Good old Chicago

I have a NY friend moving to Chicago for grad school and recently asked me my input on the Chicago restaurant scene and I got very excited. See, Chicago isn’t so lucky when it comes to known foodies. They don’t get awarded Michelin stars and most of the great city chefs don’t get the recognition they deserve. Loving the Chicago food world, I sent my friend the list below. But fellow Chicagoians, don’t chew me a new one. These are simply my favs so feel free and comment about some of your own.

• Avec – my absolute favorite Chicago restaurant, period. Yes, you have to wait a long time, no they don’t take reservations, but it is worth it. One long community table with great wine and a menu full of delicious small plates. If the wait is long, go to the Japanese restaurant a few doors down and have a martini while you’re waiting.  At Avec, have your tattooed waitress choose your cheese platter and make sure you get the flatbread along with the gnocchi - if you’re lucky enough to find it on the menu.
• Publican – part of the Avec and Black Bird family, you’ll get the same Avec vibe with community tables and a rustic atmosphere. But Publican offers big plates and great beer options. It’s not as intimate (the bathrooms are communal) but the food is amazing. The beef tartare was the best I’ve had in Chicago and every time I go back I get the mussels.
• XOCO – fairly new to the Rick Bayless franchise right before I moved. The soups are spicy and not over-priced. The lunch line goes out the door but if you’re lucky Rick himself will hand you your churros.
• Graham Elliot – I love this man. After seeing him on Iron Chef, following his career at The Peninsula Hotel, becoming the nation’s youngest four-star chef and realizing the music played at his restaurant is his own iPod, what’s not to love? The menu is fun, the wait staff wears sneakers and the food makes you rethink your own kitchen cabinet. (I’ll also be cheering for him during this season of Top Chef Masters!) 
• Spring – a little more upscale but I will not forget the dinners I had here. The flavors and the service are worth going back.
• RIP Kaze – this would have taken my number one slot but it recently closed its doors. I am convinced it was due to the lousy location. The white asparagus soup with foie gras and black truffle oil sprinkled on top still gives me the chills. Owners, if you’re looking for a new adventure open up here in Manhattan!

For steak’s I would choose Nine or Chop House. And if you wanted to spend a pretty penny there is L2O, moto, Topolobampo, and of course Alinea and Trotters.

Friends, what am I missing?

Menu prices determined like the stock exchange?

Let me explain. There seems to be a restaurant here in Manhattan, opening April 1, that is letting the customers choose the prices…sort of. The menu prices are set, but depending on popularity, like a stock, they go up and down.

So, if the burgers are at high demand, the price goes up in $0.25 increments. So you either buy a higher priced burger, or go for a menu item that is less ordered because it could be down $2 in cost.

The Exchange Bar & Grill admits what they are doing is a gimmick but they seem to love the NYSE theme. They even have red ticker tape flashing the menu prices as stock items. (On a side note, speaking from the PR in me, I do hope to see this theme play through in their marketing and communication efforts. I see a cool Facebook page and fun viral videos.)

I am finding that New York City restaurants can’t just rely on good food. For these owners, they are relying on supply and demand and this economics lesson is getting a decent amount of press for not even being open yet.

In my opinion, if I came in and paid $4 for a drink then came in again and found out I had to pay $8 for the same dink? To me it’s cute, and fun in a way, but I think it would piss me off. It doesn’t sound like a place you would turn to as your go-to dinner spot, but could be fun for those tourists that get a kick out of that sort of thing.

What are your thoughts? Does this interest you enough to try it out?

NYC Restaurant Recommendations?

It’s officially been six months since moving to New York City and I feel pretty good about the restaurants I’ve been able to eat at, but now I need some help.

With so many restaurants to consider, my search results are out of control.  I wish Bing knew my personality and my taste.

After tackling my list of the top ten restaurants I had in mind when coming here, after using blogs, Yelp, Metro Mix, and Open Table, and bothering our small network of New Yorker friends for recommendations, I’m coming to you to tell me which New York restaurants are your favorite.  Whether due to a cool marketing campaign, great PR, or just damn good food, tell me where to eat next and why.

From Michelin star rated to hidden gems, in this post is a map of my favorites so you can get me into new neighborhoods – the chicken pox represents the top restaurants I’ve been to and loved.  (Yes, I am that lame.  I keep a map of my favorite restaurants in my bedroom.)

Things to keep in mind with the recommendations: I am adventurous, I will try anything once and I love a good bottle of wine.  So?

Menu trickery

We all know it’s happening to us every day and we would like to think that we are not falling for it.  But when it comes to psychological trickery to get you to buy or order something you normally wouldn’t think twice about, are we being duped or is it helping us make yummier decisions?

According to this (lengthy) NYTimes article, since the recession, restaurants around the country have revamped their menus using psychological techniques in hopes of getting us to purchase the more expensive items.  The article states “[restaurants] are hoping that some magic combination of prices, adjectives, fonts, type sizes, ink colors and placement on the page can coax diners into spending a little more money.”

For some this is serious biz.  You can actually have a job title of Menu Engineer with your main responsibility being taking dollar signs off.

While the Alinea example is not fair, they are truly changing the dining experience and not coaxing diners to spend more money, there are other restaurants who’s main goals are getting you and me to buy the $11 turkey sandwich AND an $8 side.  Gasp!

With the numerous studies that have taken place about using $9, 9, 9.99, $9.95 or whatever other combinations you can think of, I wonder if the difference really results in a big ROI.

I would love to hear from some of these restaurants to see if they can tell a difference in their customers ordering habits. 

As a consumer, do you think you’ve fallen for this menu trickery?  And if so, does it bother you?

Frontera Fiesta Fun

I feel like a little girl on Christmas, and I really love Christmas.

When my boss, @ginidietrich, sent me a link to Rick Bayless’ new Web site,

I’m pretty sure for the next 20 minutes I fanaticized about having some Frontera guacamole accompanied by a traditional margarita. 

One of my favorite things about Chicago was Rick Bayless’ tri-restaurants (along with the Avec, Publication, Blackbird family, of course) and I feel lucky I got the chance to eat at his most recent spot three times in one and a half weeks before I moved.

Rick, (can I call you Rick?) is a James Beard award winner, and more importantly to me, Top Chef Masters champion!  I don’t know whose idea this Web site was, but it’s about time!  Now I can connect with the flavors I love and feel at home when I try (and will fail at) making some of these dishes.

As a communications marketer I know that it is more important than ever to connect with your audiences and I love that Rick continues to do so in a variety of ways while still captivating a high-end brand from himself.  It is hard to keep track of a brand without letting it go in too many directions.  Parterning with a beer such as, Bohemia Beer is one thing, as long as his messages stay consistent.  By keeping his loyal Chicago crowd, this site has great potential at gaining new travelers as well new online fans.

Rick, if you’re listening, I recently moved to New York City and live right below Mid Town.  I would love it if you would consider your next adventure to be a luxury taco stand walking distance from my apartment.  Maybe with churros and definitely some of your margaritas in to-go cups.  Thanks.

If you’re high, do you crave sushi?

Boulder restaurant chain, Hapa Sushi, is jumping on the smoking weed bandwagon.  

With the burst of medical marijuana dispensaries and national ganja debates taking place, Hapa’s ad agency, TDA Advertising & Design, is at it again. 

In their new ad, Hapa maps out Boulder and Denver with 63 dots: Four red ones designating Hapa restaurants and 59 blue ones designating medical marijuana facilities.

 The New York Times quotes Mark Van Grack, owner of Hapa Sushi, “If you’re going to smoke pot, you’re going to get the munchies, so come to Hapa to eat.”

 Now, Mark, I don’t know about that.  Pizza maybe, or some sort of candy, but I don’t recall hippies munching on raw fish while smoking a j. 

Hapa is known for their controversial advertising.  From making fun of Hank Aaron to participating in the Naked Pumpkin Run promotions, they seem more interested in causing a stir than selling their fish.

But I do love that they are willing to start fires and take risks.  Now they need play more in the online world.  How much fun they could have!

If this does put butts in seats, I’d tell the wait staff to be prepared for some giggling stoners who might take close to 30 minutes before they figure out what they want to order.

They better make some good Bloody Mary’s

OK, I’ll admit, I’m a Twilight fan. I’ve read all the books and rented the DVD. But this vampire craze is out of control. Marketers are having a field day with this empire because these Tweens are “eating” it up. But when is this going to slow down?

For Annette and Tim Root, hopefully not anytime soon. They are currently in the process of opening up a Twilight-inspired restaurant, in Forks, Wash. (the location where the characters meet). Jumping on the bandwagon of the Twilight-themed town, they btter hope their restaurant will make a mark. The restaurant is cleverly named Volterra (after the Italian city where a lot of the book drama takes place) and is anticipated to open in the spring.

A New York Times post jokes about ordering rare stakes, but how long can this the interest last?

In order for this restaurant to make profit beyond the release of the last movie, there needs to be some smart PR and marketing behind it. They have a very fun opportunity here — to capitalize on the Twilight fans willing to make a trip, but also gaining loyalty and trust from the locals and neighboring townies.

A common problem themed restaurants have is getting that second-time diner. Most people want to check it out, but there needs to be that extra something that brings them back. Yes, great food can do that, but so can a good PR campaign.

My head is swarming with different marketing ideas! I can’t wait to see what they do for the launch. I wonder if any of the cast members will make an appearance?

What would you do to ensure this Vampire restaurant doesn’t turn into a ghost town?

Expense this

After recently moving to New York City, I love being shocked at the humor this market has. That’s why I need to talk about the recent post, WSJ writer, Kelly Evans wrote.

Apparently, fine dining steakhouse, Maloney & Porcelli, decided to have some fun and created a separate Web site where you can type in the total cost of your bill and it generates a handful of fake receipts as a gimmick for you to expense at your company. Pretty much saying, “Listen, we know we are expensive but ever since those Wall Street CEOs have been flying around in their private jets, everyone is trying to act like they aren’t spending money on luxury anymore. So, eat with us and we’ll help you get away with it.”

I think it’s a riot! You’ve got to play with it for yourself.  www.expenseasteak.com

Walrus, the advertising agency behind the campaign, says they took it one step further and created doggie bags with the logos of other cheap restaurants so you don’t get caught eating high-end.

So is there a PR master behind this? Even though we know Web site hits are in the tens of thousands, I wonder if sales are on the rise as well. Brand awareness is great, but these days, it’s all about the bottom line.

You tell me, does this make you want to eat there now?