For a sense of how San Francisco’s restaurant business is being altered by the recession, consider flavors like “sweaty gasoline” and “armpit.” That is how two wines are described on the menu at Heart, a new Mission District wine bar…
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Never before has innovation been as essential to running a successful quick-serve restaurant concept. During what has turned out to be the most daunting recession in our nation’s history, innovation has been the driving force for the concepts that are…
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A ubiquitous Olive Garden TV commercial shows a picturesque cooking school in Italy as a voice croons words like “artisanal” and “fonduta” and smiling chefs in starched whites coats taste tomato sauce straight from a simmering pot and kiss their…
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Let’s talk about steak for a moment. Was the last one you ate good? How about the one before that? Be honest. The first bite, in all probability, was juicy and tender. Not bad. A brief hit of beefiness, enough…
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Liza Cruze would love to put a plaster ceiling in Salt of the Earth, the Garfield restaurant that she, her husband Doug and chef Kevin Sousa hope to open next month. “Visually, that’s exactly what I would want in there,…
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These are not your average super-moms. Not only do they slave away in the kitchen for their children — they also work day-in-and-day-out at some of San Francisco’s best-known — and most high-volume — eateries. But somehow, the bevy of…
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Margie Scheuermann, who has lived here for 78 years, went over her list as she waited in line Tuesday to buy local seafood at the Crescent City Farmers Market: a pair of soft-shell crabs, a pound of lump crab meat…
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Here’s Dennis Crowley’s ideal way to end the day: At 6 p.m., his iPhone alerts him to the evening’s plans. It has already checked his friends’ calendars and knows who’s free tonight, so it suggests a restaurant they’ve all wanted…
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Winners were announced Monday, May 3, 2010, at the annual 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards, the nation’s most prestigious recognition program honoring professionals in the food and beverage industries.  During a ceremony hosted by Lidia Bastianich, Alton Brown and Wolfgang Puck…
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Soon after Ian Hilton breezes into the Gibson on a sunny afternoon, he issues a gentle warning: “It’s going to be next to impossible to get an interview with Eric.” He means his brother, with whom he co-owns this 14th…
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Guests who are lucky enough to claim any of the 47 seats at Frances, Melissa Perello’s hot new restaurant in the Castro, are offered not only the wine list but also the choice of house wine, red or white. The…
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There are five P’s at the basis of McDonald’s recent success, and the company’s CEO says it’s not rocket science to figure out how to make a profit in this industry. When a poster of McDonald’s Plan to Win was…
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“Top Chef” judge Tom Colicchio passed a quickfire challenge of his own Monday when he was named the nation’s top chef by the James Beard Foundation. Colicchio, whose numerous restaurants include Craft, Craftsteak and the recently opened Colicchio & Sons…
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Fueled by improving sales and traffic levels and growing optimism among restaurant operators, the National Restaurant Association’s comprehensive index of restaurant activity rose sharply in March. The Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) stood at 100.5 in March, up 1.4 percent…
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S. Truett Cathey, the 89-year-old founder of the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain, grew up in Atlanta, where his first business venture was operating a Coca-Cola stand in his yard at age 8. In 1946, he and his brother opened a small…
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On a recent Thursday night, after most of the dinner crowd had left, Bernard Ros, the owner and chef of Meli Melo, a French bistro in Manhattan, grilled three steaks, threw together a few pasta dishes and salads and pulled…
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You know that big, hot restaurant that opened up a few months ago downtown? The one that all [insert your city here] is abuzz about? Chances are that new restaurant is in a hotel or condominium. Nearly every major restaurant…
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It has all the qualities of classic comfort food: a steaming mug of sweet tomato soup served with a sandwich of melting cheese inside slices of golden buttery toast. Moms have been presenting grilled cheese sandwiches to happy children for…
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CLICKETY-CLACK. Here was Donatella, coming through, charging into her new $2.5-million restaurant construction site. Donatella, nervelessly pushing past the yellow caution tape to traverse the splintery floor in nude-patent-leather four-inch Louboutins. Donatella, in short-short Prada silk. Donatella, pointing. Donatella, dishing.…
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Danish cuisine reigns supreme, according to the some of the planet’s most prominent eaters. S. Pellegrino’s annual “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” list was released on Monday at a celebrity-chef-studded event in London, England, marking the ninth edition of the much…
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It took more than a year, but American diners are coming out of hiding, starting to splurge on everything from tea to tacos and tacking on some dessert. The meals aren’t fancy — and business is far what it was…
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