Celebrating the holidays in style may seem like a daunting task when resources and time are limited. This year, party hosts can create festive and memorable events by utilizing creative cocktail and cooking techniques that capture the "spirits" of the season. Van Gogh® Vodka Brand Ambassador Doug Luciani, suggests utilizing the flavors of the holidays to impress guests with festive cocktails, seasonal garnishes and creative table and bar presentations. Recipe Eyeball Martini 3 oz. Van Gogh Vodka or Van Gogh Gin, hint of dry vermouth Pour ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for five seconds and strain into martini glass. Garnish with an olive stuffed radish that has been scored to create the “veins” of an eyeball.
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Catering News: Skorr Products, a leading supplier of catering quality domestic wire chafers, announced that it is providing wire chafers to Qdoba Mexican Grill, a nouveau-Mexican fast-casual restaurant chain and subsidiary of Jack in the Box Inc., with more than 430 locations nationally. The wire chafers will be included in large catered or self catered Qdoba orders. The food warming stands, known as wire chafers, keep food hot during a party or gathering as wire frames support food trays over "keep warm" flames. This frees those hosting the party from kitchen duty since guests serve themselves buffet-style. "The chafers help us provide customers with hot, fresh food virtually anywhere at no extra cost," says Chris Bingel, Qdoba Catering Brand Specialist. "Even the meat stays tender and juicy, marinating and slow cooking on site, if the party or meeting goes long." Skorr wire chafers have won the Best Quality Award from the Professional Chefs Association, according to the company. Skorr Products can be reached at 973.523. or www.skorrproducts.com

Dedicated catering companies aren’t the only ones in the catering business these days. Rising oil prices, a sluggish economy and shrinking margins are forcing more restaurants to turn to catering to boost their sales and profits. “Restaurants that cater operate differently than dedicated catering companies,” says Michael Attias, president and founder of Restaurant Catering Systems. “That is why I set out to create a web based software application to manage a restaurant’s catering, from operations to marketing.” “This system will easily add an extra hour a day of productivity for the average operator. The integrated marketing functionality was created to lock in customer loyalty,” Attias discussed. Michael is available for a live web based demonstration to discuss this application and how his systems are critical to restaurants that cater, regardless of whether they utilize his system or not. To schedule an interview with Michael call 615-831-1676 or e-mail: Michael@RestaurantCateringSystems.com.
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Samuel Adams® OctoberFest was brewed to celebrate the arrival of autumn. The first thing that is noticed when pouring a glass of this seasonal beer is the color. Samuel Adams OctoberFest has a rich, deep golden amber hue, which itself is reflective of the season. The strong malt character in Samuel Adams OctoberFest match the flavors in meat dishes like roasted pork tenderloin and pot roast. The sweetness of OctoberFest contrast with the spicy flavors in hot sausage, chorizo and the complexities in bratwurst and BBQ ribs. Samuel Adams OctoberFest is also a match to the rich, caramel and vanilla flavors in desserts like crème brulee. This hearty lager is rich with a blend of four malts – Harrington, Caramel, Munich, and Moravian to create a delicious harmony of sweet flavors.
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Hotel Happenings:
A Hilton brand hotel will join a previously announced Courtyard by Marriott on South Broadway Avenue in Tyler. The Homewood Suites by Hilton will be a four-story, 92-room lodging facility. After construction begins each hotel will take about 12 months to complete.

The new Hampton Inn and Suites in DeSoto opened in September. The hotel is located just south of the intersection of I-35 and I-20 at 1311 East Centre Park Blvd., offering easy access to any part of the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

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Tony’s Bar Supplies Co., located in Houston, is now offering their Precision Pours with a heavy cork which fits oversized bottles such as Patron, 1800 Cuervo, Bombay Sapphire, Wild Turkey and also most 1.75 liter bottles. As Houston's oldest and complete bar supply company since 1963, Tony’s Bar Supply Company sells everything a restaurant or bar needs, except the alcohol. The company can be reached at www.tonysbarsupplies.com or 888.641.2277.

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Green Lily Events, an event planning company that accommodates the environmentally aware, was  selected to host a bridal industry networking party for the No. 1 wedding website, The Knot. The “Go Green with The Knot” event took place recently in the Crystal Ballroom at the Rice. Green Lily Events collaborated with Austin-based DMX, Inc. a leading provider of multisensory branding, to provide an unforgettable scent journey for the event. Through the use of eco-friendly scent sticks, DMX integrated a natural and fresh aura that coincided with the stylish ‘green’ theme that Green Lily Events had created. DMX services include music design, full-motion video, audio messaging and environmental scents developed to provide brand texture for its customers and create integrated, multisensory environments that drive repeat business. For more information, visit www.dmx.com.
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Tulkoff Food Products, Inc. offers some of the finest products for the foodservice, retail, and industrial industry. They have state-of-the-art, AIB compliant facilities that are able to accommodate the needs of each specific industry. They specialize in co packing, private labeling, and cross merchandising. From mainstays such horseradish and garlic to culinary innovations such as horseradish blue cheese butter and chipotle chili aioli, they offer the food industry the consistency, quality, and innovation necessary to meet demanding consumer needs. Tulkoff reaches out to broadline distributors, chain distributors and specialty distributors through services such as private labeling, formula creation, brand choice, and an array of packaging options. For more information, Call 800.638.7343.
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Lake Champlain Chocolates is now offering their newest product, an organic Honey Fig Truffle. Organics are nothing new to Vermont where nearly 10% of the state’s farms are organic and demand for organic dairy exceeds supply. And in its 25th year, Lake Champlain Chocolates is ready to present its second offering in the realm of organic chocolate, a complete line of eight organic truffles nearly two years in the making. “Organic isn’t a trend, it’s a way of life. Eating pure foods is the way nature intended.” said Allyson Myers, Director of Sales for Lake Champlain Chocolates. “Our new Organic Truffles offer both purity and decadence, with no loss of flavor or experience.” Call 800.465.5909 for ordering details.


Snappy Salads, the first eco-friendly salad restaurant in Dallas, is bringing a new focus to soft drinks. Snappy Salads is now carrying all-natural soft drinks sweetened with cane sugar by Boylan in an effort to steer away from high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). There has been much research and discussion on the unhealthy effects of HFCS. It is found in a variety of food items such as hot dog buns, low-fat yogurt, ketchup, applesauce, and the biggest culprit – soft drinks. "I am certainly not the health police, but I do want to offer my guests the healthiest options possible, which is why we switched to Boylan All-Natural sodas," said Chris Dahlander, founder and president of Snappy Salads. Offering Cane Cola, Diet Cane Cola and Root Beer, Snappy Salads is one of the first restaurants to carry Boylan products east of the Mississippi.
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Blue Mesa Grill will celebrate 20 years in the Dallas/Fort-Worth market on October 14 with parties at all five locations – a free, open to the public celebration of menu classics as well as the local bounty of area farmers.
In addition, Blue Mesa will be honoring the five charities it has supported through the Tacos for a Cause program, an ongoing fundraiser that has donated over $80,000 to Baal Dan, Carroll Education Foundation, Lena Pope Home, Vogel Alcove and the newest beneficiary, Operation Kindness. “Blue Mesa, as a local Texas brand, has at it’s core a commitment to be involved in the local community and support local charities. It is our way to support the community that has so strongly supported us” comments Jim Baron, co-founder of Blue Mesa. Blue Mesa Grill can be reached at www.bluemesagrill.com.

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Henry S. Miller Commercial recently negotiated the lease for the newest Best Buffet restaurant at the Hilltop Square Shopping Center in North Richland Hills. The Chinese-cuisine restaurant will occupy 5,000 square feet near the corner of Hilltop Drive and Rufe Snow Drive. Hilltop Square Shopping Center is located at 6455 Hilltop Drive. The shopping center is owned, managed and listed by Henry S. Miller Companies. Henry S. Miller Commercial’s, Daniel Harris, Vice President of Retail Division represented the landlord, Henry S. Miller Companies. Wayne Lee of AAA Realtors represented the tenant, Best Buffet of Saginaw, Texas.
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In effect now, professionals involved in risk management and legal defense pertaining to the retail and restaurant industries can benefit from membership in an independent, non-profit retail and restaurant networking association. The National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association (NRRDA) is comprised of retail and restaurant industry representatives, insurance professionals, in-house counsel, attorneys and vendors devoted to the defense of these industries. “The National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association is proud to announce its formation, and serves as the first organization of its kind,” said Brian Cafritz, President of NRRDA.
For more info visit www.nrrda.org or call 847-324-7050.

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Delmar, a part of Cengage Learning, revealed the publication of Advanced Bread and Pastry by Chef Michel Suas of the San Francisco Baking Institute. Advanced Bread and Pastry: A Professional Approach (ISBN: 1-4180-1169-X, $66.95) debuted to foodservice educators and other culinary professionals at the 2008 national convention of the American Culinary Federation, Inc., July 15-16 in Las Vegas. Suas delivered a demonstration on July 17 titled “Beautiful Bread: Create a Variety of Breads Using Just One Dough” as part of ACF’s professional-development series. Advanced Bread and Pastry is a comprehensive guide to bread, viennoiserie, and pastry that balances a respect for tradition with modern approaches to method and technique. It is written to help today’s baker respond to the recent evolution of ingredients, products, and presentation. The book’s formulas, or recipes, are based on a variety of classical methods and processes. The author, Michel Suas, is an internationally known baking and pastry chef and founder of the San Francisco Baking Institute.
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Merchant Warehouse a premier provider of merchant accounts and credit card processing solutions for small- and mid-sized businesses, has unveiled a solution that greatly reduces the possibility of card holder data loss in the event of a network security breach, according to the company. The new product, MerchantWARE, also makes complying with the payment card industry data security standards (PCI DSS) much simpler and more affordable. “PCI DSS standards are a great starting point, but there is a major flaw in that they fail to address the issue of unencrypted card information on private networks. In fact, recent high-profile data breaches likely could have been avoided had the data been protected at the point of the card swipe,” said Henry Helgeson, President and Co-CEO of Merchant Warehouse. “Instead of building a bigger wall around the data ‘vault’ with expensive hardware and data security systems, the MerchantWARE solution simply removes everything of value to a thief. With no data to be hacked, the PCI compliance process becomes much more streamlined and affordable for the smaller merchant.” Merchant Warehouse was founded in 1998. For detailed company information visit ww.merchantwarehouse.com.

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American Italian Pasta Company, the largest producer of dry pasta in North America and longtime leading provider of pasta to the foodservice industry, has extended its foodservice offerings with the launch of imported dry pasta brand, Pasta Lensi Pasta Chef®. The company will offer 12 pasta shapes under the Pasta Lensi label. Made with 100 percent durum wheat semolina, Pasta Lensi is a premium quality pasta imported from AIPC’S pasta production facility in Verolanuova, Italy. “With rising food costs on several foodservice staples challenging the profits of foodservice operators, pasta continues to offer a way to not only control food costs, but also to deliver new and exciting dishes to customers,” said Brian Fox, Vice President of Foodservice at AIPC. “Pasta Lensi is an ideal pasta for authentic Italian, fine dining or upscale casual restaurants that are looking to differentiate themselves with an imported Italian pasta offering,” said Mark Anthony Prece CEC, AIPC’s Corporate Executive Chef. In addition to Pasta Lensi, AIPC offers the following pasta brands for the foodservice channel through broadline and specialty foodservice distributors across North America.

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New Iced Lattes, exclusively formulated with 100% Colombian Coffee and offered in a state-of-the-art package, are now available to quick-serve restaurants, convenience stores, theme parks, and other foodservice outlets. The new line of premium Ready-to-Serve coffee beverages - marketed by Coffeecol under the Juan Valdez brand are housed in cooling units and dispensed from Multiserve SafePaks™, the latest advance in aseptic packaging and dispensing available exclusively from International Dispensing Corporation. Coffeecol was founded in 1988.
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Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in the Watters Creek Development in Allen is now open, serving award-winning, hand-tossed, coal-fired brick oven pizzas as well as calzones, salads and desserts. With Frank Sinatra crooning in the background, Grimaldi’s brings to Allen over 100-years of pizza making traditions and the tantalizing aroma of pizza and calzones baked to perfection in the signature coal burning oven. Patsy Grimaldi is a purest when it comes to pizza, learning the trade from his Uncle Lancieri who trained with the man credited with opening the first pizzeria in America in 1905. Lancieri opened Patsy’s Pizzeria in East Harlem (1931) where Grimaldi learned the art of coal-fired brick ovens pizza at just 10 years of age. Eventually Grimaldi opened his own Pizzeria in Brooklyn. With locations in New York, Las Vegas, Arizona, Dallas and now Allen, additional locations in Houston, and San Antonio are on the drawing board. Visit www.grimaldispizzeria.com for more information.
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Aladdin Bakers Inc., is now offering their Flatbread Panini bread. The bread is a specially formulated, pre-oiled, hand-stretched (for fluffiness, a traditional homestyle look) flat bread. Aladdin Panini is pre-oiled using canola oil. More expensive than other oils, it has a higher "flash point" (burning temperature) than many other oils, which produces a super flavor. Grilled, this oil tends not to burn; it turns golden brown. The soft and puffy texture of the bread is preferred by restaurateurs and consumers alike, according to the company. Aladdin Flatbread Panini has a longer shelf life than most alternatives. 1 year frozen, or 14 days fresh/thawed out, saving the end user money and time. They also offer Breadsticks, Frozen Bagels, Gordita Breads, along with many others. Aladdin Bakers Inc. can be reached at 718.499.1818.

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Tornado is now offering a new approach to floor sweeping. The Upsweep 32 Manual Sweeper system has a unique Quadra Brush system to make sweeping faster and more effective, according to the company. The system includes twin brushes for edge cleaning and twin main roller brushes to pick up dirt, dust, and soil. And the upsweep motion makes sure all contaminants go in the dustpan - not back into the air as with conventional sweepers. Sweep up material as small as the finest dust particulates or as large as a soda can; it's no problem for the Upsweep 32 Manual Sweeper. Tornado Industries has been designing and engineering quality cleaning equipment for more than 75 years. Tornado® is located at 7401 W. Lawrence Ave. in Chicago and can be reached at www.tornadovac.com or 800-VACUUMS.

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Today's Restaurant News · P.O. Box 273264
Boca Raton, FL 33427-3264

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