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Home > Blogs > Taste: Dayton food and restaurants > Archives > 2009 > February
February 2009
Arby’s giving away free sandwiches, with drink purchase
Fast-food chain Arby’s is giving away sandwiches. Sort of.
As part of introducing customers to its new “Roast Burgers,” the company is allowing customers to download a coupon good for a free Roast Burger ONLY IF a drink is purchased “at regular price” — something the coupon’s fine print sees fit to mention twice in identical sentences, just in case you skipped over the first one.
Still, a sandwich is a sandwich, and you can download the printable Arby’s coupon here.
The promotion extends through March 9, and it’s available “at participating Arby’s restaurant locations only,” as they say (and they DO say).
Permalink | Comments (33) | Post your comment | Categories: Restaurant promotions/giveaways
TweetHave we hit bottom? Restaurant outlook improves slightly
In its monthly barometer of the industry, the National Restaurant Association reports that the outlook for restaurants improved slightly in January compared to the record-dismal outlook in December 2008. (Click here for the full Restaurant Performance Index report for January 2009.)
Here’s an excerpt from the association’s news release:
Although the sales situation improved somewhat in January, restaurant operators still reported negative same-store sales for the eighth consecutive month. Thirty-one percent of restaurant operators reported a same-store sales gain between January 2008 and January 2009, up from 23 percent who reported a sales gain in December. Fifty-five percent of operators reported a same-store sales decline in January, down from 66 who reported negative sales in December.
And although restaurant owners are still pessimistic, they’re apparently a bit less pessimistic:
Restaurant operators remain relatively pessimistic about sales growth in coming months. Twenty-six percent of restaurant operators expect to have higher sales in six months (compared to the same period in the previous year), up from 18 percent who reported similarly last month. Forty-two percent of restaurant operators expect their sales volume in six months to be lower than it was during the same period in the previous year, down from 48 percent who reported similarly last month.
So the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question remains: Has the economy bottomed out?
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Restaurant industry news
TweetHealth department clears restaurant to reopen
The Sake Japanese Restaurant at 4470 Indian Ripple Road across from The Greene in Beavercreek reopened today after gaining approval to do so from the Greene County Combined Health District.
Health officials had ordered the closure of the restaurant for 20 days for violations of the Ohio Food Code.
The restaurant had to pass an inspection before reopening, and a spokeswoman for the health district said Thursday, Feb. 26, that inspectors had given the go-ahead to remove the “closed” signs and enforcement letter that had been posted on the restaurant’s door.
Two other Sake restaurants in Montgomery County — one near the Dayton Mall and another on Miller Lane, both in Montgomery County — were not impacted by the forced shutdown of the Beavercreek restaurant, and those two restaurants do not face any health department-related sanctions, owner Khue P. Tran said Feb. 16.
Permalink | | Categories: Local restaurant news
TweetL’Auberge welcomes new executive chef
L’Auberge restaurant in Kettering has a new executive chef.
He is Romuald Jung, a native of the Alsace-Lorraine region of France and a 1986 graduate of the Academie de Rennes in Rennes, France. Jung comes to l’Auberge from The Palace restaurant inside The Cincinnatian hotel in Cincinnati.
“Chef Romy has worked in some of the world’s most prestigious restaurants in the world including TroisGros in Roanne, France; Daniel Boulud in New York; the famed Peacock Alley at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel; and at the Bellagio Hotel Resort and Casino in Las Vegas,” said Brian DeMarke, l’Auberge’s general manager and sommelier. “Over the coming weeks, l’Auberge and Chef Romy will begin unveiling new menus and ideas for the culinary future of L’Auberge.”
Owen Maass, l’Auberge’s executive chef since early 2007, resigned in part because of the lengthy commute he had from his Cincinnati home, DeMarke said.
Maass is now part of the culinary team led by Yajan Upadhyaya, co-owner and executive chef of Cumin restaurant in Cincinnati.
Cumin’s co-owner is Alex Mchaikhi, who worked at l’Auberge for seven years.
Mchaikhi predicted l’Auberge diners will be pleased with Jung, whom Mchaikhi said was a “good fit” for l’Auberge.
“Chef Romy is an amazing chef,” Mchaikhi said.
Permalink | | Categories: Local restaurant news
TweetRestaurant deal falls through at The Greene
BEAVERCREEK — Rojo is a no-go.
Back in November, signs were posted at The Greene announcing that a new Mexican restaurant named Rojo would be “coming soon” to the shopping, entertainment and housing complex.
At the time, Mike Duffey, spokesman for The Greene, said the signs should be considered a “teaser” and that a formal announcement would come before the end of 2008. But late Thursday, Feb. 26, Duffey said Rojo “will not be coming to The Greene.”
The Columbus-based owners of the restaurant were leaning toward a different food concept that officials at The Greene did not think would work at the complex, so plans were called off in what Duffey said was a mutual decision.
“We’re actively talking with other restaurants, and we hope to have a restaurant in there by the second half of 2009,” Duffey said.
Permalink | Comments (18) | Post your comment | Categories: Local restaurant news
TweetNominate your favorite splurge restaurant, and vote on best bargain eateries
Where do you like to eat on the cheap?
My colleagues who oversee the ActiveDayton.com web site are on a mission to find the best bargain dining options in Dayton, and they invite you to cast your vote in this week’s Best of Dayton poll on best bargain dining. You have until noon Monday, March 2.
And from bargains we go to, well, splurging.
This week, ActiveDayton’s Best of Dayton poll is accepting nominations for your favorite “splurge” restaurant, where spending big bucks is well worth it. Check out who’s up for nomination so far, and send us your nominations before this category goes up for vote March 2-9.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Local restaurant news
TweetDenny’s to cut salt from menu
The restaurant chain Denny’s will lower the sodium content in many of its menu items, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.
Among the items stripped of some of their salt and sodium content: hash browns, shrimp skewers and cheese sauce.
And these reformulations weren’t limited to the “big-boy” menu: Denny’s told the food-service trade publication that it eliminated some higher-sodium items from its kids’ menu, “replacing them with more healthful items such as fruits and vegetables.”
Now, this is certainly a commendable, responsible action on Denny’s part. It will give diners the option of how much salt to put on their food, and for those with high blood pressure or other medical conditions exacerbated by sodium intake, that’s important.
But I know what I’m going to do if my hash browns arrive at the table devoid of salt, so keep those salt shakers topped off.
And another thing: The Nation’s Restaurant News story notes that, “All of the lower-sodium items will be available at all 1,500 Denny’s restaurants in June.” June? I know Denny’s is a big chain and all, but does it really take four months to implement these recipe tweaks?
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment |
TweetNew Pepsi & Mountain Dew ‘Throwbacks’ will be sweetened with real sugar
Soft drink and other beverage makers are turning back the clocks with some new products that will be sweetened with old-fashioned sugar instead of the more modern and nearly ubiquitous high-fructose corn syrup.
Although there has been no formal announcement by Pepsi, the company will begin selling Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback — which features those brands formulated with sugar rather than corn syrup — on April 20 in markets nationwide, Pepsi spokeswoman Nicole Bradley said.
![PepsiThrowback12oz[2].jpg](http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/shared-blogs/dayton/taste/upload/2009/02/retro_pepsi_new_pepsi_mountain/PepsiThrowback12oz%5B2%5D.jpg)
![MtDewThrowback12oz[2].jpg](http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/shared-blogs/dayton/taste/upload/2009/02/retro_pepsi_new_pepsi_mountain/MtDewThrowback12oz%5B2%5D.jpg)
The “Throwbacks” are a “limited time offer” through June 17, Bradley said. It looks like Beverage Industry magazine wrote about this, as did BevReview.com.
And specialty tea maker Snapple has changed its formula, omitting high-fructose corn syrup and choosing to use sugar as a sweetener instead, according to thi entry from the New York Times “City Room” blog.
Pepsi — which uses high-fructose corn syrup in its current “regular” Mountain Dew and Pepsi sodas — is using sugar “because we wanted to be true to the time,” and not because of any concerns about high-fructose corn syrup, Bradley said. Pepsi used sugar to sweeten its sodas through the 1960s and 1970s, she said.
High-fructose corn syrup has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years as Americans’ rates of obesity and related health problems have risen, although the American Medical Association, among other groups, has concluded that the corn-based sweetener does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other sweeteners. Cargill’s corn-processing plant at 3201 Needmore Road in Dayton is among the largest suppliers of high fructose corn syrup in the country.
Pepsi — which last year released sugar-sweetened drinks in other countries including Great Britain and Mexico — is offering the Throwback products for only two months because such limited-time offers generate excitement among consumers, Bradley said.
What if consumer response is overwhelmingly positive? Might Pepsi change its mind about the limited-time offer?
“We’ll have to see,” Bradley said.
Why use sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup?
Pepsi wants to recapture the spirit of the ’60s and ’70s, when it used sugar to sweeten its colas — and it also wants to recapture some of the market share that its products and other carbonated soft drinks have lost to bottled water and tea-based drinks. But a Pepsi spokeswoman makes it very clear the company has no health concerns regarding sweetened corn syrup, which it uses to sweeten many of its non-diet sodas.
Which is worse, sugar or high fructose corn syrup?
Most dieticians consider both to be “empty calories,” although high fructose corn syrup has attracted increasing scrutiny in recent years for its role in obesity and diabetes as some products that include HFCS have been found to contain mercury. The Corn Refiners Associaton has called that study flawed and have launched an advertising campaign defending HFCS from what it says are “myths.” Either way, both sugar and HFCS should be consumed in moderation.
Cargill connection: The Cargill corn processing plant at 3201 Needmore Road in Dayton is one of the country’s largest producers of high-fructose corn syrup, employing about 280 people.
(Images courtesy of Pepsi)
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TweetMexican restaurant closes
WEST CARROLLTON — Pepito’s Mexican Restaurant & Cantina’s West Carrollton restaurant has closed only five months after it opened.
There are no signs alerting customers to the closing posted at the restaurant at 1130 Central Ave. in the east end of the former Roberd’s complex, but employees at the Kettering and Dayton Pepito’s confirmed the closing. Ignacio Bucio, the West Carrollton restaurant’s owner, could not be reached this morning, Feb. 25.
When the restaurant opened in September near the Montgomery County auto title and Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles license bureau offices in West Carrollton, Bucio said he had been looking for a spot to open since he sold the Pepito’s at 4904 Airway Road earlier in 2008.
The other Pepito’s restaurants are located at 2412 Catalpa Drive in Dayton and at 3618 Wilmington Pike in Kettering.
An employee of the Kettering Pepito’s said the restaurant has temporarily suspended lunch service during a transition to new management. Lunches are expected to return in three or four weeks.
Kelly Kennedy, an employee of the Catalpa Drive Pepito’s, said the closing of the West Carrollton restaurant will have no impact on the Dayton operation, other than the Catalpa restaurant will host Latin dancing events that had been held in West Carrollton, starting as soon as this weekend. Kennedy also said the Dayton restaurant is offering a 25 percent off food special as part of its 29th anniversary celebration.
Permalink | Comments (35) | Post your comment | Categories: Restaurant closings
TweetNew mall restaurant now plans March opening
BEAVERCREEK — Spinoza’s Gourmet Pizza & Salads — the restaurant that local restaurateur Glen Brailey will open inside the Mall at Fairfield Commons — has a revised projected opening date of March 17.
Brailey — founder of Pacchia who sold his majority ownership of the restaurant along with the building in April 2008 — said he has selected managers and will start interviewing for staff positions this week, with an eye toward opening in three weeks.
The March 17 projected opening date “is pretty solid,” Brailey said, although the restaurant must still obtain state liquor-control permits and undergo health-department inspections.
The 120-seat restaurant will serve what Brailey called “California-style gourmet pizza and artisan salads.” The restaurant will be located in the mall space that once housed California Pizza Kitchen, which closed in November 2006. The 5,000-square-foot space is near the Sears entrance to the Fairfield Commons mall.
Permalink | Comments (17) | Post your comment | Categories: Restaurant openings
TweetMiamisburg native goes out of her way to bring fresh pasta to Dayton market
DAYTON — It’s a long drive for Melissa Hathaway to make every Saturday morning — from her home in Hartville, between Akron and Canton, to downtown Dayton — but it’s a bit of a homecoming, too, for the 1979 Miamisburg High School graduate.
Besides, there’s fresh pasta to sell.
Hathaway is the co-owner of Pastafinity, the newest vendor at the National City Second Street Market at East Second and Webster streets just east of downtown Dayton. Every Saturday (and at this point, Saturday only, even though the market is open Thursday and Friday as well), Hathaway packs up a couple of large coolers with ice packs and dozens of small packages of brightly colored fresh pastas and hits the highway.
Her partner Bruce Opdhal has been making fresh pastas for more than seven years, and Hathaway has a background in agriculture and organic gardening. The two sell pasta at a local market in Stark County, but would like to expand to southwest Ohio, where Hathaway grew up.
On a recent Saturday, the available pasta flavors included basil parmesan, roasted red pepper, curry, spinach, and portabella — making for quite a kaleidoscope of colors on a display plate. The pastas — fettuccini, angel-hair, and ravioli — are made with Durum and Semolina wheat flour, and Hathaway said her partner uses fresh and locally grown ingredients to blend with the wheat to make the flavored pastas.
The fresh pastas cost $2 for a quarter-pound, or $7 a pound. Hathaway also sells small tubs of compound (or flavored) butters such as sun-dried tomato or garlic-herb for $3.50. The pastas keep for a week refrigerated and can be frozen for future use, she said.
Hathaway is still in her first month at the Dayton market, “but we’re very pleased with the reception so far. We’re excited. Our intent is to bring these products to the Dayton and Cincinnati markets.
“So we’ll be here every Saturday through the rest of the year — weather permitting. We get more snow up there than you get down here.”
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: New food items
TweetRestaurants slash prices, offer deals
Restaurants are cutting prices and offering deals in an effort to keep customers coming through their doors.
Restaurant chains have gotten pretty aggressive, according to this post from WalletPop.com entitled “Best Recession Restaurant Deals”. The web site’s “exhibit A” is a buy one get one free special from TGI Friday’s. The link in the previous sentence allows customers to download a printable coupon for the “BOGO” offer.
In my home-delivered Dayton Daily News on Sunday, Chipotle enclosed an empty brown paper sack that could be taken to a local Chipotle restaurant to be filled with what was described as a free burrito. I’m not sure how widespread the offer was.
Of course, such special offers and promotions aren’t limited to chain restaurants. Nearly every local restaurant, from chains to mom-and-pops, are doing something to provide greater value and keep their customer counts strong, from prix-fixe menus to monthly specials.
Here’s one of the many examples: C’est Tout just last week started offering some complimentary appetizers during its Happy Hour from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. weekdays, and it launched some comfort-food daily specials that include Chicken Pot Pie on Mondays ($12.95) and Meat Loaf with Mashed Potatoes on Tuesdays ($11.50)
You can keep an eye on other local restaurant specials and promotions at the Miami Valley Restaurant Association web site, and also at this Dayton Dining site, and if you’d like, tell our readers directly about your restaurant’s (or you favorite restaurant’s) specials by clicking on “Post Your Comment.”
Permalink | Comments (16) | Post your comment | Categories: Restaurant promotions/giveaways
TweetDLM, Jungle Jim’s among nation’s ‘best’
When the web site WalletPop.com posed the question to America Online readers, “What are your most favorite or least favorite grocery stores,” it got an earful. Some of the quotes from folks nominating their least favorite stores are positively incendiary.
But lo and behold, a couple of southwest Ohio locally owned and operated grocery stores < popped up on the list, including Dorothy Lane Market and Jungle Jim’s.
Both won praise from readers singling the stores out as their most favorite.
In slide number 22, here’s what reader “BWilli45409” says about DLM:
Our favorite grocery store locally would be Dorothy Lane Market. There are 3 stores in the Dayton area. The selection and variety of their goods is second to none. They are a bit more pricey than most grocery stores, but as the saying goes, “If you can’t find it at Dorothy Lane, you won’t find it.
And in slide number 32, reader HoneyRaeBeMe says this about Jungle’s:
Jungle Jim’s is a destination place [in Fairfield, Ohio]. It’s a great grocery but has an almost amusement part feel to it. I’m fortunate that I only live a forty-minute drive from it. I try to make it down there every few months or so. If I lived closer, I would be there weekly. The produce and seafood departments are unbeatable. Take a few minutes and check out their Web site [www.junglejims.com]. The place is a hoot!
A couple of national chain grocery stores that have southwest Ohio outlets also were singled out for praise from appreciative customers. A reader named Wildlifecenter said this about Trader Joe’s:
Trader Joe’s is a wonderful “chain” (if you want to call it that) grocery store. Not only do they have decent prices, but also a friendly staff and good products. I won’t live anywhere I can’t access a store within one hour. They encourage eco-friendliness. [My] only complaint is they are fairly small stores and really do not cater to families large than about four. Oh, and they are only in selected states, so there may not be one in your area. Still [I] love the store and would suggest a visit to anyone.
And two readers nominated Aldi, including Canoe719, who said:
Aldi has saved our family money. We have cut our grocery bill by two-thirds … True, they don’t carry everything, but what you have to buy elsewhere is certainly minimal. Their double guarantee is great too!!
Now, this exercise was in no way a scientific survey, just a solicitation for readers — in this case, AOL subscribers — to praise or vent. Indeed, some grocers made the list twice, once as “best” grocery store, and once as “worst.”
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Grocery industry news
TweetRisk of stroke rises with number of fast-food restaurants nearby
Here is the full text of a news release sent out today by the American Stroke Association, which is a division of the American Heart Association.
Studies like these are tricky in making an association between the two factors, and the release does a good job of explaining that there is no proof of a cause-and-effect relationship between eating fast foods and increased risk of stroke. Still, the results are intriguing, and seem to beg further study.
Here’s the release:
The risk of stroke increases with the number of fast-food restaurants in a neighborhood, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2009.
After statistically controlling for demographic and socioeconomic factors, researchers found:
— Residents of neighborhoods with the highest number of fast-food restaurants had a 13 percent higher relative risk of suffering ischemic strokes than those living in areas with the lowest numbers of restaurants.
— The relative risk of stroke increased 1 percent for each fast-food restaurant in a neighborhood.
However, the researchers said the discovery of increased risk only demonstrates an association, it does not prove that fast-food restaurants raise stroke risk.
“The data show a true association,” said Lewis B. Morgenstern, M.D., lead author of the study and director of the University of Michigan’s stroke program and professor of neurology and epidemiology in Ann Arbor. “What we don’t know is whether fast food actually increased the risk because of its contents, or whether fast-food restaurants are a marker of unhealthy neighborhoods.”
Neighborhoods with large numbers of the restaurants are prime areas for stroke prevention programs, Morgenstern said. “We need to consider targeting communities that have a lot of fast-food restaurants as places where we can improve health.”
The fast food-stroke association emerged from data gathered in the ongoing Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) project, which has identified strokes occurring in Nueces County, Texas, since Jan.1, 2000. This report examined 1,247 ischemic strokes that occurred from the study’s start through June 2003.
Nueces County has 262 fast-food restaurants, defined by the researchers as having at least two of four characteristics: rapid food service, takeout business, limited or no wait staff and payment required before receiving food.
The team used the 64 U.S. Census Bureau tracts in Nueces County — from which they obtained demographic and socioeconomic data — as proxies for neighborhoods. Researchers determined the number of fast-food establishments in each tract, and then sorted the tracts into four groups based on number of fast-food restaurants.
Neighborhoods with the lowest numbers of fast-food restaurants (less than 12) were in the 25th percentile and those with the highest numbers (greater than 33) were in the 75th percentile.
The epidemiological study supports previous research that suggested a link between fast food and cardiovascular disease — to which some fast-food chains have responded by including more nutritious options to their menus.
Morgenstern said the report needs to be confirmed and expanded by similar studies of the correlation between fast-food restaurants and stroke in other cities.
“We need to start unraveling why these particular communities have higher stroke risks,” Morgenstern said. “Is it direct consumption of fast food? Is it the lack of more healthy options? Is there something completely different in these neighborhoods that is associated with poor health?”
Each year about 780,000 people have a new or recurrent stroke. Of all strokes, 87 percent are ischemic, which result from a blocked artery in the brain or an artery feeding blood to the brain.
Co-authors are: James D. Escoba, M.P.H.; Rebecca Hughes, B.A.; Belinda G. Zuniga. C.N.A.; Brisa Sánchez, Ph.D.; Nelda Garcia, B.S.; and Lynda D. Lisabeth, Ph.D. Individual author disclosures can be found on the abstract.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke funds the BASIC study.
Editor’s Note: Because the number of meals people are eating outside of the home is reaching an all-time high, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association believes it is important that consumers have the right kind of information at point-of-purchase to make healthy food choices. The American Heart Association supports calorie labeling in all restaurants that use standardized recipes and emphasizes the central importance of diet and physical activity in achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and reducing cardiovascular disease and stroke risk.
Just to be clear, that editor’s note is part of the news release — not an editor’s note from Taste.
This study comes on the heels of the federal appeals court decision earlier this week against fast-food restaurants who challenged the New York City health commissioner’s rule forcing them to post calorie information on many of their most popular dishes.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Food and health
TweetPETA to ‘reward’ vegetarian foie gras
Is it possible? Check out this story from the Sydney Morning Herald headlined “An offal idea: top chefs stew over vegie foie gras” in which PETA offers up a $15,000 prize to a chef who can create the best vegetarian alternative to foie gras.
Could it be … just hypothetically speaking, mind you … that the folks at PETA couldn’t really give two hoots about the foie gras alternative but just wants to generate publicity about itself and its opposition to the luxury food item made from the livers of overfed geese?
No, not possible.
Would you serve on the tasting panel to evaluate the vegetable-based alternatives to foie gras?
Permalink | Comments (18) | Post your comment | Categories: Food fights
TweetRecession may be helping some restaurants
Check out this Investor’s Business Daily story entitled “Restaurants Get Some Lift Despite Soft Environment” that suggests diners who are “trading down” are providing a boost for some restaurants.
Here’s an excerpt:
People who would be going to more expensive, full-service restaurants are opting to save a few dollars and eat at places such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Chipotle Mexican Grill or McDonald’s. All three of those companies surprised Wall Street with their quarterly results.
That’s “surprised” as in “surprised in a good way.”
Could it be … could it be that the economy has hit bottom and are beginning a long, slow climb out of the hole?
Many restaurant owners — and their employees — sure hope so.
Note: Nominate your favorite bargain dining spots in our Best of Dayton poll. The online voting will take place next week.
Permalink | Comments (14) | Post your comment | Categories: Restaurant industry news
TweetAppeals Court sides with NYC health officials against fast-food industry
A federal appeals court today, Feb. 17, upheld the New York City’s regulation requiring some chain restaurants to post calories on menus and menu boards, saying the rule is a reasonable effort to curb obesity, according to this Associated Press report.
A 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected arguments by a New York state trade group that the city had violated the First Amendment by forcing its view on restaurant patrons that calories are the most important consideration on a menu, the AP story said.
Think such a regulation would fly in Ohio?
The advocacy group Public Citizen hailed the ruling as a “major victory in the fight against obesity.” Here’s an excerpt from a statement by Deepak Gupta, an attorney for Public Citizen:
Public Citizen is delighted that a federal appeals court has decided to uphold New York City’s landmark fast-food menu rule, which requires chain restaurants to disclose calorie information on their menus. Today’s decision is a major victory in the fight against the obesity epidemic. It protects consumers right to know important nutritional facts and make informed and healthy choices when they eat out. The ruling is also significant because it clears the way for many similar state and local laws throughout the nation, such as those recently passed by the state of California and the city of Philadelphia.
In requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information on their menus, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concluded, New York City merely stepped into a sphere that Congress intentionally left open to state and local governments. The court also observed that eating out is a major contributor to obesity and that consumers are typically unable to assess the caloric content of foods. They do not realize, for example, that a smoked turkey sandwich at Chili’s (930 calories) contains more calories than a sirloin steak (540 calories), or that two jelly donuts from Dunkin Donuts have fewer calories than a sesame bagel with cream cheese.
Should Ohio institute such a regulation?
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment | Categories: Restaurant industry news
TweetLocal restaurants to celebrate Mardi Gras
I suspect — I just suspect — that Dayton will never measure up to New Orleans when it comes to Mardi Gras celebrations, but a few local restaurants want to make sure we can at least grab a taste of the revelry that kicks off next week with Fat Tuesday.
Rue Dumaine — the Washington Twp. restaurant at 1061 Miamisburg-Centerville Road that is owned and operated by Anne Kearney and Tom Sand, who ran a restaurant in New Orleans for several years before returning to their hometown — will kick off its Mardi Gras weekend at lunch on Friday, Feb. 20, with dishes such as Roasted Sweet Potato Bisque with Spiced Pecans, Mardi Gras Slaw with Fried Crawfish Tails, Catfish Court-bouillon and Grits, Red Beans and Rice with Andouille Sausage, and New Orleans Beignets.
Additional Louisiana-inspired dishes will be served Friday night and Saturday night, Feb. 21.
Rue Dumaine’s menu for Feb. 24 will include choices such as Oyster, Shrimp and Alligator Sausage Gumbo; Smothered Chicken Quarter with Crawfish Tails and Spinach; Drum Court-bouillon (fresh gulf fish poached in Creole sauce); and Bananas Foster Tartlet.
For more information or to make reservations, call (937) 610-1061.
In addition, l’Auberge, 4120 Far Hills Ave. in Kettering, will offer special New Orleans-inspired three-course meals with Cajun and Creole influences Tuesday through Saturday, Feb. 24-28, in the restaurant’s Bistro, l’Auberge General Manager Brian DeMarke said.
The restaurant is still working on the menu and price, although DeMarke said the the price would be “close to Restaurant Week” levels.
For more information or to make reservations, call (937) 299-5536.
If you know of a restaurant that is offering Mardi Gras menu specials, tell ‘em to post a comment on this Taste entry and let our readers (and their potential customers) know about it.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: Local restaurant news
TweetGreene Co. health department closes Beavercreek restaurant
BEAVERCREEK — The Greene County Combined Health District has ordered Sake Japanese Restaurant in Beavercreek to close through Feb. 25 for violations of the Ohio Food Code.
This is the second health department action against the Sake restaurant at 4470 Indian Ripple Road across from The Greene in the last seven months. An earlier health district enforcement action shut down the restaurant from 10 days from July 2, 2008 to July 12, 2008. The most recent action took effect Feb. 6 and will extend through Feb. 25, and Sake will have to pass a re-inspection by the health district before it can resume serving customers, according to the health department’s written order.
Sake restaurant owner Khue P. Tran said today, Feb. 16, that he does not dispute the health department’s findings or action, but said all of the food-handling violations cited in the health inspection reports have been corrected, and training and certification issues also cited in the reports are in the process of being corrected.
Tran also owns two other Sake restaurants, one near the Dayton Mall and another on Miller Lane, both in Montgomery County. The shutdown of the Beavercreek restaurant has no impact on the other two restaurants, which Tran said do not face any health department-related problems.
Greene and Montgomery County health department officials could not be reached Monday on the President’s Day holiday.
But a copy of a Feb. 5, 2009 inspection report by Greene County restaurant inspectors and provided by Tran showed violations that included:
— An employee handled raw beef with gloved hands and “then went to handle ready-to-eat goods without changing gloves.” (An inspector corrected the employee)
— An employee “came into the kitchen after smoking and began to resume work activities without washing hands.”
— Raw eggs that should have been refrigerated were found on a cart at room temperature.
— Some ready-to-eat vegetables stored in the refrigerator were not labeled with the date they were prepared.
— The manager on duty had not been trained and certified in safe food handling and sanitation practices and told an inspector it was his first day on the job.
— Tran showed his food-handling certificate and that of a half-dozen other employees, and said the manager in question is in the process of being trained and certified. Tran said the food-handling shortcomings have been corrected, and he believes he will meet all the health department’s requirements to reopen after Feb. 25.
The restaurant was inspected five times since the 10-day shutdown in July, the health department’s enforcement letter said.
The enforcement letter, along with a sign declaring the restaurant closed by order of the health commissioner, is posted on the Beavercreek restaurant’s door, along with a sign posted by the restaurant referring customers to the Dayton Mall location.
Permalink | | Categories: Food and health, Local restaurant news
TweetDowntown Dayton restaurant to close Feb. 28
** Note: Click here for the entry about Valentine’s Day Restaurant Specials.
The Dugout Deli restaurant at 209 E. First St. in downtown Dayton will close Feb. 28 due to lack of business, its co-owner, Erin O’Neill, said today, Feb. 13.
“We’re just not doing the business that we were doing in the last six years,” O’Neill said. “We’re not doing enough business to sustain the restaurant.”
The breakfast-and-lunch restaurant opened in June 2003.
The Dugout Deli will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays until Feb. 28. O’Neill said he has no plans for a special event to mark the closing. “We’re going to continue to give great service and serve great food until the last day, so we’ll go out with a bang, but otherwise, we’re in belt-tightening mode,” he said.
O’Neill also owns the Flying Dog concession stand at Riverscape, which is not affected by the closing. Flying Dog has been open during weekends but will likely close soon for the season, then will reopen Memorial Day and will be open daily through the summer, serving ice cream, hot dogs, hot pretzels, nachos, and other items, O’Neill said.
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TweetRestaurant Week: Our reviews and yours
Note: Click here for the entry about Valentine’s Day Restaurant Specials.
Have you been out for Restaurant Week? Share your experience by posting a comment. Click on “Post Your Comment” below to get started.
Jay’s Restaurant
Jay’s Restaurant Week menu excelled at the bookends, with very fine first and third courses. On the bright side, the restaurant’s special three-course monthly-special dinner is even better than the Restaurant Week offerings, for a scant $1.86 more — and it’s available through the end of February.
The Restaurant Week appetizer choice of Wild Mushroom Strudel with Smoked Salmon and Boursin Cheese, served over dressed greens, was spectacular. The mushrooms tucked into a puff-pastry strudel are creamy and earthy, almost addictive.
The Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs entree was a generous portion, packing plenty of beefy flavor, but was a bit dry. The Steamed Sole in Parchment Paper was a less generous portion, and needed a heftier kick than what was delivered from the garlic curry butter.
The desserts ended the meal on a high note, with the signature Chocolate Mousse reveling in lovely decadence, while the Pecan and Carrot Cake Roulade, complemented by a large scoop of vanilla ice cream, was plenty satisfying.
While not part of the Restaurant Week menu, the January-February special is very much a Restaurant Week-style special, with its three-course format for a fixed price of $21.95. The Caramelized Pear and Roasted Cauliflower Brie Soup is a rich and robust winter warmer, and the Cedar-Planked Salmon was cooked perfectly, the salmon moist. Dessert choices include Key Lime Pie, the aforementioned Chocolate Mousse, or Pecan Pie. The Key Lime is one of the sweeter versions, and delivers a fine ending to the meal. The special — Flat-iron steak is the other entree option — will be offered through the end of February.
Wellington Grille
The Beavercreek restaurant served up a satisfying meal with solid service.
The first course of Roasted Red Pepper Hummus with what tasted like homemade pita chips was generous and well made, a slightly better choice than the Spinach Salad. Veal Parmesan benefitted from the tangy house-made marinara sauce, though the fettuccine noodles served underneath were cooked just short of al dente. The Potato-Crusted Tilapia got a flavor boost from the chipotle aioli.
Desserts were a highlight. The aromas from the fragrant Melrose Apple Crisp a la Mode arrived at the table before the steaming dessert did, and the first couple spoonfuls of the rich Butterscotch Pudding topped with Johnny Walker Red Scotch packed an alcoholic punch that was balanced by the creamy pudding.
The Winds
The Winds, a relatively late arrival to the Restaurant Week fold, hit a home run with its RW menu. Simply put, there were no bad choices.
The salad featured the unlikely companions of slices of blood orange, roasted beets and sliced fennel bulb, all topped with feta cheese from Ohio cheesemaker Blue Jacket Dairy. The flavors melded beautifully. Garlic soup topped with a cheesy crouton and roasted red peppers was creamy and satisfying, the roasted garlic complementing but not dominating the soup’s flavors.
Roasted duck — a leg and thigh — came to the table a deep mahogany color worthy of a magazine cover, and the meat was earthy, tender and succulent, accented by a cider sauce. The other entree choice was Sauteed Skate with Mushroom Vinaigrette, a lightly breaded, moist and mild fish pumped up by the tangy mushrooms sauteed with vinegar and fresh herbs.
Dessert choices included a Buttermilk Panna Cotta topped with diced pears poached in a ginger syrup or a Blackout cake that delivered rich chocolate flavor in layers of cake and ganache.
Meals like this make diners appreciate Restaurant Week — and also make us impatient for the next one.
Carvers Steaks & Chops
I jump-started my Winter Restaurant Week at Carvers Steaks & Chops, which last year underwent a transition from a chain-owned restaurant to an independent. Carvers’ Restaurant Week menu had plenty of options, from multiple salads to entree choices that included strip steak, filet mignon, tilapia oscar, salmon or chicken breast.
The salad of romaine lettuce with blue cheese, sweet onion, roasted red peppers, bacon and balsamic vinaigrette was fresh and generous, as were the other salad options that included mixed greens with goat cheese, pine nuts and pinot noir vinaigrette, and a spinach salad with sliced apples, dried cranberries, sliced almonds and honey dijon vinaigrette.
The best of the entrees was the filet mignon — fork-tender and cooked as ordered, served with a port shallot sauce that elevated the flavor. The strip steak was also spot-on, with the right amount of marbling, though it was a bit overseasoned with salt and pepper for its thickness. The tilapia oscar had fine flavor, though the promised lump crabmeat was sparse. The prime rib had plenty of beefy flavor and benefitted from the au jus served alongside.
One of the three dessert options — the muscat creme brulee — was unavailable on Restaurant Week’s opening night. The regular creme brulee’s crust lacked the crackle that defines the dish, but the flavor brought a satisfying end to the meal.
Meadowlark
Elizabeth Wiley, chef-owner of The Meadowlark, was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the Restaurant Week concept. She came up with something distinctive again this winter, working with Dorothy Lane Market and its pork suppliers to secure some pork belly, a cut that has a fairly high proportion of fat and when prepared properly, can be quite flavorful and tender. Wiley braised the pork in soy sauce and spices, then topped it with cilantro and served with stir-fried vegetables and rice. The dish was a winner, though it may be off-putting to those who eat only lean meat.
The Crispy Portabello Steak with Risotto and Red Wine Sauce entree option also excelled, with a large, breaded mushroom fried to crispy perfection, its interior still plenty moist and meaty-tasting. You don’t have to be vegetarian to appreciate what this restaurant can do with portabellos. The third entree choice, Mahi-mahi with Skillet-crisped Vegetable Hash and Hollandaise, was cooked well, the fish cooked through and still moist.
Among the appetizers, the Mussels Steamed in Thai Coconut Broth will leave you wanting more, and will tempt you to drink the juices right out of the small bowl. The Chipotle Pumpkin Enchilada delivered a hint of heat, and the Frites and Beets — a signature appetizer for the restaurant— were excellent.
Dessert brought two choices: a light, not-too-sweet Lemon Chess Pie or a Chocolate Coconut Meringue Cake that delivers on the coconut and chocolate promise. Both were fine endings to a Restaurant Week meal.
Combine the quality of the dishes with a well-chosen, reasonably priced wine list, and Meadowlark rose to the top of the list of Restaurant Week choices. It was a fine three-course meal for $20.09.
El Meson
El Meson allowed diners to choose whether they wanted soup, salad or dessert — choose any two plus an entree for the Restaurant Week special. And in this case, the soup was not to be missed, nor was the dessert. Asopao is a Cuban Chicken-and-rice soup made with ham, capers, tomatoes, onions, and cheese, and it’s a robust blend that in larger quantity could easily make for a main course.
We sampled two of the three entrees: Sopon a la Marinera, a medley of shrimp, mahi-mahi, scallops and plenty of tender calamari bathed in a tomato-white wine sauce, was the best choice; and the stew-like Ropa Vieja, which the restaurant described as a “Cuban-Miami fusion” dish of shredded beef with red and green peppers served over garlic rice. It’s a satisfying winter dish but lacked the interest of the seafood entree.
The restaurant offered its signature dessert: Dulce de Leche con Moras, a delicious dollop of Colombian Caramel topped with Blackberries and whipped cream. The tart, refreshing berries cut the creamy sweetness of the caramel to create a deceptively simple, but very fine, ending to a Restaurant Week meal.
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TweetConsumer Reports finds some of the best coffees cost the least
Here’s a sneak peek at a story scheduled to run in Friday’s (2-13-09) Dayton Daily News.
Sometimes a cuppa joe isn’t just a cuppa joe.
In its March 2009 issue, Consumer Reports magazine (www.consumerreports.org) assembled a group of coffee experts and asked them to taste-test several coffees made from ground 100 percent Colombian beans and sold in coffee shops and grocery stores nationwide. The results were surprising. Consider:
— Some of the best coffees cost the least money. The magazine’s top-rated caffeinated brew was Eight O’Clock Coffee, which the magazine said cost less than half the price of some of the more expensive brands in the taste-test. At $6.28 per pound, the Eight O’Clock 100 percent Colombian coffee was designated a “Best Buy” by the magazine for having the “best combination of taste and price.”
— Folgers Gourmet Selections Lively Colombian Decaf Medium Roast was among the top-rated decaffeinated coffees despite its low 11-cents-a-cup price tag, and was rated higher than Starbucks house blend medium decaf that costs more than twice as much. Dunkin’ Donuts decaf, at 19 cents a cup, was awarded the top rating among decaffeinated coffees, and the 14-cent-a-cup Millstone decaf medium roast joined Folgers among the top-rated decafs.
— If there was a loser in the ratings, it was Starbucks, which the magazine said “didn’t even place among the top regular coffees and trailed among decafs” despite a 25-cent-per cup price tag (a penny more for decaf). But not all of the humble brews fared well. Long-standing coffees Chock full o’Nuts and Maxwell House contained “off notes (and) little complexity,” the magazine said.
The results came as a bit of a surprise to Henry Dean, vice president of operations for Dayton-based Boston Stoker, which operates 10 coffee shops in the Miami Valley, including three in Dorothy Lane Market grocery stores and two at the Dayton International Airport. Boston Stoker had no coffees in the magazine’s taste test.
Dean said he feels Starbucks offers a higher quality of coffee than Eight O’Clock or Millstone, but he’s not surprised at the high rating for Dunkin’ Donut’s decaf.
“Everybody is upgrading their coffees, including McDonald’s,” Dean said.
Still, he’d love to see a rematch that would include Boston Stoker, which Dean said “provides the highest quality beans and serves it as fresh as possible.”
“I would love it,” Dean said of a taste test against the other national and regional brands. “I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
Consumer Reports offered advice for coffee drinkers to make a brew that truly is good to the last drop: choose a good coffeemaker, and consider grinding your own. “Even the best pre-ground coffee can’t beat the best fresh-ground when it comes to taste,” the magazine said.
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TweetLocal ice cream shop closes
Earlier this week, when we wrote about the abrupt closing of the Ruby Tuesday in Huber Heights, I received an email from a reader who wrote, “Our favorite ice cream place, the Marble Slab Creamery, closed without a notice here in Huber Heights as well. It was a favorite spot here with many of us.”
I drove up to the ice cream shop at 7805 Waynetowne Blvd., just off Ohio 202 and Interstate 70, on Tuesday, Feb. 10, and coincidentally, got there just a couple of hours after the auction of all of the ice cream shop’s contents. An auctioneer was still there, and although he didn’t know exactly when the shop closed, he noted that the auction “went very well.”
I wrote about Marble Slab Creamery’s opening back in May 2007. The franchise owner at that time was Scott Stewart, and he was pleased to be affiliated with the Houston-based chain that operated 539 locations in 35 states. I wasn’t able to reach Stewart this week.
The closing leaves only two Marble Slab Creamery shops in Ohio: in Dublin and Newark.
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TweetRestaurant Week shatters previous records, may embrace 2-week format
Dayton-area diners didn’t let a little cold weather — or a little ice, or a lot of snow — stand in their way of grabbing a bargain meal.
Winter 2009 Restaurant Week shattered all previous records, with the number of meals served already reaching 20,686 with six of the 57 participating restaurants still waiting to report, according to Amy Zahora, executive director of the Miami Valley Restaurant Association.
The previous record was 12,051 set just last summer.
Now with this winter’s Restaurant Week extended for a full second week by all but a handful of the 57 participating restaurants, it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, but the numbers are very impressive, as was the record number of restaurants that chose to participate this time around. And the two-week run of Restaurant Week didn’t exactly occur during a balmy stretch of weather most conducive to dining out.
The two charities that will benefit from the record turnout — SICSA and Hannah’s Treasure Closet — must be pleased, since $1 from every meal will be split by the two non-profits.
The restaurant association and the restaurants are exploring whether to make Restaurant Week a two-week event, Zahora said. The restaurant owners and managers are hashing out the pros and cons. It might be that restaurants would have the option to “sign up” for one or for two weeks.
What do you think of the two-week format?
Click here to read “our reviews and yours” of Restaurant Week.
The Summer 2009 Restaurant Week will be held from July 26-31. Mark your calendars!
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TweetNew restaurant will open Feb. 20 at The Greene
BEAVERCREEK — A Noodles & Company restaurant will open at The Greene at 11 a.m. Feb. 20, a spokeswoman for the restaurant chain announced today, Feb. 10.
The new restaurant is located at 11 The Greene Blvd., facing Indian Ripple Road on the north side of the shopping and entertainment complex.
Colorado-based Noodles & Company calls itself a “quick-casual, globally inspired noodle restaurant that serves a balanced menu of freshly sauteed Asian, Mediterranean and American cuisine.” Each noodle dish is prepared to order in about five minutes, and two thirds of its dishes are less than 500 calories, restaurant officials said.
As part of its grand opening celebration, Noodles & Company will host a pre-opening fundraiser on Thursday, Feb. 19 to benefit the Kettering Performing Arts Parents Association, an organization that supports students through the Fairmont Band Boosters, Fairmont Choral Boosters, and Kettering Orchestra Parents, and supports other Kettering music programs. From 5 to 8 p.m., 100 percent of sales will go to the organization’s private lesson scholarship program, which helps students who would not be able to afford private music lessons.
The restaurant will be open Sunday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Carryout is available. The restaurant’s phone number is (937) 429-2893.
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TweetSecond Fuddruckers also closed
Click here for the entry about Valentine’s Day Restaurant Specials.
The Fuddrucker’s restaurant at 2476 Commons Blvd. near the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek has closed, apparently even before the companion restaurant behind the Dayton Mall did.
Last week, my reporting colleague Lucas Sullivan reported that the Fuddruckers near the Dayton Mall had closed. He got emails from a few Beavercreek-area residents telling him that the Beavercreek restaurant had also shut its doors. Turns out a sign on the door of the Beavercreek restaurant refers customers to the Dayton Mall-area location.
I attempted to contact officials at the Austin, Texas-based Fuddruckers over the course of two days to ask what led to the closings, how many employees were affected, etc. Phone messages left on the voicemail of the assistant to CEO Peter Large and COO Ralph Flannery on two consecutive mornings yielded no return call, nor did a phone message left with another Fuddruckers official who oversees franchise opportunities. I also attempted to email Mr. Large and Mr. Flannery. No luck.
At this point, the company’s web site lists no locations in Ohio.
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TweetBenham’s Restaurant brings back dinner service
Note: Click here for the entry about Valentine’s Day Restaurant Specials.
Benham’s Restaurant, 209 Warren St. just south of downtown Dayton, will resume serving dinners to the public Thursday through Saturday nights through February and perhaps beyond, co-owner Bill Howser said Monday, Feb. 9.
The restaurant will resume dinner service Thursday, Feb. 12 and will be open the rest of Valentine’s Day weekend and then Thursday through Saturday through at least the rest of the month,Howser said. Dinner hours are 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Benham’s continues to be open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
The restaurant ceased dinner service in mid-2007, but Howser said customer demand and a strong Restaurant Week response the last two weekends helped persuade him to restore dinner service. Benham’s has lowered prices on appetizers and entrees, and the price of an entree now includes dessert, Howser said. For example, the 12-ounce, bone-in strip steak, which was a popular item on the Restaurant Week menu, is $21.09 on the new menu, and includes choice of Chocolate Pudding Cake or Creme Brulee.
For more information, call (937) 228-7041.
Permalink | | Categories: Restaurant openings, Restaurant promotions/giveaways
TweetStarbucks insists its new value menu isn’t
Note: Click here for the entry about Valentine’s Day Restaurant Specials.
Take a look at this piece about Starbucks unveiling a new value menu that may soon help reverse the chain’s declines.
Here’s the portion of the story that caught my jaundiced eye:
The food and drink “pairing” program — which Starbucks actually refuses to call a value menu — rolls out March 3. It will be offered all day at company-owned U.S. stores. It will be marketed as: “Hello to a New Day.”
The move — something CEO Howard Schultz vowed he would never do — comes at a time when the coffee giant is spiraling down. Starbucks, once the model of the New Economy, has been concurrently hit hard by three powerful forces: a recession, changing consumer habits and growing competition from fast-food chains.
Well no, we wouldn’t want to admit we were wrong, or lower ourselves to the likes of McDonald’s, now would we?
Please …
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TweetValentine’s Day restaurant specials
Restaurant owners: Click on this Post Your Comment link and let readers know your plans for Valentine’s Day weekend — menu, hours, phone number, address, and other information.
Readers: Check the comments section for restaurant specials.
It’s hard to choose who looks forward to Valentine’s Day more — diners or the restaurants that serve them.
Valentine’s Day is the second most popular day of the year to dine out (Mother’s Day is first), with more than one-third of Americans eating at a restaurant that day, according to the National Restaurant Association. Nearly half (47 percent) of those between the ages of 18 and 24 reported dining out on the previous Feb. 14 — more than any other age group.
This year, there are plenty of dining options, including some new or non-traditional choices. Here is just a small taste of what’s coming for Valentine’s Day (And make your reservations early, lest you be shut out of your top picks):
— Culp’s Cafe at Carillon Historical Park is hosting a Valentine Dinner on Saturday, Feb. 14 with your choice of two seatings, 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. The dinner features a five-course meal and a glass of wine for $45 per person, not including tax and tip. The menu includes an appetizer of Wild Mushroom Ravioli and Roasted Pepper Cream and a choice of three entrees: Grilled Wild Salmon served with Goat Cheese, Basil and Leek Lasagna; Oven-Roasted Beef Filet stuffed with Manchego Cheese and wrapped with Bacon; or Chicken Provencal served with Rosemary Mashed Potatoes. For dessert, choose from Vanilla Creme Brule with Fresh Berries or Chocolate Lava Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream. Call (937) 479-8879 or (937) 299-2277 or emailjeff@bellyfirecatering.com to make a reservation.
— Dorothy Lane Market’s Springboro store will host a five-course Valentine’s Day Dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14 at the store’s Mezzanine at 740 N. Main St. (Ohio 741) in Springboro. The courses include: Wild Alaskan Sablefish with Noodles and Tao sauce; Roast Quail with Vegetable Cakes and Cranberry Reduction; or Beef Filet with Goat Cheese and Asparagus. The cost is $65, and tickets are available at all three DLM stores (Springboro, Washington Twp. and Oakwood).
— For those who want to get a jump on Valentine’s Day and avoid the Saturday night crowds, l’Auberge, 4120 Far Hills Ave. in Kettering, is offering its Valentine’s Day Dinner on Friday, Feb. 13. In addition to offering features in the bistro, the restaurant’s Main Dining Room will offer a special menu entitled “Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams.” Courses include Medallion of Wild Salmon with Mushrooms, Asparagus, Tomato and Tarragon Gastrique; and Chateaubriand with Au Gratin Potatoes, Fresh Winter Vegetables and White Truffle Reduction. The cost is $70 per person, or $95 with wines matching each course. For more information or to make reservations, call (937) 299-5536.
— Dolcessa at 1106 Brown St. near the University of Dayton is hosting a drop-in Valentine’s Day event between noon and 10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14. The event features an open gelato and espresso bar. Co-owner Jules Opperman is making a special Valentine’s Day flavor of sorbetto — Strawberry-Burgundy — for the event, but 22 flavors of gelato will be available, along with hot chocolate, espresso, cappuccino and lattes. There is an $8 cover charge. For more information, call 937-654-5855 or go to http://www.myspace.com/dolcessa.
Again, that’s just a small taste of the special events happening Valentine’s Day weekend. See the comments for more.
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TweetHuber Heights restaurant closes
The Ruby Tuesday restaurant at 8120 Old Troy Pike has closed. Two other Ruby Tuesdays — on Miller Lane in Vandalia and on Far Hills Avenue in Washington Twp. — remain open.
The closing apparently occurred last month. But not all customers have heard the news: While I was standing in the parking lot Sunday night, Feb. 8, taking the pictures shown above, two women drove into the lot with the intention of having dinner. The passenger rolled down her car window to ask, “Do you know when they closed?”
Ruby Tuesday spokesman Rick Johnson said the restaurant was scheduled to close Jan. 18. The Maryville, Tennessee-based chain announced in December that it would close 40 stores by March 2009 and 30 more stores in subsequent months.
Johnson said the Huber Heights restaurant was one of the 40 underperforming restaurants in the first round of closings. It had “poor sales performance largely attributable to the current economic downturn,” Johnson said.
Ruby Tuesday restaurants typically employ 50 to 60 people, Johnson said. Employees were offered either employment at one of the other Ruby Tuesday restaurants or a severance package based on their time with the company, he said.
If you know of any restaurant openings or closings, email me at mfisher@daytondailynews.com or call 225-2258.
Permalink | | Categories: Restaurant closings
TweetCredit-card thieves posed as waiters
Well, score one for the bad guys — and they’re still at large.
Check out this story from the Daily Camera in Boulder, Colorado headlined “Police: Credit-card thieves worked as waiters” about some low-lifes who scored restaurant server jobs by volunteering to work only for tips, then stealing credit-card information from unwitting diners.
Chilling stuff. And for now, they got away with it — at least for the time being.
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TweetRestauant Week: Here’s why living in Dayton beats living in LA
Yeah, I know the weather’s lousy for a couple of months out of the year, but take a look at this LA Times story about Restaurant Week in LA to gain a dose of appreciation for living here in the good ol’ Miami Valley.
While our Restaurant Week remains firmly planted in the concept of offering a three-course meal for the bargain price of $20.09, here’s how LA does it:
The restaurants involved will offer significant price reductions on three-course lunches and dinners for two weeks, beginning Sunday (and excluding Jan. 31). The three price tiers are deluxe ($16 lunches, $26 dinners), premiere ($22 lunches, $34 dinners) and the newcomer, fine dining ($28 lunches, $44 dinners).
Okay, so the cheapest Restaurant Week dinners are six bucks more than Dayton’s. And I’ll hazard a guess here: They’re not as good, either.
One thing both cities’ Restaurant Week had in common: they were both extended a week. I’ll hazard another guess here: their extension had nothing to do with a snow-and-ice storm.
But that’s the only count on which LA has Dayton beat.
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TweetMichael Anticoli’s La Piazza to expand to New Bremen
Michael Anticoli, owner of La Piazza restaurant in Troy, will open a second location in New Bremen in Auglaize County, Anticoli said today, Feb. 6.
The new restaurant — to be called “La Piazza New Bremen” — will be located at the 17 West Monroe St., in a historic building now occupied by an existing restaurant called “The Grille,” which is scheduled to close at the end of February, Anticoli said.
Anticoli said Troy “will continue to be our flagship.”
“Our unique spot up here on the square in downtown Troy has allowed us a great opportunity to serve many of these great northern Miami Valley communities for almost 17 years,” Anticoli said. “We’ll never lose sight of our home here. Our second operation is an expansion, NOT a relocation.”
“La Piazza New Bremen” will open this spring, “June at the latest,” Anticoli said. The new restaurant’s menu will have some similarities to La Piazza but will not be identical, he said.
“The Troy location has many signature items that will not be taken to New Bremen. We’re in the middle of menu development for New Bremen and we have already created some great signature items for New Bremen that will not be available in Troy.”
Plans call for a full lunch and dinner menu, full bar, and extensive wine selections by both the glass and bottle, Anticoli said.
Anticoli said he loves historic buildings, and when the New Bremen location became available, community leaders there approached him about opening a restaurant there.
Anticoli’s father, Leo, owns Caffe Anticoli in Harrison Twp. Michael Anticoli said he chose to expand northward in part because, “We’ve been so well received by our northern guests for such a long time that it seems natural and comforting to stay north. … there are dozens and dozens of restaurants of all kinds both independent and corporate as you head south out of Miami County. We love the smaller town communities and we love becoming a part of those communities.”
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TweetNew coffee shop/deli opens near Wright-Pat, WSU
RIVERSIDE — Expressly Espresso, a coffee shop and deli, has opened at 101 Woodman Drive, across from the Airway Shopping Center.
The coffee shop offers a full range of espresso drinks and coffees from Boston Stoker, as well as breakfast and lunch menus, according to owner Tom Hocker of Washington Twp.
The breakfast menu includes biscuit breakfast sandwiches and biscuits and gravy. The lunch menu includes deli sandwiches, paninis, salads and a soup of the day.
Expressly Espresso employs 12 people and is open seven days a week. Hours are Monday through Friday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call the coffee shop at (937) 254-1114.
Permalink | | Categories: Restaurant openings
TweetNew restaurant to open Monday at Miller Lane
BUTLER TWP., Montgomery County — Asian Buffet & Grill is scheduled to open Monday, Feb. 9, at 6999 Miller Lane, the restaurant’s owner, Henry Huang, said this morning, Feb. 4.
The new buffet restaurant is located in the facility that formerly housed Ryan’s Family Steakhouse along Miller Lane’s restaurant row. Ryan’s closed in February 2008.
Asian Buffet & Grill will feature more than 150 items, including grilled items and sushi, Huang said.
The restaurant’s hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The phone number is (937) 898-1888.
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TweetCoupons for free Diet Dr. Pepper available
It isn’t exactly instant gratification, but Dr. Pepper is giving away coupons for free Diet Dr. Pepper, the soft drink with the slogan, “Nothing Diet About It.” Choose which size bottle, fill out the form that includes your email address and mailing address, and the web site says it will send you a coupon in four to six weeks.
I can’t vouch for the product — never tried it — but the price is right. Or, it will be, at least.
Permalink | | Categories: New food items
TweetNew pizza restaurant opens in Kettering
A new pizza restaurant, Figaro’s Pizza, has opened at 1625 W. Dorothy Lane in Kettering.
The independently owned and operated franchise restaurant is located at the northwest corner of South Dixie Drive and West Dorothy Lane, in an “out-lot” in front of the Super Wal-Mart store. It employs 18 people, according to the franchise’s co-owner, Chris Gray of Kettering.
Figaro’s offers both cooked and take-and-bake pizzas, as well as sandwiches and calzones, and delivery is available, Gray said.
Gray, a 1999 graduate of Centerville High School who worked for six years in management for the LaRosa’s pizza chain, said he and his stepmother, Ann Gray, own the franchise. The two looked at several franchising opportunities before choosing Figaro’s, which was founded in 1981 in Salem, Oregon, he said.
He’d like to expand the chain locally — but has no immediate sites in mind for more restaurants.
“I’d like to cover Dayton with them, but we’ll have to wait and see how this one takes off. One step at a time,” Gray said.
The Kettering-Moraine Chamber of Commerce has planned a ribbon-cutting for the new restaurant for 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 13.
Figaro’s hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The restaurant’s phone number is (937) 293-9535.
Permalink | | Categories: Restaurant openings
TweetBK brings back burger-scented body spray
Claiming, naturally, that its actions are driven by “popular demand,” Burger King announced it has, just in time for Valentine’s Day, brought back its “FLAME” body spray, which the company describes as having “the scent of seduction with the hint of flame-broiled meat.”
BK says FLAME “became one of the hottest stocking-stuffers of the holiday season, selling out in just three days after its December debut.”
Funny — I didn’t get any meat-scented body spray in MY stocking. Did you?
Anyway, Brian Gies, Burger King’s vice president of marketing impact — a title I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard before — reminds you romantic burger-lovers in a press release that Valentine’s Day presents “the perfect opportunity to reintroduce the scent and give those who missed out in December the chance to channel the charms of the King.”
That’s right: you can “channel the charms of the King” for a mere $3.99.
FLAME is NOT available at Burger King restaurants. Although BK’s press release says FLAME would be available starting Monday, Feb. 2, the web site for ordering it says the spray will be “in stock soon.”
Until then, one presumes, you’ll just have to hang around a Burger King and soak in the aromas au natural.
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TweetLocal McDonald’s manager wins Ray Kroc award
Mary Chafin, manager of the McDonald’s restaurant at 1991 Harshman Road, has been named a recipient of the Ray Kroc award that recognizes the top 1 percent of McDonald’s restaurant managers in the country, the fast-food chain announced today, Feb. 2.
The award, named after the restaurant chain’s founder, is given to managers who “deliver superior results in selected areas of performance such as operational excellence, reinforcing McDonald’s commitment to people and building the business,” a McDonald’s news release said. Only 123 managers receive the award, which comes with a $2,500 cash award.
Chafin, reached at the restaurant, said she was nominated for the award by a McDonald’s operations consultant for the company-owned store that she manages. A northern Kentucky native, Chafin said she has worked for Dayton-area McDonald’s restaurants for 22 years.
McDonald’s has 14,000 restaurants in the U.S.
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TweetOutlook for restaurant industry falls to another record low
No real surprise here, since this data reflects surveys and data from December, when all heck was breaking loose throughout the economy, but check out the National Restaurant Association news release entitled “Restaurant Industry Outlook Softens as the Restaurant Performance Index Fell to A Record Low in December.”
Difficult times, indeed. Restaurant Week will certainly increase traffic for restaurants that are participating, and perhaps the calendar will be kind later this month, when Valentine’s Day falls on Saturday.
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TweetRestaurant to launch wine shop
Amelia’s Bistro in Bellbrook has signed a lease to open a wine bar and retail wine shop across the parking lot from its location at 129 W. Franklin St., according to owner Sharon Bistrek.
The new wine-and-cigar shop will be called Tastings by Amelia and will occupy space that formerly held Addie’s Attic, Bistrek said. The wine bar will serve appetizers and small plates prepared at the nearby restaurant.
The shop will feature an outdoor patio, where cigar enthusiasts can smoke a cigar while having a glass of wine, Bistrek said.
The restaurant owner and Sugarcreek Twp. Realtor said she has hired a manager for the venture: Stephanie Hetzel, a former employee of Jay’s Restaurant who recently has worked at a wine bar in the Atlanta area.
The cigar component of the shop is a bit of an experiment. Bistrek said she personally is no fan of cigars, but the patio that overlooks a creek seemed a good spot for cigar smokers who also enjoy wine, and a cigar shop may fill a void in the Bellbrook area. Still, if the concept isn’t embraced, Bistrek said she may decide to drop cigars.
Bistrek is looking into innovative technology that would allow wine enthusiasts to use a store debit card of sorts that allows customers to choose their own tastes or glasses from a selection of bottles in a system that uses nitrogen gas to preserve the opened wines.
Bistrek said she hopes to open the shop before the end of March.
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