Archive for category Starbucks

Hotels Elevate the Food Experience

We have spent a lot of time talking about high food prices and equating that to the continual stalemate of economic progress: The reality of doom and gloom. Yet, another indicator has emerged from the doldrums. This time the specific focus is on the travel industry. Hotels that were giving away rooms not that long ago are now more inclined to raise prices and offer pluses to lure you inside. Travel has always been a strong indicator of economic growth, and with the uptick in business travel, leisure has started to fill rooms, too.

What special benefits can hotels offer to distinguish themselves? That is an ongoing industry, marketing question. Hyatt jumped up to the plate with a Welcome Credit. Depending on the number of nights, the monetary reward could be as high as $150. A guest should have no problem enjoying spending the money on the property. Hello, steak dinner.

If you’re Vegas-bound, you have the universe of selections as hotels are tripping over each other with good deals as their economy still lags. Once you settle on a property, take a stroll down the Strip and dine to your heart’s content as a whole coterie of big-deal chefs continue to wine and dine the visitor. It seems no end is in sight as to the restaurant potential in Vegas. Corby Kummer finds that the food now matches the hype! Jose Andres followers take note: The famous chef continues to research and study the history of foods. His latest education turns his palate to Chinese food. Washington, DC, which feels a certain hometown national pride over Andres’s food empire, will readily welcome a good Chinese restaurant, or two.

Let’s not forget coffee. In-room coffee service has been heavily scrutinized, and criticized, for its questionable cleanliness standards. Hotels have fought back with lobby coffee partnerships that promise a respectable cup of coffee. Marriott Hotels have various coffee partnerships depending on the brand. Newer or refurbished Courtyards offer Starbucks in the Bistro, and the higher-end properties (JW Marriott, Renaissance) may have taken coffee to a new height: An Espressamente Illy., a true coffee experience. The logic is quite simple: Keep the money in the property rather than watch guests stroll down the block and return to the hotel with someone else’s cup.

Sure small refrigerators and minibars stocked with a guest’s pre-ordered items (Hilton) are popular, but what’s better than good food and a great cup of coffee? OK, a lovely wine, but that’s not really been a hotel’s downfall. So pack your bags and take a hotel holiday or a mini-vacation. It is summer, after all.

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Food News Round Up

A week has so many items of interest, newsworthy pieces that somehow skip thru the blog cracks. Each week ends with a larger pile of possibilities. Here’s this week’s Round Up:

The BPA controversy continues. Remember not that long ago the FDA said plastic containers that still held BPA were OK. The news was a little iffy for many people and they went out and bought BPA-free containers. Stores heard the cry and increased their supply of BPA-free water bottles and assorted sized food containers. They were able to charge a little more, OK, make that a lot more, as they were free of the dreaded, uncertain BPA. Now the FDA has new words on this topic. They are urging greater caution. Here is their most recent statement.

Chefs who are hired to create a space need to listen to their bosses. They will not survive if they are out on the solo creative limb. See Fabio Trabocchi, one of my favorite chef geniuses, but he did not hear the words spoken and unspoken by the regulars at The Four Seasons New York. He could not man the space and just follow his heart. He had to follow what management wanted; in other words, the same Four Seasons type menu that has been filling the space for years. He was not given a restaurant to make his own as when he created Maestro at The Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner. He had to conform and give the Four Seasons guests what they expected: Nothing New. He was ousted this week. January is not a good month for him!

Tom Colicchio of New York restaurant fame but more recently Bravo’s Top Chef has tried to make and remake his restaurants into more affordable destinations. He had started to cook again and not just be a celebrity chef  (Tom: Tuesday Dinner was his first attempt). His Craftsteak was always a step ahead of the menu mavens, but the concept seemed too expensive for those just looking for a steak. Now he’s ready to showcase Colicchio & Sons in that space. More of a relaxed, less expensive, fun vibe with a focus on more local purveyors.

Restaurant Weeks have once again proven popular and convincing as many restaurants decided a single seasonal week is not enough. Business has been too good so in various locations throughout the country, a sizable list of restaurants are turning the one-week promotion into a longer lasting, table-filling affair. Sububran restaurants have banded together and decided they, too, could offer their own week or multi-week promotions. (Bethesda-Chevy Chase Restaurant Week).

–More Gluten-Free products hit the market. How about Risotto Chips from the folks that sell Bagel Crisps. Smart move into an ever-growing category of G-F free snacks. Arborio rice now has found a home in 3 distinct rice chip flavors: Spicy marinara, Parmesan & roasted garlic, and sea salt, the new darling of the scoopable chip industry.image_risotto

–Today is the first day of the West Coast version of the Specialty Food  Show, the Winter Fancy Food Show in SF. How about a little chocolate water? The Metromint folks have a new drink: ChocolateMint Water (zero calories, just essence of mint and  chocolate). Just when you thought you had tried every possible flavored water. More from this show later.

So many stories. SO much news.

Enjoy your Sunday with its Starbucks newspaper insert: All-day oatmeal and hot panini $1 off coupon (good til March 8th).

See what I mean: Hard to stop telling you about the news you need to know!

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Bits and Bites

I love when the news focuses on ideas that get a second look. We comment about something and address its key issues, but when it gets further inspection, then we have accomplished a great deal.

Here’s a good one: The Connecticut Attorney General is investigating the Smart Choices program. This program received initial high praise, but after further inspection, there were questions. This is the product group that affixed so-called healthy nutrition information on packs giving certain foods the go-ahead. Foods like Froot Loops and mayonnaise roused the CT office. Yes.

How about all the attention on Starbucks and its high pricing policies. They came out of that tunnel and are now aggressively promoting the nationwide launch of their instant, yes, instant, paks of coffee. Via has already been positioned on the end caps at Costco. Expect big sales numbers for this product from that marriage: The Big Box and the Instant Darling.

Maybe the best news is the direction the government has taken in the realm of food safety. With one focused site we have half a chance of knowing what’s gone wrong within minutes of the first reports. No longer do we have to search for hours. foodsafetybasics_lgThey have food storage charts and food handling information: All pertinent data to insure food safety. As long as the site remains as it’s intended: A proactive information service, we will all be in a better place.

All the bits and bites come together with two final thoughts for now. The success of various cities’ restaurant weeks has spawned an offshoot: Delivery Week in New York City (Oct 19-31). Imagine other cities with strong neighborhood food delivery services will consider the concept. The price is certainly right for the appetizer, entree, and dessert: Lunch, $12.09; Dinner, $20.09.

Grocery stores continue to find strategies to keep prices in competitive balance as new markets open and challenge the old standbys. Grocery wars whether between Amazon and Wal-Mart or locally-based shops help consumers meet their budgets. Specials, double coupons, and affordable recipes need to continue.

Even on this the 4th straight day of dark, cold, gloomy, depressing rain, there are some positive newsworthy items to digest.

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Coffee Jam: Use the Coupon

If you’re looking for the action tomorrow, Tuesday, July 21st from opening until 10:30 AM, then head over to your local Starbucks.

Take the above coupon, which they are also honoring if it shows up on your handheld. Show them this post. It’s all about saving paper!

All you have to do is buy a beverage, any beverage, and for free you get a sugar rush, a free pastry, These new sweets have the best of all ingredients: No High Fructose Corn Syrup. They also are without artificial flavors, dyes, and trans-fats.

If you haven’t tried the new breakfast treats (also good at other times of the day), then here’s your chance to critique the recent rollout. The company tested and tweaked and came up with recipes they wanted everyone to try.

If you want to duplicate the banana walnut bread, save your bananas: Here’s the recipe.

Gprint_couponet in line.

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It Feels So Cruel, But

sumatra_smallIt’s impossible to ignore a comment from Starbucks.

It’s been a long year for Starbucks. Everyone has a story about what was and what is. Actually its decline was as much a mirror image of the whole economic nightmare as it was a response to its own growth pattern: The Starbucks on every corner mentality! As the reality of negativity set in, the company started to do the fixes, and there have been many.

Just this week there was another thought that hit the brewing machines: Hey, why don’t we make a fresh pot more frequently. Yikes, we’ll give off the aroma of a real coffee shop. The place will smell like beans–that’s the thinking. That’s the kind of thinking that may actually work if there is a real way to bring customers back to Starbucks. As they have been fleeing, they were going somewhere. It’s the where and the loyalty factor that may determine Starbucks’s future down the road.

The biggest problem, that in many respects is harder to fix, centers around service, consistency, and  training. You can close the shops and train, but when you open, the early evangelical spirit needs to be there. It’s not. The attitude is more of a “NEXT” philosophy than the old days when the message was: I can make you an espresso you’ll remember. It will be like yesterday’s, and tomorrow’s will be just as good. Inconsistency has become the reality. No two cups now ever taste the same or even look the same.

People like Starbucks, but Starbucks has to like itself and return to what worked. Not just a new thought an hour.

I continue to wonder: How often can they reinvent?

Just a double shot, please.

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