By BRUCE BUSCHEL of the New York Times: Herewith is a modest list of dos and don’ts for servers at the seafood restaurant I am building. Veteran waiters, moonlighting actresses, libertarians and baristas will no doubt protest some or most of what follows. They will claim it homogenizes them or stifles their true nature. And yet, if 100 different actors play Hamlet, hitting all the same marks, reciting all the same lines, cannot each one bring something unique to that role?

1. Do not let anyone enter the restaurant without a warm greeting.

2. Do not make a singleton feel bad. Do not say, “Are you waiting for someone?” Ask for a reservation. Ask if he or she would like to sit at the bar.

3. Never refuse to seat three guests because a fourth has not yet arrived.

4. If a table is not ready within a reasonable length of time, offer a free drink and/or amuse-bouche. The guests may be tired and hungry and thirsty, and they did everything right.

5. Tables should be level without anyone asking. Fix it before guests are seated.

6. Do not lead the witness with, “Bottled water or just tap?” Both are fine. Remain neutral.

7. Do not announce your name. No jokes, no flirting, no cuteness.

8. Do not interrupt a conversation. For any reason. Especially not to recite specials. Wait for the right moment.

9. Do not recite the specials too fast or robotically or dramatically. It is not a soliloquy. This is not an audition.

10. Do not inject your personal favorites when explaining the specials.

11. Do not hustle the lobsters. That is, do not say, “We only have two lobsters left.” Even if there are only two lobsters left.

12. Do not touch the rim of a water glass. Or any other glass.

13. Handle wine glasses by their stems and silverware by the handles.

14. When you ask, “How’s everything?” or “How was the meal?” listen to the answer and fix whatever is not right.

15. Never say “I don’t know” to any question without following with, “I’ll find out.”

16. If someone requests more sauce or gravy or cheese, bring a side dish of same. No pouring. Let them help themselves.

17. Do not take an empty plate from one guest while others are still eating the same course. Wait, wait, wait.

18. Know before approaching a table who has ordered what. Do not ask, “Who’s having the shrimp?”

19. Offer guests butter and/or olive oil with their bread.

20. Never refuse to substitute one vegetable for another.

21. Never serve anything that looks creepy or runny or wrong.

22. If someone is unsure about a wine choice, help him. That might mean sending someone else to the table or offering a taste or two.

23. If someone likes a wine, steam the label off the bottle and give it to the guest with the bill. It has the year, the vintner, the importer, etc.

24. Never use the same glass for a second drink.

25. Make sure the glasses are clean. Inspect them before placing them on the table.

READ MORE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

From Paul Frumkin of Nation's Restaurant News: Emeril Lagasse has named his upcoming burger restaurant Burgers And More, or BAM, after his signature expression, and said he doesn't want the brand to be a premium burger "gimmick."

The restaurant, set to open Nov. 22 in the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pa., will specialize in hamburgers made from a blend of prime and grass-fed beef, Lagasse said at a New York City press conference Monday. 

Lagasse said he will not go the bargain-burger route with "a dollar menu" at Burgers And More, but that he also does not want to push the average check too high, either.

"I don't want to serve a Kobe beef burger with foie gras for $22," he said. "I don't want it to be a gimmick."

The check average for Emeril's concept is expected to be about $20 per person.

Lagasse joins several well-known chefs who have taken a break from fine-dining to open burger-centric restaurants, including Bobby Flay, Hubert Keller and, more recently, Daniel Boulud. The menu at Boulud's new DBGB Kitchen & Bar in New York offers three kinds of gourmet burgers, and his more upscale DB Bistro Moderne features a burger stuffed with shorts ribs and foie gras for $32.

Lagasse's 90-seat Burgers And More will also offer nonbeef burgers prepared from turkey, crab, salmon and mushrooms, along with hand-cut French fries, condiments made from scratch, appetizers, malts and shakes, and local draft beers.

Asked if he planned to replicate the burger concept elsewhere, Lagasse said he didn't know yet, adding, "We'll have to see how it goes."

The burger restaurant will mark Lagasse's second eatery in the eastern Pennsylvania casino-resort, where he debuted Emeril's Chophouse earlier this year.

In addition to partnering with the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, Lagasse also operates restaurants in two Las Vegas Sands properties Ñ Delmonico Steakhouse, Table 10 and the recently opened Lagasse's Stadium.

Read more: http://www.nrn.com/breakingNews.aspx?id=375276  

From The Boston Globe: Meat loaf just doesn't get it done anymore. And Salisbury steak? No way.

A new survey of the casual restaurant industry finds that consumers - and in particular, young men - need exotic flavors to lure them away from home meals and motivate them to dine out.

The study is from Technomic, a food-service industry consultant based in Chicago, and the Technomic study found that 42 percent of consumers, especially males aged 25 to 34, are more likely to visit restaurants that offer new or unique flavors.

Meat loaf might get a young man to salivate at home. But when he's out and about and spending hard-earned cash, the same young man can be transformed into a fussy gourmet who is more likely to choose a restaurant that features exotic dips and marinades than one offering bland and commonplace fare.

So what's a restaurant chef to do? Take a world tour with the spice rack, Technomic suggests, and drench those entrées in unusual marinades.

After studying the best practices of successful restaurateurs, Technomic concluded: "Garlic, pepper, and smoky barbecue flavor profiles dominate entrée menus. Global influences are also prominent, specifically those with a Mexican, Asian, and Italian flair." Full Story

From Robb Walsh of the Houston Press: You won't be eating raw live Gulf oysters in the summer anymore if a promised FDA ban takes effect. At the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference meeting in New Hampshire on Saturday, an FDA official announced that as of 2011, the agency would no longer allow fresh, live oysters from the Gulf to be sold between May and October. The ban is intended to reduce illnesses and deaths from vibrio vulnificus, a bacteria that thrives in Gulf waters during the warm summer months. Sales of post-harvest treated raw Gulf oysters, which are rendered harmless by freezing, or pasteurization, will still be allowed.

In 2003, California banned the sale of untreated Gulf oysters during the summer months. Prior to the ban, 40 deaths in California were attributed to Gulf oysters harvested in warm-weather months in the ten-year period between 1991 and 2001. Since the ban, no deaths have occurred. The success of the California experiment inspired the national ban. The industry has failed repeatedly to come up with its own plan to reduce deaths and illnesses related to vibrio.

Gulf oysters are at their peak in mid-winter. The public oyster season in Texas is open from November to April. 
HOUSTON PRESS

By Matt Schudel, Washington Post: If the rest of the world sees Washington as a place of large monuments and gleaming public buildings, many of the people who actually live in the city build their lives around smaller, more humble institutions. For them, one of the most important addresses in town is Ben's Chili Bowl, a simple diner famous for its down-home menu of chili, half-smokes and fries.

Ben Ali, who founded the restaurant in 1958 and created its unmatched chili recipe, died Wednesday of congestive heart failure at his home in the District. He was 82.

His family-run diner on U Street NW has been one of the most enduring institutions of Washington, a place where families meet after church and where night owls come to talk, flirt and, not least, eat.

The landmark eatery opened when U Street was the city's glittering "Black Broadway," a strip of nightclubs and theaters that catered to Washington's black middle class and helped define the city's pulse and taste. It became a steadfast symbol of Washington's perseverance through good times and bad, feeding the dignitaries who came to Washington as well as the ordinary folks who call the District home.

In a statement, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty called Ben's Chili Bowl "one of the greatest treasures in the District of Columbia."

On Jan. 10, the restaurant received perhaps its greatest publicity boost when Fenty and president-elect Obama dropped by for a half-smoke -- a smoked sausage that is often called the signature food of Washington. Mindful of a sign that warned, "Who eats free at Ben's: Bill Cosby. No one else," Obama paid for his $12 tab with a $20 bill, leaving the change as a tip. The president's name has been added to Cosby's as the only patrons allowed to dine without paying.

From Grub Street New York: The business of being a chef has expanded enormously in the last 25 years. Once upon a time, it was considered a working-class trade. Now Gordon Ramsay has 27 restaurants and five TV shows. Alain Ducasse has authored eighteen cookbooks; Nobu Matsuhisa has five. Batali acts, Colicchio sells Diet Coke and fly-fishes for AmEx, Charlie Palmer hawks home décor in Sonoma. But which chef has his hand in the most pots around the globe?

To decide, we narrowed the field to men and women who operate restaurants in the U.S. and then compiled a list of all their traditional food projects (restaurants, cookbooks), self-promotional activities (TV shows), and offbeat activities (recipes for online-dating sites, flavor sprays). Since we consider operating restaurants to be more important to a chef's empire than his ancillary product deals, we assigned each of these activities a point value and weighed them according to significance. Restaurants got four points; leading TV roles, three; cookbooks, two; and everything else counted as a single point. The top twenty high-scorers are listed below with highlights from their careers. Actual totals appear in the first four columns, while the overall score according to point value is tallied at the end.

Who's the king of all chefs, and who's a merchandiser? Decide for yourself in the comments.

From Nation's Restaurant News: Offering chef-driven flair with a cherry on top, spiked milkshakes are emerging as signature adult beverages at several upscale burger concepts around the country.

Boasting names such as the Bourbon Malted, Grandma’s Treat and the All Nighter, these liquor-laced concoctions offer comfort-food appeal with a grown-up twist when paired with their longtime partner, the burger, according to operators.

“In the food and beverage realm, it really doesn’t get more comfortable than a burger and a shake,” said John Rothstein, corporate beverage director of Laurent Tourondel’s BLT Restaurants, which has BLT Burger locations in New York City and in the Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

One of the notable choices at BLT Burger is the All Nighter, made with Kahlua, Baileys Irish Cream, espresso and coffee ice cream, Rothstein said. It is priced at $11.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t like milkshakes,” said Noah Ellis, beverage director of the San Francisco-based Mina Group restaurants, which includes chef Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak concept, where gourmet burgers are served in the lounge.

Ellis notes that burger concepts were growing even before the recession encouraged consumers to trade down from higher-priced restaurants.

The Bourbon Bar Burgers on the new Bourbon Steak lounge menu include prime and American Kobe beef burgers and turkey burgers, both priced at $14; lamb and salmon burgers, both priced at $18; and a falafel burger at $12. They can be topped with an array of artisanal cheeses, farmer’s market vegetables and exotic sauces ranging from black truffle aïoli to yogurt raita.

To create companion beverages equal to those elevated patties, Ellis looked in a direction different from his “serious” cocktails.

“I don’t think a Manhattan is something you want with a burger,” he said.

He teamed with corporate pastry chef Lincoln Carson on three dairy-based libations that are less sweet and more refined than the typical milkshake.

“We wanted something you could sip with a burger and fries and be satisfied but not overwhelmed,” Ellis said.

Enter the Bourbon Malted, made with Jim Beam bourbon, salty caramel sauce and malted milk powder; the Grasshopper, with green crème de menthe, white crème de cacao, vanilla vodka and peppermint oil; and the Rum Raisin, with Appleton Estate 12-year-old rum and puréed rum-plumped raisins.

Each shake has a base of three scoops of Tahitian vanilla ice cream plus whole milk and half and half. The shakes are spun in a spindle-style milkshake mixer and served in frozen, footed pilsner glasses. Ellis estimates that the restaurants sell about one adult shake for every four burgers sold, amounting to a nice bit of additional income at $11 apiece.

The Bourbon Malted’s distinctive brown streaks are made by a few random squirts of salty caramel sauce on the inside of the frozen glass. As the shake is sipped, the caramel streaks melt and add flavor, Ellis said.

A similar salty-sweet nuance shines in 25 Degrees’ top-selling Salty Caramel shake, a blend of vanilla ice cream, bourbon, butterscotch and Hawaiian red sea salt, priced at $8.

“The touch of salt in the caramel really makes it taste great,” said Tim Goodell, who has 25 Degrees locations in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel as well as in Huntington Beach, Calif., and Phoenix. On average, each unit uses seven to eight gallons of ice cream for shakes each day.

At BLT Burger, Rothstein said he sees spiked shakes as a continuation of the experimental mixology that is revitalizing classic cocktails like the Sidecar, Manhattan and French 75.

“We’re giving the classic milkshake a distinctive twist, yet keeping the alcohol subtle enough so that you still enjoy it as a milkshake,” he said.

In addition to the aforementioned All Nighter, another BLT Burger crowd pleaser is Grandma’s Treat, made with vanilla ice cream, Maker’s Mark bourbon and caramel, priced at $11.

From By Andrea Tan, Christopher Scinta and Linda Sandler, Bloomberg: Tavern on the Green LP, operator of the 75-year-old restaurant in New York’s Central Park, sought bankruptcy protection after losing its lease on the city property to a higher bidder a month ago.

The restaurant’s name, valued at $19 million and in place since its founding by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses in 1934, now will be sold to the highest bidder in bankruptcy court, according to Keith Costa, a lawyer for the bankrupt partnership.

The lease for Tavern on the Green, the second-highest- grossing restaurant in the U.S. last year, had been held since 1974 by the family of Warner LeRoy, which owns the Tavern on the Green name. The city last month awarded the lease for 20 years starting at the end of Dec. 31 to restaurateur Dean Poll, who runs the Central Park Boathouse Restaurant.

Poll, who didn’t immediately respond to a call and e-mail seeking comment, will meet with representatives of the LeRoys later today, Costa said. If he is interested, then the name would be sold at auction to the highest bidder, he said.

The bankrupt partnership listed assets and debts of as much as $50 million each in a filing yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, with more than 200 creditors. It said it probably won’t have enough to pay unsecured creditors, after deducting expenses and exempt property.

Financial Crisis

“The filing was the result of two factors -- the extreme financial distress brought on by the current financial crisis and the City of New York’s decision not to renew our lease,” Tavern on the Green Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Oz LeRoy said in a statement.

The restaurant will continue to operate during the reorganization, she said. Discussions between Poll and LeRoy representatives include ways to keep operating after Poll takes over on Jan. 1 and begins to renovate, said Shelley Clark, a spokeswoman for Jennifer LeRoy.

“We’re working out those things,” she said.

Warner LeRoy, who died in 2001 at age 65 after creating New York restaurants such as Maxwell’s Plum, was the son of Mervyn LeRoy, who produced the 1939 Warner Bros. film, “The Wizard of Oz.” His granddaughter Jennifer will host the entertainment company’s gala celebration of the film’s 70th anniversary on Sept. 24 at the Tavern, according to Clark and a spokeswoman for Warner Bros.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=abzOSdFMyek8

From Sarah E. Lockyer of Nation's Restaurant News: Despite another jump in the national unemployment rate and conflicting economic indicators released last month, a new survey shows that consumers' plans to spend at restaurants are only improving as confidence in the economy grows.

According to Atlanta-based RBC Capital Markets' September restaurant spending survey, restaurant spending plans rose 3 percentage points from the prior survey in May, and 14 percentage points from the same September survey a year ago. The survey, which is completed by the investment bank quarterly with ChangeWave Research, taps more than 2,000 consumers.

Looking out over the next 90 days, 16 percent of respondents said they planned to spend more on dining out, up from the 13 percent in May and just 8 percent in February who responded similarly. A reduced 33 percent of respondents said they planned to spend less on dining out during the next 90 days, down from 39 percent in May and 50 percent in February who answered that way.

"Confidence in the economy is improving, as those planning to spend more at restaurants cited better job security and less need to save money," said the report from RBC restaurant securities analyst Larry Miller. "Value is driving consumers to eat out more, as are having less time to cook and an uptick in workers per household."

Brands that stand to benefit, according to survey respondents, include Red Lobster, Chipotle, Olive Garden, Maggiano's Little Italy and Panera Bread. Concepts that respondents said they would not frequent more often included Denny's, Golden Corral and Morton's, The Steakhouse.

The recession is pushing more people back into the workforce, Miller noted, meaning certain families have less time to cook at home, a typical driver of eating out at restaurants. In addition, research showed that respondents pointed to better job security and less need to save money as reasons behind increased tendencies to eat out.

Still, the primary reason for increased plans to dine out rests on value. The surge in dollar menu items, bundled three-course meals or fixed price menus have helped spur restaurant traffic.

"The increased value restaurants have been offering has not gone unnoticed; it's the No. 1 incremental reason for eating out more," Miller noted.

In the September survey, consumers said they were using coupons more since the May survey, had reduced instances of skipping beverages or ordering less-expensive items, and had reduced their tendencies to eat at less expensive restaurants — all because of the various value deals being offered.

As consumers begin to dip their toes back into the spending pool, a focus on value is perhaps the lasting takeaway from this "great recession," sources say. 

"The consumer's focus on value will remain and signifies a shift in consumer behavior that must be addressed," the latest industry newsletter from mid-market investment bank The Cypress Group highlighted. "Concepts must effectively communicate their value proposition and become ‘top of mind' when consumers evaluate choices."

The Englewood, Colo.-based firm noted that while price value is important, successful restaurant brands also will look to service, menu quality and experience as part of the value equation.

For example, while Red Lobster currently is promoting its Endless Shrimp deal for $19.99 in most markets, Chipotle, which raised prices last year in the midst of the recession's depths, focuses on its quality of food, convenient online or text ordering, and in-store service.

Addressing whether additional price increases might be forthcoming, even as consumers continue to focus on value, Chipotle's chief financial officer said during its latest call that the chain could boost prices even more.

"We still think we offer, and our research says [that] we offer, a compelling value to our customers," John Hartung said.

Read more: http://www.nrn.com/breakingNews.aspx?id=372578#ixzz0R9s8ZNYV

From Paul Tharp of the New York Post: After failing to sell their guidebook empire for $200 million, Upper West Siders Tim and Nina Zagat are not only putting off their retirement plans, they're struggling to keep it afloat. Over the last three decades, the pioneering Zagats — he's 69 and she's 67 — have turned a hobby that started in a Manhattan apartment kitchen into a brand that sells millions of books, reviewing eateries, hotels and leisure spots in 104 countries. But it is losing substantial ground to online rivals, including Chowhound and Yelp, said a source familiar with the matter. Sales are down dramatically, said another source inside the company.

And Zagat has moved slowly — and perhaps misguidedly — online, allowing Yelp and others to dominate the market. According to Quantcast, Zagat.com has roughly 270,000 unique visitors a month, and is trending downward. That's perhaps because there is a $25 annual fee to access the site, which doesn't include full Zagat reviews. Yelp, which is free and rates almost every joint in a given locale, now boasts more than 7 million US visitors, nearly double its traffic from summer 2008. The site reviews stores, spas and other non-restaurant businesses as well. Zagat has been cutting costs, laying off about 16 people from its small staff in May. The Zagats themselves, who live on Central Park West, are today [Sept. 8] in Britain — back on their globetrotting road — pressing palms and touting the new 2010 London edition of their beloved Zagat Survey. They declined to be interviewed for this story."

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/zagat_about_em_FyHeEMEeS2WHoNCUhv1UAK

From Kim Severson of The New York Times: "The people who try to herd the vast Yelp nation want to persuade restaurant owners to stop offering discounts for reviews. While most of you were heading to the beach [Sept. 4], the Yelpsters in charge of reaching out to local businesses tried to clarify in a memo how the whole customer review thing is supposed to work. It doesn’t, apparently, include a pay-for-play clause. “For starters, paying people to write reviews about your business is another form of shilling and that’s just wrong,” the memo says. “Second, very often you’ll offend a customer and the offer will be quickly outed in your reviews, resulting in unintended negative reviews and/or negative publicity.” The memo points business owners to a section of the Yelp website that describes how best to respond to reviews, both positive and negative. I can see reaching out and thanking someone for a good review, but I had no idea it was common for business owners who have taken a hit on Yelp to search out and to respond privately to the offended diner. You can see how that might get quickly out of hand. Which is why the tutorial is a pretty fun read. Apparently, it’s like “Lord of Flies” out there:

“But please be very careful here: if your reviewer perceives that you are being rude, condescending or disingenuous in any way, there’s a chance he or she could get angry and make the situation even worse. Keep in mind that this is a vocal customer who could well copy and paste your message all over the Web.”

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/yelp-leaves-tips-for-restaurateurs/

From Deborah Highland, The Tennessean: Tuesday morning breakfast at the Lebanon Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has become a tradition for Shirley Allison and her husband, Dewey.

The Carthage couple is part of a group that for nearly 20 years has eaten Tuesday morning breakfast at the same Cracker Barrel.

They were not surprised to learn that the restaurant is not only celebrating its 40th birthday this year, the company is also enjoying its 19th consecutive year as the "Best Family Restaurant," according to a nationwide survey conducted by Restaurants & Institutions magazine.

"The employees make you feel like family when you come," Allison said. "They know us by our first names. They come up and give you a hug.

"The atmosphere here is a family atmosphere," she said.

Florence Ash of Lebanon added that the serving staff already knows what each member of the group wants before they get to their table each week.

"They've got us all pegged — what we like to eat in the morning," she said.

"Families can come here and rest assured it's going to be a good place to bring their children," Ash said.

At another table on a recent Tuesday morning, Thomas and Eula Stokes were celebrating his 70th birthday. The couple enjoy the food and appreciate a restaurant environment where alcohol is not served.

"That's a big draw for a lot of church folks," Thomas Stokes said as he ate his pancakes.
It all began on Highway 109

Company founder Dan Evins opened the first Cracker Barrel on Highway 109 in Lebanon in 1969. He wanted to create a business for travelers to stop for gasoline, a meal and some rest.

The company stopped selling gas years ago. And the once family-owned business is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the publicly held CBRL Group Inc., which operates 588 company-owned stores in 41 states. Evins has since retired from the business.

But much about Cracker Barrel remains the same.

A breakfast platter called "Uncle Herschel's Favorite" was named in honor of Evins' uncle, Herschel McCartney. Many long-time Lebanon residents remember Uncle Herschel as a country gentleman. He served as an ambassador of sorts for the company for many years and died in 1998. A life-size bronze sculpture of McCartney sits near the entrance of the company's headquarters campus in Lebanon.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090902/COUNTY10/909020327/1192/Cracker+Barrel+turns+40