Label That Menu Launches Campaign

(via Inside Today's Bulletin)

Philadelphia - This fall, City Council will have to vote on a bill that would change the look of fast-food menus throughout the city.

As part of what some called Menu Labeling Action Day, a group of health advocates joined with city lawmakers in support of pending legislation that would require fast-food restaurants to post the caloric intake of food on their menus.

Early February, City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, D, introduced a bill that would alter the city's health code and require chain restaurants and retail food establishments to make available certain nutritional information next to menu items.

Yesterday, the Label That Menu Coalition lobbied members of City Council for the passing of the measure. Similar bills have been passed in California, Oregon and New York.
(...Read the rest of the article here)
If passed, the legislation would enforce all chain restaurants throughout the city, with 15 or more locations, to post the caloric information.

Oktoberfest in Villanova

via TheFullPint.com
“Oktoberfest is an exciting time of year for beer enthusiasts, and here in Pennsylvania it coincides beautifully with the fall harvest,” explains Terence Feury. “This is a natural way for us to shine a spotlight on local produce and meats, which has always been one of our passions at Maia, alongside some award-winning local beers.”

Philadelphia Fall Restaurant Preview 2008

via zagatbuzz

The temperature may be cooling, but the restaurant scene heats up this fall with a slew of new openings all over town (and beyond), including three swank new steakhouses and the return of two Chinese icons.

Alison Two: Alison Barshak (of the central Montgomery County fave Alison at Blue Bell) is penciling in late September for her high-style New American (424 S. Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington).

Butcher & Singer: This swank steakhouse from Stephen Starr, a luxe retooling of Striped Bass, is planned for the third week of November (1500 Walnut St.).

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle: With locations in New York, Vegas and elsewhere, this meatery chain comes to Philly in mid-November, taking over a former law firm in the heart of Center City (111 S. 15th St.).

El Camino Real: This “Mexican border bar” from Owen Kamihira (Bar Ferdinand) will specialize in tacos and Texas barbecue when it opens in Northern Liberties’ former Deuce space in late September (1040 N. Second St.).

Du Jour Market & Café: No sooner did this casual spot debut in Center City’s Symphony House than plans were announced for another outpost to open in Commerce Square in late fall (2001 Market St.).

Earth Bread + Brewery: Hearth-baked flatbreads and brews, from the couple who founded Heavyweight Brewing, will be touching down in a Mount Airy storefront in late September (7136 Germantown Ave.; 215-242-6666).

Fiesta Acapulco: Gabriel Bravo (of Italian Market’s La Lupe) is looking at late September for this Mexican seafood BYO (1122 S. Ninth St.).

Ho Sai Gai: The Chinatown favorite reopens its long-closed second location in late September (10th and Race Sts.).

Izakaya: The Academy House dining space that briefly housed the ambitious but ill-fated Kaizan is due to reopen in October with a more casual Japanese drinking concept (1420 Locust St.).

Izumi: A casual sushi spot from the team at South Philly’s Paradiso is opening down the street in late September (1601 E. Passyunk Ave.).

Joe's Peking Duck Original 1984: Quirky chef/culinary figure Joe Poon sets up shop in Old City, and the ducks come out September 28th (108 Chestnut St.).

Mémé: Rustic New American fare in minimalist surroundings is the promise from chef David Katz (ex Restaurant M) when he opens shop September 21st (2201 Spruce St.).

Pickled Heron: This white-tablecloth American bistro in Fishtown, featuring house made charcuterie, is slated for late November (2218 Frankford Ave.).

Sticks & Stones: East Passyunk, the stretch of South Philly known for its Italian restaurants, is getting more than its share of gastropubs, including this October arrival from the owner of the former Felicia’s (1909 E. Passyunk Ave.).

Union Trust: What promises to be Center City’s only homegrown steakhouse will fill a former bank building (with a soaring ceiling) near Washington Square – projected opening is October 15th (717-719 Chestnut St.).

Pensylvania Smoke-Free Dining Starts Thursday

"Under the new Clean Indoor Air Act, which was 15 years in the making, restaurants will be required to prohibit smoking. But smaller bars and taverns, where on-premises food sales don't exceed 20 percent of total revenue, can ask the state Health Department for an exception to the smoking ban." via Post Gazette

Green Fish: Frozen is Fresher than Raw

Culinary leaders who care about reducing greenhouse gases linked to global warming need "to get people to understand that frozen is fresher than raw" most of the time, according to Food Network host Alton Brown.

Transporting what we eat accounts for 80 percent of the U.S. food system's greenhouse gas emissions, according to scientific studies, and the average American's eating habits account for 2.8 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, compared with the 2.2 tons of carbon dioxide the same person generates by driving.

via Washington Post

CompetitiveEdge Tip: Make Eating Healthy Easier for your Patrons

With economic trends beating up independent operators from both ends -- higher operating costs and lower dispensable income to splurge dining out-- restaurateurs need to embrace every opportunity to promote their business and to differentiate from their competitors. This article from CNN details a practical method to stand out to your prospective customers.

"The idea that eating healthy doesn't mean feeling deprived is something restaurants see as a vehicle for change, as a way to differentiate their offerings from their competitors," says Master Chef Mark Erickson, vice president for continuing education at the Culinary Institute of America.
Rock Creek restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland has reinvented their menu by offering "what you're supposed to eat -- proper portions, great flavor-and we use fresh, local ingredients as much as possible," says co-owner Tom Williams, who, with partner Judith Hammerschmidt, opened Rock Creek two years ago. The pair worked with Cynthia Payne Moore, R.D., a Baltimore, Maryland-based dietitian, to obtain nutritional analyses for every item on the menu, and they adjust recipes to avoid unnecessary fat and determine portion sizes.

They even put the nutritional information in the back of the menu, "so people who want to look at it do, and those who don't, don't," Hammerschmidt says.

Rock Creek is great example of a leader in our field. The nutritional analysis requirements for all food service establishments are coming... it's started in New York with multi-unit chains. Ruby Tuesday's is one of many national chains who have already dedicated their resources to labeling all menu items with their nutritional data. Even Dunkin' Doughnuts is offering healthier menu items starting August 6th! Like the smoking ban, it's only a matter of time before Philadelphia picks up similar legislature to force chains and independents to display their nutritional information.

Chef's Palette offers menu nutritional analysis and website design for restaurants at an affordable rate. Visit www.chefspalette.us for more information about menu nutritional analysis, recipe consultation and your website design needs.

Buy Fresh Buy Local Week

Next Saturday kicks off Buy Fresh Buy Local week in the greater Philadelphia area and here are some highlights.

• Saturday, July 12th - Ultimate Philadelphia Ice Cream Festival at the Reading Terminal Market
• Sunday, July 13th - Kickoff party at Philadelphia Brewing Company
• Wednesday July 16th - Local Beer and Local Hors d’oeuvres at Standard Tap
• Thursday July 17th -Southwark Happy Hour with Bluecoat Gin and Sly Fox beers
• Saturday July 19th - Good Food, Good Beer, and the Rest is History food and beer tastings at Headhouse Square
• Sunday July 20th - Cooking Demonstrations and Cookbook Swap at Headhouse Farmers’ Market

A complete list of events as well as tickets to the Kickoff at PBC can be found on Local Food Philly.

Buy Fresh Buy Local Week [Local Food Philly]

via foobooz.com