Food for Thought - September 15, 2003

By The Editors -- Restaurants & Institutions, 9/15/2003

Neighborhood Improvement

Most restaurateurs serve their communities in ways that don’t always involve serving food. Some go above and beyond.

Over the past four years, more than 8,000 high-school students have visited Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago to learn about food, etiquette and passion for a profession. A few ultimately have joined the industry thanks to culinary scholarships funded by Charlie Trotter’s Culinary Education Foundation. That exemplary commitment to industry and community has earned Charlie Trotter’s one of 2003’s Restaurant Neighbor Awards from the National Restaurant Association.

This year’s other Restaurant Neighbor Award honoree, in the multiunit restaurant category, is Anthony’s Restaurants of Bellevue, Wash., in recognition of the company’s 25-year history of charitable involvement. Each year, its 18 restaurants find ways to support community activities and charities. Most recently, Anthony’s Pier 66 in Seattle helped raise $55,000 for the Moyer Foundation, a local organization that offers support to children and families in distress.

Honored as Cornerstone Humanitarian of the Year is Van Eure, owner of The Angus Barn in Raleigh, N.C. Since 1988, restaurant employees—and 2,000 others from across the state—have taken part in the Thad Eure Walk for Hope, a fund-raiser named in honor of her father, the restaurant’s founder, that supports research and treatment for mental illnesses.

Living Together, but Not Married

Baja-style Mexican food meets familiar seafaring cuisine at a new co-branded concept featuring two Northwestern chains. Sixty-five-unit Taco del Mar, based in Seattle, and Skippers Seafood & Chowder, a 77-unit chain headquartered in Edmonds, Wash., opened their first joint restaurant in mid-August in Eugene, Ore.

“We feel like it’s going to be a win for everybody,” says Skippers Senior Director Scott Way, adding that he expects to see a “healthy increase” in sales. Because Taco del Mar does brisk lunch business and Skippers is strongest at dinner, the two concepts will complement each other, according to Way.

The 2,500-square-foot, freestanding restaurant seats 60 to 80 customers and includes a drive-thru. The décor borrows elements from both chains, and the menu includes Taco del Mar’s signature “Mission-style” burritos and fish tacos as well as Skippers’ grilled and fried fish fillets, shrimp and clams.

The two companies will examine the restaurant’s performance and address any operational issues before deciding how to proceed with more co-branded units, Way says. “There is a tremendous amount of potential,” he says. “This is a direction both companies would like to move in."

Philadelphians Gasped....

Philadelphians gasped when Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts visited Pat’s King of Steaks and ordered a cheesesteak sandwich with Swiss cheese rather than the traditional processed-cheese spread. “Swiss cheese, as any local knows, is not an option,” wrote The Philadelphia Inquirer restaurant critic Craig LeBan.

Menu Focus

Apples fit most restaurant and noncommercial menu categories and culinary applications. Beyond traditional cobblers, quick breads and pies, they add a tart edge to relishes, sauces, fowl and some meat dishes.

BOSTON
Garden of Eden: Lentil salad with apples and smoked bacon tossed with mustard vinaigrette over baby spinach

HANOVER, N.H.
The Food Court at Dartmouth College: Roasted chicken breast stuffed with chopped apples, Brie cheese and dried cranberries

HOUSTON
Kraftsmen Baking Cafe: Stacked turkey sandwich on apple-buttered ciabatta roll layered with provolone cheese, apple slices and alfalfa sprouts

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.: Apple and mixed-berry cobbler à la mode with raspberry sauce and walnut-cookie crumb topping

NEW YORK CITY
Giorgio’s of Gramercy: Pan-roasted stuffed quail with walnuts and dried cherries, served with curried couscous, greens and caramelized apples

SAN FRANCISCO
Magnolia: Pulled pork sandwich with apple coleslaw and honey barbecue sauce

WASHINGTON, D.C.
The Occidental Restaurant: Cinnamon-apple pancakes with cinnamon syrup and sautéed apples
Vidalia Restaurant: Apple and Cheddar cheese Napoleon

Big Not-So-Easy

Despite questionable success in its previous attempts, McDonald’s Corp. once again is seeking to move beyond its QSR roots. The Oak Brook, Ill.-based company this month reportedly will open Cajun-themed Chef Mac’s in New Orleans, modeling the restaurant after a similar restaurant it operates in Orlando, Fla.

McDonald’s officials were not available for comment, but the Associated Press reports that Chef Mac’s menu will include Louisiana shrimp, po’ boys, muffulettas and barbecued chicken. Specialty coffees and desserts such as praline cheesecake and bread pudding will be available, with foods created under the leadership of Executive Chef Walter Grote, a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. Prices reportedly will be less than $10 per entrée.

The company’s latest effort to branch out comes amid published reports that expansion plans for the “McDonald’s with the Diner Inside” concept have been put on hold. Executive Vice President and Chief Concept Officer Tom Ryan, who resigned from McDonald’s in August, had championed the diner.

New Spin on Promotions

Teens spent $170 billion in 2002, according to Northbrook, Ill.-based Teenage Research Unlimited, with music and food high on their list of purchases. Sbarro has done the math and concluded that if it gives teens free music, they’ll not only be very happy, but they’ll have more cash to spend on other things such as, say, food.

Through Oct. 31, Melville, N.Y.-based Sbarro is testing that equation with a premium promotion at its more than 900 U.S. restaurants. Customers who buy a 32-ounce drink for $1.99 will find a miniature music CD packaged in the lid. Included is music from four teen-fave groups: Lifehouse, Boomkat, 40 Foot Echo and Kooler Kids.

While 80% of teens have Internet access, fewer have cars, so it’s probably OK that the mini-CD won’t work in automobile CD players. But put it in a computer CD drive and printable Sbarro coupons appear.

Contributors: Scott Hume, Allison Perlik, Margaret Sheridan, Laura Yee.