Restaurants all over the country are beginning to see signs of a potential recovery after a dismal 2009. Sales at some restaurants have risen in the last few months, and the industry has hired thousands of additional workers. “There’s no question about this,” said Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group, a market research firm that tracks sales at 47 restaurant chains with a total of 103,000 outlets. “There’s a recovery going on.” Mr. Balzer said that March sales at restaurants open for at least a year were up 1 percent compared with March of last year. While that might not seem like much, it broke a string of 10 months of negative sales. He cautioned that while the sales trends were uneven across the industry, almost half the chains he tracks — mostly fast-food and family dining restaurants like Denny’s — had begun showing gains. (more…)

Meat-loving consumers in the United States are eating out less, but they are not forgoing taste and quality as researchers have found that more restaurant-quality prime- and choice-grade steaks are being served on family dinner tables. Beginning in 2008, cash-strapped consumers shifted to at-home dining. As a result, with restaurant business on the decline, meat companies are now shipping more of their restaurant fare to grocery stores and consumers are buying it, according to data presented on Thursday at the Worldwide Food Expo. The accompanying sales data showed sales remain strong for lower-priced meats such as ground beef, hot dogs, and chicken drumsticks. But, there was a noticeable increase in sales of higher-priced premium meats. The sales volume of the more expensive “premium” steaks was up 15.5 percent in the third quarter from a year ago, versus a 13.2 percent rise in “regular” steaks, they said.  (more…)

The religion of Southern fried chicken is spreading fast in New York City, with pilgrims making stops at the Redhead in the East Village, Locanda Verde in TriBeCa and Buttermilk Channel in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. But, does it have to be Southern to be delicious? Absolutely not! “It was a long, arduous month,” said Kevin Pemoulie, chef at Momofuku Noodle Bar, whose dark-meat double-fried pieces, brushed with a spicy Korean-influenced glaze, was one of two winners. “It gave me new insight into the deep fryer.” Mr. Pemoulie said the chefs tried various types of flour, multiple fryings, turning the batter into foam, and adding vodka to it (that idea stuck). The final meal — available by reservation only, a few times daily, at Noodle Bar — is a vast feed that includes Mr. Pemoulie’s chicken and one by Peter Serpico, chef at Momofuku Ko, a relatively traditional American fried chicken with a bit of rice flour in the batter and a big salty shot of Old Bay seasoning. The mountain of chicken is accompanied to the table by four sauces; house-made Chinese-style mu shu pancakes for wrapping; and a bowl of raw vegetables like baby carrots, radishes and fushimi peppers, plus leaves of shiso, basil and mint. After devouring this feast, I couldn’t help thinking other fried chicken outposts would be opening soon. After all, you have to figure we have enough hamburger joints. (more…)

Cupcake shops have become as ubiquitous as hot dog stands in some American cities, and have spread to Rome; Istanbul; Berlin; Seoul, South Korea; and Sydney, Australia. Now Mr.Fadi Jaber, a son of Palestinian refugees has proved that even the Arab world is not immune to such a Western frivolity. Along with such all-American favorites as carrot cake and red velvet, Mr. Jaber, 31, also caters to regional tastes, offering specialty items like Blind Date, a sticky date cupcake with cream cheese frosting, and Ramadan cupcakes in flavors like pistachio with orange-blossom frosting. Cupcakes have also bridged the most contentious divide of the Middle East. In the last year, three online cupcake stores opened in Israel, all in Tel Aviv. Maybe there is hope after all.   (more…)

Building on providing customers with perks that cost nothing is enticing food for those in the know. Whether it is twittering to locate a favorite food cart or being invited to an underground restaurant, being tuned in has never been more delicious. The trend seemed to have started simultaneously across the pond, down under, and on the left and right coasts. Now this technologically fueled trend is making its’ way to the rest of us.  (more…)

The world domination of the hamburger might finally have a challenger. Indiscriminate gluttons and discerning gourmands alike have long been crazy for pizza. But over the last few years, they have elevated their passion to a vocation, sending pizza into a whole new stratosphere of respect. It isn’t just loved, and it isn’t just devoured. It’s scrutinized and fetishized, The flashiest restaurateurs want in on pizza; so do some of the most classically trained, critically acclaimed chefs. Stephen Starr, the owner of Buddakan and an owner of Morimoto, two of the grandest and gaudiest Asian restaurants in downtown Manhattan, has lately spent much of his time in New York eating his way through the city’s older and newer pizza parlors, on a gut-busting mission to figure out what works best and how to replicate it in Philadelphia, his base. Pizza is the latest fascination of David Myers, a celebrated Los Angeles chef who has turned from progressive cuisine at Sona to mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes at Pizzeria Ortica, which he opened early this year in Costa Mesa, Calif. Why the explosion? It’s the economy stupid. With the cost gentle for both the consumer and the provider, looks like pizza has won over the hearts and minds of the restaurant goer.  (more…)

A note to food marketers: Consumers who say they want healthy options are unlikely to actually order off the healthy menu. ”There’s definitely a dichotomy between what people say they want and what they actually do when it comes to healthy restaurant eating,” Maria Caranfa, a registered dietitian and director at Mintel Menu Insights, said in a statement. “Over eight in 10 adults told us it’s very or somewhat important to them to eat healthy, but when it comes to dining out, most people are really looking for taste, texture and experience.” Mintel found that only one in five consumers rank a food’s health attributes as an important factor when choosing dinner. But 77% of them thought about “taste,” and 44% considered “hunger satisfaction.” And a particular problem for restaurants: While roughly 75% of those surveyed said they would like to see more healthy options, only 51% order from those selections. (more…)

Whoever said mass marketing is dead never worked at McDonald’s. The master of the McBlitz is about to outdo itself with its long-awaited national campaign for its new coffee line, touted as the biggest launch in its history — no small feat for a company that regularly drenches consumers in marketing. ”I assure you that we’re going to be surrounding the consumer with very relevant messaging,” said Neil Golden, chief marketing officer, McDonald’s USA. McDonald’s understands that it faces a quality-perception hurdle with first-time buyers, so it’s focused on “making the product the hero” in TV spots with what Ms. Peleo-Lazar calls “chocolate-cake shots.” McCafe’s African-American and Hispanic campaigns reflect preferences based on consumer insights. African-Americans are more interested in sweeter beverages, while Hispanics tend to be coffee and espresso experts, so they need assurance on quality. In recent years, McDonald’s has been on a roll. Let’s see if they can steamroll the competition in a category where brand loyalty and quality are strong.  (more...)

Riding the trend of customization, cheaper eats, and the need to just have a little fun, Burger King Corp. will open its first Whopper Bar in Universal CityWalk, a 30-acre shopping and entertainment complex at the Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Fla. Customers can customize their Whopper, Double Whopper or Steakhouse XT burger with up to 22 different toppings, including steak sauce, smoked bacon and guacamole. Burger King workers will add the toppings in front of customers for a sushi bar-like atmosphere. Russ Klein, president of global marketing, strategy and innovation said he envisions the new concept in stadiums, casinos, cruise ships and other spaces where customers are looking for both food and fun. (more…)

Rare roast beef splashed with meaty jus, pork enrobed in luscious crackling fat, perhaps a juicy, plump chicken … these are feasts that come to mind when one thinks of quintessential British food. Lately, however, a new meat is gracing the British table: squirrel. While some have difficulty with the cuteness versus deliciousness ratio — that adorable little face, those itty-bitty claws — many feel that eating squirrel is a way to do something good for the environment while enjoying a unique gastronomical experience. Enter the “Save Our Squirrels” campaign begun in 2006 to rescue Britain’s red squirrels by piquing the nation’s appetite for their marauding North American cousins. With a rallying motto of “Save a red, eat a gray!” the campaign created a market for culled squirrel meat. I’m going to London shortly. Let me think about this…nope.  (more…)