Out with the Old... In.......

With the holiday trip put in the memory locker (at least for now, another probably looms), and the spleen is vented regarding bowl games, we can at last return focus to the important stuff..Like food.

At this time of year, there is always a spate of “the year in……” articles and features, with a retrospective of what happened during the previous year, and prognostications for the future and so forth.  While I wouldn’t be so presumptuous to take on that task, maybe a little reflection is warranted..

Nationally

the trade blogs seem to agree that things will not increase dramatically, however they do see an upward trend in dining out.  A few samples:

 “Half of U.S. restaurant operators reported an increase in same-store sales during November, compared with the same month in 2010, and 41% said traffic rose in the month, according to the National Restaurant Association”

 “Restaurants will trade on rising grocery costs with marketing that focuses on how it’s cheaper to dine out than cook at home. Boston Market already did it during Thanksgiving, and we’ll see more.”

 They look for major chains to join with social media:

 “In 2011, more nationwide chain restaurants waded into the daily-deal space, some with partners — Qdoba was a test partner for Groupon; McDonald’s has teamed up with Living Social — and some on their own. Chili’s “Holi-Deals” offer through its email club may be a template for competitors looking to make a big one-time gain in traffic.

 The “buy local” trend will remain hot, with predictions of (independent) restaurants developing more ties to local purveyors of produce and protein.

 “Lots of restaurants have their own garden, some have their own farms and at least one has its own herd of cattle. Keep an eye out for proprietary oyster beds and other hyper-local specialties that will set operators apart.”

 And there are plans for various chains to expand…

 “Dunkin' Donuts plans to double its 7,000 locations in the U.S. over the next 20 years. The company also is ramping up its growth in international markets, such as China and India”

 but there are also contractions:

Landry’s closed a $131 million deal to acquire the Portland restaurant chain of McCormick and Schmick’s Seafood Tuesday and quickly moved to terminate executives including CEO Bill Freeman, co-founder William McCormick and others.  It also closed at least nine restaurants, according to a source familiar with the situation.

 And before we leave the national stage, I found a little indication of trouble in paradise:

 “Olive Garden got too adventurous last year, turning off loyal guests in an effort to bring in new customers, and it plans to refocus on more familiar dishes and more value-pricing this year, says (Darden) CEO Clarence Otis Jr”;

“Olive Garden goes through literally tons of mozzarella and Parmesan each week, but Gorgonzola, it seems, was a cheese too far. In 2011 the chain, which makes up 45 percent of the sales for Darden Restaurants, introduced "culinary forward" dishes -- most notably, Gorgonzola and pear ravioli with shrimp -- to the menu, and spent millions of dollars promoting them. Customers balked.”

Awwww……can I have more breadsticks please? (They go through 9 million a week)

Locally:

We all know what a volatile industry the food service business is, and there has been a lot of indications of that over the past year, especially in “chains”.  Lone Star has been shuttered for quite a while (keep reading), our Damon’s remains dark after “the fire”, and there was a little blurb in the local newspaper that several Arby’s will be closing in Southern Maryland.  I don’t think you can pin all of those solely on the proliferation of the other chains around here, but together with the economy (favorite whipping boy) it probably does have a lot to do with it.  And speaking of proliferation, I assume the plans for LongHorn Steak House and Cracker Barrel in our “restaurant row” are proceeding and will join our recent additions there.  The conversion of the “old” McDonalds on Millstone Landing into a Golden Corral is moving at a snail’s place.  Our Buffalo Wings and Beer looks to be packing them in, and they will be joined by a couple of new places in the “new” center where Kohl’s and Dick’s reside.  More fallout is to be expected.

 On the independent side, they seem to be holding their own, in fact a couple new ones have opened: Lynn’s Café in the old Tea Room (third recent occupant) location; and the resurrected Willows  continue to remain open.  A new occupant (Island Bar and Grill and Crab Shack) is taking a wing at making the old "Evans" successful on St. Georges Island.  Catamaran’s on the island did finally close, potentially reducing the crime rate over there.   A little further afield, Jasper’s in Prince Freddie also closed but I think more for lease related issues, and Saphron continues to serve low country food up there.

 Sounds like Chef’s American Bistro will undergo changes, with the current location (San Souci) changing into an upscale Caribbean/African/Soul-food buffet for lunch and dinner and the name is going to change to "Kilimanjaro" restaurant. Not only that, Chef Ahmed will also be moving into that Lone Star location opening "Brasserie 235" (clever, eh?)  with “lots of foreign, micro brew and domestic beers plus a better wine list and a updated Brasserie menu”.

 And I note that the person who did the restaurant descriptions in the “Around Town” section of the Enterprise for the last three (?) years has moved on.  The new person’s first column appeared today and it is about a band.  I understand his (Joe Norris – another one?) background includes music, so maybe the theme will vary somewhat instead of a steady diet (get it?) of foodie things.  I will give Mr. Mercer credit that he stuck to independents and gave them some much needed publicity.

"Memories"

Like Mr. Parker in his Wine Advocate publication, The Bottom Feeder did have a few memorable meals during 2011.  Of course our experience at Inn at Little Washington tops the year’s list and goes on the life list.  But there were others:  meals at “Charleston” in Baltimore, and “Bartlett Pear Inn” in Easton were very much enjoyed, as were dinners at Terra and 315 Wine Bar (with its fabulous Foie Gras appetizer) in Santa Fe,  and a lunch at Hay Adams hotel in DC.  What makes these places especially memorable is not only the food, but the whole package:  décor, place settings, attentive service with no “you guys” or “Hon’s”, pacing of the meal, (and yes, a correctly made DMOTRWAT).  It’s just “right” and you know it.
 
But everything doesn’t have to be high end to be special; there was a great breakfast at the Jones Heritage Farm Market with FOJTY in Cape Girardeau, Mo., and another cholesterol clogged breakfast at the Hungry Peddler in Onalaska (and a very poor dinner there).  We had a nice evening with FOJTE at Balaban's in St. Louis, along with too many bottles of Pinto. 

A few items locally remain… interesting.  The cheese plate at Front Porch is worth it, I’ve had a couple of good experiences with small plates at the bar in the Tides (mostly on “off nights” when it was quiet); and we have had some very nice food at the Dry Dock.  An experience at Courtney's is not to be missed.  Be sure to do that, it won't last forever.  Café Des Artistes in Leonardtown deserves special mention.  Chef Loic is a special presence not commonly found, he not only manages the restaurant by actually being there day after day, night after night, but also finds/takes time to reach out to the community.  And, the food is reliably good (that presence thing), with enough changes in menu to keep interest up.  We’re lucky to have him. 

I was going to wax eloquent here about service and your duty to improve it where you can, but i won't.

So we face a new year, maybe with new dining opportunities.  But of course the constant is that you must continue to

DFD – we may win.