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The event as marketing
By Mike Mitchelson
Hey, you. Restaurant owner. Yes, you. Tapped for marketing ideas in these slow economic times? Got a great, proven product but need to remind diners that you’re still out there, churning out the good stuff day after day?
How about giving away menu samples for two hours on one of the restaurant’s slow nights during the week to a crowd of, oh, say, 150 snappily dressed people? Yep. Throw a party and give away food for two hours. What’cha think?
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News flash: Words still have power
I used to write for a daily newspaper. The oldest one in the state. Was it the best one? Considering our size and budget, most likely not. But I like to think our writing and reporting held up to anybody. We had a small newsroom, a few guys in their 30s, gasping their last breath of idealism. We did good work, racked up a few honors, and our stories were picked up regularly by the Associated Press. I recall sitting in a barber chair one afternoon and hearing a story I wrote read on National Public Radio. No credit to me given, but I recognized the words. I felt great. Then it happened again. And again. And also to many stories written by others in our tiny newsroom. It was a pretty simple formula we had. No matter our political slants, we always looked for and acknowledged the elephant in the room, and reported facts.
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April blows out candles on birthdays old and new
NEW BIRTHDAY BABE ON THE BLOCK AT IVY… As some of our grand old spots crossed the half-century mark this spring, a new babe opened its doors over at the historic Ivy on Second Avenue South in Minneapolis, a block from Orchestra Hall. The stunning new Porter & Frye opened its doors this spring with much-awaited anticipation from one and all—especially the food community. Not only to see the marvelous space but to see our buddy and past Foodservice News contributor, Chef Steven Brown in action. I’ve only had a few pit stops so far at the hotel, but I did stop at the stunning stained-glass bar for a cocktail and a bite and loved it. I still need to get to the dining room for a serious dining adventure, but so far, so good.
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Politics in the kitchen
It’s an election year, and so the word “politics” is being trampled on more than usual. It is often considered an epithet, particularly by politicians who are not getting what they want, and so accuse other politicians of playing politics with things that are, of course, political.
I hate to pour cold water on a steamy topic, but for humans, life is politics and politics is life. You show me an executive chef who is not a politician and I will show you a deserted kitchen and an unemployment check. The style may range from benevolent dictatorship to outright tyranny, but it’s still politics: There are compromises to be made, issues to be addressed, and subjects to be avoided at all costs.
Butter makes it all better
The history of butter spans centuries. So when it was branded as bad news in the era of margarine, one couldn’t help but be a little skeptical.
When I waited tables, there was a female chef who crowed a constant refrain from behind the line as she scooped heaping spoonfuls of softened butter into sauces, soups and pasta water: “Butter makes it better.” I’ve never disagreed with her. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a wildly biased reference and one that should not be taken too seriously. I hail from a long line of proud butter eaters and butter makers, who plopped dollops of salted sweet cream butter—and when we had time and were feeling particularly indulgent, cultured butter made from hand by skimmed cream—on everything from potato skins and Saltine crackers to green beans. My grandfather was known to indulge, on the not-so-rare occasion, in a little pat of butter rolled in sugar. He’d let the sweet and salty concoction melt on his tongue with a look on his face akin to Lewis Carroll’s infamous Cheshire cat. (Don’t knock it till you try it.) My grandmother even put butter on her family’s burns, which in my opinion, and every accredited member of the medical profession, is really the only thing that it shouldn’t be used for.
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Tanya Siebenaler, Sapor Café and Bar
By Mike Mitchelson
Sheer will,” said Tanya Siebenaler, only half-jokingly, when asked the secret behind Sapor Café & Bar lasting eight years. Siebenaler, who is the restaurant’s executive chef, owns Sapor with Julie Steenerson, who manages the front of the house operation. “It’s sheer will from Julie and I to make it work. It’s a lifestyle business for us.”
The lifestyle, as anyone in the business understands, presents personal and professional challenges, and today’s economic climate adds another dimension.
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Nothing but leftovers in ‘No Reservations’
By Julie Brown-Micko
A Hollywood makeover has such great appeal that it has grown beyond fashion magazines and talk shows to encompass restaurants. Humble cafés and bistros are overhauled on the food network’s “Restaurant Makeover.” And the wickedly wonderful Gordon Ramsay puts restaurants under the knife in “Kitchen Nightmares.” But this mania for makeover is not such a good idea for food movies. No Reservations, a recycled version of 2001’s Mostly Martha, has been buffed, shined, and polished to perfection, but lacks any of the grit that makes the story worth watching.
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Solving the commodity conundrum
By Mike Mitchelson
Minnesota leads the way for innovative tools allowing schools to purchase food.
Purchasing food for schools has never been as simple as just finding product and buying it, but Minnesota has taken two steps ahead of the nation to simplify the process into something resembling just that. One involves the state government, and the second the development of what amounts to a school district buyer’s co-op.
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