Restaurant Chains are Taking Over America

Screen Shot 2015-08-05 at 10.15.53 AMThe majority of America’s restaurants have always been independently run. NPD Group’s last count indicated that non-chains accounted for 54 percent of U.S restaurants, but with the current trend with Restaurants chains, the majority won’t last but another year or two. Over the past year, NPD has recorded that the total number of restaurants in America shrunk by one percent despite the openings of thousands of chain restaurants like Chipotle, and Starbucks. This indicates the decrease in the number of businesses that are not chain affiliates.

The biggest threat to independently run restaurants are the high rent prices. Diners and bodegas cannot afford the hike in rent and with recent cities where minimum wages has increased, a bigger cost can potentially occur to these independently run restaurants than it would towards chains like McDonald’s. New York City, for example, has had the decade’s biggest increase in chain stores. However, the number of bodegas have been decreasing. The expensive rent within the city has pushed many independent stores and restaurants out of business, where they no longer can afford the increased rent prices. Many chains like Rite Aid, and Key Foods has been driving bodega businesses uptown out of business.

To read more, click here.

NYC Restaurants are Required to Freeze Raw Fish

sashimi-resizedSushi restaurants have lured gourmands by boasting of the freshest fish. But with new regulations, published by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, restaurants are required that fish served raw, undercooked or marinated raw are to be frozen first to guard against parasites. This regulations has been approved by the Board of Health and will be set to take effect in August. The Health Department regulation is that fish will be required a minimum freezer storage time of anywhere from 15 hours to a week depending not eh temperatures and storage process.

Though customers might be distasteful at their “fresh” fish coming from a freezer, the truth is that many chefs in NYC’s top restaurants have long used frozen fish to prevent serving their raw fare with a side of pathogens. “We purposely deep-freeze at negative 83 degrees, and we use one of those medical cryogenic freezers, this way it’s kind of like cooking, but instead of using heat we use freezing to remove parasites or bacteria on the outer surface.” says Yuta Suzuki, vice president of Sushi Zen. Even with these public regulations, because many restaurants have already been utilizing freezing as a method of pasteurizing, chefs believe it won’t take too much effect on their process of cooking. Moreover, frozen fish are free of parasites, and also cheaper, available out of season and sometimes even tastier.

To read more on NYC’s new regulations on Raw fish, click here

Retail Spotlight: Fuku NYC

163 1st Ave. New York, NY, 10003.

Their Success…This summer a rising trend fukuwebof Chicken sandwiches are evident. David Chang,
Founder of Momofuku Inc., is named a leader in this trend with his opening of Fuku NYC,home to an $8 spicy-fried-chicken sandwich. Since its opening on June 10th, Fuku has been on headlines and trending throughout social media because of its chicken sandwich. There is an obvious inspiration by Chick-fil-A which Chang grew up eating in suburban Virginia, and he also claims to be a fan of In-N-Out for its unique corporate culture as much as for its burger. Chang describes Fuku as “our attempt to sort of honor the great fried-chicken places and fast-food concepts out here, to do our version of that, and hopefully, to make it better.” With never-ending lines around the corner of the restaurant , one can say Chang has successfully started a fried-chicken culture and redefined “fast-food.”

Fuku NYC is located on 10th St. and 1st Ave. This location is also the original location of the Momofuku Noodle bar. After six months of intensive renovations and development, Fuku now boasts a very chic urban atmosphere. Utilizing their space to its full potential, an open kitchen, and bar side tables are available for those who are eating-in. Although no chairs or stool are available for consumers, customers are fully accommodated as a fast-casual restaurant.  After ordering, customers are given a number where then Fuku employees will bring their orders to customers whether it was to eat-in or take-away. Likewise, employees are constantly walking around the restaurant to take away trays.

Employees are also seen refilling their ketchup and ssam sauce bottles throughout the restaurant. The Ssam Sauce is Fuku’s’specialty’ sauce that adds more spice to the chicken burger. Ssam sauce is Fuku’s rendition of an already existing Korean chili sauce and is sold to customers separately. While most customers order a spicy chickenburger, Fuku does serve salads and fries. Fuku also offers a lunch special where customers can easily get a spicy chicken burger, fries and a drink for $12, potentially saving themselves $1 when buying them separately.

Take Aways…Fuku NYC does a great job with creating traffic and retaining customers. With Fuku only at 600 square feet and an open kitchen and bar, there is limited space for people to stand in line so customers are forced to wait on line outside. However, Fuku makes ordering very quick and easy. While one stationed register takes orders, another employee is seen walking down the lines to take orders through their iPads. This potentially retains customers on line by binding orders. Moreover, consumers feel well accommodated and less annoyed from waiting. Fuku only accepts credit cards which speeds up the ordering process.

Their chicken sandwich is simply a fried chicken, pickles and a buttered bun but consumers are attracted to Fuku’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich because of its large fried chicken at an affordable price of $8.

To read more about their grand opening, click here.

James Beard Award Chef and Restaurant Finalists Announced

After months of deliberation, the James Beard Foundation has finally honed in on the selection of finalists for this years’ Chef and Restaurant awards.  The awards will be held May 4 in Chicago–the first time outside NYC in 24 years! Here is a quick review of the local talent that made the cut:

  • Batard, nominated for Best New Restaurant
  • Jim Lahey, nominated for Outstanding Baker
  • Maison Premiere, nominated for Outstanding Bar Program
  • Michael Anthony, Gramercy Tavern, nominated for Outstanding Chef
  • Ghaya Oliveira, Daniel, nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef
  • Christina Tosi, Momofuku, nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef
  • Momofuku Noodle Bar, Per Se, and The Spotted Pig nominated for Outstanding Restaurant
  • Marea, nominated for for Outstanding Service

To see the complete list, click here.

Per Se Alums Open Fine-Casual Hawaiian

Chef Chung Chow, Jin Ahn, and Gerald San Jose all met while working for Thomas Keller at the New York City fine dining institution, Per Se.  However, they’re no longer dabbling in French or American classics.  The trio has moved on to open a Noreetuh: a 42-seat, upscale-casual restaurant in the Eat Village focused on Japanese, Korean, and Filipino cuisines and where those three meet–Hawaiian.

Jin Ahn has assembled an impressive wine list with an emphasis on Burgundy and Bordeaux, but has kept the selection largely under $150.  Chow’s cooking reflects his upbringing in Hawaii and Japan with such dishes as pork croquettes, garlic shrimp over sticky rice, and crispy mochi waffles.  The menu is priced between $5 and $22, reinforcing the current trend of the return of casual dining, albeit with a fine-dining tweak.

To read more about Noreetuh, click here.

Le District to Partially Open This Week

The giant French market, bakery, cafe, and restaurant, also known as the French Eataly, is set to be partially open this week in the Brookfield Place in Battery Park City.  Over the weekend, the Cafe District opened up to the public serving pastries, espresso, and candy.

Much to the delight of Francophiles around the city, this is also the first US location of the Paris-based candy store, La Cure Gourmande, which is now open inside the Cafe District.  Guests will have to wait until Wednesday, however, to get a taste of chef Jordi Valles’ brasserie cooking at Beauborg.  The final portion of the project, a 28-seat tasting menu restaurant called L’Appart will not open until May.

Le District has slowly been releasing details about the project to excite guests.  In case you missed any of the previous reports, here are the highlights:

The space is divided into four districts: cafe, restaurant, garden, and market.  While separate physically, guests will be able to interact with the spaces with some degree of cohesion; for example, guests can purchase a steak at the butcher and have it cooked on the grill before leaving.  Also, the salad bar will switch over to a chocolate mousse bar at 4:00p.m.  Inside the market, there’s a wine bar, rotisserie, fishmonger, bakery, and cheese shop.  In addition to the 30,000 square feet inside, Le District will also have 7,000 square feet of outdoor space, with 250 seats overlooking the Hudson.

To read more about Le District, click here.

Navigating Great Coffee Shops In NYC

Levi Dalton and Marguerite Preston of Eater have compiled a list of 21 great coffee shops in New York. This city has an abundance of quality coffee, but an overwhelming amount of coffee shops which can make it difficult to navigate. This list of coffee shops points out the best hand-made cappuccinos, great drip and bright espressos.  A few of these coffee shops include:

  • Abraço: 86 E 7th St: Known for having one of the best drip coffees in the city as well as quality baked goods. Tip: Try the olive oil cookie.
  • Hi-Collar: 214 E 10th St: Great coffee shop for coffee aficionados where the menu prompts the guest to choose bean type and brew style
  • Devoción: 69 Grand St, Brooklyn: Outpost of a Colombian roaster serving good espresso and drip, great decor and atmosphere with live wall
  • Fair Folks & A Goat: 96 W Houston St: Known for calm, quiet vibes with a particularly great cold brew

For the complete list of 21 great coffee shops in New York City compiled by Eater, click here

NYC Vegetarian Food Fest

Sarah Gross and Nira Paliwoda are the founders of U.S. Veg Corp, an event production and marketing brand focused on the growing vegetarian and green markets. U.S. Veg Corp provides offline and online opportunities throughout the year to target a passionate audience interested in a vegetarian and eco-friendly lifestyle. Nira and Sarah are active members of the local vegetarian and green movement. Their involvement with the community ensures that the events they put on address the latest issues concerning the vegetarian market and the most of-the-moment technologies.

The NYC Veg Food Fest will take place this year on March 14th & 15th from 11AM-6PM at The Metropolitan Pavilion on 125 West 18th St. Purchase your tickets now to attend and get yummy food samples, engage in fun activities and listen to inspiring speakers. For a list of this year’s exhibitors click here. Tickets for a 2-day pass are $50, while single day passes cost $30. To purchase tickets to the festival, click here.

 

New Ice-Cream Shop In West Village

The weather in New York right now doesn’t really leave us craving ice-cream, however Van Leeuwen’s new artisan ice cream shop in the West Village might change that! The shop, which started as an ice-cream truck in 2008, will offer all the classic and vegan flavors that are made in Greenpoint, as well as milkshakes, sundaes, pastries and Toby’s Estate coffee. There are still trucks in NYC and LA as well as existing shops in the East Village, Boerum Hill and Greenpoint.

The new outpost will also have its very own new and exclusive flavors: Cookies & Cream, Toasted Coconut, Orange Blossom Shortbread Pistachio, Milk Chocolate with Marcona Almonds, and Sichuan Peppercorn With Cherry Compote (wow). Laura O’Neill, co-owner of the shop with both Ben and Pete Van Leeuwen states, ‘We’ve always wanted to be a part of the West Village — it’s obviously so charming.’

A large flagship store in Williamsburg is also in the works which is scheduled to open by end of March. LA will also be opening two brick-and-mortar shops in the near future. O’Neill believes, ‘It’s only a matter of time before we expand to the rest of the country.” For now, stop by the West Village shop tomorrow between 1 and 4 p.m. for $1 scoops! For more information and pictures of the ice-cream, click here.

Milk & Hops Opening In The Village

Yang Gao, a Beijing immigrant in New York went from being a professional musician to opening a wine shop in Astoria, quite the change of industry for Yang!  He later opened two outposts of Astoria Bier & Cheese, a market-restaurant hybrid that sells domestic craft beer and international cheeses. The beers and cheeses are served in different styles and preparations across the long marble bar.

Astoria Bier & Cheese will now be moving to Manhattan and is scheduled to open by next week. While it will not be called ‘Astoria Bier & Cheese’ because of geographical reasons, the concept of a hybrid restaurant-market will remain the same. The menu will also be very similar including meat and cheese plates and sandwiches. The shop inside Milk & Hops will sell grab-and-go cheeses, cocktail bitters and cocktail mixes. The new location can be found at 779 Broadway near 9th St. For more information on the opening of Yang Gao’s Milk & Hops in the west village, click here