat more healthfully in the upcoming year, but many complain that healthier food doesn't taste as good without the added sugar, sodium and fat."

In response, Mintel predicts that restaurants will shuffle in some "better-for-you ingredients" to dishes consumers already like. Something to keep in mind, they say, is exemptions. Mandates to post calories do not include limited-time offers, so watch out for those belly-busting seasonal treats -- dare we say the McRib?

Restaurants are no longer content to simply offer roast chicken or grilled steak. We are now informed of every precious detail regarding where the chicken came from, what it ate and whether it enjoyed watching Jeopardy.

We're kidding about Jeopardy, but serious about the fact that menus are starting to read like a chapter from "War and Peace." does the New York City restaurant Cookshop really need to tell us that their lamb is from Vermont and that the pizza's cheese is from DiPalo's?

Victor R. Casanova 11 the chef at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles admits it can get annoying.

"My opinion is that it's not important to list every ingredient, just the key components in the dish. I'm easily frustrated when I see long drawn out descriptions. It's a description not a recipe or a cookbook. Less is more."

And before you think this verbosity is confined just to snooty Manhattan joints think again.

• A transplant patient has developed an insatiable craving for junk food - after receiving a new heart from a teenager with a taste for fatty snacks.
• A recent inspection of nearly 800 restaurants at 10 airports found dangerous food conditions.
• Pounded by the recession, restaurants are hoping that some menu magic with the right combination of prices, adjectives, fonts, type sizes, ink colors and placement on the page can coax diners into spending a little more money.
• Feeling especially lazy in the morning? Try this coffee mug that stirs itself.
• In Detroit, a man with a 5-inch knife in his chest stunned patrons when he walked into a diner, ordered a coffee and waited for an ambulance to arrive.

Wedding menus of all styles. Photos: Style Me Pretty (far left), Brides.com

If you've spent an enormous amount of time putting together a fabulous menu for your guests, as we did, what's the best way to showcase it?

Written, typed and even painted menus are making their way into many receptions these days; the kind of wedding you have dictates the type of menu you'll use. For example, it would be more appropriate to offer guests a menu card at their seats for a black-tie affair in a ballroom, whether it be a card or the more recent trendy circular card that fits in the inner circle of the charger.

On the casual end of the spectrum, the surfboard pictured above doubled as a menu and a decoration for a beach-side wedding, and at an outdoor and/or country wedding, a chalkboard menu adds a rustic and personal touch. This is the route I'll be taking -- chalkboards will be propped on antique easels at every cocktail station. Even though you may think your menu is straightforward, it's a good idea to name every element of the dish, even down to the sauce (just in case of allergies).

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