Let’s see where to begin. How about chronologically? As in this is August 2011 and comment submission materials are now due in early October! Have we not wasted 4 years in trying to figure out how to help individuals who are by illness, as in Celiacs, in need of certified foods? The FDA says we are only talking about 1 % of the population that struggles with Celiac. I struggle with that low percentage for it hardly seems a day passes without more attention to this illness. Celiac research paints a different picture, a more startling numeric: 1 in 133 American people has Celiac, according to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness.

How about the people who are gluten intolerant? That number is certainly growing. The FDA focus is only on the US, but we know some countries, such as Ireland, have taken the lead on product identification and restaurant preparedness. Sure, more restaurants in the states are offering gluten-free menus and increasing their range of selections, but what about the security issue? Everyone needs to be certain that what is labeled or described as GF, truly has zero gluten.

Individuals who cannot tolerate gluten continue to struggle with dining out choices as they fear the separation of foods may not be tightly monitored. These are not whimsical fears. They are life-and-death matters.

So what happened to the “new” FDA that was promised to be a more responsive agency? Seems it is still buried under mounds of paper and limited in its roll-out of important mandates. What can a foodservice professional or a consumer do? React; respond within this extended deadline. Go to www.regulations.gov, and submit a comment. Follow the link.

As concerned consumers and food professionals, we cannot let this comment period slip away and allow mounds of paper to be ignored. We’ve had enough of that. GF and gluten intolerance deserve better attention and protection. Now.

Why? Well, that is still the unresolved issue although the country seems to have a very high percentage of Celiacs. Several theories circulate, but nothing is a spot-on answer. There’s the brown flour theory as in the staple of the Irish meal: Soda Bread. Brown flour is quite different from many of the flours we have in the states and is not sold here, but it is a heavy flour. As for the GF breads, they toast, and toast well. No one seemed to have many details, but both the flour discussions are far from over. More to discover.

In the meantime, Ireland proves itself a welcoming destination as the people are so warm and friendly, and yes, so dependent on tourism dollars. Visitors, GF or not, will agree it is an idyllic setting, but those with special food needs will find travel easy and wonderfully accommodating. Quite a surprise. No need to seek out a list of a few restaurants that might have a menu or an item for your needs. Rather the opposite of the States, as the whole country seems to be on guard for the Celiac. Travel can be so difficult for those with special food needs. Or so easy as in the case of Ireland. What a pleasant surprise on so many levels!

Go for it. Erin go Bragh!

It is not impossible for a good chef, often with multiple days of a heads up, to come up with a beautiful list of options. Yet, why not show that same spunk and put one or two items on the menu that say “We cater to everyone.” More customers are looking for creative alternatives.

These early days of spring are a perfect time to embrace the possibilities. Rice has lots of company; try quinoa–it makes a great salad or side dish. Broccoli has its adherents, but really no need to dance around the other extensive produce choices. How about fruits? So many more choices than just apples combined with walnuts. Truly.

Chefs who get it are rewarded with a steady base of customer loyalty. It may be time to clean off the back burner and see what new approaches can make a menu appearance. Research indicates consumers are dining out again. Make it worth their while–treat diners to creativity.

Now I have nothing against the prix fixe concept as I often find it is the best approach to dining. That’s especially true during the numerous restaurant week promotions as they are based on the multi-course approach to affordable dining. My complaint is with the natural crowd-fillers such as Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day. They are both dining out experiences that can involve overcrowded dining rooms and harassed wait staff.

Nor do I have anything against a Love Menu. My complaint is quite simple: Diners should be able to dine from the entire menu, not just the highly tailored one. After all a diner has chosen a particular restaurant for its particular food, its menu of choices. There should be no surprises for the diner as in “you mean tonight you are not offering the house specialty?” Everyone who makes a reservation needs to know in advance if the restaurant has limited its menu selection! That is only fair.

So many restaurants have created these special menus for crowd management purposes or simply translated, to accommodate the anticipated large crowd. A kitchen cannot handle everyone’s special request as Valentine’s Day often is all about special requests.

Now you have two choices, probably more, but two will suffice. You can buy (or carry-in) that wonderful piece of fish or meat, a beautiful bottle of wine, OK, start with a sparkler, and a fabulous dessert. You can eat in and save your special restaurant for a night that promises to be less crowded. Or, you can find a restaurant that is offering its entire menu, one that lets you choose your special delicacy.

Some critics say Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day menus are for amateurs. You decide.

A heads up: Top spots fill up quickly. After all, the multi-course prix-fixe approach makes the meal all that more tasty!

If you select carefully and read all the appropriate local buzz, you’ll know who has a really good deal. Yes, it’s about more than the price reduction as some restaurants are smarter than others. Some let you select your three courses from a printed sheet that favors many of the typical restaurant standouts. Others have made a mistake and gone down an unfortunate road of offering the promotional price point, but not listing items they are well known for. That breeds ill will and endless negative online blitzing. After all, the purpose of restaurant week is to wow you and get you to come back another time!

Choose wisely, but choose. This is your opportunity to treat yourself at an otherwise well-known spot that may be off limits budgetarily the rest of the year. Many restaurants offer both lunch and dinner promos.

One of the more enticing promotions is New York’s. As they celebrate 20 years of success, Restaurant Week (1/24-2/6) has a new partner in a two-for-one theater promotion. Broadway Week (1/24-2/10) entices with two-for-one tickets on 18 different shows. Now that’s a handsome offer. To show you the popularity of the restaurant side of events, more restaurants, over 300, are participating in the 3-course $24.07 lunch and the $35, two-course dinner. If you really want to turn a dining experience into a full-fledged city visit, then check with the hotel side of life as some want a piece of the action, too!

Note that prices (some cities offers are $15 three-course lunches and $35 three-course dinners) vary by locale, but the enticement to get out and dine warms the spirit.

Bundle up and enjoy.

We have burger shops dotting the landscape of every major city and older players had to adapt and become more creative. The single bun needed interesting toppings. Chefs who opened steakhouses in the last decade, threw their names and talent behind a higher price point experience: The burger. Why not? After all the burger offers creative challenges as it can wear many disguises and offer a great dining out experience whether for a vegetarian or Angus beef lover. Price is certainly more appetizing than for a 12-oz Filet.

Will this trend continue? Well, it will not go away, but it will receive competition from another food that had literally been health-blasted off the horizon: The Hot Dog. Already hot dog stands and restaurants are opening in more cities than just the notoriously famous Chicago Red Hot corner experience. The unique Chicago dog has motivated newbies to try their hand at importing the Midwestern flavor with its ultra green relish into the buns of the new hot dog stands.

What else had a strong revival during this past year? That would be the cocktail. No, it was not limited to the martini glass as cocktail mavens were left to their own creative imaginations to explore tastes that had not seen their way into drinking glasses of any size or shape. Basil, for instance, became a summer contender, and as the year drew to a close, more barmeisters were making their own bitters to see what tastes the glass could handle. The cocktail will not go away as quickly this time as it did when wine emerged as the dining out drink of choice. Cocktail menus and creative names challenge the diner to lighten up a little and enjoy every part of the dining out experience.

Whatever your dining out budget, this has been the year to let you experiment with a variety of tastes that complement your budget.

Maybe two dining experiences this week demonstrate the extremes and define some sort of a norm. Take the first lunch with the chatty waiter who had a million recommendations and continued to descend upon the table with boundless energy. I love enthusiasm, but I also appreciate the opportunity to have lunch with a friend rather than being continually interrupted by service questions: How is it? Do you want a soda refill? Can I get you anything? The list goes on. I think my friend and I finished a few complete sentences without interruption. That is until it was time to leave. You guessed it: Nowhere to be found. We literally had to ask several people to find a way to get our check. Something is very wrong with this picture. Is the server too kind, too enthusiastic, or just plain annoying? You can vote for that outcome.

The following day, the experience was almost text book. A server arrived quickly, took the order, and appeared almost by magic when it was appropriate: Time to clear, time to inquire if there would be anything else, and time to leave the check. If you guess that the two adjacent day meals were at different price points or at restaurants so different in terms of their training, you’d be incorrect. Price points identical; training very important to both multi-unit midscale operations.

What’s the difference then? Personality plays a major part in the communication level. Efficiency certainly dominates the training, but the hovering, chatty, “new friend” experience is not what most people look for when dining out. Servers need to read guests; they need to read the table and determine what’s needed. It’s not an impossible characteristic of good service, but one that can make a meal a more pleasant experience than the missing server or the hovering one.

Perfect timing is what it’s all about. Not that complex a concept, but the difference between a positive dining out experience and one less than pleasant. The diner rules and dictates; the server sees and responds. The tip stays the same.

Dining out should have that careful orchestration that adds to the enjoyable aspect of the food. Everyone needs to know his part.

Maybe when we order a restaurant meal we have an expectation of all the sensory clues working together. That is after all how we prepare a meal when we cook at home. Sure, we anticipate the outcome, but we also consider the steps we need to follow in order to get there. The same process should work when dining out. We read a description of an item and often we ask the server for additional details or we add vital information such as inquiring whether a particular dish could be prepared without fish sauce. Or, for example, do you do a vegetarian Pad Thai? We need to keep the restaurant in the loop of any special food requests so that when an item arrives, the surprise value does not translate into major disappointment.

Case in point: When you order a carefully detailed menu item, and you receive an entree with a heavy brown sauce atop it, your eyes go into a dizzying downward spiral. Displeasure hits first. Even when someone tries to explain away a food, it might be a conversation that is lost on you as the visual clues have gone into high gear. Eating out is about more than just price or price point. Everything has to jell; food needs to be fairly priced, prepared well, and served properly. It almost doesn’t matter what we order. It’s what we are presented.

Not only five-star or top-tier restaurants needs to adhere to the eye principle, but everyone preparing a meal must pass the eye-appealing test. What we order matters little in comparison to what we receive! We first eat with our eyes and then we taste.

–Popsicles going global and artisan–and what it means. We have to give the company credit for talking about this in their 2008 trend report even though we didn’t see the concept move from niche market space until this past year with an assortment of fruit-filled Mexican icepops (paletas) in fun flavors. So what’s next? They predict that flavors will continue to intensify just as cocktails did this year and that more of these specialty pop shops will appear as they introduce customers to more flavors with texture.

–Making Customers Unwelcome. That’s a strange category for a company whose business depends on helping restaurants thrive. Yet we’ve already seen signs of this trend with restaurants accepting reservations with a time limit as in “we have another party that needs that table within an hour and a half.” Or the corollary, the no reservation policy. New York was always the home of the No Credit Card sign, but that trend has proliferated as has the expanded wine by the glass list at skyrocketed prices.

–How Does Your Garden Grow, Mrs. Obama? Good question as First Lady Michelle Obama has made us all more farm market conscious and chefs have joined the grow your own concept, but many fast food restaurants translated healthy with using fresh foods but driving up the calorie count with ingredients such as gobs of cheese. Expect to see more chef gardens, more chefs helping in the schools, and an even greater emphasis on local. It seems no matter where you travel, you see signs asking customers to support local growers and businesses. A smart move.

–Breakfast All the Time.  When the economy was at its lowest levels, the food treat was breakfast food and breakfast business boomed. More restaurants expanded breakfast menus and all-day breakfast became more prevalent. Now, Baum and Whiteman believe we’ll see certain foods jump to a more mainstream position such as soft, slow-cooked eggs. This is an opportunity for high-end restaurants to skip the sauce and top the expensive dish with an egg which oozes its own sauce.

–Grits. They say grits will “leap from a morning food to an all-purpose starch.” Not only are we already seeing more grits on menus, we see restaurants such as Bubby’s in New York tout where their special grits come from (South Carolina). The consultants believe that the Southern food influence will spread and they even speculate that shrimp and grits will become the food of the year!

Other trends they note are some we have already seen: A rise in gluten-free foods, more healthy menus that denote less sodium or no high fructose corn syrup. They call this category “free-from” foods. So many more concepts. Here’s a little teaser:

Wife-swapping. Check back to find out how Baum and Whiteman relate that category to restaurants!

As often as we try to find bright news about economic improvements, we are deluged with negative numbers. Restaurants clearly feel the pinch or in some cases, the knock out. Even on days when the Market spirals up, there’s a strong sense of uncertainty about the next day. Consumers need to spend, but that is a confidence-based response. Consequently, we are in a financial wait-and-see environment. Let’s hope many of our favorite spots, which are often financed by individuals rather than corporations, can continue to create and serve.

One facet of the business has demonstrated its prowess. That would be the beverage side. Restaurants have been working on drawing in the crowds with happy hour specials, and a recent Gallup Poll attests to our unquenchable thirst. As a matter of fact, we have not seen these impressive glass numbers since 1985. If you like your drink straight from the bottle, the beer bottle or from its can, you have plenty of company. Beer ranked number one as the beverage of choice with wine and spirits following on its heels. Beer, even with decreasing percentages, has been the field leader since 1992. Wine did get an edge in 2005. Speculation there is that wine grabbed the medical news headlines that year as a drink of choice for a heart-healthy lifestyle!

Those who like graphs have plenty of analysis and marketing strategies to consider from the report. Lots of demographic details beneficial for fine-tuning campaigns for restaurant owners and managers to study!

In the meantime, expect more restaurants to offer beverage specials to helps sell food. How ’bout some nachos with that beer? Chicken topping?

Mexican, Thai, and other nationalities have plenty of choices Here’s a start: A masa-based Pupusa. The El Salvadoran dish or the version from Honduras is quite simply a delicious choice, a corn pancake-like dish filled with meats, cheese, or beans, similar to the more common Mexican tortilla. Rice noodles that work their way into Pad Thai is another simple solution. Being gluten intolerant may enable you to be more of an adventuresome eater, one with an interest in dishes from other countries, those that use more rice or corn than heavy gluten-laden wheat flour.

Some new snack foods are coming into the market that will please the G-F group. If you’re planning on visiting the Mets this season, they’re ready for you at the beautiful new Citi Field. Kozy Shack puddings are gluten free and now the company is sponsoring a G-F food cart that will be easy to spot and take the worry out of baseball dining.

Batter up.

A large number of restaurants have figured out a marketing plan for the day to help drive traffic inside. A free bowl of chili is the way to go! A Washington DC area spot, Hard Times Cafe, has the perfect enticement: Free Chili all day long! Your choice: Texas, Cincinnati, Veggie.

Hard to be a Washingtonian and not think of Ben’s Chili Bowl. No holiday necessary to pop in for their famous half smoke topped with chili or just a big bowl of the hot stuff. Tradition.

If you’re in Cincinnati, a city that has its own food trend, Cincinnati Chili, then head over to one of the Gold Star Chili locations (in Cincinnati and in neighboring states) as they get ready to join the festivities. Cincinnati chili lovers have a sweet flavor profile in their ingredient mix and often just shout-out Chili 5-ways, the works.

Texas chili, on the other hand, skips the beans and adds the firepower with some form of chili pepper.

If you’re snowed in and under, then there are plenty of basic recipes worth making. Have your at-home celebration with a cold brewski and watch the 7,000 hours of the Olympics you taped! Make it your way.

Chili today; spring a’comin’.

What do we as diners expect? Really not that many outrageous things. We expect:

–To be greeted upon our arrival at the Reservation Desk. Not that hard.

–To be seated at a table with silverware and glasses. Do not need the annoying upsell bottles of expensive water or wine bottles. Let us decide our beverages.

–To be served water when requested and water glasses to be refilled without having to tackle a server.

–To be guided through the menu if we have a question. Give us a real answer or check with the chef or someone else. A shrug spells uncertainty or disinterest, hard to know which; maybe both.

–To be presented food in a timely fashion. Actually it should be our food, not that of another table that has anxiously been awaiting some sign of food delivery.

–To be given at least warm food. OK, that one’s a little tricky. My warm may be someone’s hot. NOT hot from the plate having sat under the heat lamp at the counter, but the food itself should be served at least warm to the touch.

–To be served fresh bread. Or, here’s an idea, don’t serve bread if it’s stale. Or better yet, don’t heat stale bread and mask it as hot out of the oven!

–To be served an ample number of fries. If fries accompany a dish, they should number more than 10 skinny ones. This is especially touchy when you dine at a restaurant that pairs meat or seafood with fries or their national selection, frites!

–To be recognized and have the bill taken away in a timely fashion. Once the bill is presented and a credit card is visible, it would be nice if someone collects the bill and processes it without our having to do the “YMCA Dance.”

Simple requests. Keep your restaurant in the planning stages until you can deliver. If you open for business, be ready.

We expect service with a smile.

OK, just service will be a good start in the right direction.

We expect it.

Molecular gastronomic chefs have long favored the single bite approach to dining. Even as more restaurant prognosticators call molecular dining dead at the beginning of the new decade, more chefs believe they can play in the performance arena. A little puff of foam and a chef moves into this domain. It’s not that easy, but every restaurateur looks for ways to keep the diners coming.

Many of the true performance creators are masters of their universe of small plates which they believe is a filling and exciting main event. Their small plates become main courses as so much of what they serve in these 9-12 course laden menus are single bites. Incredible bites of flavors that burst open as the item explodes in your mouth. This is not fine dining for everyone. Too many regard it as a too-cute approach that comes with a too-high price tag.

There are small plates and then there are small plates: Some with a hefty price tag that accompanies the workings of a kitchen master. Others in a more reasonable space, once called the appetizer section of a menu, are in place for the air of overall conviviality. They are the more affordable experiences that have trickled down into mainstream dining. Even grocers, with their preponderance of olive and hummus bars, have figured out they can take advantage of this trend.

Small plates emit an air of conviviality and a true sense of hospitality as dining has become an interactive game of taste and smile as we applaud its creative nature.

Let’s share.

–Dunkin’ Donuts celebrates the season with a new flavor: Peppermint Mocha Latte. They also have a special $1.99 small hot latte offer for the new drink and their other choices such as Caramel or Mocha Swirl til the end of the month. Don’t forget that the Peppermint one comes topped with whipped cream and a little mocha squiggle.

–IHOP decided their coffee needed an extra holiday buzz: They’ve added four new flavors to ease our caffeine habit: Hazelnut, French Vanilla, Irish Cream, and Swiss Mocha. They also decided to sweeten their pancakes with several new flavors such as gingerbread and eggnog hotcakes.

–Bruegger’s Bagels does not want to miss the sweet boat and has two new flavors: a Cinnamon Roll Bagel which gets topped with vanilla icing. They also introduced a Cinnamon Cream Coffee.

–Krispy Kreme brought back their snowman-shaped doughnuts.

These are just some sweet thoughts. So many more.

Guess no one thinks we should be watching the calories. All these super-sweet choices should help us reach a sugar high within minutes!

Think I’m there.

When you go to a good restaurant or one considered top tier, it’s OK to order the least expensive wine if it is the type you like or think you’ll like and it is the one that matches your budget. Remember that a good restaurant takes pride in its wine list and has no need to put inferior wines on the list. The old rule was always order the second least expensive one because you can’t trust the least expensive one. Not true. Trust the fine quality restaurant to care about its wine choices. You’ll not be sorry or if you are, they are making the major mistake!

If the restaurant explains its specials and the price is in range with the other menu items, then consider that the chef got excited from going to market or seeing what was the freshest item he could buy today. Sometimes the specials are so good they deserve to be considered as regular menu items; assuming they are available and match the price points. Trust the specials (if they are within the regular menu range).

If you have allergies or certain ingredients seem to cause problems, specify that when ordering. A good server will double check with the chef on specific ingredients and together with the chef will offer suggestions on more suitable selections. If you have major allergies, it is always good to call ahead and make certain you have made a reservation at a restaurant that can accommodate your specific needs.

A good restaurant seldom fails you. They want you to be pleased; to return; to spread the word. It’s a mutual bond: You want to be pleased. Let the praise begin.

Trust the restaurant, and you will be rewarded.

Take last night for example: A cold, wet, rainy East Coast night. Not the kind of evening you want to hang around under an awning outside waiting for a warm indoor table. Why did we do it? Very simple: This restaurant evokes the best of all food memories. They are never on time for their reservations. The owner bustles around talking to everyone, hoping that a four-top will consider the window peepers staring in and have their final conversation of the evening outside, rather than tableside. The window peepers continue their forlorn looks.

In the old days, probably ten years ago, the owner was known to suggest that it was time for guests to move on. They’ve had dinner, dessert, paid the check, OK, now go. He has mellowed somewhat and parades around similarly but has become friends with many of his regulars. At least they view him as a friend. When they finally surrender the table, they give him a big buss. He smiles, but behind his back are the pieces to start resetting that table.

It’s not that the owner is all business. It’s that he feels torn between the two worlds; the world of the diner happily enjoying the last bite of tartufo and the would-be diner anticipating the pasta dish he will soon order. Every so often, the owner comes outside and says, “I know, I know. What am I to do? I can’t make them leave.” See, he has mellowed.

Two colliding universes were outside waiting last evening. There was a family foursome-mother, father, daughter, and son-in-law- who were moody, grumbling, impatient, and threatening numerous times to leave. They were unpleasant in their angst. They confronted the owner several times, and he assured them they were next. I wish they had left. They did not deserve this place.

On the street side, not under the awning, was another foursome; polar opposites to the first group. At one point, they asked us, was it worth staying. It was to be their first visit to this New York West Village Italian gem. We assured them that their table was in the dessert stage of life, and they would happily thank us later in the evening if they stayed. They stayed; they did thank us with beaming platters of tomato sauce dishes in front of them. We knew.

So when a manager, an owner, or a host fulfills his job pleasantly, you wait. At this place, it’s part of the experience. A 9:30 reservation easily drifts to 10:15 or later. The mistake you make is expecting the reservation to be filled near the time of the designation. Don’t bother. There are plenty of cranky restaurants that are willing to lose you as a customer because they do not fulfill the reservation pledge and give off an air of snobbery, of disinterest. That never happens here.

Here you have the shoulder shrug that asks “what am I to do?”  The look of confusion and the comment, “I wish I could seat you now.” When you leave, you thank him. It was as good as always.

All is forgotten until your next reservation!

In New York City any restaurant that has at least 15 outlets throughout the country must post calories. (Same is true in Oregon, and under consideration in California). No escaping it nationwide if the House of Representatives Health Bill becomes law. Mom and Pop here I come. I have a vague idea of what calories are in foods; I’m just not pleased having them jump out at me from the menu.

Will this effort help with obesity? That depends on a lot of things including the overall economy. Since so much fast food costs around a dollar, it is hard to tell people on limited budgets they must forgo those foods. There are multiple ways to approach obesity issues. Menu posting is one with slim appeal.

Let’s look at some examples from a restaurant meal at a steak house. You thought about the salad wedge with bleu cheese–what, it’s over 900 calories! That’s out the window. No wedge. You then begin to read the menu from the calorie counts rather than the foods themselves and make decisions based on low numbers.

Here are some random startling numbers:

–Calamari, 1200 calories

–Roasted chicken, 1500 calories

–Au Gratin potatoes, 1590 calories

–Lobster Mac ‘N’ Cheese, 1560 calories

–Delmonico Steak, 1090 calories

On the light side:

–Shrimp Cocktail, 200 calories

–Broiled Lobster, 120 calories a pound

–Filet mignon, 370 calories

–Salmon, 440 calories

You have the two extremes: Order what you came in to enjoy or make adjustments based on the information. I wonder if lobster orders have increased while chicken dinners have decreased–let me think 200 v 1500 calories. Hmm. Don’t shoot the messenger; don’t blame the restaurant. They’re just complying with the regulations.

I’m fascinated that the research says posting calories on menus has not impacted decision-making. It impacted my decision: No need to tell me what I know. Let me enjoy myself.

Anyway I came for a steak; so half of my order was not ruined! Did I mention we never looked at the dessert menu. How could we? It would be far too scary.

Let me enjoy myself. Don’t preach.

Look, First Lady Michelle Obama who has championed natural foods, locavore decisions, and a White House Garden did not dine out last evening. Instead she showed the movie and invited the cast to join her.  Not too shabby a decision.

A Virginia restaurant has decided to cook up an August prix-fixe menu right from Julia’s cookbook and join with its neighborhood theatre to help guests get tickets if they want to see the show after they have dined.

Then of course, the old Dan Aykryod Saturday Night Julia clip, “The French Chef” has gotten plenty of Hulu viewers.

See, food is fun and challenging: Plenty of time to start Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Here’s your Save the Date card: August 7.

I like the new salad bar concept–not pre-made, nor open double-aisled lines where customers create their own salads, but the new counter version where you choose the type of lettuce you want, the ingredients, the dressing, and all the extra toppings. These new places are different from the first entrant, Cosi, which stepped out into this terrain several years ago. These new companies have dedicated themselves to being green or organic and in the process have elevated the overall appearance of the experience and attention to ingredients.

Sweetgreen should be credited with starting the new concept in the Washington DC area with their yogurt and salad menu. Now they travel the city with what they affectionately call Sweetflow Mobile to reach out to more yogurt fans. The concept was created by 3 Georgetown U students (yes, they did eventually graduate), and they have successfully targeted the community’s love for freshness.

Their major new competition is from Organic to Go (OgoBethesda) which had a less pleasant ride into the marketplace including a shift in management and strategy. Their Bethesda, MD location is directly across the street from Sweetgreen and serves as the model for the company’s future expansion. Both have outdoor tables so you can just sit and watch competition in action. It’s a fun game. Yogurt’s not the second focus here but pizza and sandwiches make this concept a favorite for those looking for more than a salad.

Let’s break it down: Both Sweetgreen and Ogo tout their environmentally friendly approach to products (all compostable and recyclable, ecologically sound dining). We should feel good about their purchasing power and supportive of their efforts.

As for the taste test, I prefer the organic approach and the breadth of possibilities at Ogo. So many choices to personalize my meal. I did salad:salad matching of ingredients and preferred the end result at Ogo. Pricewise they scored high as well. They both offer pleasant outdoor dining, so that’s a draw, but Ogo wins the indoor contest as their space is more ample and less claustrophobic. The fact that it is less chaotic makes the overall experience more pleasant.

I have never eaten this much salad in my life. It’s seldom of interest to me, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the new salad experience.

I could grow to like arugula!