Summertime cocktails are almost in season—this means mojito madness! Considering that drinks don’t require as many ingredients or as much prep time as food, you can see that the bar has the potential to be very profitable part of your restaurant, especially when it’s warm outside and customers are seeking refreshment.  Don’t risk disappointing your patrons because you weren’t fully stocked with the bar equipment to make this popular concoction.

Mojito

1.25 oz white rum
12 mint leaves
1 tbsp sugar
juice of ½ a lime
2 oz club soda

Place mint leaves, sugar and juice of lime in bottom of rocks glass. Muddle with bar muddler. Add ice, jigger of rum, and soda water and stir well. Garnish with mint leaves or lime!

Taking on a meal as important as Thanksgiving dinner requires major planning and preparation. More important than stuffing, yams or even pumpkin pie is the centerpiece of your table – the turkey. If it’s your first time trying to perfect the holiday poultry, compiling an arsenal of turkey cooking supplies may seem overwhelming. However, a simple roasted bird requires only a few basic kitchen supplies.

Roasting Pan The roasting pan you purchase to cook your turkey may not be a piece of kitchen equipment that you use on a daily basis, but the proper pan is a valuable addition to your stock of cooking supplies for holidays. Selecting the right roasting pan ensures a moist and golden bird. When buying a roasting pan, look for a shallow depth, heavyweight pan with handles. The pan should have good heat conducting qualities so the bird cooks evenly. Stay away from dark roasting pans; those will burn the roasting juices at the start of the roasting period, resulting in a subpar gravy. Fit is also important—the pan should just hold the turkey. If a leg extends over the pan, drippings will fall on your oven, but if the pan is too large you risk burning the juices.

What’s a turkey without basting? Throughout the roasting process, you will need to paint the turkey with a basting sauce using a basting brush. Both white nylon and bleached boar bristle brushes will work well to coat your poultry with a buttery sauce and are able to withstand oven temperatures of up to 500 degrees. While the turkey roasts, a basting spoon can be used to scoop up the juices and redistribute them on the skin. Serv-U offers stainless steel basting spoons in a variety of lengths. All spoons have easy-grip contoured handles with a thumb notch. Slotted and perforated varieties are useful for straining out solids to be discarded when the roasting process is complete.

A burnt or undercooked turkey can be the downfall of an otherwise outstanding Thanksgiving meal, so be sure to check the temperature of your bird, with an accurate meat thermometer. The Taylor brand is known for its precision temperature technology to alert you when the meat reaches 180 degrees.

Finally, when the roasting process is over, it’s time to sharpen up that knife and dig in. Carving the turkey is a much-anticipated process that should be approached with care in order to preserve the flavor and the texture of the meat. You are best to choose a sharp, thin bladed carving knife. Stain-free steel blades provide a clean and durable option for slicing your turkey.

By using top-quality equipment the fruits of your holiday roast should be plentiful. The centerpiece of your Thanksgiving meal will be a cornucopia of thighs, wings, and breast meat, well worth the investment in quality kitchen supplies.

In our previous two sections we discussed specialty and quality glassware and their benefits to our restaurant refresh project. Now, lets move on to dinnerware. What does your dinnerware say about your restaurant? If you answered; “Nothing, it’s just how I get to the food to the customer” you may be missing huge opportunity. Dinning is as much about atmosphere as it is about service & quality food, your dinnerware can be a huge part in that.

So let’s look at some options on how to take those standard white round plates and update those with a fresh new look. You’ve heard the expression that green is the new black? Well in the restaurant world square is the new round. In recent years the trend of square dinnerware has exploded onto the restaurant scene. Personally, I believe this has a lot to do with the fact that Asian and sushi style foods have been absorbed into the popular American culture. Take a look at some of the large restaurants chains, there has been a clear move toward the square plate in recent years. I know what you’re saying, “I don’t want to be like a chain restaurant”. Which is a very valid thing to say, but chains do have large market research budgets so it won’t hurt to let them do a little bit of the research legwork for you.

However, if you want to go completely different perhaps something a little wild is in order. Triangle dinnerware can really spice up the feel of your décor, but there is a down side as it can possibly become and over-powering design element. The goal you want to hit is a dinnerware that gets noticed but also doesn’t become the center of attention. Now the triangle style may fit right into that goal, but you’ll need to give it some careful thought as the line between over-powering and just right can be a bit of a grey area.

So what happens if you don’t want a square or triangle style dinnerware, you just want to update the look of your standard white round dinnerware that you currently use? The answer here is to add a splash of color. By selecting a dinnerware with a colored trim, you can easily achieve the balance between refreshing but not over-powering.

Now after all this you still have your heart set on a set of white dinnerware, then I would suggest that you look at different rim styles. The rim choice along on a piece of dinnerware can drastically alter the perception of the customer. A rim can make portions look bigger, allow your chef more options for presentation, or a host of other things.

Serv-U has a large selection of dinnerware to help you refresh the décor of your restaurant. If you have addition questions, feel free to contact us via phone at 800-797-3788 or click the picture of the customer service representative at the top left corner of each page of the site to launch a live chat.

Be sure to check back for part four of eight in our easy ways to refresh the look of your restaurant series where we’ll cover flatware.

Looking for a sophisticated alternative to the martini, the cosmo, the margarita?  Try out a trendy “mocktail,” as these non-alcoholic beverages are known.  Though I’d heard of them before, I had never seen them described in such glowing prose as I found on in Restaurant & Institution’s inaugural blog post.  So far, I’m thoroughly enjoying the writing over at their “Open Kitchen” blog; and I’m now convinced that I must try a mocktail for myself.

It seems that mocktails represent a great opportunity for restaurateurs looking to hook a niche market, namely because so many places seem to botch the mocktail to some degree.  If your bartenders and servers can put together a palate-pleasing mocktail, yours will be a rare establishment, a go-to destination for expectant mothers, for tea-totalers, and for designated drivers.  Personally, I like the drink’s fresh factor and health appeal created by the use of fresh juices and the absence of high-calorie liquors.  And this is one menu addition that requires very little investment in extraneous barware: just grab a muddler, a citrus squeezer, a shaker, and some stylish glassware and you’re ready to go.

I know I’ve brought this up before, but I think it bears repeating; there is precious little time left to sign up for the Great American Dine Out.  In fact, this weeklong event starts in less than a month, running from September 21^st through September 28^th.  The Great American Dine Out is an effort by Share Our Strength to end childhood hunger in America, and everyone can help.  If your restaurant or bar is unable to donate to the cause, then make the effort during that week to eat at an establishment that is participating.  As of Monday, the official website has had a great search function that allows you to find participating restaurants by city, state, or zip code.  (And Google Maps makes it super simple to find your way there.)

For example, a search of the Chambana area (for non-locals, that’s Champaign + Urbana) finds that Monical’s Pizza is participating, as is Lone Star Steakhouse, and McAlister’s Deli.  As you might guess, the odds of finding me at each of those restaurants during the Great American Dine Out is very good.

And why will I go out of my way to get a meal at those places?  First, I love good food—but to be honest, I’m a decent cook and know how to make my own good food.  So it takes more than good food to get me into a restaurant.  Goodwill is a great place to start, and that’s exactly what these restaurants are building with their customers.  I like knowing that I dine at socially responsible eateries, and I've heard that is a trend among many consumers these days.

Your restaurant’s participation need not break the bank, either.  You choose how you want to participate, and set limits as necessary.  (And if you sign up and drop me an email before that week, I’ll show up at your eatery with friends in tow!)

For more information about the Great American Dine Out and Share Our Strength, visit their website.

Captain Jack Sparrow would be excited to know that this Saturday is National Rum Day. To help you kick off one of the last weekends of the summer why not open a bottle of rum (yo ho) and have a party at your restaurant.

If you are not familiar with rum (or just want to brush up) this is a great informative site. Once you know all the basics about this popular spirit it is time to start coming up with some interesting drinks that will help set your restaurant apart from every other one celebrating this day. This is a great list of mixed drinks featuring rum as is this list.

While your guests are hanging out enjoying their cocktails they might decide they are interested in some appetizers to help those tasty drinks go down. While you probably already have a list of trusty appetizers, an event like this is a great time to try more. Allrecipes.com has a great selection of appetizer recipes that can be viewed by type.

Even if you can’t get everything ready to celebrate National Rum Day by Saturday it is a great item to feature during a future celebration. Your Serv-U representative can help you get all of the glassware you need to feature your tasty rum-based concoctions and all the plates you need to serve your incredible new appetizers. So give your representative a call today and prepare to celebrate Captain Jack’s favorite drink (just don’t celebrate it quite as much as he does, ok?).

Catering to the Democratic Party just got even more political; rumors fly about a no-fried food zone and color-coded requirements.

Actually, they’re more than rumors.  According to an ABCNews.com article, the 2008 Democratic Convention host committee has come up with a catering Request for Proposal that specifies non-fried food, the majority of which should be organic and/or local fruits and veggies.  The RFP also has some interesting requirements that the food be colorful: “include at least three of the following five colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple, and white.”  The controversy is that some people find the idea of a “lean and green” meal to be unappealing and potential alienating to parts of the country that are known for fried foods (the South).

While the RFP may be a bit on the obsessive side, I’m curious to see what creative dishes these restrictions could inspire.  One local caterer quoted by ABCNews.com notes that filling very specific requests is not unusual for her; it’s part of her job.  Add to that the fact that the convention is being hosted in Denver, and the “lean and green” requirements begin to make a lot of sense.  If the convention were held in a southern state, I think we could all expect fried food to practically be mandated; it’s part of the heritage and culture of the area.

What do you think?  Any ideas for dishes that meet the RFP requirements?

Yes, it's that time again--time for a quick rundown of all the interesting (and/or strange) holidays in and nicknames for the month of July.  Enjoy!

 (image by "quacktaculous" of Flickr Commons)

The Month of July:

            Anti-Boredom Month

            National Baked Bean Month

            National Hot Dog Month

            National Ice Cream Month

            National “July Belongs to Blueberries Month”

            National Picnic Month

            National Recreation and Parks Month

July 1: Canada Day, Air Conditioning Appreciation Begins

(--Though I've gotta be honest here; with energy prices where they are, I have yet to appreciate any air conditioning this season!)

July 4: Independence Day

July 14: Bastille Day

July 20: National Ice Cream Day, Moon Day

July 27: Parent’s Day

Are you looking for a creative way to get customers into your restaurant? How about having a recipe contest? Shows such as Iron Chef America and all of the Challenge shows on the Food Network have brought the idea of cooking contests to the forefront. When you also consider such food competitions as the Pillsbury Bakeoff and The National Chicken Cooking Contest, which both have large monetary prizes, it is easy to see that these contests are taking off. But don’t worry, you don’t have to offer your customers thousands of dollars to enter a recipe, putting their recipe on your menu, even for a short amount of time, is likely to bring in more recipes than you could imagine (just look at how excited the contestants on The Next Food Network Star got when they had the chance to have their recipe served at Red Lobster).

No matter what kind of restaurant you have there is a competition that would be perfect for you (this web site provides some great ideas). And it is easy to come up with some quick, straightforward rules and guidelines for your competition (this site provides some good baselines, as do the rules for other contests). All you need to do is pick a meal or ingredient that you would like to feature, create your rules, publicize your event with signs and advertisements in your local paper, and get ready to judge a lot of recipes.

Once you have some recipes you like you can either make them yourself to taste them or make it into a big event. A cook off competition, like what is featured on Food Network Challenge, would be a great way to get your restaurant’s name out and get people to know your business. There will be hoops you need to go through for this, so be sure to talk to your health department, but the attention it will bring to your business is worth it. Once you have the winning recipe you are going to feature make sure you publicize when you will be serving it, so people will know when to come in and eat.

Once you get them in the door, wow them with your ambiance, great service, and incredible food and they will likely turn into repeat customers. Your Serv-U representative can help you gather all the materials you need for the cook off and for everyday cooking and serving at your restaurant, so give them a call today.

“The Restaurant Action Network is a political advocacy program that NRA members use to help represent the interests of the restaurant community at all levels of government.”

At their new site, you can find out what political issues are affecting the hospitality industry, read the facts, and discover ways to take action.  There are even “legislator scorecards” to give you an idea of how your state and national representatives vote on the issues that matter to you.  It only takes a minute to sign up (though if anyone from the NRA reads this, I sort of resented having to choose a prefix), and you’ll be up-to-speed on all the latest political news in the restaurant world.

And now I’m switching topics to give a big virtual “high five” to Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.  (This info came to my attention in an NRA email highlighting an article in the Boston Herald.) 

Fleming’s has come up with a great way to draw in budget-conscious customers who are still looking for a great meal: recipe suggestions for leftovers.  (Now, maybe this is “old hat” for some, but I’ve honestly never heard of such a practice.)  Each to-go bag includes a note signed by the chef, directing the patron to a website dedicated to putting those leftovers to use—and probably getting a second really great meal out of them.  And their leftover recipes are anything but boring: Spicy Thai Beef Noodles with a Cilantro, Mint, and Ginger Sauce, anyone?  As a bonus for Fleming’s, this secondary site will increase their brand recognition and probably generate traffic to their main website as well.  That could all lead to more repeat customers and even some new ones.

And while I’m a fan of small portions, the thought of giving leftovers a fresh taste is making me reconsider, especially when I’ll be getting two meals for the price of one.  Oh, and here’s another bonus—if I want to show my true foodie colors and come up with my own recipe for leftovers, Fleming’s invites me to post it on their site.  (Sweet!)

What other marketing ideas have worked for you or someone you know, especially in tough economic times?  Please post them below.