Food, beverage and menu trends for restaurant and foodservice industry professionals, including articles, news, recipes, and exclusive research menu development, food and beverages, a recipes newsletter and more. en-us http://www.rimag.com/community/Food+%26+Beverage/48493.html?nid=4138 2008 Reed Business Information. Subject to its Terms of Use. Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:10:44 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6601003.html?nid=4138 Restaurant pastry kitchens rely on an abundant inventory of nuts—from walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, pecans and hazelnuts to almonds in their varied processed forms: whole, blanched, chopped and slivered, for starters. In the savory menu items prepared in restaurant kitchen, however, nuts and peanuts are used sporadically and often with discretion; they play the role of accents rather than taking the lead. Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6600991.html?nid=4138 Carne Asada Salad Legends Restaurant, New Suffolk, N.Y. Executive Chef Michael Reilly marinates flat-iron steak in beer spiked with Cajun seasoning, garlic, cumin, cilantro and hot sauce at this waterside fine-dining restaurant. Grilled slices of beef are fanned around a cluster of mesclun greens dressed in chunky salsa vinaigrette with chopped tomatoes, corn and black beans. Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6600989.html?nid=4138 With the economy putting a tight squeeze on bottom lines, well-planned and well-formatted restaurant menus can be a smart tactic. They can increase the odds that restaurant guests will order efficiently, correctly and perhaps even exactly what the restaurant operator hopes they’ll select. Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6600988.html?nid=4138 Caffeine-fueled energy drinks and antioxidant-rich pomegranate and açaí berries are the latest stars on restaurant beverage menus, but good old-fashioned milk just might be the ultimate functional drink. A nutritional workhorse, milk delivers calcium, protein and several essential vitamins. Adding to its allure for foodservice operators is the fact that milk already is on hand in most restaurant kitchens. Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6596333.html?nid=4138 Two experts share tips on how herbal additions can join fresh juices, flavored syrups, fruit purees and other standard mixers in the bartender's basic toolbox. Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:17:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6596746.html?nid=4138 Selling more wine at any dining occasion starts with making the fruits of the vine more approachable. One simple way to build comfort levels is to show guests that wine can accompany not just upscale plates but simple favorites as well. That’s one lesson that Morton’s, The Steakhouse is teaching customers by recommending different kinds of wine to pair with the most-popular combina... Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6596742.html?nid=4138 Often milder than their aged cousins, fresh cheeses adapt well across menus. Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6590496.html?nid=4138 Capture summer flavor for a few more weeks with fragrant, juicy peaches served grilled, roasted or raw. Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6590493.html?nid=4138 Be it a broth, a gazpacho or a bisque, the difference between a good bowl of soup and a great one can be found in the details. “So much of making a good soup is the attention that you’ve paid to it,” says Philip Foss, executive chef at Lockwood, the restaurant within Chicago’s Palmer House Hilton. Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6590492.html?nid=4138 If Seattle-based Starbucks is the sole barometer for the brew business, signs point to trouble. The coffee powerhouse and longtime segment leader is in a state of flux, saddled with store closures, layoffs and declining sales. Some observers attribute the woes to cooling interest in coffee. But numbers tell a different story about coffee consumption: Research indicates clearly that Americans ar... Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6590525.html?nid=4138 At Ammos Estiatorio in New York City, Executive Chef David Ogren’s secret weapon for finishing dishes isn’t the expected squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a drizzle of good olive oil. His go-to ingredient? A few shakes of hot sauce. The spicy condiment might seem more at home on Tex-Mex or Cajun-inspired menus than at an upscale Greek-fusion restaurant, but Ogren says its fermented ac... Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6585156.html?nid=4138 Heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds. Wait for the seeds to pop and sputter; then add fresh curry leaves and whole dried chiles. Pour immediately into the dal. In Southern India, the practice of adding tadka—spices tempered in oil—to dishes is common. It's also a technique that Americans are more likely to encounter in a corporate or college cafeteria than in an upscale restaurant. Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6585137.html?nid=4138 Houston-based Berryhill Baja Grill is giving guests two more reasons to enjoy fresh-squeezed lemonade, that quintessential warm-weather refresher. Through September, the 12-unit fresh-Mexican chain's Lemon-Aid Stand promotion kicks up the concept's signature mint lemonade with classic spirits and fruity liqueurs. Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6585134.html?nid=4138 At Gelateria Naia, a five-unit gelato chain based in Berkeley, Calif., owners Chris Tan and Trevor Morris often overhear customers describing their product as “really rich ice cream.” Although they have nothing against ice cream, they are aiming to clear up misconceptions by encouraging the California Department of Food and Agriculture to approve a standard for gelato. Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6585133.html?nid=4138 Beginning with the same sweet shellfish foundation, operators tweak crab cakes' size, seasonings and surroundings to shake up the classic starter. Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6585132.html?nid=4138 When Chef-owner Carlo deMarco opened 333 Belrose Bar & Grill in Radnor, Pa., he took care to equally represent land and sea among the menu’s entrées. Now, eight years later, deMarco has made a conscious—and profitable—shift in favor of fish. “It’s impacted my bottom line dramatically, because plate costs are much less for a premium piece of tuna than for ... Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6582347.html?nid=4138 Ultra-refreshing, often fruity and always fun, frozen drinks are a welcome treat on beverage menus both at the height of summer and throughout the year. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:03:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6581291.html?nid=4138 Hispanic ingredients are popular in foodservice establishments across all segments. To get a snapshot on what’s hot on menus, R&I asked foodservice professionals to talk about their must-have Hispanic ingredients. The result? Peppers draw the most loyalty, though other ingredients, such as agave leaf and longaniza are also on the radar. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:18:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6578678.html?nid=4138 Behold the smoothie, the Little Beverage That Could. Born in the late 1960s out of an at-home effort to find a meal solution for a guy who suffered from numerous allergies and hypoglycemia, the smoothie has been reinterpreted to become a midafternoon pick-me-up, an on-the-go breakfast or an anytime inexpensive treat. Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6578642.html?nid=4138 Russell Bry, chef culinary officer of San Francisco-based Boudin SF, knew something had changed at breakfast when he saw that multigrain toast was outselling sourdough toast at his bakery-cafes in the morning. “People are more conscious of what they’re eating,” says Bry. And although customers are heading to Boudin SF “first and foremost for things that taste good,”... Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST