Blog Post: “How to Become a Regular” (Jul.2006)

excerpt:
“Being a regular earns you a lot of benefits for only a few conscious behaviors, mostly just good manners. Visit frequently, follow these tips, and within a short amount of time, you’re in.

Wikipedia describes a regular as…

A person who appears often at a certain location and may know others who are also there often, whether out of want or occupation. For example, a regular can be one who goes to a certain coffee shop everyday, so often that the employees know him or her…”

source: “How to Become a Regular” by Greg Cerveny (urban monarch, Jul.31,2006)

Article: “What A Dish!” (Jul.2006)

excerpt:
“To some camera-happy diners, food is so gorgeous, so sensual, that it just has to be photographed — and posted on a blog.

…”If you look at the photography, the very loving manner in which these photographs are shot, they are meant to tantalize and titillate the viewer,” said Jarrett Byrnes, a graduate student who lives in Sebastopol, Calif., and runs Food Porn Watch, a Web site with links to almost 1,000 food blogs around the world, most with extensive food photography.

…And if diners can go to a Web site like eGullet and see that the mozzarella dish comes as, say, a cheese balloon filled with tomato foam, or some such delight, it’s a little like learning the ending of a thriller before heading to the movie.

Then again, Achatz admits to checking out food blogs before heading to a restaurant, and allows that in some cases, photos of the food can generate excitement in an establishment for reluctant diners.”

source: “What A Dish!” by Trine Tsouderos (Chicago Tribune, Jul.20,2006)

related link: Food Porn Watch

Blog Post: “The Art of the Email” (Jul.2006)

excerpt:
‘Recently I was in a seminar styled meeting and the topic was the art of the email. When I went in I thought I was aware of most of the email tricks. The guy who was leading the email discussion was a magician. He knew how to design an email so people respond.

He spoke of the psychology of the email and we discussed what gets people to respond. And, he had minimalized the science so non-tech people, like us, could get behind our key boards and accomplish something without the fear of failure staring us in the face. It’s a great, quick, easy, smple, rapid, yada, yada, yada, way to promote.

Here are a few tips:”

source: “The Art of the Email” by John Foley (The Restaurant Blog,Jul.19,2006)

related links:
Marketers still ignoring e-mail best practices (thewisemarketer.com)
Article: “Jump Start Your On-line Marketing With An E-mail Newsletter” (techwaiterbell)
Tool: Restaurant Newsletter/Email Marketing Services (techwaiterbell)

Web Site: Springwise - Food & Beverage ideas

excerpt:
“Springwise scans the globe for the most promising business ventures, ideas and concepts ready for regional or international adaptation, expansion, partnering, investments or cooperation. Ferociously tracking more than 400 global offline and online business resources, as well as taking to the streets of world cities, digital cameras at hand.”

link: Springwise - Food & Beverage ideas

sample posts:
Happy Healthy Meals
Dessert-only Restaurants
Indian Fast Food

Web Site: Springwise - Food & Beverage ideas

excerpt:
“Springwise scans the globe for the most promising business ventures, ideas and concepts ready for regional or international adaptation, expansion, partnering, investments or cooperation. Ferociously tracking more than 400 global offline and online business resources, as well as taking to the streets of world cities, digital cameras at hand.”

link: Springwise - Food & Beverage ideas

sample posts:
Happy Healthy Meals
Dessert-only Restaurants
Indian Fast Food

Blog Post: “Staring at the wall” (Jun. 2006)

excerpt:
“Architects may spend millions designing a restaurant, but if you’re staring at a wall — even if it’s an elegant glazed plaster wall — does it really matter?

…This feeling of isolation can easily be remedied by incorporating a strip of mirroring above the booths, which allows the diners facing the wall to view the room and feel a part of the action.”

source: “Staring at the wall” by Michael Bauer (Between Meals, Jun.16,2006)

Blog: David Scott Peters’ “Restaurant Profits”

excerpt:
“David Scott Peters, restaurant expert, is offering a weekly Web log, or blog, for independent restaurant owners.

“Independent restaurant owners are some of the hardest working individuals out there. I want to reach them in a variety of ways, and logging on for a quick message once a week is usually something these business owners have time for,” said Peters. “I give them quick and effective tips for their time.”

To read Peters’ weekly blog, visit www.davidscottpeters.net. Although Peters does offer several members-only products, his blog has no restrictions on who can view it.”

source: “David Scott Peters Provides Free Restaurant Profit Tips for Independent Restaurant Owners on Blog” (PRWeb, Jul.7,2006)

link: David Scott Peters’ “Restaurant Profits” Blog

Article: “Laptop Critics:Where the Web’s Foodies Dish” (Jun.2006)

excerpt:
"When Nell Ingerman recently discovered that her favorite neighborhood restaurant — a Mexican place in Manhattan called Baby Bo's Cantina — had boosted prices and swapped enchiladas for wild salmon, she was outraged. She planned to collect complaints and present them to the manager.

But she didn't have to. The restaurant's owner, Bo Quijano, emailed her and promised to bring the old menu back. He'd read a message she'd posted on a popular foodie Internet Web site called Chowhound.com. He even posted an apology, confessing that in a good-faith effort to improve the menu, "I simply got carried away."

To the chagrin of some restaurants and professional food critics, a lot of the most influential — and opinionated — advice on where to eat these days comes from Web sites and blogs…"

source: "Laptop Critics:Where the Web's Foodies Dish" by Steve Stecklow (Wall Street Journal, Jun.17,2006)

Article: “Laptop Critics:Where the Web’s Foodies Dish” (Jun.2006)

 

excerpt:
"When Nell Ingerman recently discovered that her favorite neighborhood restaurant — a Mexican place in Manhattan called Baby Bo's Cantina — had boosted prices and swapped enchiladas for wild salmon, she was outraged. She planned to collect complaints and present them to the manager.

But she didn't have to. The restaurant's owner, Bo Quijano, emailed her and promised to bring the old menu back. He'd read a message she'd posted on a popular foodie Internet Web site called Chowhound.com. He even posted an apology, confessing that in a good-faith effort to improve the menu, "I simply got carried away."

To the chagrin of some restaurants and professional food critics, a lot of the most influential — and opinionated — advice on where to eat these days comes from Web sites and blogs…"

source: "Laptop Critics:Where the Web's Foodies Dish" by Steve Stecklow (Wall Street Journal, Jun.17,2006)

Blog: “When complaints fall on deaf ears” (Jun.2006)

excerpt:
"About 80 percent of the complaints I get about restaurants from readers have to deal with how they're treated. Here's one example sent to me earlier this week:

If I have a bad or subpar experience at a restaurant, what is the best way to handle it?"

source: "When complaints fall on deaf ears" by Michael Bauer (Between Meals, Jun.10,2006)

 Update 6/14/06: A follow up post by Michael Bauer on the subject:

 excerpt:
"Saturday's post about a reader whose letter went unanswered, sparked several responses from people in the business. The theme is: They want your complaints, they really do.

As a restaurant critic, I feel like I'm straddling a line, with the restaurants on one side and the consumer on the other…"

source: "Complain at your own risk" by Michael Bauer (Between Meals, Jun.13,2006)