Trends

https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/10/dining/10WELL.html
responsibility for the changes that restaurants and food companies are making to improve the nutrition of their products is also claimed by groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which has criticized fast-food restaurants for years, saying their food is unhealthy, and lawyers for people who claim in lawsuits that fast food made them fat.

https://reveries.com/cool_news/2004/march/mar_1b.html

Twisted Whiskeys. Traditionally, “Irish whiskey has been a social drink consumed mainly at bars and restaurants — particularly on St. Patrick’s Day — however, “that’s changing,” reports Gerry Khermouch in BusinessWeek (3/8/04). “New expresssions of the old product line are what’s hot,” says Joseph Congiusti of Binny’s Beverage Depot in Chicago. He says the new-style Irish whiskeys are largely inspired by makers of Scotch (no “e”) whisky and bourbon.

Upscale Restaurateurs Offer Concierge-Like Services for Guests
These days it can be tough to tell the difference between a maitre d’ and a hotel concierge.

Need collar stays? Spiaggia has them. Cuff links? Seasons will get them. A spritz of Static Guard? No problem at Des Plaines’ Cafe la Cave. A size 52 long sport coat? Ambria has it.

“Places really interested in growing their business use their maitre d’s very much like you would use a concierge,” said Isidore Kharasch, who heads Deerfield-based consultancy Hospitality Works.

“I think part of what we do is attention to detail. You need to notice things,” added Chris Gerber, the dining room manager at Trio in Evanston.

That’s especially true in an industry that expects to pull in $440 billion this year and is enjoying a small jump in consumer spending for the first time in five quarters, according to a recent report by NPD Group market researchers. [Read more…] about Upscale Restaurateurs Offer Concierge-Like Services for Guests

https://retailtrafficmag.com/ar/retail_setting_menu/index.htm
Restaurants and retail complement one another like a fine red wine and a juicy steak. Just ask any mall owner who has watched droves of stuffed customers migrating from Cheesecake Factory throughout the rest of the center after a meal. Moderately priced, full-service restaurants (which comprise 20 percent of the casual dining market) are in-demand anchors now that department store sales are slumping.

In the newest wave of gilded urban life, an independent restaurant on the premises of luxury condominiums is de rigueur, as essential to the perks as a doorman or a covered parking garage. The right kind of restaurant, says Ronald M. Druker, developer of the South End’s Atelier 505, will “add a certain level of vitality” to the premises and “set a tone for the lifestyle of the building.” That lifestyle is costing condominium owners between $600,000 and $2.75 million. [Read more…] about The lush life, plus a restaurant

According to French magazine Elle the next thing to hit the singles scene after ‘speed-dating’ is ?quiet parties?. This is already the craze at the Parisian hot spot Tanija. Participants are united in a room in total silence. It is forbidden to speak a word. To order a drink or chat up a date participants need to use a pencil and paper supplied by the venue. Leftover scraps of paper show conversations ranging from the simple: ? Hi may I offer you a drink?? to the more creative ?Your beauty leaves me speechless?. Two hours later it?s all about body language and maximum decibels as everybody gets on the dance floor.

Tanija 23 rue Ponthieu 75008 Paris www.quiet-party.com

Dinner now comes in paper bags, in plastic wrap and containers, and in anything else that will get it to your supper table without spills. Who has time to cook? After work or a busyday running around, many consumers don’t want to hunt down hard-to-find ingredients, then stand at the stove making dinner.
[Read more…] about Wrap it up, we'll take it

Source: Patrick McGuigan
www.Just-Food.com

Farmers markets are booming in many countries, but is it worth paying the extra to buy directly from the producer of your food? As farmers markets begin to rattle supermarkets, how are they fighting back? Where do consumers really get the best deal? Patrick McGuigan went to market to find out. [Read more…] about Farmers markets take food back to basics