There’s nothing better than gathering around a table and sharing food — but sharing thoughts is pretty great, too. Join the conversation below, and on our social networks.
There’s an explosion of interest in friendly bacteria. Beneficial microorganisms, can help us digest food, make vitamins, and protect us against harmful pathogens. As this idea gains traction, so too does the popularity of fermented foods such as yogurt, sauerkraut and kimchi. Though the science is tricky, researchers are learning more about how this ancient […]
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American diners have historically had an uneasy relationship with vegetables, as the order to “eat your [frequently overcooked] vegetables” made their consumption a punitive chore that took the fun out of nightly supper for legions of kids. Now our attitudes may be changing for the better, as the category receives a strong boost from thought […]
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Insects and plant foods are expected to move more into the mainstream. In the future, restaurant guests will choose a diet based on their unique microbial profile. Proteins on restaurant menus will not necessarily mean meat, but could mean crickets or plants. And smart phones will have sensors that will allow chefs to tell when […]
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America is truly a nation of snackers: Adults in this country snacked on ready-to-eat foods more than 200 billion times in 2015, according to consumer research firm The NPD Group. We snack so much that there are now three snacking dayparts in restaurants — mid-morning, late afternoon and late night — that together make up […]
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Fermenting food is an ancient tradition which involves food being stored in airtight bottles in a salty mixture for many months. Fermentation as a way of preserving food dates back thousands of years, but it is now being held up as a potentially important source of friendly, health-giving bacteria. So should we all be eating sauerkraut […]
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Consider The Bellwether, a Los Angeles gastropub with food that defies categorization. On the menu, there’s tempura cauliflower with mostly Thai flavors (chile, basil, fish sauce), Italian meatballs, and Octopus from the Eastern Mediterranean (with tabbouleh and preserved lemon). The Progress in San Francisco takes a similar global approach with its duck fried rice, rabbit […]
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With more than one million food service locations across the United States, restaurateurs don’t have to be reminded that they are vying for business in a fiercely competitive marketplace. While industry pundits routinely state that food quality, service, and value must all remain top of mind in the daily struggle for share, they also maintain […]
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Food costs have been on something of a roller coaster in the post-recessionary environment. Unfortunately for restaurants, so have sales. And the coasters have largely coincided. So if sales were up, so were costs. When costs fell, sales fell too. That has changed this year. Costs have started coming down at the same time that […]
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Zpizza International Inc. may have cracked the code on boosting alcohol sales in the fast-casual segment by putting bartending in the hands of customers. The Irvine, Calif.-based chain is one of a growing number of fast-casual concepts experimenting with self-service beer technology. Other concepts on the West Coast include gourmet hot dog purveyors Dog Haus […]
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Colleges and universities play a major role in forming the dining habits students will follow for the rest of their lives. The push for campuswide sustainability and a fresh commitment to student health drive institutions to rethink their dining strategies. This might mean buying more food from local farmers and better educating students about their […]
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