Welcome to Open Kitchen, where the R&I editorial team will dish on all sorts of tidbits from the world of restaurants and foodservice, including menu trends, chef news, recipe ideas, business strategies--and anything else that whets our appetites. en-us http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704.html?nid=4742 Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information. Subject to its Terms of Use November 9, 2009 http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/1350049535.html?nid=4742 In 2002, when selecting a restaurant to complete my cooking school’s externship requirements, I picked up Gourmet’s 2001 October issue, its restaurant issue. Already dog-eared, the magazine opened nearly on its own to the list of what the… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/1360049336.html?nid=4742 Now that every Tom, Dick and Harry (or at least, every Laurent, Govind and Bobby) has his own upscale burger joint, it’s rare that a new burger-themed restaurant really catches my eye. Yet I’m intrigued by Burger Studio, a recently launched concept created by – here’s th… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/1440048344.html?nid=4742 French cooking, so 20 years ago? Reading about the kinds of eateries that have ratcheted up press these days (Korean-themed taco trucks, upscale Indian street food concepts, hot dogs, so-called molecular gastronomists, and nearly any spot serving rustic Italian) it begs the question: What about the … http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/430046243.html?nid=4742 American obesity is more than a problem. It's an epidemic, according to a report released today by the Robert Wood Johnston Foundation and the Trust for America's Health. The report, F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America delivered some staggering statistics. Among them: … http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/170045817.html?nid=4742 Fish & Farm, San Francisco What if you could go to a restaurant, order a $12 glass of wine and a $22 entrée, and walk out paying not a penny more than the $34 net total? I'm talking about no added taxes, … http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/1880045588.html?nid=4742 Last night I was scanning Twitter updates, and a late-evening post from a restaurant I'm following caught my eye. It read simply, "oh, whatever." That kind of cryptic, seemingly cranky update isn’t exactly outside the norm on individuals’ profile pages on sites such as Faceb… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/860045486.html?nid=4742 R&I's recent ice cream story reviewed ice-cream classics. You know the types: sodas, shakes, sundaes. Soda-Shoppe Duet at Rioja in Denver So it’s no wonder that this article in the San Francisco Chronicl… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/160045216.html?nid=4742 Vie's Paul Virant It’s one thing – and a great thing – for restaurants to promote local food and farmers by spotlighting them on their menus, but Paul Virant, chef-owner of Vie in Western Springs, … http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/750044875.html?nid=4742 The 2009 NRA Show is over, and as everyone files new contacts into their e-mail software systems, we thought we’d take a look back at what was said about the show. Apparently, quite a bit. The blog Pyreus counted at least 3,500 blog postings co… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/200044620.html?nid=4742 You know you’re in an industry that people never seem to want to leave when even after almost a decade, you’re still a relative newcomer. This weekend will be my 9th NRA show. That’s a whole lot of booth meetings, cocktail partie… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/1350044535.html?nid=4742 Walk into a grocery store in Hawaii and you’ll smell it: the sweet-salty essence of a soy-ginger marinade. It's coming from the refrigerated display of poke (pronounced po-keh), in which fish, ranging from raw ahi, to smoked marlin and cooked octopus, is cubed, mixed with a vaguely Japanese… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/1950043995.html?nid=4742 I'm trendy and I didn't even know it. Apparently, my typical diet is all the rage. While I enjoy meats of all kinds - beef, chicken, lamb, pork (ummm) and the rest – and adore seafood as well, I find that the majority of what I eat is mostly meatless. An oat-bran bagel and a banana for brea… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/530043453.html?nid=4742 Do you use club stores? I spent a good part of yesterday touring one in a south chicago suburb to learn more about what it offered small business owners. There was, of course, a lot of food available. More unexpected was the selection of professional equipment and supplies, from sheet trays, stainle… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/280043228.html?nid=4742 How were the restaurants in R&I’s 2009 Top 100 Independent Restaurants ranking able to snag $11 million or more in food-and-beverage sales? Sure, factors such as square footage, dinner check average and number of meals served play a big … http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/1420042942.html?nid=4742 I usually like to give a new restaurant a month or two to work out the kinks before giving it a try to avoid the food and service snafus that can be common early on. Last weekend, though, I accidentally went against this rule of thumb and made reservations at an affordable, market-driven spot in Chi… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/420042842.html?nid=4742 Time flies when you're on TV. That's the most important lesson I learned yesterday, when I had 4 minutes to cook one dish, explain what I was cooking, and answer Dina Bair's questions on WGN-TV's "Lunchbreak" segment. The end result? I made it – barely. With the help of a previously … http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/170042417.html?nid=4742 So many media outlets - including R&I - report regularly these days on all the wonderful efforts that restaurants and other foodservice outlets are making to go green. We're seeing examples of everything from harnessing wind power to converting frying oil to fuel to composting, and the&nbsp… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/1670041967.html?nid=4742 This morning, I woke up to the sound of WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. I thought I was dreaming. I was not. The voice really did ask: "Is the hot dog the perfect recession food?" Makes sense. At Hot Doug’s in Chicago, I can choose from a lot of fancy dogs – from alligator dogs t… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/860041886.html?nid=4742 Okay, so I have to ask: Why are so many chefs opening new restaurants right now? It seems like the more bad news the economy delivers, the more announcements hailing so-and-so’s upcoming new restaurant pour into my inbox. In Los Angeles, Susan Feniger has chosen now of all times t… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/380041638.html?nid=4742 Geoff Hetrick, president and CEO of the Ohio Restaurant Association, issued a call to Ohioans in a letter to the editor in Tuesday’s edition of the Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal: Go out to eat. Go out to eat at restaurants, and don’t feel guilty about doing so, because restaurants are of… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/1670041567.html?nid=4742 Ok. The sex appeal of this subject is lacking. Or is it? Yesterday I noticed that Advertising Age started a series called "bright spots," in which it highlights businesses that are doing quite well in spite of (or because of) the recession. This headline caught my attention: "Casserol… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/540041454.html?nid=4742 Is being on Facebook really a big benefit for restaurants? The jury’s still out on that one, but for those looking to tap into the addiction (as many users affectionately call the site), I recently read an interesting article about a few key ways restaurants and bars can more effectively marke… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/1240041324.html?nid=4742 Splitting an entree, asking for two spoons for a dessert—nothing new, even if the frequency with which restaurant consumers choose these cost-saving options has grown. But sharing an iced tea? Among three people? It happened at Patina Restaurant Group’s Brasserie in New York City, says a… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/730041273.html?nid=4742 Maybe you watch Bravo’s Top Chef and maybe you don’t (most of R&I’s food-and-restaurant-obsessed staffers are avid viewers, of course), but either way, last night’s finale - widely panned as a disappointing finish, if yo… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1040000704/post/160041216.html?nid=4742 On my drive to work, I took a detour to a nearby Starbucks to inquire about their instant coffee. The barista on duty didn't know the details, so I ordered a tall coffee and waited for the manager to return from the back room. Once she emerged, I quizzed her briefly about the instant coffee. …