ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - April 18, 2003

It has been a good -- and very busy -- week. I made all my flights and all five programs were well-received. Now I am SO looking forward to an entire week at home. (I have a memory that I am married and am curious to see if that is still true!) Actually, Margene has been terrific about my accelerated travel schedule this month, but for her sake ... and mine ... I am glad it isn't the regular pace of things.

I have one more brief trip to Albany in a week. We leave for Italy on May 12th and will be gone until June 3rd (the annual corporate meeting, you know!) so if there is anything you want to order, please get the request in now. Nothing will be shipped during the three weeks that we are gone.

DO THE WORK!
I am concerned that much of the US restaurant industry is slowly sliding into mass mediocrity because operators 1) do not want to take a chance of making a real statement for fear of offending someone, 2) are afraid to hire chefs or do not want to put someone with at least a gram of culinary consciousness in the kitchen, and 3) take every shortcut they can find to produce a menu item, apparently never grasping that what they end up with is the same bland garbage that every other place puts out. It is a recipe for disaster.

As Joel Cohen puts it, we only end up with "similar restaurants serving similar food at similar prices to similar people in similar surroundings." STOP IT! The world does not need one more place to eat! If you want to prosper, you have to stand out from the crowd ... and to do that, you have to do the work that your competitors are not willing to do. If you are willing to make the extra effort (and often all it takes to do it is wanting to do it), you can own the market. If not, you risk becoming one more forgettable place to eat.

What does doing the work look like? How about creating a clear identity for yourself in the market, even at the risk of alienating a few people? How about offering items that people can't (or won't) prepare at home? How about more scratch prepared items? How about WOW plate presentations? How about having a system so that everybody on the staff knows the names of your regulars (and their children)? How about a way for everyone to know what your regulars like and don't like? How about offering the unexpected extra that turns a so-so dining experience into an indelible memory? How about training your staff on something new every week? (That includes the kitchen as well.)

That brief list should get you started. When you have all those pieces in place, I have a few hundred more for you. To paraphrase the old Smith Barney ad, build volume the old-fashioned way -- EARN IT! When you are willing to do the work that your competitors are not willing to do you can own the market.

CUTTING THE CHEESE
The National Cheese Board (or whatever) is spending a lot of money on television and print advertising these days. Savvy operators would do well to come along for the ride. What are you doing with cheese? Personally, I like to see a cheese plate as a dessert option. It also works well for an appetizer, especially with wine (as long as you have some interesting cheeses ... and interesting cheeses are out there if you are willing to search them out.)

Unfortunately, we also seem cursed with some gawdawful cheeses that give the genre a bad name and for my money, should never see the inside of a serious restaurant. There are two that come immediately to mind:

American Cheese. I swear the rest of the world would do us a favor if they started calling it "freedom" cheese so it wouldn't be associated with America. (Surely the French must get a chuckle out of it!) OK, so it melts well, but it has a (lack of) character that only a 6-year old could love. And yeah, it's cheap ... but surely you can do better than to force this glue-like processed junk on your guests!

Grated Parmesan. This is a tasteless product from a can, you know, the stuff that seems more akin to sawdust than a food product? The stuff that, when you put it on something, actually makes the something taste worse! If you want to sprinkle cheese on an item -- and that can really be a nice touch -- go with shredded Parmesan. While you are at it, shred it at the table so it is moist, tasty and lets you offer that extra bit of personal service ... or is that too much work?

CREDIBILITY IN THE CUP
If you don't get one or two complaints a night that the coffee is too strong, it is too weak. Tastes are changing. Be there. With the criminal mark-up we are able to get on coffee, there is no excuse for going cheap. Get great beans, get the right equipment, keep it properly calibrated and make sure everyone knows how to brew coffee properly. Coffee is often the last impression diners have of the restaurant and if it is so-so ... oh no! Take it seriously. Your guests do.

PIZZA INSIGHT
If you have indicated your interest in the Pizza Insight program, we will get that going in May. Big Dave Ostrander is in Italy with the US Team for the International Pizza Olympics and when he gets back we should have everything about ready to roll. Thanks for your patience. If you are in the pizza biz and do not know about this program, you really should check it out. Click here.

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