By Maggie Shea, Chef Magazine
The days may be getting shorter, but longer nights are welcomed by a chef in Philly opening a late-night Italian eatery and wine bar, and a long-time restaurateur who will offer build-your-own burgers to the night owls of Sin City. And as comfort food continues its reign, two Food Network hosts in Chicago are serving up their own upscale versions of dishes Mom used to make, while a gastropub in D.C. turns up the volume on traditional British pub fare. Meanwhile, an 18-year-old New York staple gets a makeover and a seasonal fine-dining spot opens in the heart of Oregon wine country.
Grind Burger Bar & Lounge
Long-time Las Vegas restaurateur Mark DiMartino is at it again as he and business partner and real estate developer Barry Fieldman launched a build-your-own-burger concept on Sept. 25. Grind Burger Bar & Lounge will specialize in customizable burgers using fresh ground chuck, hand-pressed turkey and meatless burgers made with ground chickpeas and Mediterranean spices. But burgers just aren't the same without toppings. Guests can choose from a variety of premium cheeses, 20 toppings that include a fried egg, Sicilian olive salad and grilled asparagus; as well as 20 specialty sauces ranging from wasabi mayonnaise and San Marzano tomato salsa to cayenne pepper ranch dressing. The indecisive diner can simply opt for the chef's suggestion: "The turkey burger with provolone cheese, ajvar [puréed roasted eggplant and peppers], mayonnaise, sautéed spinach and garlic on a wheat bun," DiMartino said in a press statement. The menu also will include appetizers, chopped salads, specialty sandwiches and three preparations of potatoes.
Grind Burger Bar & Lounge is located at 360 E. Tropicana Ave. in Las Vegas, Nev. Open daily for lunch, dinner and late night. Visit www.grindburgers.com, or call (720) 262-9181.
Hearty
Opening for dinner on Nov. 4, Hearty is the latest addition to the growing empire of caterers, Food Network hosts and "accidental experts" on all things entertainment, The Hearty Boys. Chefs/owners Dan Smith (pictured, right) and Steve McDonagh (pictured, left) are returning to full-fledged restaurant operations with the launch of Hearty, an upscale American comfort food restaurant with vintage-twist cocktails and an all-American wine list. Smith and McDonagh offered a teaser of their upcoming menu at a preview dinner on Sept. 9, serving playful dishes like Cheddar and Havarti mac 'n' cheese squares rolled in cracker crumbs and deep-fried, pork belly and beans, foil-wrapped "campfire" fish with market vegetables and herb butter and a rice, butterscotch and cornmeal Indian pudding flight for dessert.
Hearty, located at 3819 N. Broadway, Chicago, is currently open for brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. It will be open daily for dinner. Visit www.heartyboys.com, or call (773) 244-9866.
Againn
Againn, which loosely translates to "with us" in Gaelic, is a European-inspired gastropub opening this October in Washington, D.C. Offering a fresh take on British pub cuisine, the family-style menu incorporates such dishes as shepherd's pie, ale-battered fish and chips with gribiche sauce, Cumberland bangers and mash, grilled Amish country aged cheddar sandwich with scallions and chips and smoked fish cakes with lemon-horseradish cream. The concept plays off of co-owner Mark Weiss's childhood split between New Zealand and London. As such, Againn also promises an extensive beer and single-malt Scotch selection to complement the high-end pub fare as well as a selection of international wines and artisanal cocktails. Weiss and his partner Bahar Makinaci, of boutique hospitality company Whisk Group, announced the launch Againn with the promise of more restaurant ventures to come.
Final rendering of Againn dining room
Againn is located at 1099 New York Ave. in Washington, D.C. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Visit www.againndc.com, or call (202) 297-0601.
Zavino
For a late-night take on seasonal Italian food, chef/partner Steve Gonzalez is set to open Zavino in October on the trendy 13th St. Corridor in Philadelphia's Midtown Village. The Italian kitchen and wine bar will be open until 2 a.m. daily serving wood-fired pizzas, charcuterie, seasonal salads and pasta until late as well as cocktails, wine and beer. Zavino's menu will change seasonally, as is customary in Italy. Thus, be on the lookout for items such as pizza with sliced fresh artichokes, Swiss chard and Pecorino Romano cheese, roasted red and golden beets with pistachios and goat cheese, roasted lamb with fried eggplant and mint and homemade beef ravioli with brown butter and sage. Gonzalez spent years working in Italy, Spain and New York, in addition to working under Philadelphia's acclaimed chef Marc Vetri.
Zavino is located at 112 S. 13th St., Philadelphia, Pa. Open daily 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. No reservations. Visit www.zavino.com, or call (215) 732-2400.
Oceana
An 18-year staple in the New York City dining scene, American seafood restaurant Oceana reopened its doors on Sept. 15 at its new home just west of Rockefeller Center. The flagship restaurant of Livanos Restaurant Group, the new Oceana offers a raw bar, a full-service bar and a Chef's Table in the kitchen. With the arrival of warmer weather next year, Oceana will also provide outdoor seating for up to 60 guests. Executive chef Ben Pollinger will provide a daily selection of fresh, whole fish, prime meats and naturally raised fowl on the lunch and dinner menus. Pastry chef Jansen Chan will offer playful favorites from Oceana's menu like the doughnut platter as well as new creations. Signature cocktails incorporating fresh juice, house-made syrups and seasonings are complemented by a wine list made up of 500 selections featuring 37 grape varietals.
Oceana is located at 1221 Avenue of the Americas at 49th St. in the McGraw Hill Building. Open daily for lunch and dinner and brunch on weekends. Visit www.livanosrestaurantgroup.com, or call (212) 759-5941.
Jory Restaurant
Named for a soil type that produces Oregon's famous Pinot Noirs, Jory Restaurant opened Sept. 26 at The Allison Inn & Spa in Newberg, Ore. The fine-dining restaurant offers cuisine in the style of the Pacific Northwest, with executive chef Nathan Lockwood at the helm offering dinner menu items like grilled Berkshire pork chop and Harmony peach with farro and charred scallions and crispy potato-crusted halibut over sautéed broccoli rabe, potato-olive oil emulsion and olives. Jory's 1 1/2-acre chef's garden will provide a bounty of seasonal vegetables, fruit and herbs that appear on the menu as in the Jory Garden zucchini soup with poached mussels, bacon and chives. Food and wine director Ercolino Crugnale and restaurant manager Tom Bean are also heading up the restaurant. And given The Allison's locale deep in the Willamette Valley wine region, the wine list is a hefty one, offering 700 bottles and 50 wines by the glass.
A front view of The Allison Inn & Spa
Jory Restaurant is located at the Allison Inn & Spa on 2525 Allison Lane, Newberg, Ore. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, reservations are available. Visit www.theallison.com/restaurant.php, or call (503) 554-2525.
On Sept. 29, Bon Appétit Management Co. held its fifth annual Eat Local Challenge. In an effort to promote local food economies, chefs at the more than 400 Bon Appétit café locations nationwide prepared meals made only from ingredients grown and produced from within 150 miles or less of each café. This includes dairy products, cooking oils, meat and vegetables--everything but salt.
The Eat Local Challenge educates diners about the variety of foods available to them locally, seeking to build support for local food economies and strong regional food systems in the United States. For more information, click here.
Bon Appétit is an onsite restaurant company that provides café and catering services to corporations, colleges, universities and specialty venues in 29 states.
It's been a busy fall so far for the Idaho Potato Commission, as it unveils three new varieties of Idaho-grown potato in addition to the well-known russet: gold, red and fingerling potatoes.
Purple Peruvian fingerlings are suitable for potato salads, roasting or sautéing.
"The growing conditions in Idaho--both the rich, volcanic soil and the climate--are the best in the world for yielding great tasting potatoes with a high solids content," said Don Odiorne, vice president of foodservice, in a statement. "Similar to the russet, the new Idaho-grown varieties perform well in foodservice because of their low water content."
The waxy Cal Red variety retains its skin color well and is good for potato salad.
The breakdown of the four varieties is as follows:
- russets: Burbank, Norkotah, Ranger and Western;
- golds: Milva, Yellow Finn and Yukon Gold;
- reds: Cal Red, Red La Soda, Norland; and
- fingerlings: Russian Banana, Ruby Crescent, French Fingerling, Purple Peruvian.
The IPC also recently launched a new blog, Ask Dr. Potato where Odiorne answers chefs' questions about menuing potatoes, healthy recipes, cost-effective use of potatoes and potato leftovers. Visit foodserviceblog.idahopotato.com for more information or to ask a question.
The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) is calling on cookbook authors, editors, publishers, photographers and stylists to submit their cookbooks for its 25th annual Cookbook Awards. All books must be submitted in English by Oct. 28, and for the first time, books may be entered in more than one category. Finalists will be announced by Feb. 26, 2010, and the winners will be honored at the ICAP Annual Conference, April 21 to 24 in Portland, Ore.
The judges will grant awards in 16 categories, award a Cookbook of the Year and grant the optional Gane Grigson Award and the Design Award, if any books so merit. New categories added to the awards this year are: Children, Youth and Family; Culinary History and Professional Kitchens. For more information on submission guidelines or to download an entry form, visit www.iacp.com.
The Webby Awards has kicked off its 14th annual call for entries at www.webbyawards.com. Restaurant industry Web sites can also enter in interactive advertising, mobile and video categories. The early deadline to enter work is Oct. 30. Nominees will be announced in April 2010, and winners will be honored at a gala ceremony on June 14, 2010, where they'll be asked to deliver one of the now-famous five-word speeches.
In 2009, Parish Food and Goods won The Webby Award for Best Restaurant Site, which was chosen by the judging academy, and Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill won The Webby People's Voice Award, which was chosen by the public. Parish Food and Goods' five-word speech was "Here to design you taste." Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill's five-word speech was "Thanks for pulling our pork."
"The Webby Awards gives winners an exciting a chance to have their work celebrated on a global stage," David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards, said in a press release. "The Internet is becoming an even more integral part of the restaurant industry, and we are thrilled to honor the innovators that are leading the way."
Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by the New York Times, The 13th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from over 60 countries. Following this year's ceremony, the Webby channel was number-one on YouTube with more than 500,000 video views in its first day alone.
The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-person judging academy whose members include Vinton Cerf, R/GA's Chief Bob Greenberg, Virgin chairman Richard Branson, Martha Stewart, "Simpson's" creator Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington, and Harvey Weinstein.
The National Restaurant Association Education Foundation (NRAEF) named three officers to the Board of Trustees for the September 2009 to December 2010 term. William ("Bill") L. Hyde Jr., principal of Abacus and Jasper's Restaurant Group, was named the new chair of the board.
Bill Hyde, a 37-year restaurant industry veteran, takes over as NRAEF board chair.
Carlton Curtis, vice president of industry affairs for the foodservice and hospitality division of Coca-Cola North America, was named vice chair.
Carlton Curtis, the NRAEF's new vice chair, has been an employee of The Coca-Cola Co. since 1972.
And Xavier Teixido, owner of Harry's Savoy Grill, was named board treasurer.
Xavier Teixido, NRAEF board treasurer, was chairman of the National Restaurant Association from 2002 to 2003.
"As outgoing chair, I am very proud of the accomplishments of the NRAEF this past year and am pleased to announce the new officers of the NRAEF Board of Trustees that will continue to grow and build the NRAEF going forward," said past NRAEF chair Linda Bacin in a statement. "Under their experienced leadership, the NRAEF will continue to enhance the prominence of the restaurant industry through public service, education and community engagement."
The Provence Wine Council launched a new education program on Provence wines in collaboration with the Washington, D.C.-based French Wine Society, which has trained professionals in the wines of Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Rhone.
The education program includes:
- a 51-page self-study manual that helps wine educators and industry professionals learn the wines of Provence
- a master-level certification exam
- a series of optional, supplemental master-level classes to be taught in certain institutions throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The first chance for self-study participants to take the certification exam will be at the French Wine Society's annual conference, Oct. 5 to 7, in Washington, D.C. The Provence self-study manual and exam registration can be ordered from the French Wine Society at www.frenchwinesociety.org/site.php?page=page&id=94&ver=pro. The Provence Wine Council's 2010 five-day master-level study abroad program is open to between eight and 12 certified wine educators who have attained the certificate of proficiency. The program covers Provence's viticulture and enables wine educators to attain the Licensed Master-Level Instructor credential. For more information, contact Lisa Airey at lairey@frenchwinesociety.org.
Do you know a chef who is a leader in the foodservice industry? An inspiration and mentor to others? An innovator in cuisine, techniques, management style and dish applications? A steward of community tenets?
Then nominate that chef for Chef Magazine's 2009 Chef of the Year!
Fill out the form online. Or if you prefer a PDF that you can print off and fill out by hand, e-mail lgriebeler@talcott.com, then send your materials to Chef of the Year, Chef Magazine, 20 W. Kinzie St., Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60654, by Sept. 25. The finalists will be announced in the November/December issue of Chef, and the winner will be profiled in the January 2010 issue. Chef Magazine will also make a $500 donation to the winner's charity of choice.
Businesses are increasingly becoming victims of "friendly fraud"--fraud carried out by customers to get items free of charge. The Better Business Bureau warns small business owners to be on the lookout for “friendly” fraud and offers advice on how to protect against this growing online threat.
According to the Wall Street Journal, many companies--for example, the travel site Expedia--are currently seeing up to a 50 percent spike in friendly fraud since October 2008. The most common types of friendly fraud involve cases in which a customer falsely claims they:
- never received an item ordered online;
- received the wrong item ordered online; or
- had their credit card stolen and were charged for items they didn't order.
The customer then demands a refund from the business. When "friendly fraudsters" are unable to coax reimbursements from a business directly, many then issue chargebacks to their credit card companies. Creditors will investigate the situation, asking for the business owner's side of the story before deciding whether or not the business is at fault.
Defending a business against friendly fraud is no easy task, but there are steps to take. The BBB offers the following advice to small business owners:
- Verify the buyer's billing address before sending merchandise. Some retailers require that the billing and shipping address match before fulfilling an order. However, some businesses have found that simply paying for an Address Verification Service, which confirms that the billing address matches the address associated with the credit card, is sufficient.
- Use a shipper that tracks delivery. Some shipping firms provide tracking information and signature confirmation. Such information can help shed light on whether or not the customer really didn't receive the goods.
- Deactivate or deny access to products. For retailers that do not ship tangible items, but rather items such as downloads or access to sites, a plan for denying access is both prudent and practical.
- Clearly state your return policy on your Web site. This includes any product guarantees, time restrictions, condition requirements or fees--such as for restocking.
- Be prepared to make your case to the credit card company. Staying organized and presenting a solid case--including records of delivery or reimbursement and your return policy--in the face of a chargeback will assist the credit card company and increase your chances for a favorable resolution.
- Analyze sales records. This can help you identify consumers who charge back items on a regular basis, enabling you to decide whether or not to stop doing business with them.
For more advice on defending your small business from fraud, visit www.bbb.org.
About
Chef's Stirrings is the official blog of Chef Magazine, the industry publication for restaurant and foodservice professionals. The blog offers culinary news and online exclusives from the editors ofChef.
Hearty
Final rendering of Againn dining room
A front view of The Allison Inn & Spa
