An obscene part of my day is spent online, scouting for news, glints of a trend, or the radar beeps of a new direction in dining. Usually it means wading through the type of informational detritus that makes me a leper at cocktail parties. (Bet you didn’t know Brad Pitt wore a chicken outfit for El Pollo Loco, or that Barry Manilow wrote many of the catchiest fast-food jingles. I’ve got a million of ‘em.)
The last few days have brought discoveries of a different type, Sadly disposable for most people, in or out of the industry, they’ve definitely gotten under my skin.
Not that they’re out of the ordinary. You would not believe how many stories appear in local papers or the news services about violent crime that erupts in or near restaurants, particularly on weekends. It can be gruesome stuff. But little is as affecting as the news briefs that appeared this week about an incident at a Dave & Buster’s I routinely pass.
It occurred last fall, but full details apparently weren’t revealed until recent court dealings. A 23-year-old man went into the food-and-games establishment and approached an 8-year-old who by all accounts had been selected at random. The adult drew a knife and stabbed the boy in the back five times, then dashed away.
The attacker was grabbed while he tried to hide in a bathroom by the boy’s father and another customer. Authorities found a note in the man’s pocket, explaining as if it was a to-do list that he intended to kill a child that day.
Fortunately, he failed. Now he’ll be working off a 14-year prison sentence as the boy and his family contend with the memory.
Far less gruesome was the release of a code of behavior that definitely drew my attention. I ran afoul of Tim Zagat 12 years ago by responding in a column to his declaration of a Diner’s Bill of Rights. I actually took issue with only one provision, an assertion that restaurants field any special dietary need posed by a customer. Still, mutual acquaintances informed me that I’d drawn some bad ratings from the dining-guide mogul.
I still believe the point of annoyance was a suggestion that a dining-out code should go both ways; restaurants were entitled to certain behavior from their customers. For instance, abuse of a server or disregard for the comfort of fellow patrons should be prohibited, enforceable by a boot out the door.
This week Zagat issued the sort of list I was envisioning, a set of dining etiquette rules. I agree with him on every point of the new do’s and don’t’s, particularly the stipulation on handheld distractions: “Do not talk, text, tweet, e-mail or surf the web at table.”
It’s interesting that he put that responsibility in 1999 on the restaurant, stating that the establishment should ensure a cell-phone-free dining room. But, as the Zagat notes in its preamble to the new behavioral code, times have changed.
Today, I’d say his etiquette rules should apply to the people who interact with restaurant customers. If servers use their cell phones while they’re within view of diners, they should have an immediate meeting with the manager, provided he or she isn’t tweeting. Sadly, that's too often the case, and it's a personal ire-raiser.
Finally, it was a point of personal annoyance that the watchdogs at Center for Science in the Public Interest missed an irony in their newly released roster of the unhealthiest restaurant foods.
Among the winners of the group’s annual Xtreme Eating Awards was Cheesecake Factory’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake, a single dessert that weights three-quarters of a pound and packs 1,530 calories. How could a chain even develop such a gut buster?
Well, it didn’t. The delectable was the brainchild of a customer who participated in a contest two years ago to find Cheesecake’s next cheesecake addition. Patrons were invited to submit recipes for the sort of products they’d like to find. Some 10,000 were entered.
Then customers were asked to vote on their favorites among the finalists. The Red Velvet won handily.
In short, patrons demonstrated that it was the sort of choice they wanted when they dined out.
It’s proof of the industry’s longstanding argument that its job is to give patrons what they want, not what they should be eating.
Showing posts with label Zagat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zagat. Show all posts
Friday, July 22, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Say wha?
This could be a breakout week for chiropractors. With heads snapping left and right to catch the extraordinary restaurant news, we’re probably one neck strain away from a whiplash epidemic.
Consider, for instance, how many crania swiveled like desk chairs to make catch the incredible story that arose from France. After working hard for years, a brasserie there was awarded a coveted star from the Michelin guide. It’d be the equivalent of a U.S. restaurant getting a “semi-orgasmic” rating in every Zagat category.
But ears were cocked because this wasn’t a little-restaurant-that-could story. A one-star rating assumes that a place maintains a certain level of service, even if traffic rises. Le Lisita staffed accordingly and realized it had to raise prices to temper the wallop to margins.
Instead, the restaurant decided to cede the star.
I vaguely remember a restaurateur saying that a star in a Michelin-like rating system can bring an additional $40,000 in business. This place publicly attested that it wanted to keep prices at a level that wouldn’t give loyal patrons a case of sticker shock.
But that’s only the start of the week’s Ripley’s news. You may well have seen the results of a new survey that found Subway to be the top choice by far of quick-service consumers who want to dine more healthfully. That, to be honest, is a yawner of a data point.
Far more interesting is what brand finished second: McDonald’s. Not Chipotle or its fresh-ingredient brethren in the burrito sector. Not Panera or the other New Generation sandwich concepts. A brand once synonymous in many minds with unhealthy eating has become a viable option to the careful-dining crowd.
Finally, consider how much latte must’ve been spitted by New York Times readers when they came to the end of a recent story about Robert Gates, the outgoing U.S. Secretary of Defense. The longtime public figure (and onetime director of Brinker International) was asked what he’d do immediately after his retirement was official. “Go to Burger King,” he said.
Give that man a crown.
Consider, for instance, how many crania swiveled like desk chairs to make catch the incredible story that arose from France. After working hard for years, a brasserie there was awarded a coveted star from the Michelin guide. It’d be the equivalent of a U.S. restaurant getting a “semi-orgasmic” rating in every Zagat category.
But ears were cocked because this wasn’t a little-restaurant-that-could story. A one-star rating assumes that a place maintains a certain level of service, even if traffic rises. Le Lisita staffed accordingly and realized it had to raise prices to temper the wallop to margins.
Instead, the restaurant decided to cede the star.
I vaguely remember a restaurateur saying that a star in a Michelin-like rating system can bring an additional $40,000 in business. This place publicly attested that it wanted to keep prices at a level that wouldn’t give loyal patrons a case of sticker shock.
But that’s only the start of the week’s Ripley’s news. You may well have seen the results of a new survey that found Subway to be the top choice by far of quick-service consumers who want to dine more healthfully. That, to be honest, is a yawner of a data point.
Far more interesting is what brand finished second: McDonald’s. Not Chipotle or its fresh-ingredient brethren in the burrito sector. Not Panera or the other New Generation sandwich concepts. A brand once synonymous in many minds with unhealthy eating has become a viable option to the careful-dining crowd.
Finally, consider how much latte must’ve been spitted by New York Times readers when they came to the end of a recent story about Robert Gates, the outgoing U.S. Secretary of Defense. The longtime public figure (and onetime director of Brinker International) was asked what he’d do immediately after his retirement was official. “Go to Burger King,” he said.
Give that man a crown.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Big names to profit from OpenTable stock offer
OpenTable should’ve pushed up the start date of its initial public offering and just auctioned off the shares at the Beard Awards. Many of the sellers were likely there, including Danny Meyer (selling roughly 69,000 shares, keeping around 124,000), Tim and Nina Zagat (selling all 155,000 of their shares), Rich Melman and Kevin Brown of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (selling about 26,000 shares through their partnership).
Securities documents indicate the online reservation service expects to sell about 3 million shares for its stakeholders at an anticipated price of around $13 each.
The filings show that OpenTable lost about $1 million last year on revenues of $55.8 million, after making more than $9 million in 2007. Last year’s intake represented a 31% jump from the ’07 revenue figure. The company was profitable during the first quarter of this year, according to figures cited in the prospectus.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Trying to cook up the next Restaurant Week
Zagat is rallying 17 of New York’s most worshipped chefs for an off-beat promotion that one coordinator likened to Restaurant Week, the business booster now used by restaurants from coast to coast.
Stanley Lobel, the Babe Ruth of butchers, said the Vintage Dinner Series could give a lasting lift to the bottom lines of restaurants everywhere by teaching the public to eat low-cost meats that haven’t been seen in kitchens for 100 years.
The promotion calls for a series of banquets featuring dishes, drinks and cocktails from the 19th century. Various signatures of that age will be served—apparently in copious quantities—at the participating restaurants on different nights from Jan. 12 through March 25.
“Each restaurant will hold its own banquet inspired by the 19th century,” with menus varying from feast to feast, explained Tim Zagat, co-publisher of the merlot-colored bibles of sport dining. Seating will be limited, and participants will be charged an all-inclusive price consistent with the host restaurant’s regular menu prices. Translation: Something stratospheric for Per Se, where a normal meal costs the equivalent of a Caribbean vacation, but only skyscraper high at a place like Le Bernardin, chef Eric Ripert’s celebrated outpost.
Lobel, who helped Zagat hatch the idea, cited such banquet menu possibilities as a stuffed calf’s heart. “We all know that’s a round piece of meat that looks like a heart,” explained Lobel, whose family runs Lobel’s of New York, the DeBeers of proteins. But, he conjectured, what if it was stuffed and baked into something delicious? “The cost on that is extremely reasonable and can be given away at a very attractive price.”
“We’re going to see unusual cuts of beef and lamb that are going to be a lot more economical,” he said. “I think that’s going to trickle down to all restaurants.”
He also cited beef liver as a Gilded Age favorite—“not calf’s liver, which is what you usually see. I’m talking beef liver, baked, finished off on the grill so there’s a charred outside, topped with my favorite spice, garlic.”
In addition, “one of the things I’m going to ask the chefs to look into is the blood of the animal,” he said, noting that it was used as “a healer” during the 1800s. He explained that the chefs may want to use it “as gravies, as dippings, as sauces.”
“We’re going to have some meals we haven’t seen in 100 years,” said Zagat. He noted such possible components as game, or, on the drinks side, punches and vintage cocktails. In addition, the banquets might resurrect the sort of presentation showmanship that dazzled Diamond Jim Brady—wows like Cherries Jubilee.
Zagat said the Vintage promotion was conceived as a way of bringing back classic dishes “that have disappeared from American culture.
“This is not just to have a series of parties,” he said. “This is to bring back a lot of what we have lost.”
Lobel, who is working with the chefs to craft authentic 1800s menus, was more straightforward about the potential business payback. “The last time the restaurant industry got a kick was Restaurant Week a few years ago,” he said.
Actually, Restaurant Week began more than a few years ago. A number of restaurants in the city decided in the 1980s to give their lunch traffic a boost during the heat of summer by all offering three-course meals for a price base don the year--$19.88, $19.89, etc. It’s now held twice a year in New York, in winter as well as summer, and has been copied by restaurateurs from coast to coast.
As part of the Vintage Dinner Series, participating restaurants will be asked to donate one table to a charity of their choice. Presumably the seats will be auctioned off or someone be used as a money-raising prize.
Zagat said reservations for the dinners would be handled individually by each place. “I think a lot of the restaurants will be sold out by the end of the day,” he said.
The participating chefs include such marquee-topping stars as Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Mario Batali and Lidia Bastianich of Del Posto, Thomas Keller of Per Se, Alain Ducasse of Adour, Charlie Palmer of Aureole, David Bouley of Bouley, Tom Valenti of Ouest and David Barber of Blue Hill. The complete list is available at Zagat’s web page for New York restaurants.
Stanley Lobel, the Babe Ruth of butchers, said the Vintage Dinner Series could give a lasting lift to the bottom lines of restaurants everywhere by teaching the public to eat low-cost meats that haven’t been seen in kitchens for 100 years.
The promotion calls for a series of banquets featuring dishes, drinks and cocktails from the 19th century. Various signatures of that age will be served—apparently in copious quantities—at the participating restaurants on different nights from Jan. 12 through March 25.
“Each restaurant will hold its own banquet inspired by the 19th century,” with menus varying from feast to feast, explained Tim Zagat, co-publisher of the merlot-colored bibles of sport dining. Seating will be limited, and participants will be charged an all-inclusive price consistent with the host restaurant’s regular menu prices. Translation: Something stratospheric for Per Se, where a normal meal costs the equivalent of a Caribbean vacation, but only skyscraper high at a place like Le Bernardin, chef Eric Ripert’s celebrated outpost.
Lobel, who helped Zagat hatch the idea, cited such banquet menu possibilities as a stuffed calf’s heart. “We all know that’s a round piece of meat that looks like a heart,” explained Lobel, whose family runs Lobel’s of New York, the DeBeers of proteins. But, he conjectured, what if it was stuffed and baked into something delicious? “The cost on that is extremely reasonable and can be given away at a very attractive price.”
“We’re going to see unusual cuts of beef and lamb that are going to be a lot more economical,” he said. “I think that’s going to trickle down to all restaurants.”
He also cited beef liver as a Gilded Age favorite—“not calf’s liver, which is what you usually see. I’m talking beef liver, baked, finished off on the grill so there’s a charred outside, topped with my favorite spice, garlic.”
In addition, “one of the things I’m going to ask the chefs to look into is the blood of the animal,” he said, noting that it was used as “a healer” during the 1800s. He explained that the chefs may want to use it “as gravies, as dippings, as sauces.”
“We’re going to have some meals we haven’t seen in 100 years,” said Zagat. He noted such possible components as game, or, on the drinks side, punches and vintage cocktails. In addition, the banquets might resurrect the sort of presentation showmanship that dazzled Diamond Jim Brady—wows like Cherries Jubilee.
Zagat said the Vintage promotion was conceived as a way of bringing back classic dishes “that have disappeared from American culture.
“This is not just to have a series of parties,” he said. “This is to bring back a lot of what we have lost.”
Lobel, who is working with the chefs to craft authentic 1800s menus, was more straightforward about the potential business payback. “The last time the restaurant industry got a kick was Restaurant Week a few years ago,” he said.
Actually, Restaurant Week began more than a few years ago. A number of restaurants in the city decided in the 1980s to give their lunch traffic a boost during the heat of summer by all offering three-course meals for a price base don the year--$19.88, $19.89, etc. It’s now held twice a year in New York, in winter as well as summer, and has been copied by restaurateurs from coast to coast.
As part of the Vintage Dinner Series, participating restaurants will be asked to donate one table to a charity of their choice. Presumably the seats will be auctioned off or someone be used as a money-raising prize.
Zagat said reservations for the dinners would be handled individually by each place. “I think a lot of the restaurants will be sold out by the end of the day,” he said.
The participating chefs include such marquee-topping stars as Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Mario Batali and Lidia Bastianich of Del Posto, Thomas Keller of Per Se, Alain Ducasse of Adour, Charlie Palmer of Aureole, David Bouley of Bouley, Tom Valenti of Ouest and David Barber of Blue Hill. The complete list is available at Zagat’s web page for New York restaurants.
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