Legally Blondie
For decades, King Features Syndicate has licensed rights to the 75-year-old “Blondie” comic strip and characters in almost every product category except one: foodservice. That’s because the strip’s creator, Chic Young, and his son, Dean Young, who took over after his father’s death in 1973, dreamed of creating their own sandwich concept around the strip’s henpecked hero, Dagwood Bumstead, and his love for extra-large sandwiches. The vision takes shape this year as Dean Young and partner-CEO Lamar Berry recently announced plans for a national chain of Dagwood’s Sandwich Shoppes.

“Dean has been very protective of the Dagwood name and has been close to doing a restaurant concept many times. He has collected thousands of sandwich recipes over the years,” says Berry, whose restaurant background includes 15 years (1975 to 1989) as marketing chief for Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits. The rapid growth of the upscale sandwich market convinced both partners that this was the ideal time to create a concept with built-in appeal to baby boomers—who have outgrown quick-service sandwich chains—and others familiar with “Blondie,” Berry says.

Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., with a test kitchen in New Orleans, Dagwood’s Sandwich Shoppes LLC expects to have 15 restaurants open by year-end and as many as 1,000 in operation within three years, Berry says. Dagwood’s average check should be 25% to 30% above the average quick-service sandwich chain’s tab. Limited-time specialty offerings—such as chicken-curry-salad on toasted raisin bread, Alaskan king crab and Cuban sandwiches—will augment a group of standard subs and salads, and wine and beer will be served.

Meat Me in NYC
Two well-known New York restaurant names are bulking up already-meaty portfolios with new entrants to the steakhouse scene, which is still hotter than hot. The Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group’s Quality Meats (r.) opened in Midtown under the direction of Michael Stillman, son of company co-founder Alan Stillman. Tom Colicchio, owner of multiple hotspots, has replicated his Craftsteak concept in Chelsea.

A 150-seat, industrial-style space in the former Manhattan Ocean Club location in Midtown, Quality Meats updates and expands Smith & Wollensky’s classic steakhouse repertoire on a rustic, New American menu. Specialties from Chef Craig Koketsu include the QM Double Rib Steak, a custom-butchered cut carved tableside for two, and The Three Filets, a trio of classic steak preparations.

At Craftsteak, Chef de Cuisine Chris Albrecht’s menu follows the typical Colicchio à la carte format, featuring an impressive array of proteins from Hawaiian grass-fed Angus beef to corn-fed Black Angus natural prime rib.

Menu Focus
A sweet-and-tangy Latin American specialty, seviche showcases ocean-fresh seafood “cooked” in citrus juices to a firm, opaque finish.

• ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.
  Cuba Libre: Honduran-style seviche of sushi-grade tuna tossed with coconut milk, lime juice, spicy yellow pepper and cilantro
• BRYAN, TEXAS
  Madden’s Casual Gourmet: Asian Ceviche of fresh tuna tossed in spicy Asian dressing with red grape tomatoes, cilantro and toasted won tons
• CLAREMONT, CALIF.
  Pomona College Catering Services: Shrimp seviche with fresh corn tortilla chips
• CHICAGO
  Platiyo: Marlin seviche tossed with lime, olives, red onion, cucumber, tomato and cilantro
• MINNEAPOLIS
  Masa: Seviche Classico with yellowtail snapper marinated in lime juice with tomatoes, fresh chiles and herbs (above)
• MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
  Rosa Mexicano: Ceviche de Atún y Camarones (citrus-marinated tuna and shrimp)
• NEW YORK CITY
  Novo: Langosta en Equilibrio (lobster, lime, orange juice, horseradish, pickled jalapeños

Soda Fizzles Out
The agreement to reduce soft-drink availability in schools brokered by former President Bill Clinton made headlines, but many foodservice directors say new guidelines point in a direction their school districts already were traveling. The Alliance for a Healthier Generation—a joint initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association—worked with major beverage companies and the American Beverage Association to restrict what will be sold at schools. In elementary schools, 8-oz. servings of water and calorie-capped (100 at most) juice drinks will be available, while middle schools will offer up to 10-oz. portions. In high schools, at least half the available beverage choices must be water or no- or low-calorie drinks. Full implementation of the plan is set for the 2008-2009 school year.

“The timeline works out well because it gives the industry and schools time to catch up,” says Meghan Gibbons, assistant director of foodservice at Evanston (Ill.) Township High School. The school currently promotes bottled water by re-slotting choices in vending machines and offers vitamin-fortified options to give students more choices that meet guidelines. But Gibbons adds that restricting only full-sugar soda may impede nutrition efforts

“Allowing diet soda means [regulators] are only looking at calories,” she says. “Some waters have 50 calories per serving and each bottle offers 2.5 servings, which is right up there [with soft drinks].”

On Trend
R&I tracks the latest menu introductions at operations across the country ...

• THE FOOD STUDIO, Atlanta: Executive Chef Mark Alba’s updated, warm-weather menu offers an appetizer of grilled ostrich with sautéed kohlrabi, onion-red grape marmalade and red-wine caramel.
• OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE, multiple locations: As part of a bid to broaden its appeal to female diners, the chain introduces Bronzed Chicken with Corn Cakes, featuring grilled chicken topped with shrimp and mushrooms in vermouth cream sauce.
• SCOOZI!, Chicago: Summer is time to celebrate fresh artichokes at this venerable Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises concept, where specials will include Artichoke Crostini with creamy Asiago fonduta.
• TACO DEL MAR, multiple locations: Highlighted in a new, multi-million-dollar marketing campaign, the 192-unit chain’s latest debut is the Mojito Burrito, sporting a tangy, lime-cilantro sauce (above).
• TOSCA, Washington, D.C.: Local, seasonal produce stars on Chef-owner Cesare Lanfranconi’s four-course Il Menu del Asparagi. Choices include steamed asparagus “Milanese” style with truffled brown butter.

Table Turns
John “Jack” Whipple (l.) joined the National Council of Chain Restaurants in Washington, D.C., as its president. He spent 25 years at McDonald’s Corp., last as vice president of government relations. ... Jeffrey Chodorow and Melissa Richardson last month opened Social Hollywood in The Hollywood Athletic Club in Los Angeles. The property is a sibling to Social Miami at Sagamore, which Chodorow opened in Miami Beach, Fla., last year. ... Steven Davis joined Bob Evans Farms, Columbus, Ohio, as chief executive officer. Previously with Yum! Brands, Louisville, Ky., as president of the Long John Silver’s and A&W brands, Davis succeeds interim CEO Larry Corbin. ... Palm Restaurants in Washington, D.C., appointed Bruce Bozzi Jr. executive vice president and Walter McClure executive vice president and COO, taking control of the company following the resignation of President-COO Fred Thimm, who leaves this month to become CEO of upscale lounge Martini Park. ... Nuevo Latino guru Douglas Rodriguez added another restaurant to his stable: OLA Steak & Tapas in Miami. ... Joshua Nudd (l.) was named chef de cuisine for Pavilion, the signature restaurant at The Island Hotel Newport Beach in Newport Beach, Calif. Previous, Nudd was in the kitchen at Hoku’s in the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Honolulu. ... Daniel Patterson, formerly at San Francisco’s Frisson, opened nine-table Coi there. ... Mike Bryant is the new chef de cuisine at Norman Van Aken’s Norman’s on Sunset in Los Angeles. Bryant, previously executive sous-chef, steps in for Craig Petrella, who is taking a sabbatical. ...Busy David Burke tapped David Amorelli to serve as chef de cuisine at davidburke & donatella in New York City. Richard Bies joins as executive pastry chef. ... John Schultz was named director of purchasing for Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Greenwood Village, Colo. ... Café Europa in San Antonio is the creation of Chef-owner Guy Collinet, previously a chef at The Westin Riverwalk.

Setting Standards
Feeding Desire: Design and Tools of the Table represents the antithesis of grab-and-go lifestyles in which hand-held foods and disposable plates are easy answers to the call for convenience. The exhibit, at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City (on display through Oct. 29), depicts table settings of previous eras when meals were dining rather than feeding experiences, occasions lavishly marked by pomp and sterling, and sometimes ivory, leather, bone and elaborate beading as well.

Starting in the 1500s, as Western food preparations advanced beyond simple slurries, the need arose for more-specific and functional utensils. The exhibit traipses through a history of the forms they took, from the earliest and most rudimentary table knives to traveling sets (until the 17th century, inns and guesthouses didn’t provide eating utensils) and the most ornately rococo settings that grandly served the gilded age. Today, though few would want to forego the disposable tableware that so frequently sets the table, the exhibit reminds that dining can be grandly artistic.

One Quick Question
Susan Ungaro recently was named president of The James Beard Foundation. At the organization’s May awards ceremony recognizing restaurants, chefs, cookbook authors and journalists, Ungaro noted plans to bring the Beard Foundation into a new role with its members. That prompted a question:

Q. How do you see The James Beard Foundation evolving?

A. We want to be more of a resource and think tank for our membership and restaurants. We started with the Trends & Transitions Conference we had at New York University. We gathered great thinkers in the field to talk about what’s happening in food, wine, and restaurant management. This was the first year for that. And we co-sponsored a conference in May with three days of high-level discussion about the Mediterranean diet and its impact. Those two conferences are symbolic of the new direction of the foundation. Our hope is that we’ll be the place people will come to know the latest trends, education tools and best practices in food and nutrition. We plan to expand our presence thorough the Internet and other publishing venues.

Oil Slick
With petroleum costs on the rise, the process of converting used fryer oil to fuel is gaining steam. Conroy Soik, operator of two Culver’s Frozen Custard & Butterburgers units 100 miles apart in northern Wisconsin travels between them in a two-door compact car (l.) converted to run on biodiesel fuel, made from used vegetable oil. “Last year, I put 30,000 miles on my car. Vegetable oil accounted for two-thirds of those miles,” he says.

Soik is one of several Culver’s franchisees making the switch, part of the Prairie du Sac, Wis.-based chain’s pilot program with Madison Environmental Group. A $15,000 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Administration supports their exploration of the viability of biofuel.

Hey, Neighbor
Guided by uncommonly generous hearts, restaurant operators are quick to contribute meals, creativity, time and financial resources when the need arises. As part of its Cornerstone Initiative, the National Restaurant Association each year sponsors the Restaurant Neighbor Awards, spotlighting with stunning clarity just how integral these big-hearted charitable acts are to the neighborhoods restaurants serve.

Four national awards will be given in recognition of this community outreach: Small Business, Large Business, National Corporate and Humanitarian of the Year; each will receive $5,000 plus a trip to Washington D.C., for awards presentation during the NRA’s Public Affairs Conference.

Deadline for entries is June 12. Each state restaurant association selects finalists which then are considered for the national awards. For more details and entry forms, visit www.restaurant.org/community/rna/.