A restaurant prepares and serves food, drink and dessert to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearance and offerings, including a wide variety of the main chef’s cuisines and service models. While inns and taverns were known from antiquity, these were establishments aimed at travellers, and in general locals would rarely eat there. Modern restaurants, as businesses dedicated to the serving of food, and where specific dishes are ordered by the guest and generally prepared according to this order, emerged only in 18th-century Europe, although similar establishments had also developed in China. A restaurant owner is called a restaurateur; both words derive from the French verb restaurer, meaning “to restore”. Professional artisans of cooking are called chefs, while preparation staff and line cooks prepare food items in a more systematic and less artistic fashion. Food catering establishments which may be described as restaurants were known since the 11th century dental assistant salary in Kaifeng, China’s northern capital during the first half of the Song Dynasty (960–1279). With a population of over 1,000,000 people, a culture of hospitality and a paper currency, Kaifeng was ripe for the development of restaurants. Probably growing out of the tea houses and taverns that catered to travellers, Kaifeng’s restaurants blossomed into an industry catering to locals as well as people from other regions of China.. Stephen H. West argues that there is a direct correlation between the growth of the restaurant businesses and institutions of theatrical stage drama, gambling and prostitution which served the burgeoning merchant middle class during the Song Dynasty.. Restaurants catered to different styles of cuisine, price brackets, and religious requirements. Even within a single restaurant much choice was available, and people ordered the entree they wanted from written menus.. An account from 1275 writes of Hangzhou, the capital city for the last half of the dynasty: “The people of Hangzhou are very difficult to please. Hundreds of orders are given on all sides: medical assistant salary this person wants something hot, another something cold, a third something tepid, a fourth something chilled; one wants cooked food, another raw, another chooses roast, another grill”.. The restaurants in Hangzhou also catered to many northern Chinese who had fled south from Kaifeng during the Jurchen invasion of the 1120s, while it is also known that many restaurants were run by families formerly from Kaifeng.. Restaurants range from unpretentious lunching or dining places catering to people working nearby, with simple food served in simple settings at low prices, to expensive establishments serving refined food and wines in a formal setting. In the former case, customers usually wear casual clothing. In the latter case, depending on culture and local traditions, customers might wear semi-casual, semi-formal, or even in rare cases formal wear. Typically, customers sit at tables, their orders are taken by a waiter, who brings the food when it is ready, and the customers pay the bill before leaving. In finer restaurants there will be a host or hostess or Phlebotomy training even a maître d’hôtel to welcome customers and to seat them. Other staff waiting on customers include busboys and sommeliers. Restaurants often specialize in certain types of food or present a certain unifying, and often entertaining, theme. For example, there are seafood restaurants, vegetarian restaurants or ethnic restaurants. Generally speaking, restaurants selling food characteristic of the local culture are simply called restaurants, while restaurants selling food of foreign cultural origin are called accordingly, Depending on local customs and the establishment, restaurants may or may not serve alcohol. Restaurants are often prohibited from selling alcohol without a meal by alcohol sale laws; such sale is considered to be activity for bars, which are meant to have more severe restrictions. Some restaurants are licensed to serve alcohol (“fully licensed”), and/or permit customers to “bring your own” alcohol (BYO / BYOB).. In some places restaurant licenses may restrict service to beer, or wine and beer.. Restaurant guides review restaurants, often ranking them or providing information for consumer decisions (type of food, handicap accessibility, medical billing job facilities, etc). In 12th century Hangzhou (mentioned above as the location of the first restaurant), signs could often be found posted in the city square listing the restaurants in the area and local customer’s opinions of the quality of their food. This was an occasion for bribery and even violence.. One of the most famous contemporary guides, in Western Europe, is the Michelin series of guides which accord from 1 to 3 stars to restaurants they perceive to be of high culinary merit. Restaurants with stars in the Michelin guide are formal, expensive establishments; in general the more stars awarded, the higher the prices. The main competitor to the Michelin guide in Europe is the guidebook series published by Gault Millau. Unlike the Michelin guide which takes the restaurant décor and service into consideration with its rating, Gault Millau only judges the quality of the food. Its ratings are on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being the highest. In the United States, the Forbes Travel Guide (previously physician assistant the Mobil travel guides) and the AAA rate restaurants on a similar 1 to 5 star (Forbes) or diamond (AAA) scale. Three, four, and five star/diamond ratings are roughly equivalent to the Michelin one, two, and three star ratings while one and two star ratings typically indicate more casual places to eat. In 2005, Michelin released a New York City guide, its first for the United States. The popular Zagat Survey compiles individuals’ comments about restaurants but does not pass an “official” critical assessment. In the United Kingdom, diners can freely express their opinion on where they eat in The people’s UK restaurant guide. In the United States Gault Millau is published as the Gayot guide, after founder Andre Gayot. Its restaurant ratings use the same 20 point system, and are all published online. The Good Food Guide, published by the Fairfax Newspaper Group in Australia, is the Australian guide listing the best places to eat. Chefs Hats are awarded for outstanding restaurants and range from one hat through three nono hair removal hats. The Good Food Guide also incorporates guides to bars, cafes and providers. The Good Restaurant Guide is another Australian restaurant guide that has reviews on the restaurants as experienced by the public and provides information on locations and contact details. Any member of the public can submit a review. Nearly all major American newspapers employ food critics and publish online dining guides for the cities they serve. A few papers maintain a reputation for thorough and thoughtful review of restaurants to the standard of the good published guides, but others provide more of a listings service. More recently Internet sites have started up that publish both food critic reviews and popular reviews by the general public. Their major competition comes from bloggers, particularly publishers of food blogs, also called foodies. These writers and publishers represent the common dining aficionado rather than the gourmet, and thus do not provide “official” reviews, but nonetheless are capable of garnering large, loyal followings. As of 2006, there are approximately 215,000 full-service restaurants in mobile phone deals the United States, accounting for $298 billion, and approximately 250,000 limited-service (fast food) restaurants, accounting for $260 billion… One study of new restaurants in Cleveland, Ohio found that 1 in 4 changed ownership or went out of business after one year, and 6 out of 10 did so after three years. (Not all changes in ownership are indicative of financial failure.). The three-year failure rate for franchises was nearly the same.. Types of restaurants There are various types of restaurants. Restaurants fall into several industry classifications based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing. Additionally, how the food is served to the customer helps to determine the classification. Historically, restaurant referred only to places that provided tables where one sat down to eat the meal, typically served by a waiter. Following the rise of fast food and take-out restaurants, a retronym for the older “standard” restaurant was created, sit-down restaurant. Most commonly, “sit-down restaurant” refers to a casual dining restaurant with table service, rather than a fast food restaurant, where Colorado Springs Realtors one orders food at a counter. Sit-down restaurants are often further categorized as “family-style” or “formal”. In British English, the term restaurant almost always means an eating establishment with table service, so the “sit-down” qualification is not usually necessary. Fast food and takeaway (take-out) outlets with counter service are not normally referred to as restaurants. Outside of North-America, the terms fast casual dining restaurants, family style, and casual dining are not used. Junk food establishments would also not often be referred to as a ‘restaurant’. A casual dining restaurant is a restaurant that serves moderately-priced food in a casual atmosphere. Except for buffet-style restaurants, casual dining restaurants typically provide table service. Casual dining comprises a market segment between fast food establishments and fine dining restaurants.. Casual dining restaurants usually have a full bar with separate bar staff, a larger beer menu and a limited wine menu. They are frequently, but not necessarily, part of a wider chain, particularly in the United States. Entrepreneur Norman Brinker was the “father” of casual cheap auto insurance dining.. Family style restaurants are restaurants that have a fixed menu and fixed price, usually with diners seated at a communal table such as on bench seats. True to their name, these restaurants tend to be single-family businesses. Fast food restaurants emphasize speed of service. Operations range from small-scale street vendors with carts to franchised mega-corporations like McDonald’s. Fast casual restaurants do not offer table service, but may offer non-disposable plates and cutlery. The quality of food, and price point, are higher than those of a conventional fast food restaurant. Fine dining restaurants are full service restaurants with specific dedicated meal courses. Décor of such restaurants feature higher quality materials with an eye towards the “atmosphere” desired by the restaurateur. The wait staff is usually highly trained and often wears more formal attire. Fine-dining restaurants are almost always small businesses and are generally either single-location operations or have just a few locations. Food portions are smaller but more visually appealing. Fine dining restaurants have certain rules of dining which must cheap iphone be followed by visitors.. Most of these establishments can be considered subtypes of fast casual dining restaurants or casual dining restaurants. In France, a brasserie is a café doubling as a restaurant and serving single dishes and other meals in a relaxed setting. A bistro is a familiar name for a café serving moderately priced simple meals in an unpretentious setting, especially in Paris; bistros have become increasingly popular with tourists. When used in English, the term bistro usually indicates either a fast casual dining restaurant with a European-influenced menu or a cafés with a larger menu of food. Buffets and smörgåsbord offer patrons a selection of food at a fixed price. Food is served on trays around bars, from which customers with plates serve themselves. The selection can be modest or very extensive, with the more elaborate menus divided into categories such as salad, soup, appetizers, hot entrées, cold entrées, and dessert and fruit. Often the range of cuisine can be eclectic, while other restaurants focus on a specific Perfect Weddings Singapore type, such as home-cooking, Chinese, Indian, or Swedish. The role of the waiter or waitress in this case is relegated to removal of finished plates, and sometimes the ordering and refill of drinks. In the United States, Buffets, Inc., is a large buffet chain corporation which owns Old Country Buffet, Country Buffet, and HomeTown Buffet. HomeTown Buffet popularized the “scatter buffet”, which refers to the layout of separate food pavilions. Other American restaurant chains well-known for their buffets include Golden Corral, which features food products presented in pans, Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes (known in particular for its soups and salads), Gatti’s Pizza, CiCi’s Pizza, Fresh Choice (a smaller competitor of Souplantation), Pancho’s Mexican Buffet, Ryan’s and Ponderosa Steakhouse. Sizzler is another prominent restaurant offering a buffet. Cafés and coffee shops are informal restaurants offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches. Many cafés are open for breakfast and serve full hot breakfasts. In some areas cafés offer outdoor seating. The major difference with a café and most other casual dining establishments Singapore wedding is how the guest orders and pays. A café can offer table service, but many times the guest orders at the front, and the food is brought out to the table. Then, while at most casual dining restaurants the guest pays with the server, at a café the guest most often times pays with a single cashier. A cafeteria is a restaurant serving mostly ready-cooked food arranged behind a food-serving counter. There is little or no table service. Typically, a patron takes a tray and pushes it along a track in front of the counter. Depending on the establishment, servings may be ordered from attendants, selected as ready-made portions already on plates, or self-serve their own portions. In the UK, a cafeteria may also offer a large selection of hot food similar to the American fast casual restaurant, and the use of the term cafeteria is deprecated in favour of self-service restaurant. Coffeehouses are casual restaurants without table service that emphasize coffee and other beverages; typically a limited selection of bali hotels cold foods such as pastries and perhaps sandwiches are offered as well. Their distinguishing feature is that they allow patrons to relax and socialize on their premises for long periods of time without pressure to leave promptly after eating, and are thus frequently chosen as sites for meetings. A destination restaurant is one that has a strong enough appeal to draw customers from beyond its community.. Despite the name, this form of restaurant is not Mongolian, actually derived from Taiwan and inspired by Japanese teppanyaki.. Customers create a bowl from an assortment of ingredients displayed in a buffet fashion. The bowl is then handed to the cook, who stir-fries the food on a large griddle and returns it on a plate or in a bowl to the consumer. Mainly in the UK and other countries influenced by British culture, a pub (short for public house) is a bar that serves simple food fare. Traditionally, pubs were primarily drinking establishments with food in a decidedly secondary position, whereas the modern pub free credit report business relies on food as well, to the point where gastropubs are often essentially fine-dining establishments, known for their high-quality pub food and concomitantly high prices. A typical pub has a large selection of beers and ales on tap. In North America, many restaurants specializing in Japanese cuisine offer the teppanyaki grill, which is more accurately based on a type of charcoal stove that is called shichirin in Japan. Diners, often in multiple, unrelated parties, sit around the grill while a chef prepares their food orders in front of them. Often the chef is trained in entertaining the guests with special techniques, including cracking a spinning egg in the air, forming a volcano out of differently-sized onion slices, and flipping grilled shrimp pieces into patrons’ mouths, in addition to various props. Fast food restaurant A fast food restaurant, sometimes known as a quick service restaurant or QSR, is a specific type of restaurant characterized both by its fast food cuisine and by minimal table service. Food served in fast food Ebook Readers restaurants typically caters to a “meat-sweet diet” and is offered from a limited menu; is cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot; is finished and packaged to order; and is usually available ready to take away, though seating may be provided. Fast food restaurants are usually part of a restaurant chain or franchise operation, which provisions standardized ingredients and/or partially prepared foods and supplies to each restaurant through controlled supply channels. The term “fast food” was recognized in a dictionary by Merriam–Webster in 1951.. Arguably the first fast food restaurants originated in the United States with White Castle in 1916.. Today, American-founded fast food chains such as McDonald’s and KFC are multinational corporations with outlets across the globe. Variations on the fast food restaurant concept include fast casual restaurants and catering trucks. Fast casual restaurants have higher sit-in ratios, and customers can sit and have their orders brought to them. Catering trucks often park just outside worksites and are popular with factory workers. Some trace the modern history of Elliptical Machine fast food in America to July 7, 1912, with the opening of a fast food restaurant called the Automat in New York. The Automat was a cafeteria with its prepared foods behind small glass windows and coin-operated slots. Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart had already opened the first Horn & Hardart Automat in Philadelphia in 1902, but their “Automat” at Broadway and 13th Street, in New York City, created a sensation. Numerous Automat restaurants were built around the country to deal with the demand. Automats remained extremely popular throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The company also popularized the notion of “take-out” food, with their slogan “Less work for Mother”. The American company White Castle is generally credited with opening the second fast-food outlet in Wichita, Kansas in 1921, selling hamburgers for five cents from its inception and spawned numerous competitors. It is arguable because most historians and Secondary School textbooks state that A&W was the first fast food restaurant, which opened in 1919.(E. Tavares) The hamburger restaurant concept which is website laten maken most associated with the term “fast food” was created by two brothers originally from Nashua, New Hampshire. Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened a barbecue drive-in in 1940 in the city of San Bernardino, California. After discovering that most of their profits came from hamburgers, the brothers closed their restaurant for three months and reopened it in 1948 as a walk-up stand offering a simple menu of hamburgers, french fries, shakes, coffee, and Coca-Cola, served in disposable paper wrapping. As a result, they were able to produce hamburgers and fries constantly, without waiting for customer orders, and could serve them immediately; hamburgers cost 15 cents, about half the price at a typical diner. Their streamlined production method, which they named the “Speedee Service System” was influenced by the production line innovations of Henry Ford. By 1954, The McDonald brothers’ stand was restaurant equipment manufacturer Prince Castle’s biggest purchaser of milkshake blending machines. Prince Castle salesman Ray Kroc traveled to California to discover why the company had purchased almost a stop dog barking dozen of the units as opposed to the normal one or two found in most restaurants of the time. Enticed by the success of the McDonald’s concept, Kroc signed a franchise agreement with the brothers and began opening McDonald’s restaurants in Illinois.. By 1961, Kroc had bought out the brothers and created what is now the modern McDonald’s Corporation. One of the major parts of his business plan was to promote cleanliness of his restaurants to growing groups of Americans that had become aware of food safety issues. As part of his commitment to cleanliness, Kroc often took part in cleaning his own Des Plaines, Illinois outlet by hosing down the garbage cans and scraping gum off the cement. Another concept Kroc added was great swaths of glass which enabled the customer to view the food preparation, a practice still found in chains such as Krispy Kreme. A clean atmosphere was only part of Kroc’s grander plan which separated McDonald’s from the rest of the competition and attributes to their free online dating great success. Kroc envisioned making his restaurants appeal to suburban families.. At roughly the same time as Kroc was conceiving what eventually became McDonald’s Corporation, two Miami, Florida businessmen, James McLamore and David Edgerton, opened a franchise of the predecessor to what is now the international fast food restaurant chain Burger King. McLamore had visited the original McDonald’s hamburger stand belonging to the McDonald brothers; sensing potential in their innovative assembly line-based production system, he decided he wanted to open a similar operation of his own… The two partners eventually decided to invest their money in Jacksonville, Florida-based Insta-Burger King. Originally opened in 1953, the founders and owners of the chain, Kieth J. Kramer and his wife’s uncle Matthew Burns, opened their first stores around a piece of equipment known as the Insta-Broiler. The Insta-Broiler oven proved so successful at cooking burgers, they required all of their franchises to carry the device.. By 1959 McLamore and Edgarton were operating several locations within the Miami-Dade area and were growing at a Cheap Contact Lenses fast clip. Despite the success of their operation, the partners discovered that the design of the insta-broiler made the unit’s heating elements prone to degradation from the drippings of the beef patties. The pair eventually created a mechanized gas grill that avoided the problems by changing the way the meat patties were cooked in the unit. After the original company began to falter in 1959, it was purchased by McLamore and Edgerton who renamed the company Burger King.. While fast food restaurants usually have a seating area in which customers can eat the food on the premises, orders are designed to be taken away, and traditional table service is rare. Orders are generally taken and paid for at a wide counter, with the customer waiting by the counter for a tray or container for their food. A “drive-through” service can allow customers to order and pick up food from their cars. Nearly from its inception, fast food has been designed to be eaten “on the go” and often does not coupons require traditional cutlery and is eaten as a finger food. Common menu items at fast food outlets include fish and chips, sandwiches, pitas, hamburgers, fried chicken, french fries, chicken nuggets, tacos, pizza, and ice cream, although many fast food restaurants offer “slower” foods like chili, mashed potatoes, and salads. Modern commercial fast food is highly processed and prepared on a large scale from bulk ingredients using standardized cooking and production methods and equipment. It is usually rapidly served in cartons or bags or in a plastic wrapping, in a fashion which reduces operating costs by allowing rapid product identification and counting, promoting longer holding time, avoiding transfer of bacteria, and facilitating order fulfillment. In most fast food operations, menu items are generally made from processed ingredients prepared at a central supply facilities and then shipped to individual outlets where they are cooked (usually by grill, microwave, or deep-frying) or assembled in a short amount of time either in anticipation of upcoming orders (i.e., “to stock”) or in response to actual cash advance orders (i.e., “to order”). Following standard operating procedures, pre-cooked products are monitored for freshness and disposed of if holding times become excessive. This process ensures a consistent level of product quality, and is key to delivering the order quickly to the customer and avoiding labor and equipment costs in the individual stores. Because of commercial emphasis on taste, speed, product safety, uniformity, and low cost, fast food products are made with ingredients formulated to achieve an identifiable flavor, aroma, texture, and “mouth feel” and to preserve freshness and control handling costs during preparation and order fulfillment. This requires a high degree of food engineering. The use of additives, including salt, sugar, flavorings and preservatives, and processing techniques may limit the nutritional value of the final product. A value meal is a group of menu items offered together at a lower price than they would cost individually. They are common at fast food restaurants. Value meals are a common merchandising tactic to facilitate bundling, up-selling, and price discrimination. Most of the Car Insurance time they can be upgraded to a larger size of fries and drink for a small fee. The perceived creation of a “discount” on individual menu items in exchange for the purchase of a “meal” is also consistent with the loyalty marketing school of thought.. In order to make speedy service possible and to ensure accuracy and security, many fast food restaurants have incorporated hospitality point of sale systems. This makes it possible for kitchen crew people to view orders placed at the front counter or drive through in real time. Wireless systems allow orders placed at drive through speakers to be taken by cashiers and cooks. Drive through and walk through configurations will allow orders to be taken at one register and paid at another. Modern point of sale systems can operate on computer networks using a variety of software programs. Sales records can be generated and remote access to computer reports can be given to corporate offices, managers, troubleshooters, and other authorized personnel. Food service chains partner with Payday Loans food equipment manufacturers to design highly specialized restaurant equipment, often incorporating heat sensors, timers, and other electronic controls into the design. Collaborative design techniques, such as rapid visualization and parametric modeling of restaurant kitchens are now being used to establish equipment specifications that are consistent with restaurant operating and merchandising requirements.. In the United States alone, consumers spent about $110 billion on fast food in 2000 (which increased from $6 billion in 1970).. The National Restaurant Association forecasts that fast food restaurants in the U.S. will reach $142 billion in sales in 2006, a 5% increase over 2005. In comparison, the full-service restaurant segment of the food industry is expected to generate $173 billion in sales. Fast food has been losing market share to so-called fast casual restaurants, which offer more robust and expensive cuisines. McDonald’s, a noted fast food supplier, opened its first franchised restaurant in the US in 1955 (1974 in the UK). It has become a phenomenally successful enterprise in terms of financial growth, brand-name recognition, and tenant screening worldwide expansion. Ray Kroc, who bought the franchising license from the McDonald brothers, pioneered many concepts which emphasized standardization. He introduced uniform products, identical in all respects at each outlet, to increase sales. At the same time, Kroc also insisted on cutting food costs as much as possible, eventually using the McDonald’s Corporation’s size to force suppliers to conform to this ethos. Other prominent international fast food companies include Burger King, the number two hamburger chain in the world, known for promoting its customized menu offerings (Have it Your Way). Multinational corporations typically modify their menus to cater to local tastes and most overseas outlets are owned by native franchisees. McDonald’s in India, for example, uses lamb rather than beef in its burgers because Hinduism traditionally forbids eating beef. In Israel some McDonald’s restaurants are kosher and respect the Jewish Shabbat; there is also a kosher McDonald’s in Argentina. In Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Singapore, all menu items are halal. Many fast food operations have more local and Meladerm regional roots, such as White Castle in the Midwest United States, along with Hardee’s (owned by CKE Restaurants, which also owns Carl’s Jr., whose locations are primarily on the United States West Coast); Krystal, Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits, Cook Out, and Zaxby’s restaurants in the American Southeast; Raising Cane’s in Louisiana; Hot ‘n Now in Michigan and Wisconsin; In-N-Out Burger (in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah), Happi House in Northern California, and Original Tommy’s chains in Southern California; Dick’s Drive-In in Seattle, Washington and Arctic Circle in Utah and other western states; Halo Burger around Flint, Michigan and Burgerville in the Portland, Oregon area. Also, Whataburger is a popular burger chain in the South and Mexico, and Jack in the Box is located in the West and South. Canada pizza chains Topper’s Pizza and Pizza Pizza are primarily located in Ontario. Coffee chain Country Style operates only in Ontario, and competes with the famous coffee and donut chain Tim Hortons. Maid-Rite restaurant is one of the oldest chain fast Reverse phone number lookup food restaurants in the United States. Founded in 1926, their specialty is a loose meat hamburger. Maid-Rites can be found in the midwest – mainly Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and Missouri. International brands dominant in North American include Wendy’s, the number three burger chain in the USA; Dunkin’ Donuts, a New England based chain; automobile oriented Sonic Drive-In’s from Oklahoma City; Starbucks, Seattle-born coffee-based fast food beverage corporation; KFC, a part of the largest restaurant conglomerate in the world, Yum! Brands; and Domino’s Pizza, a pizza chain known for popularizing home delivery of fast food. Subway restaurants are known for their sub sandwiches and Subway is the largest restaurant chain to serve such food items. Subway has the second most stores of any chain restaurant system in the world after McDonald’s, and the most locations in North America of any chain. Quiznos, a Denver based sub shop is another fast growing sub chain, yet with over 6,000 locations it is still far behind Subway’s 34,000 locations. Other smaller sub shops include fitted wardrobes Blimpie, Mr. Goodcents, and Firehouse. A&W Restaurants was originally a United States and North American fast food brand, but is currently an International fast food corporation in several countries. In Canada the majority of fast food chains are American owned, or were originally American owned but have since set up a Canadian management/headquarters location in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver. Although the case is usually American fast food chains expanding into Canada, Canadian chains such as Tim Hortons have expanded into 22 states in the United States, but are more prominent in border states such as New York and Michigan. Tim Hortons has started to expand to other countries outside of North America. The Canadian Extreme Pita franchise sells low fat and salt pita sandwiches with stores in the larger Canadian cities. Other Canadian fast food chains such as Manchu Wok serve North American style Asian foods; this company is located mainly in Canada and the USA, with other outlets on US military bases on other continents. Harvey’s is hair loss treatment a Canadian burger restaurant chain. In the United Kingdom, many home based fast food operations were closed in the 1970s and 1980s after McDonald’s became the number one outlet in the market.. However, brands like Wimpy still remain, although the majority of branches became Burger King in 1989. Fast food outlets have become popular with consumers for several reasons. One is that through economies of scale in purchasing and producing food, these companies can deliver food to consumers at a very low cost. In addition, although some people dislike fast food for its predictability, it can be reassuring to a hungry person in a hurry or far from home.. In the post-World War II period in the United States, fast food chains like McDonald’s rapidly gained a reputation for their cleanliness, fast service, and a child-friendly atmosphere where families on the road could grab a quick meal, or seek a break from the routine of home cooking. Prior to the rise of the fast food chain restaurant, people generally had hostgator coupon a choice between greasy spoon diners where the quality of the food was often questionable and service lacking, or high-end restaurants that were expensive and impractical for families with children. The modern, stream-lined convenience of the fast food restaurant provided a new alternative and appealed to Americans’ instinct for ideas and products associated with progress, technology, and innovation. Fast food restaurants rapidly became the eatery “everyone could agree on”, with many featuring child-size menu combos, play areas, and whimsical branding campaigns, like the iconic Ronald McDonald, designed to appeal to younger customers. Parents could have a few minutes of peace while children played or amused themselves with the toys included in their Happy Meal. There is a long history of fast food advertising campaigns, many of which are directed at children. In other parts of the world, American and American-style fast food outlets have been popular for their quality, customer service, and novelty, even though they are often the targets of popular anger towards American foreign policy or globalization more life insurance quotes generally. Many consumers nonetheless see them as symbols of the wealth, progress, and well-ordered openness of Western society and therefore become trendy attractions in many cities around the world, particularly among younger people with more varied tastes.. The fast food industry is a popular target for critics, from anti-globalization activists like José Bové to vegetarian activist groups such as PETA. In his best-selling 2001 book Fast Food Nation, investigative journalist Eric Schlosser leveled a broad, socioeconomic critique against the fast food industry, documenting how fast food rose from small, family-run businesses (like the McDonald brothers’ burger joint) into large, multinational corporate juggernauts whose economies of scale radically transformed agriculture, meat processing, and labor markets in the late twentieth century. While the innovations of the fast food industry gave Americans more and cheaper dining options, it has come at the price of destroying the environment, economy, and small-town communities of rural America while shielding consumers from the real costs of their convenient meal, both in terms of health and the broader seo company impact of large-scale food production and processing on workers, animals, and land. The fast food industry is popular in the United States, the source of most of its innovation, and many major international chains are based there. Seen as symbols of U.S. dominance and perceived cultural imperialism, American fast food franchises have often been the target of Anti-globalization protests and demonstrations against the U.S. government. In 2005, for example, rioters in Karachi, Pakistan, who were initially angered because of the bombing of a Shiite mosque, destroyed a KFC restaurant.. In 2003, McDonald’s was sued in a New York court by a family who claimed that the restaurant chain was responsible for their teenage daughter’s obesity and attendant health problems. By manipulating food’s taste, sugar and fat content, and directing their advertising to children, the suit argued that the company purposely misleads the public about the nutritional value of its product. A judge dismissed the case, but the fast food industry disliked the publicity of its practices, particularly the way it stop dog biting targets children in its advertising.. Although further lawsuits have not materialized, the issue is kept alive in the media and political circles by those promoting the need for tort reform.. In response to this, the “Cheeseburger Bill” . was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004; it later stalled in the U.S. Senate. The law was reintroduced in 2005, only to meet the same fate. This law was claimed to “. frivolous lawsuits against producers and sellers of food and non-alcoholic drinks arising from obesity claims.” The bill arose because of an increase in lawsuits against fast food chains by people who claimed that eating their products made them obese, disassociating themselves from any of the blame. National Restaurant Association The National Restaurant Association is a restaurant industry business association in the United States, representing more than 380,000 restaurant locations. It also operates the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. The association was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.. The National Restaurant Association/NRAEF vision is: “We small dog breeds will lead America’s restaurant industry into a new era of prosperity, prominence, and participation, enhancing the quality of life for all we serve.” The National Restaurant Association’s mission is: “We exist to help our members – the cornerstone of their communities – build customer loyalty, rewarding careers and financial success.” Dawn Sweeney is President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association.. The 2009-2010 Chairman of the Board is Michael Gibbons.of Mainstreet Ventures. Recent association chairs included Edward R. Tinsley of New Mexico, the franchisor of K-Bob’s Steakhouse restaurant chain, who served from 2006-2007. The National Restaurant Association develops food safety training and certification program for restaurant employees .. It also offers scholarships to foodservice and hospitality management and culinary students through NRAEF, and runs a national program for high school students. . It runs an annual restaurant and hospitality industry trade show in the U.S. in Chicago. and conducts research about the restaurant industry in the U.S. It also helps restaurant owners increase their environmental sustainability efforts. . The association Swimming Pool works closely with its state restaurant and hospitality association partners. and provides its members with tools and solutions to improve their business. It also organizes conferences and networking events for its members. There are six membership categories: Restaurant, Allied, Faculty, Student, Nonprofit and International. The association lobbies for the restaurant and foodservice industry and represents the industry on Capitol Hill.. It was the largest food and beverage political action committee contributor to both the U.S. Democratic and Republican Parties in the 2004 election cycle.. Will Hospitality Training Grow My Restaurant Business? Any successful restaurant owner knows the secret to having a profitable business and Hospitality Training forms the cornerstone of that success, however there is often three things overlooked that can make or break your business. If one of the following three areas is overlooked or not given equal attention as the other two then your business will start to decline and you will lose sales and profit. So what are these three areas that can save your restaurant? Simply aloe vera they are PRODUCT, SERVICE and ENVIROMENTALS. All three must be equal in your business. 1. Product. This may sound obvious, you are a restaurant after all, but how often do you dine out and criticise the meal, wine and cocktails. How often do they get the quality wrong or the flavour combination or the cooking temperatures? How often do YOU get it wrong and turn a blind eye; “Just get the food out, the customer has been waiting long enough!” You and your team must be 100% committed to product quality. If you are not happy with the raw ingredient from your supplier, DO NOT accept it. Only a manager or Chef competent in checking food quality should accept the delivery. If you have had issues with a particular cut of beef, for example, cook one of whilst the butcher is there and if not happy with the item send it all back and get them to re-deliver. If you receive substandard vegetables send everything back and demand a fresh male pattern baldness delivery of everything. Next time they deliver they will make sure they check you are getting the good stuff. If not CHANGE suppliers. You or your manager must, at least once a day, carry out a “Taste Test”. This is simply a check list of all your dishes that you should cook off and sample, include dressings, soups, desserts. This may be your last chance to take a dish of your menu and save a substandard dish going out to your customer. 2. Service. This is where Hospitality Training can really make a difference to your business. This is where your team can really engage with your guests and take them through the “Customer Journey”. With the right hospitality training your staff will follow the following routine; • Welcome • Salesmanship • Confidence • Presentation • Product Knowledge • Customer Awareness • Follow Up • Farewell Following these eight steps ensures your customers get the best service at all times. 3. Environmental. This is where you can engage with your hair transplant customers’ conscious and subconscious mind. How many times have you stood at a bar and put your elbow in a wet patch? How often do you sit in a restaurant and feel too hot or too cold or the music is too loud or you are sat next to a Hen party on your romantic evening. Maybe the lighting was too bright or too dark and you couldn’t read the menu. By actually focusing on the aspects of the business that you can control such as music, lighting and heating you will create and enticing and warm atmosphere where your guests are comfortable at all times. So how do you deliver and focus on these areas of your business equally? Simple TRAINING, TRAINING and TRAINING! Every day you should engage your team in delivering 100% satisfaction when it comes to Service, Product and Environmental’s through carefully choosing your Hospitality Training program. Start A Restaurant Business On The Cheap Getting affordable restaurant appliances for your restaurant business will save you a towels lot of money. Your capital can be spent on other things that will bring in more customers and earn you more money. One of these things you should spend more on is marketing. Buying brand new equipment won’t get you more customers or make your food taste better. No one will see what brand of stove or freezer you have inside your kitchen. It can make you proud to have a Viking stove or Subzero cooling system in your back kitchen, but buying them won’t be a wise business decision for your restaurant business. A second-hand fridge or stove can work as well as branded equipment. Even used tables and chairs can be refurbished to look like new so you don’t have to buy new furniture. Here are some tips on how to get cheap restaurant equipment for your food business. 1. Check your paper’s classified ads for used restaurant equipment being auctioned off or sold by foreclosed restaurants or businesses that are closing. You can get a good price Mage Monster on these deals. Many of these used restaurant equipment are almost new but selling for half the price. It will be cheaper to buy by lot instead of by piece. So it’s best to look for these deals before buying a single piece of equipment or furniture for your restaurant business. 2. Visit food service and restaurant equipment stores. These are stores where most restaurant owners buy their stuff for less. You will find brand new equipment, tableware, furniture, and pots and pans for a huge discount. You will find many different choices in these stores, from traditional styles to modern and trendy. Another benefit to buying from these stores is you can always come back to buy the same things to replace broken plates and glasses. 3. You can also find second-hand equipment for your restaurant business on online stores. There are tons of websites that sell used equipment or even brand new ones for less than retail. The advantage of looking for them online is you get to the authority formula see more choices than going to a single store near your place. You can also compare prices, delivery charges, and warranties online before you decide to purchase anything. 4. Speaking of warranties, be sure to check return policies, availability of spare parts and a service center for your appliances. You don’t want your restaurant business to be stuck with a broken freezer or stove that can’t be repaired due to the lack of spare parts. Check warranties very well and keep receipts and document you will need if you have to return something defective. Some items such as disposable food service items are not returnable. 5. Choose tough looking equipment over fancy branded kitchen tools and appliances. Don’t be fooled by the price. Some people think that more expensive restaurant equipment are more durable or works better. This is not necessarily true as some stoves for example, look crude but are many times more durable than a fancy looking designer stove. There are some restaurant equipment worth buying cheap, but Authority Formula Review others like meat saws and sensitive equipment might be better bought from a reputable dealer. Finding a dealer who can provide reasonable prices can also be a challenge. Look for equipment for your restaurant business from a reputable dealer who can provide after sales service. Find out where veteran restaurant owners get their stuff. Starting a Bar and Restaurant Business: Some Basic Preparations Bar and restaurant might be a certain business that will bring high profit since every body needs to fill their stomach with food and drink. Therefore, it is a good idea if you want to turn your cooking hobby out into business by starting restaurant or bar. However, there are some basic things you really need to prepare before getting started. Here are some of those important points. First, you need to determine the type of bar or restaurant you want to start. You will find several different categories such as club restaurant, specialty, or simply neighborhood restaurant. Before deciding it, you really have to make research Fast Cash Commissions about your target market and your room in the market place. Second, you need to find the best location for your business. Choose a certain place that close to your target market, such as street nearby college or campus if you are targeting students. It will help you run your business well and get more customers. Third, you need to apply for business license. Simply contact business department in your area and complete the application, including the processing fee. Usually, you need to wait around a week or two to get the approval. It depends on your city. Do not forget to apply for liquor license as well. Fourth, you can continue to provide some supporting supplies and equipment for your business once your licenses are approved. You can check out some retailers and stores for discount items such as café table and chairs, register machine, eating utensils, and many more. It will help you to save more money in providing inventory and supplies for your business. Fifth, you need Straddle Trader Pro to hire some employees. Find some people to be a highly skill and professional staffs. Try to advertise about the job vacancy to find some competent people. Choose some reliable and responsible applicants to be your staffs. Then, train them about the proper way to greet, treat, and serve the customers of your bar or restaurant. Therefore, once you are ready with the grand opening date, your employees could serve the best service to your customers. By being careful in providing those important points, you are ready to start your business. Keep improve your business and marketing knowledge to manage your business well. Good luck. The Goals of a Restaurant Business Plan The goals of your restaurant business plan are not just to crank out twenty five to fifty pages of useless writing that won’t help you get funded although that seems to be what most people do. The real plan doesn’t have to be long at all but it does need to answer some basic questions and demonstrate a world flags capacity for success in your restaurant venture. This guide is designed for anyone who has an interest in getting started their own restaurant or bar enterprise. This range includes somebody with substantial industry knowledge who may have previously worked as a supervisor or cook to somebody who has simply no experience in either food service or bars but yet has always had the dream of being the owner of their own establishment. This information is also useful to those who some funds to invest although not enough as well as to people which don’t possess a single cent to invest on their own but do have the prerequisite aspiration and drive to see the process right through to the finish. The only individuals who the guide can’t help are the ones who are dreaming about a silver bullet solution or hoping to find a check at the back of the guide already made out to them. Unfortunately nothing is quite so easy and if you are just a dreamer rather memory foam mattress than a doer you will not find much satisfaction from doing nothing more than studying the information and after that putting it on shelf someplace. What You Should Take into Account As you go through this process there are several items to keep in mind. First and foremost you have to attempt to be as truthful and as precise as possible with your evaluation of yourself in what you want and in what you can do and precisely what resources you will provide for the undertaking. If you can create a sensible picture of where you are starting from then you will be much better suited to fill in the cracks and the breaks which exist in your situation to ensure that when you go to present your case for funding it is possible to produce a total deal. If you’re not realistic about your needs as well as your knowledge then you are likely to leave loopholes and unanswered questions that may stand in the way of your receiving world flags the money you’re searching for. The second factor to bear in mind is to be careful when sales and performance estimates are called for and generous where expenses are involved. You can easily paint a positive image in writing but this can lead to underfunding and overspending along with a short-lived restaurant business. It is far better to possess cash left in reserve and sales which are better than predicted when things actually go live. The third factor to keep in mind is the fact that even though planning can be tedious and sometimes seem to be like things aren’t really happening it is greater to spend time preparing that does not cost you money than spend money to find out you should have prepared better. Quality Restaurant Supplies To Enhance Your Business Restaurant business is one of the fastest growing businesses in today’s market. Most of the people became so conserved in terms of financial aspects due to the recent economic depression. However, the booming economies offer bountiful opportunities car prices for people to regain their old salary amounts and are slowly stepping out their conservation capitalistic approach. One of the most favorite outing spots for people are the restaurants. Most of their weekends will be spent here provided if the restaurant offers such a kind of serene atmosphere. This explains the importance of having good restaurant equipments to serve the people in a better way. The business owners must take utmost care in deciding with these equipments before buying. There are several leading brands and manufacturers producing good quality Restaurant Equipment. However, a fresh startup will not have adequate funds to buy out these products. There are several other alternatives available for the business owners. There are other manufacturers those who are not that popular but still offer the same kind of reliability and quality at a lower cost. The market has got a tough competition and vendors are ready to offer huge discounts when booked in bulk. Make sure to buy all kinds of restaurant supplies from a single Phuket vendor so that you might get cheaper products and service. It is important to make your clients as long term clients so as to increase the quality of service being offered. It is only the customer satisfaction at the end that matters the most. Free Restaurant Business Plan Outline Lots of people seem to think that a restaurant business plan is a complicated document that they need to spend literally months working on, honing and perfecting in order to “do it right” but that’s not the case at all. Restaurants have been around forever- literally thousands of years. And lenders and investors know how restaurants work- they probably ate in one in the last 24 hours. So you don’t have to spend a lot of time explaining that a restaurant is a business that makes money by selling food to customers (you won’t believe how often I see people doing that!) or anything else so silly. All you need is to complete the following restaurant business plan outline, with one seo company page or so per section: 1. Title Page- contact info 2. Executive summary- what, where, who, how much you need 3. Business Operations- location, hours, business form, owners, advisers, vendors 4. Concept- your menu and ambiance 5. Market- demographics of your area and expected customer profiles 6. Competition- who are you up against 7. Marketing- how will you find and attract customers to your location 8. Management- who are you, your experience 9. Financials- how much you need, what you will spend it on, your estimates of sales, expenses and profits for the first three years 10. Appendices- anything else- a website, menu, lease, resumes, etc. that support your claims That’s it. You don’t need to go 20, 30 or more pages into this. You don’t need to spend months writing it. Of course if you aren’t sure where to get some of that information it helps to have a package that shows you exactly where to find everything. More important than the plan however are the financials. The plan Cheap Contact Lenses could be a work of art but if the numbers don’t make sense then it doesn’t matter. You could pay a CPA to prepare them for you but this will run at least $1,000 and won’t include changes and updates. A better alternative is to use restaurant plan software that will let you create the numbers yourself, in a way that will let you understand them but not require you to know anything about accounting, bookkeeping or how to put all the figures together. Plus, you can make all the changes you want or try out a lot of different scenarios in a just a few minutes and again without knowing anything about the actual math behind the scenes. A free outline is fine but if you want the full package plus unlimited support from restaurant experts it is probably worth the small investment to you to do it right with the best chance of success. Importance And Impacts of Restaurant Equipments Restaurant business needs a good amount of investment medicare part d to buy the equipments. It is highly recommended to invest in quality equipments as they contribute to the success of the business. People love to eat in the fast food centers and there is a growing demand for such restaurants offering quality services and food items. The business owners must make sure they find the best of dealers to buy products at cheaper prices and rates. It is good to make proper ground research about the vendors and about the requirements of various equipments. There are many numbers of websites available that will give plentiful information about these products. They actually help the business owners to save a lot of money by pointing out the best of deals. One can start the search by finding websites that offer online deals and discounts. The quality of the restaurant equipments will determine the success rate and it will help the business owners to improve their quality of service. This will take the business to the next higher level by attracting more customers. cash advance loans People can also invest in second hand equipments to save some amount of money in the short run. However, the quality and life term of such products cannot be taken for guarantee. To be on the safer side, it is good to buy products from the vendors those who relatively new to the market. They might offer the products at reduced rates by having fewer profit margins. It is also good to buy your products from a retailer by entering in to a long term contract. How To Be Successful in the Restaurant Business: Balance the Hard Elements and Soft Elements To understand the restaurant business, one must take into account the unique balance and consistency between hard elements and the soft elements involved. Often times a restaurant will have a greater emphasis on one area, but totally forget the other area only to find out too late – when they are out of business altogether. The hard elements (restaurant hardware parts) are items such as location, menu design, restaurant/kitchen dog training obedience design and layout, décor, ambiance, computer systems, all office requirements for financial accounting, cost controls, marketing, and more. Yes, these items are extremely crucial to getting a restaurant business off the ground properly and running it correctly. But, it must go equally hand in hand with the running the soft elements efficiently too. The soft elements (human software parts) are areas such as restaurant management and operational development, staff policies, procedures, training and analysis, job descriptions and task breakdowns, and performance evaluation audits and much more. What happens when all of the emphasis is put on the hard elements and the soft elements are forgotten or thought of as irrelevant or “ticky tacky?” The restaurant goes out of business – that’s what happens. Why? Restaurants are a people business. That will always be the case when it comes down to it, and won’t be changing anytime soon. Too often, only the hard elements are worked on without being balanced by the soft elements which directly affects the customer’s perception of HCG Drops quality. Too often, a restaurant business has everything going for it; the location, atmosphere, food quality, the wine selection, yet the restaurant service staff seem like zombies walking blindly in the forest. How can this be? Oh, well it be. Why do 9 out of 10 restaurants fail within the first year of operation? Do you know that diners remember the restaurant service staff almost two times as much as the food when departing from the establishment? Focus, focus, and more focus must be placed on the customer day in and day out of a restaurant’s existence. Once that restaurant customer service focus is lost, there will be money flying out the front door unnecessarily. It is all about the customer or nobody would have a job. Why put all of the time, effort, and money into getting the hard elements perfected to a tee when it is forgotten that customers will be entering the restaurant expecting to be treated a certain way? Diners will remember how they were treated Retractable Awnings by the dining room service staff mostly as opposed to, say, the dining room décor or the parking ability at the establishment. No matter how much technology seeps into our lives, we are still human beings with feelings that can be heavily affected during mealtime. We want to be treated in a positive manner, especially when paying 3 to 4 times what an average meal would cost at home. Again, it’s that “added value” factor so crucial to restaurant customer service. So, a restaurant owner or manager must consistently and positively reinforce the soft elements of the restaurant business to the staff – especially at the pre-shift meetings. The best thing about this reinforcement is that it does not cost money. It takes time, energy, effort and thoughtfulness. The Best Ways to Promote Your Restaurant In some locations people eat out regularly; big cities and affluent towns often have many restaurants that flourish and may require booking in advance to ensure getting a table when you want to dine. Other como bajar de peso areas have to consider ways of keeping their restaurants busy and in the minds of potential customers. No one wants to eat in an empty restaurant. If it was just about the food people would buy a sandwich and eat it in the car. Restaurant dining is also about atmosphere and ambiance. People want to enjoy the experience. An empty restaurant causes concerns about the quality of the food, how fresh it is, why it is empty. It becomes a vicious cycle. Ways to raise your restaurant profile. – All day opening is a good way of having your restaurant become busy, whilst at the same time introducing it to many different people. Serving breakfast sandwiches, coffee, toast, mid morning coffee ensures that you start the day as a popular place to visit. Workers and then mothers with children may drop in and meet, eat and chat giving the place a busy feel. Business people may use your place for small meetings, especially if you offer computer access. – Be Smokeless Cigarettes attractive to passers-by as they look in and see people sat at your tables, chatting and having a pleasant time. Afternoon tea and early evening set menus attract people. They may be short stay customers, coming for a break or a quick meal before they go out for the evening. That way you can have several covers on a table before your evening customers start to arrive. – Aim to get people’s contact details. Have a bowl on reception to collect business cards with the promise of a free draw for a meal or a bottle of champagne once a month. People are often happy to leave business cards and you get a mailing list from which to introduce special offers and promote new menus and special events. – Live music is popular, so long as people can still talk if they want to. Promoting local talent or a music college is a good way of providing inexpensive acts whilst offering something different. People enjoy the opportunity to dress up Daily deals a little and have a pleasant change of scenery, even if it is mid-week. – Many people enjoy seeing families out dining together. Sunday lunchtime and early evenings are a good time to promote set menus and roast dinners as people in groups usually like to have an idea of the budget. Often though it is a good idea to have a cut off of about 7pm for very young children. – Theme nights can attract new people. Having a special menu for Valentines Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day is good as it allows everyone to know the price and the menu choices in advance. But extend that and have a French night with French food and wine or a pudding or starter club where lots of puddings or starters are served with appropriate wines. This is a good way to attract groups and small parties. – Less people are eating red meat and people are becoming more adventurous in their tastes. Many people go out to eat because they Paleo Diet want something different from what they eat at home. In a restaurant everyone can have what they want and there is no problem if everyone chooses a different dish. In addition, if you also provide choices for people on special diets and a variety of vegetarian options and you will find that your customers will appreciate your consideration. By providing a wide range of options throughout the day you can ensure that your restaurant becomes a central hub in your area. It provides a meeting place for people, a place to socialize and relax, as well as an important venue for celebrations and special times. It becomes an important place in the community, one your customers will be happy to promote. How to Write a Great Restaurant Business Plan Watching a season of Iron Chef does not make one a successful restaurant owner. Owning a restaurant is hard work, yet many people make the decision to open their own restaurants with their hearts instead of their heads. They fall in ISO 9001 love with the idea of being their own boss and serving creative dishes to happy paying customers. For many, the reality is very different. A restaurant usually requires the owner to work six to seven days a week, often starting early and finishing late. There are suppliers to deal with, casual staff to manage, fickle customers to keep happy, ever changing laws and regulations to keep across, and the day to day operational requirements of keeping the lights on. Maintaining profit margins is always a battle, and any changes to the economic condition of the area you operate in, as well as any new competitors, can have a big impact on your bottom line. It’s therefore critical that you do your homework and know exactly what you are getting into before you commit to buying or setting up your own new restaurant. One way to do this is to prepare a business plan with a professional planner. The process of preparing your business plan will help you identify the strengths drug rehab and weaknesses of your business, and define the strategies and tactics you will employ to meet your profit expectations. The process will also help you research the industry, understand success factors and trends, and identify your direct competition. As part of your restaurant business plan, you should also undertake a minimum two year cash flow forecast, to identify any times through the year when your ability to service your debt may come under pressure. That way, you can prepare budgeting strategies now to keep your business liquid through traditionally slower parts of the year. Perhaps most importantly, make sure you have some direct experience in restaurant management before you’re financially committed, even if this means working some casual shifts at a local establishment. The reality of owning a restaurant business is often a lot different to what people imagine after watching highly edited TV reality shows, or from being a customer. There are a number of professional business plan writers that can help you prepare a business plan that will web marketing improve your chances of success in a highly competitive industry, as well as help you secure bank funding or private investment. Be sure to do your homework, research your market, and listen to your head before you take the plunge. There are many profitable restaurants, make sure you give yourself the best opportunity to be one of them. Advantages of Opening a Restaurant Business Restaurant business is very lucrative. Apart from the initial investments that you need to invest it can earn you life long revenues and luxurious life. For excellent and very high results from opening a restaurant business there is a lot of hard work and planning required. Everything needs to be perfectly implemented for gaining high profits. A restaurant business is a safe business with no or little risk. You get what you have invested in a short period of time for sure. Profits can be assured if regularly you are making amendments in accordance with the changing trends. If you have targeted the mass then you Wedding Favors will surely enrich benefits. You have to produce good quality services to your customers in order to enjoy the success. The success of your restaurant business mainly depends on two major things: * The quality of services that you provide. If the customers like what you offer to them then they will surely cover to your restaurant again and again. * Marketing. The better tactics you will utilize for your restaurant business the more customers you will get. If you are opening a restaurant business then do not forget to market it well. Customer satisfaction is the key to your success. Put in all your efforts for impressing those who visit your restaurant. The better you will make them feel then they will come more often to your restaurant. Here are several advantages you can get when opening a restaurant business: 1. Restaurants are in huge demand. A good restaurant is always filled with customers. You can earn millions from a restaurant if everything is perfectly executed. Probability of earning car loans huge profits and less loss is high in opening a restaurant business. 2. It is very easy to get finance for opening a restaurant. Banks and investors understand the profit that they can get by helping you in opening a restaurant. They see profit and that is why they very easily finance your project. 3. There have been only a few food courts or restaurants which are not successful otherwise maximum number of restaurants are successful. Youngsters prefer to eat out in restaurants and the working class also considers restaurants to be the perfect place for filling their tummy. 4. Restaurant owners always get a chance to meet with the high profile people and enjoy a luxurious life. A restaurant owner enjoys profits all through their life and gets a key to live a life in a luxurious way. All these advantages of a restaurant business instill confidence in the person who is planning to actualize this dream. Opening a restaurant business can prove to be the best decision of free ipad your life provided you take up the opportunity in a perfect way and work for it day and night. Every business needs good investments, patience and smart work. If you have good amount of finance can work smartly and have patience for observing your restaurant grow gradually then no one can stop you from earning good profits in the longer run. Writing a Restaurant Business Plan for Success If you are good enough with a wok and a saucepan, you really could run your own restaurant. But before you do, you need skills in putting together a restaurant business plan that really make sense. Doing that is no small matter though. You need to research the way you will run the business, find a great location, calculate costs, and put all of that together in a folder, organized in a way that will actually make sense to an investor. This isn’t just something you do to convince an investor to invest in your plan though. The way you put together bankruptcy information a business blueprint stays with you and helps you through the forming and running your own restaurant. Let’s go through the essentials of the successful restaurant business plan. Considering that a business plan is something that stays with you and helps you through the startup process, you’ll probably want to really put your heart and soul into it. You’ll need to think of all the questions you’d like to ask all the people who will be working in your restaurant, conduct interviews and gather information. The form that your restaurant business plan will take is supposed to be formal, and in line with the professional format usually recommended for such purposes. Your plan will need a businesslike writing style, graphs and charts in exactly the right places, and useful information throughout. The restaurant business plan is supposed to start with a proper business description. This part concentrates on what gives the business its unique selling proposition, what makes it particularly well-suited to taking advantage of it, and such details as Minecraft Skins the name of the business, the market it intends to tap, and its name. A business description also has a lot to say about the people involved behind the scenes, people such as yourself. Right after the business description, comes the part where your restaurant business plan proves why it has a compelling profit-making idea – in the market analysis section. The market analysis talks at length about the products intended, the customer demographic, evidence of what the demographic usually finds of interest, and a description of how the restaurant plans to deliver to it. A successful market analysis usually makes the case for why a business should exist in the first place – in light of the kind of competition that the restaurant will face in the area. Not to leave out the most important part of the successful restaurant business plan – a thorough description of what the company’s finances will look like. To prove that your restaurant will be financially viable, you’ll probably need to provide a web design company business projections study for the first three years that the restaurant will stay in business. An explanation of what the cash flow will look like and the kind of return on investment an investor can expect will also go into the laying out of a great financial plan. Your business plan to should start out with a thorough summary of everything that is to be found over the rest of the document. Does all of this sound like it has nothing to do with the excitement that he imagined being a chef would bring you? Owning the restaurant is a business first; there’s lots of creative people discover, that turning a talent into a moneymaking business requires that you find ways to be talented all around. That’s what makes money – not being a one trick pony. Writing a Restaurant Business Plan for Success If you are good enough with a wok and a saucepan, you really could run your own restaurant. But before you do, you need skills in Zenerx putting together a restaurant business plan that really make sense. Doing that is no small matter though. You need to research the way you will run the business, find a great location, calculate costs, and put all of that together in a folder, organized in a way that will actually make sense to an investor. This isn’t just something you do to convince an investor to invest in your plan though. The way you put together a business blueprint stays with you and helps you through the forming and running your own restaurant. Let’s go through the essentials of the successful restaurant business plan. Considering that a business plan is something that stays with you and helps you through the startup process, you’ll probably want to really put your heart and soul into it. You’ll need to think of all the questions you’d like to ask all the people who will be working in your restaurant, conduct interviews and gather information. The form that your restaurant business plan will take gold coast massage is supposed to be formal, and in line with the professional format usually recommended for such purposes. Your plan will need a businesslike writing style, graphs and charts in exactly the right places, and useful information throughout. The restaurant business plan is supposed to start with a proper business description. This part concentrates on what gives the business its unique selling proposition, what makes it particularly well-suited to taking advantage of it, and such details as the name of the business, the market it intends to tap, and its name. A business description also has a lot to say about the people involved behind the scenes, people such as yourself. Right after the business description, comes the part where your restaurant business plan proves why it has a compelling profit-making idea – in the market analysis section. The market analysis talks at length about the products intended, the customer demographic, evidence of what the demographic usually finds of interest, and a description of how the restaurant plans to deliver to ipad 3 it. A successful market analysis usually makes the case for why a business should exist in the first place – in light of the kind of competition that the restaurant will face in the area. Not to leave out the most important part of the successful restaurant business plan – a thorough description of what the company’s finances will look like. To prove that your restaurant will be financially viable, you’ll probably need to provide a business projections study for the first three years that the restaurant will stay in business. An explanation of what the cash flow will look like and the kind of return on investment an investor can expect will also go into the laying out of a great financial plan. Your business plan to should start out with a thorough summary of everything that is to be found over the rest of the document. Does all of this sound like it has nothing to do with the excitement that he imagined being a chef would bring Phuket Thailand Forum and Hotels you? Owning the restaurant is a business first; there’s lots of creative people discover, that turning a talent into a moneymaking business requires that you find ways to be talented all around. That’s what makes money – not being a one trick pony. How to Improve Your Restaurant Business When consumers plan to dine out, they now have a wide range of restaurants to choose from. With so many restaurants available, a restaurant has to come up with ways to stay competitive. Many restaurant owners want to know how to improve their business. Fortunately, there are a number of things a restaurant owner can do to make their restaurant more attractive to customers. 1. During these difficult economic times, many people are looking for ways to cut down on costs. Take time to reevaluate your menu prices. Are your customers normally big spenders? Or do you have customers that enjoy a reasonably priced meal? If the latter frequents your restaurant, make sure your prices are sensible and fit with the skin care products type of restaurant. Consider implementing daily specials or a special menu with a number of meals at a discounted price. 2. The meals you serve should be high quality and delicious. Your food should be fresh and prepared properly. The dish should be pleasing to the eye. It should also fit with the theme of the restaurant. Be mindful about providing some healthy dishes. It is important to keep up on consumer lifestyle habits. 3. Your restaurant should be warm and inviting. The decor should be pleasing to the eye. Make sure you use proper color schemes, comfortable seating, and a pleasant view. Consider adding something unique to the restaurant that makes it stands out from the other restaurants. Examples could be a water fountain, replicas of historical paintings…etc. 4. Arrange special promotions at the restaurant. This can include a special brunch on Sunday, a buffet night, a theme night such as the 1950′s, musical performers, sponsoring sporting and charity events…etc. You can also have a really fancy and delicious hair loss dessert that is unique to any other restaurant. It is important to come up with new and exciting marketing strategies. Without constant marketing, people will forget about your restaurant and visit restaurants they see advertised. Make use of fliers, local newspapers, websites, radio, and sponsoring events 5. Cleanliness is essential to a successful restaurant. Take a walk through the restaurant and look at the floors, walls, fixtures, decorations, lamps, and the bathroom. Do you need a paint touch up? Should you give the restaurant a total scrub down? Remember, restrooms have to be spotless with no unpleasant odours. What does the exterior of the restaurant look like? The exterior is the first thing a customer will notice. Is it bland, unattractive, or messy looking? Perhaps you should fix up the outside to make it eye catching and attractive. Add bright colors, and unique decorations. Your parking lot should be easy to access. 6. It may be time to do a staff evaluation and retraining session. Your staff should be dressed car mats professionally, neat in appearance, and clean. They should also be courteous, gracious, and pay special attention to their customers. As well, they should be welcoming, hardworking, dedicated, and respectful. Customers should feel welcome and that their patronage is appreciated. Regular assessment of your restaurant will allow you to make the essential enhancements, improvements, and additions that will ensure a constant and steady loyal customer base. How Restaurant News Can Help Build Your Restaurant Marketing Plan How often do you check out the latest restaurant news online? Don’t worry if the answer is ‘never’ – if you’re like most people you are probably focusing on your own business all the time instead of looking at what other people are doing. But here’s the thing – following online restaurant news can actually help you in your own restaurant business as well. When it comes to generating ideas for marketing efforts, it can be difficult to come up with something worthwhile. But by looking at what other people are doing you can create cheap auto insurance some great ideas to really push your own business forward. Why do I need a marketing plan in the first place? A marketing plan helps you to push your business forward. If you don’t market your business to other people, a lot of them won’t even know you’re there. That’s not the best way to conduct your business, I’m sure you’ll agree. So you have to think about how to pull in more guests. How can you tell more people about your restaurant and what it offers? How can you entice them in to try out your service? A marketing plan will help you with these questions and it will help you build a strong business for the future. This is where restaurant news about other establishments will help. Okay, so how can I build my own plan through looking at what other people are doing? The trick is to see what’s going on elsewhere. You can do this easily by looking at the news releases for restaurants online. For Guru Masterclass example, I read a report recently about a fish restaurant that had introduced brand new dishes that were focused on being healthy and good for the heart. It was tied into a notable date on the calendar, but the dishes were also going to be available all year round. Another good example came from a famous ice cream brand. They were introducing a new yogurt section to some of their stores. As you can see this is another positive piece of information – remember that positive news should always be your number one aim. The idea is to use some of these actual events to help formulate your own marketing plans. Think about the kind of restaurant you have and how you might create new dishes, new promotions and various other things you can promote as part of your marketing plan. What would enhance your own offering to the people who might come to try out your restaurant? So I should keep looking at what other people are doing? Definitely Digital Marketer Lab – not only will it give you ideas about how to create a marketing plan, it will also inspire you to come up with your own promotions and thoughts on how to promote your restaurant business. You might look for topical angles too by searching for Restaurant News, and that will also make it easier for you to build a successful business that keeps on pulling in new customers. Make Your Restaurant Dreams and Plans Come True Whenever you go to a restaurant that offers food that totally fails to meet your expectations, it’s not unusual for people to scoff and say that they can do much better. If you yourself do love cooking and often feel like restaurants don’t always live up to what they promise, as well as think that you can indeed do better, then you might have been kicking around the idea of starting your own restaurant. Perhaps you’ve planned the menu already, featuring some of your finest specialties. You might have also considered what type Game Changer DNA of decor you want to have, and what kind of image you want your restaurant to project–if it’s totally classy and high-end or a simple, relaxing place where friends and family could unwind. You might also be thinking about what your basic theme is, and what the primary menu offerings are. If you’ve already thought of all these things, then it’s understandable if you’re getting excited about the idea of having your own restaurant. But don’t get out there and launch it just yet. There are plenty of things to consider, such as business licenses, restaurant finance options, your equipment, and the daily flow of work in your restaurant. It is, after all, a real business, and not just a mere extension of your cooking hobby or interest, and thus, it deserves to be treated like a real business from start to finish. The financial aspect has to be one of the most worrying parts of starting a company like a restaurant. It’s easy enough to plan the food and Christmas Gifts look of your place if you’ve been dreaming about this for a while and have some really creative ideas. You also need to get creative then with finding enough money to finance your restaurant. You will be sure to have a lot of expenses, such as the decor, the daily purchase of ingredients, the purchase and maintenance of equipment, various overhead expenses, the salaries of your employees, and working capital to keep your company afloat as well. Getting restaurant funding is therefore a must at certain stages of your planning. If you do have a talent for whipping up excellent dishes, then it’s definitely not a bad thing to share your gifts with the rest of the world. Let these simple tips be one of your guides towards making your restaurant plans come true. Now get out there and start putting your ideas into action! History of Favorite American Restaurants Many of our famous American restaurants were founded by individuals or married couples. We all know the Colonel Harland Sanders How to make a website founded Kentucky Fried Chicken. He started serving meals from his gas station in Corbin, Kentucky. The Cheesecake Factory was founded by Oscar and Evelyn Overton. Evelyn Overton originally baked from her kitchen. Applebee’s was founded by Bill and T.J. Palmer. Their first restaurant opened in the 1980s. Red Lobster’s founder, Bill Darden opened his first restaurant at the age of 19. Incredible restaurateurs founded these famous and favorite American restaurants. The History of Kentucky Fried Chicken Colonel Harland Sanders founder Kentucky Fried Chicken. KFC is one of the largest restaurant businesses in the world. It is in more than eighty countries globally. In his forties Colonel Sander began cooking for travelers in his gas station. The gas station was located in Corbin, Kentucky. Instead of coming to his gas station for gas they started coming for Colonel Sanders cooked meals. Harland Sanders expanded his business across the street opening a restaurant that seated one-hundred and forty-two people. The colonel pressure cooked his chicken. When fresh chicken is pressed cooked it WOW Gold cooks faster. Sanders invented his secret eleven herbs and spices recipe to coat his chickens. His eleven herbs and spices are still used today in Kentucky Fried Chicken’s recipes. Because of his special cooking techniques Governor, Ruby Laffoon in 1935 made Harland Sanders a Kentucky Colonel. After 1952, Colonel goal was to make his company a franchise. He traveled miles by car to enfranchise his business. By 1964 Colonel Sanders had over 600 franchised outlets in the United States and Canada. In 1964, Colonel Sanders sold his interest in the United States companies for only $2 million. Colonel Sanders remained a spokesman for KFC® until 1976. In 1980 Colonel Harland Sanders died at the age of ninety. The History of The Cheesecake Factory The Cheesecake Factory was founded by Oscar and Evelyn Overton. In the late 1940s Evelyn Overton opened a cheesecake shop in Detroit, Michigan. To be an at home mother she closed her shop and continued to bake in her home kitchen. She supplied her cakes to several ppi claims local restaurants. In the 1970s her children were grown. Oscar and Evelyn decided to move their cheesecake business to Los Angeles, California. They opened a 700 square foot store in Los Angeles and called it, “The Cheesecake Factory®”. As in any business the early years were difficult. Evelyn was the manager and baker. Oscar was the salesman and promoter. In Los Angeles the Overton’s baking reputation and sales grew to such an extent they purchased a larger bakery. With a striving business Evelyn created over 20 cheesecake varieties and other desserts. These items were sold to hundreds of wholesale accounts. Their business extended from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, San Diego and several out-of-state clientele. The first Cheesecake Factory Restaurant® as opened in Beverly Hills, California. The founder of the first restaurant was their son, David Overton. David Overton established a restaurant that offered fresh quality ingredients with creative and numerous menu selections. There are approximately 150 Cheesecake Factory Restaurants today. The success that the Cheesecake Factory® enjoys today took same day loans many years and reflects generational progression based on a dream. The Cheesecake Factory Restaurant is an American Dream come true. The History of Applebee’s Restaurant Applebee’s restaurant was founded by Bill and T.J. Palmer. In 1980 their first restaurant opened in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally named, T.J. Applebee’s Rx for Edibles & Elixirs. The name was changed to Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar in 1986. Currently there are approximately 1,965 restaurants in the USA and Europe. Informal dining restaurants for all ages. The restaurant chain features American dishes: salads, shrimp, pasta chicken and riblets. The riblets are Applebee’s® signature item. Red Lobster Restaurant’s History The founder of the Red Lobster Restaurant is Bill Darden. At 19 he opened his first restaurant, The Green Frog. The first Red Lobster opened in Lakeland, Florida, in 1968. A casual seafood restaurant centered on quality and service. In the 1970s the restaurant expanded to different parts of the United States. In 1995, the Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze became part of Darden Restaurants. tinnitus treatment Finding Authentic Italian Cuisine in an American Restaurant Because of the popularity of Italian dishes in America, we have seen a lot of restaurants that serve Italian food being put up at a steady rate. But when we take a bite of our spaghetti with meatballs in those American-Italian restaurants, do we necessarily equate them to good Italian food? Most of the time we think we are eating authentic Italian dishes even if the food being served to us are already Americanized versions of the original. This is because only a few of us have really tried eating Italian dishes. Most of the time we are lured to thinking that eating a Caesar’s salad in some fancy restaurant is the equivalent of a real Italian dining experience. But the robust flavors of the salad are what betray your so-called Italian dining. Italian cooking is all about balance and delicateness of flavor. And let us admit it; we have American palettes that are attuned to eating those dishes that seemingly explode Invisible Fence in our mouths because of the intensity of flavors. When you enter an American-Italian restaurant, the first thing you need to look at is the bread they are serving. Oftentimes, they serve white bread topped with tomato. This is quite Italian in itself, but usually, they arrive already cold. If you want the genuine Italian experience, you better go to an Italian restaurant that serves hot bread straight from the oven, like most Italians do for their families back in Italy. You get crusty bread in the outside, but soft in the inside. And nothing can beat hot, homemade bread. And then you go and order a salad. Most American-Italian restaurants will serve a classic hit which is Caesar’s salad. But as I have mentioned before, Caesar’s salad is such a strong dish. It can overwhelm your taste buds, so it is definitely not for the faint-hearted. But if you are in a genuine Italian restaurant, you will find that you will have to look pick an antipasto before you teddy bears can proceed with your meal. An antipasto is just how Italians like their food. Italians make sure that they prepare food with quite subtle flavors. They do not like adding too much dressing or condiments. They want the flavors to slowly pop in your mouth while you are eating it, and not just in one bite. The next course is the primo which is usually pasta. A lot of American-Italian restaurants will not follow this Italian pattern of eating so they will probably serve you with a very heavy dish that will leave you thinking that you have already eaten the entire plate with just one taste. As I have said, it should be all about balance. As they say, it is not about the pasta sauce; it is about the pasta. In a real Italian restaurant, you will be able to taste that their food has quite strong flavors as well but they do not overpower you. It is as if there is just enough balance of boldness and hot tub covers subtlety. And you cannot argue with homemade pasta from those Italian restaurants. Most Italian restaurants make their pasta using meat extruders so the resulting pasta is thick and chewy. And one thing that you should notice in authentic Italian restaurants is that they do not like their pasta to be swimming in thick sauce. They want it to just coat the pasta so that when you eat the dish, you do not just taste the sauce but you taste the pasta as well. This is well thought of because the pasta is the focal point of the dish. Great American Restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand Trying to find authentic American food in Bangkok isn’t always easy but there’s one place where you can count on it and that’s at Roadhouse Barbecue, located on the corner of Surawong and Rama IV Roads. This three-story restaurant/bar is home to great American food including barbecue specialties like barbecued ribs, pulled pork sandwiches, barbecued chicken and many more that represent true American barbecue at its discount furniture best. There’s also a large selection of American favorites from burgers and steaks to soups and sandwiches. But the real stars of the menu here are the barbecued specialties starting with ribs smoked with mesquite wood – imported from the U.S. – and including chicken smoked with hickory wood, pork for pulled pork sandwiches and even salmon smoked with apple wood. You can get a half or full rack of ribs or a chicken and ribs combo dish, all of which are served with potatoes and coleslaw made from an old North Carolina recipe. And although the barbecue gets the most attention, they actually serve more burgers here than anything else. You can get yours with three different kinds of cheese as well as toppings like Grilled onions, smoked bacon, saute mushrooms and grilled peppers. Another big favorite is the Buffalo Wings which are on special every Monday night when you can get 20 wings for the price of 10 (170 baht). As for more American food, the menu also SEO Services contains sandwiches such as a Philly cheese steak, a “Texas-style” beef brisket sandwich, a chipotle pulled pork sandwich, a three-cheese grilled cheese and tomato, a BLT with apple-smoked bacon, a fish sandwich, a grilled sausage sandwich with pepper and onions. Well, you get the idea. They cover a lot of bases here. They’re also very proud of their chili and they should be since it won an award in a stateside competition a while back sanctioned by the Chili Appreciation Society International. In addition to the chili pot here there are also a number of soup pots simmering all the time and they’re full of roasted red Pepper and tomato soup, black bean soup and a real New England seafood chowder. There are a lot of other menu items here including steaks, seafood, some pastas and even a great grilled pork chop. It’s not all about food here, though. First, there’s Thailand’s largest selection of draft beers which also happen to be the coldest in Bangkok according to a magazine payday loans online poll last year. Next, there’s live entertainment almost every night downstairs after the dinner hour. On the second floor is another dining room that can be used for private functions or parties. And finally, on the third floor is Roadhouse’s version of a sports bar with plenty of TV screens and lots of games to play including foosball, video golf and soccer and pool on an authentic Brunswick championship table. American Food Restaurants – Things You May Not Know If I were a first time visitor from another country, and you told me about the popularity of American Family restaurants, I would be amazed. There is no such place where I come from since there are no dining establishments that designate themselves as specifically family friendly. It is taken for granted that families will dine together in places that are differentiated by pricing. International dining habits range from enjoying comfortable peasant food in informal settings to gourmet dining in the finest establishments. The American Family Restaurant concept, on the other mortgage help hand, is truly a U.S. phenomenon that deserves a place in our school history books. Its origins, however, are mired somewhere in a murky past. Probably the idea of a place where the entire family can go to enjoy home-style cooking originated when Mom got tired and needed a break. It’s possible that the first American family style restaurant had its origins in German-Dutch country fare served on long, heavily laden picnic style tables with bench seating. Although you can find similarities to the American family restaurant in countries around the world, nothing can exactly duplicate it. When we think of classic American dining, a laid back, informal atmosphere comes to mind with plastic covered booths and plastic tabletops, and of course, you don’t have to dress up to go there. The food is plain and simple – like Mom’s meatloaf or stew for dinner – meat and potatoes and the stuff of life we consume at home on a regular basis like hamburgers for lunch, and eggs over easy iPhone Unlock for breakfast. This type of family restaurant is still immensely popular in the U.S., and you can find one or more in every small town across the land. But there’s something new happening to classic American cuisine and something new happening to the family dining atmosphere. Although some establishments continue to concentrate on offering traditional menus, there are many now actually showcasing gourmet selections and featuring healthy eating alternatives. One example of a local, home-style establishment in Virginia that exceeds expectations is a place where you can still find all your old favorites. But you can also order from a highly diverse menu including Avocado Bruschetta as an appetizer (a blend of tomato avocado, garlic, onion and Parmesan cheese served with lightly toasted baguettes). Then there’s Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad (a confetti of chicken, tomatoes, avocado, red onion, black beans and corn, drizzled with spicy dressing in a tortilla bowl). And for an entrée, try Asparagus and Chicken Carbonara (warm pasta in a creamy Italian carbonara sauce). Sound like any LED grow lights American family restaurant you know? The same restaurant offers gluten-free foods, including breads, pastas, crackers, and croutons, as well as other allergy-free items. This is a great boon for the many people suffering from allergic reactions to foods and who are searching for alternatives to same-old, same-old, boring menus. This same establishment also features vegetarian dishes. So, although the new, slightly upscale, gourmet American family restaurant is still advertised as home-style cooking in a relaxing atmosphere where you can stay for homemade ice cream and desserts, there’s a definite difference. Now there are options. There are not only food options. Now you can choose your atmosphere. The old style family favorite place for brunch on Sunday might look different now. Maybe it’s in a renovated historic house that used to be an ice cream parlor. Maybe it has a colonial décor, pleasant carpeting and linen tablecloths. And there’s even a new and more concentrated emphasis on excellence in service. Patronizing your favorite American style restaurant is still a wonderful way auto insurance quotes to enjoy a meal out with the family and it’s still the greatest buy in town. The thing is, there are changes you may have missed. There’s a new look to American family dining, a new version, greater food options, better service, a designed- for- comfort relaxing atmosphere where you feel right at home. And you won’t have to look hard to find one. Best Luxury Hotel Restaurants in America In the past, hotel restaurants in America were merely a place to fill up after a long day of sightseeing or a late flight into the destination. Even the most luxury hotels weren’t renowned for their eateries – they provided decent enough fare for hungry guests, but outside customers could rarely be tempted in and the food was certainly not a reason for making a booking. Now, however, things have changed dramatically and they have really pushed the boat out – some of the most elegant and exclusive restaurants in America can be found within the walls of luxury hotels. online casino Here’s the lowdown on the latest hotel dining spots to be voted into the top five. 1. French Room – The Adolphus Hotel, Texas A gorgeous grand dame of a hotel in downtown Texas, The Adolphus tops the bill with French Room for its menu but also its décor and service. The atmosphere is pure old-world romance with subtle lighting and hand-painted ceilings – and the food is an unpretentious yet fabulous fusion of French and American cuisine. 2. Fountain Restaurant – The Four Seasons Hotel, Philadelphia The Four Seasons is an American institution and a byword for superb luxury. Here in Philadelphia, the Fountain continues to be a firm favourite in the city and beyond thanks to the classic dishes served up by chef Martin Hamann in the New French-Continental style. 3. Dining Room – Little Palm Island Resort, Florida This romantic getaway hotel is a boat ride away from the keys, set on its own private island. Both the hotel and restaurant promise a magical setting and they annuities don’t disappoint. The food is just as exceptional; the French-Caribbean themed menu adds to the exotic vibe of the location. 4. The Inn at Little Washington, Washington A luxurious Virginia inn, the prestige of the hotel spills over into the dining room where chef Patrick O’Connell uses only the freshest ingredients and seasonal produce for a New American menu. With its romantic décor, the experience of the out of town hideaway is complete. 5. Maestro – Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner, Virginia This elegant restaurant has all the impeccable style you would expect from the exclusive Ritz-Carlton hotels, but with a modern twist – an open kitchen to watch the master Fabio Trabocchi at work. The wine list (put together by sommelier Vincent Feraud) is something any restaurant in Italy would be proud of, whilst the flavours and dishes bring the kind of depth and subtlety that reflects their Italian heritage to perfection. Common Types of Restaurants Did you know that there are many different types of restaurants? They are usually iphone distinguished by the type of customers they focus on, and the types of atmosphere that is created. Here are some of the common types of restaurants available. Casual dining restaurants serve food that is moderately priced in a casual atmosphere. They tend to come with table service, unless it is a buffet-style restaurant. They can come with a bar where separate staff will be delegated to oversee. Customers should feel comfortable enough to eat and chat amongst each other as there is no specific food etiquette they will need to follow. Casual dining restaurants are partly like fine dining restaurants and fast food restaurants. A family style restaurant would be the kind that is made to suit people of any age to dine together. Such restaurants would come with a fixed menu and a fixed price and have adult and kid’s meal, which would differ in portion size and type of food. The atmosphere can be cozy for families to dine in. Fast food is a big hit among many. acid reflux diet As the name suggests, its food are made to be prepared quickly. With that, service also needs to be quick. Eating utensils and plates may be made out to be disposables so that the focus is to clear the tables quickly for other customers and get on to other work. The staff is usually given some form of training to become part of a system that is constantly moving at fast-pace. Last but not least would be fine dining. Fine dining restaurants are the type that would offer meal courses. Such restaurants tend to be elegantly furnished to create a fine, classy look. Even the types of eating utensils, plates, and drinking glasses tend to be more elaborate and of higher quality. Here, staff would wear formal attire, and are trained to be courteous towards customers. In terms of food, the portion may seem small, but the exquisite visual of it covers for the cost. Customers are expected to follow certain fine dining rules here like keeping their voices down chiropractic marketing so they do not interrupt other people’s dining experience. Fine-Dining Restaurants Fine dining refers to the cuisine and service provided in restaurants where food, drink, and service are expensive and usually leisurely. Turnover per table may be less than one an evening. Many of the customers are there for a special occasion, such as a wedding or birthday. Many customers bring business guests and write off the meal cost as a business expense. The guests are often invited because they can influence business and other decisions favorable to the host. Fine dining is usually found in enclaves of wealth and where business is conducted-cities such as New York, San Francisco, and Palm Beach. Las Vegas has several fine-dining restaurants catering to tourists and high-stakes gamblers. The restaurants are small, with fewer than 100 seats, and proprietoror partner-owned. The economics of fine dining differ from those of the average restaurant. Meal prices, especially for wine, are high. The average check runs $60 or more. Rents can be quite high. Large budgets free credit score for public relations are common. Because of the expertise and time required for many dishes and because highly trained chefs are well paid, labor costs can be high. Much of the profit comes from wine sales. Flair and panache in service are part of the dining experience. Tables, china, glassware, silverware, and napery are usually expensive, and the appointments can be costly, often including paintings and interesting architectural features. The menus usually include expensive, imported items such as foie gras, caviar, and truffles. Only the most tender vegetables are served. Colorful garnishment is part of the presentation. Delectable and interesting flavors are incorporated into the food, and the entire dining event is calculated to titillate the guests’ visual, auditory, and psychological experience. Expensive wines are always on hand, offered on an extensive wine list. Food fashions change, and the high-style restaurant operators must keep abreast of the changes. Heavy sauces have given way to light ones, large portions to small. The restaurant must be kept in the public eye without places to eat seeming to be so. If given a choice, the restaurant operator selects only those guests who will probably be welcomed by the other guests. Doing this helps to create an air of exclusivity-one way to do this is to park the most expensive autos near the entrance for all to see (Rolls-Royces do well). It also helps to have celebrities at prominent table locations. Very expensive restaurants turn off many well-to-do guests and make others uncomfortable when they feel they don’t fit in or dislike the implied snobbery of the guests or staff. Luxury hotels, such as the Four Seasons and the Ritz Carlton chains, can be counted on to have restaurants boasting a highly paid chef who understands French, Asian, and American food, who likely attended an American culinary school or trained at a prestige restaurant, and who has mastered French cuisine. Would-be restaurant operators should dine at a few of these restaurants, even though they are expensive, to learn the current meaning of elegance in decor, table setting, Carpet Cleaning London service, and food. (To avoid paying the highest prices, go for lunch and do not order wine.) Better yet, anyone planning a restaurant career should take a job in a luxury restaurant, at least for a while, to get the flavor of upscale food service-even if you have no desire to emulate what you see. Why Do Celebrities Prefer Fine Dining Restaurants? Hollywood which is the place for the rich and the famous is also the place of glamour and refined entertainment. Celebrities and big names of this industry are also fans, fans of fine dining. Famous personalities in show business are often found in world class restaurants that offer fine dinning experience. Below is the list of some notable and reputable restaurants in Southern California where celebrities are often found dining in and where all types of food aficionados are found. Like normal citizens, of course celebrities need to break away from their stressful schedule, and one of their most common places to relax is at first class restaurants. Online Payday Loans They feed check out and treat their taste buds and indulge into good food to some of the best locations to dine. If you want to experience fine dining from authentic specialty cuisines, then all you have to do is don’t get intimidated by the beautiful ambiance and try fine dinning restaurants. All though most of these types of eating place is expensive, you can surely get your money’s worth from the food and excellent service experience. If you are at Beverly Hills, or near the Hollywood areas in Southern California, you can indulge your cravings from Italian, Spanish and Japanese dishes. Aside from delicious dishes and specialties, what is good about these places for dining is its wonderful ambiance, most of this type of dinning establishment gives their customers good place for privacy. They have lots of places to offer for special purposes like VIP sections (this is the place where most Hollywood celebrities stay so they won’t be seen by other customers of the place). If you visit Iphone 4 Cases at least one of fine dinning places in Southern California, there is a very big chance that you can see celebrities. Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant for example, is one dinning place that most famous personalities in Hollywood visit, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Elton John, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Sharon Stone, etc. So if you are planning to see some famous Hollywood personalities and experience good food, try fine dinning. Celebrities Enjoy Fine Dining in Posh Hollywood Restaurants Sure Hollywood is the hub of everything entertainment and glamour, but you will also find some of the most tasty and elegant dining experiences in the Southern California urban sprawl known as the City of Angels. Celebrities who make millions per picture are not worried about forking over lots of dough for the best eats, evident by their visits to some of the best and priciest spots to dine in the Southland. There are a handful of restaurants in Hollywood, Beverly Hills and surrounding areas that are known to draw famous hcg diet faces on a daily basis. Most such restaurants pride themselves on protecting the privacy of the stars; some even seat them in special sections. Perhaps the best spot to catch a glimpse of someone you’ve seen on the big screen is Spago’s Beverly Hills. The restaurant was originally known as Bistro Garden and was a favorite of former first lady Nancy Reagan. But in 1997, famed international chef and television personality Wolfgang Puck bought the spot and gave it a name synonymous with his restaurant in Hollywood. Puck’s Spago’s Beverly Hills is located at North. Canon Drive. Stars known to frequent the restaurant include Tom Hanks, President Bill Clinton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Crystal, Elton John, Lou Diamond Phillips, Sandra Bullock, Robin Williams and Sharon Stone. The former president was actually at the restaurant just months after its grand opening in November 1997. His presence was part of a Rock the Vote effort and was attended by a long list of other celebrities, such as Kevin Spacey, Graham Nash and Michael Bolton. About a year later in 1998, Sir Elton John moved his star-studded post Oscar party to the restaurant, where celebrities in attendance paid $1,000 per plate for a charity dinner that benefitted AIDS research. Big names on hand that night were Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Jon Bon Jovi and Faye Dunaway. During normal business hours, the cost of dining at Spago’s Beverly Hills starts at about $70 for two. The Ivy on Robertson Boulevard has long been one of Los Angeles’ top celebrity hangout spots. Not only has the restaurant drawn the biggest names for decades, but it also periodically serves as a Hollywood set; some of the biggest movie directors have shot scenes on the restaurant’s large patio. Just two examples are ‘The Bodyguard’ starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston and ‘Get Shorty,’ which featured Danny DeVito and John Travolta. The Ivy is not exactly known for tasty eats, but more for the Hollywood glamour it attracts. The spot is a favorite hangout for stars and paparazzi looking to get photos of the latest blockbuster stars. In September 2003, stars Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez appeared at the Ivy not long after announcing the postponement of their wedding. Insiders believed the two went there to sideline gossip that they’d spilt up. Other stars seen there around the same time include Steve Martin, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, even Michael Jackson, and more celebrities. Tips on Fine Dining Etiquette Having an exquisite dinner at a fine dining restaurant is a wonderful way to relax and enjoy a first-rate meal. When partaking in the fine dining experience, there are a number of etiquette practices that must be followed in order to make the dining experience even more special. 1. Dress for the Occasion: When you dine at a fine dining restaurant, you have to remember that your everyday clothing is not acceptable. Fine dining restaurants normally have a strict dress code. It is very formal so suits with a tie and attractive dresses, skirts, or stylish pants are appropriate. If you are not sure about the particular restaurant’s dress code, call the establishment. 2. Table Arrangement: When you dine at a fine dining establishment, the table set up is different than a regular family restaurant. For instance, you eat your meal by selecting silverware from the outside to inside, toward the plate. You will have more than one fork. The bigger fork is the dinner fork or entrée fork. You will also have a smaller salad fork. Over the dinner plate, there will be a dessert spoon and dessert fork. Knives and spoons are placed at the right side of the plate. Forks are placed to the left of the plate. Glasses are placed to the right of the dinner plate. Napkins are to be placed on the lap. 3. Table Etiquette: It is important to greet your host by shaking hands. Do not put your elbows on the table. Sit up straight. Always use utensils when eating, and not your hands. Do not start eating until everyone at the table has been served. Always pass items to the right. Eat at the same rate as your guests. Do not pick up food with your hands. Do not chew food with your mouth open or talk with a mouth full of food. Chew small morsels. Don’t talk with your mouth full. Don’t speak so loudly that you annoy other patrons. Compliment the host on the flavor and appearance of the meal. Do not put too much food in your mouth as you will end up chewing with your mouth open. Do not dip food in other liquids such as soup or broths. When finished, keep the plate on your setting and wait for the server to take it away. Do not talk on a cell phone while dining. 4. Restaurant Host/Hostess: Treat restaurant staff with respect. Leave a tip of at least 15%. Do not treat a restaurant host harshly. Be courteous and enjoy how well you are treated. If there is a mistake with the meal, do not get angry and cause a scene. Explain the problem and the host will take care of it. The practice of using proper restaurant etiquette is essential when having dinner at a fine dining restaurant. It can seem like we should know all of the etiquette rules, but there are differences with fine dining that should be remembered. By knowing a few basic tips for fine dining, you can be assured of a completely relaxing and enjoyable meal. Fast food Fast food (also known as Quick Service Restaurant or QSR within the industry itself) is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a packaged form for take-out/take-away. The term “fast food” was recognized in a dictionary by Merriam–Webster in 1951. Outlets may be stands or kiosks, which may provide no shelter or seating,. or fast food restaurants (also known as quick service restaurants). Franchise operations which are part of restaurant chains have standardized foodstuffs shipped to each restaurant from central locations.. The capital requirements involved in opening up a non-franchised fast food restaurant are relatively low. Restaurants with much higher sit-in ratios, where customers tend to sit and have their orders brought to them in a seemingly more upscale atmosphere, may be known in some areas as fast casual restaurants. The concept of ready-cooked food for sale is closely connected with urban development. In Ancient Rome cities had street stands that sold bread and wine. A fixture of East Asian cities is the noodle shop. Flatbread and falafel are today ubiquitous in the Middle East. Popular Indian fast food dishes include vada pav, panipuri and dahi vada. In the French-speaking nations of West Africa, roadside stands in and around the larger cities continue to sell—as they have done for generations—a range of ready-to-eat, char-grilled meat sticks known locally as brochettes (not to be confused with the bread snack of the same name found in Europe). In the cities of Roman antiquity, much of the urban population living in insulae, multi-storey apartment blocks, depended on food vendors for much of their meals. In the mornings, bread soaked in wine was eaten as a quick snack and cooked vegetables and stews later in the day at a popina, a simple type of eating establishment.. In the Middle Ages, large towns and major urban areas such as London and Paris supported numerous vendors that sold dishes such as pies, pasties, flans, waffles, wafers, pancakes and cooked meats. As in Roman cities during antiquity, many of these establishments catered to those who did not have means to cook their own food, particularly single households. Unlike richer town dwellers, many could often not afford housing with kitchen facilities and thus relied on fast food. Travellers, as well, such as pilgrims en route to a holy site, were among the customers.. In areas which had access to coastal or tidal waters, ‘fast food’ would frequently include local shellfish or seafood, such as oysters or, as in London, eels. Often this seafood would be cooked directly on the quay or close by.. The development of trawler fishing in the mid nineteenth century would lead to the development of a British favourite fish and chips partly due to such activities. British fast food had considerable regional variation. Sometimes the regionality of dish became part of the culture of its respective area. The content of fast food pies has varied, with poultry (such as chickens) or wildfowl commonly being used. After World War II, turkey has been used more frequently in fast food.. A particularly British form of fast food is the sandwich, popularised by John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich in 1762 when he wrapped dried meat in bread so as not to interrupt his work or his gambling (accounts vary)… The sandwich has similarities in other cuisines and cultures such as the filled baguettes popular in France. Despite its wide appeal and consumption in the UK, it is only in recent years that the sandwich in its various forms has been considered to be fast food, initially being promoted as such by niche chains such as Subway and Pret a Manger. As well as its native forms, the UK has adopted fast food from other cultures, such as pizza (Italian), Chinese noodles, kebab, curry and various other forms of fast foods come from other parts of the Commonwealth of Nations. And further afield.. In some areas imported fast food has become part of both the local, and British culture in general. More recently healthier alternatives to conventional fast food have also emerged. A 2008 study was conducted worldwide counting the number of fast food restaurants per person.The UK has claimed this title with Australia second and the United States third. England alone accounted for 25% of all fast food. As automobiles became popular and affordable following the First World War, drive-in restaurants were introduced. The American company White Castle, founded by Billy Ingram and Walter Anderson in Wichita, Kansas in 1921, is generally credited with opening the second fast food outlet and first hamburger chain, selling hamburgers for five cents each.. Walter Anderson had built the first White Castle restaurant in Wichita in 1916, introducing the limited menu, high volume, low cost, high speed hamburger restaurant.. Among its innovations, the company allowed customers to see the food being prepared. White Castle was successful from its inception and spawned numerous competitors. Franchising was introduced in 1921 by A&W Root Beer, which franchised its distinctive syrup. Howard Johnson’s first franchised the restaurant concept in the mid-1930s, formally standardizing menus, signage and advertising.. Curb service was introduced in the late 1920s and was mobilized in the 1940s when carhops strapped on roller skates.. The United States has the largest fast food industry in the world, and American fast food restaurants are located in over 100 countries. Approximately 2 million U.S. workers are employed in the areas of food preparation and food servicing including fast food in the USA.. Fast food outlets are take-away or take-out providers, often with a “drive-through” service which allows customers to order and pick up food from their cars; but most also have a seating area in which customers can eat the food on the premises. Nearly from its inception, fast food has been designed to be eaten “on the go”, often does not require traditional cutlery, and is eaten as a finger food. Common menu items at fast food outlets include fish and chips, sandwiches, pitas, hamburgers, fried chicken, french fries, chicken nuggets, tacos, pizza, hot dogs, and ice cream, although many fast food restaurants offer “slower” foods like chili, mashed potatoes, and salads. Many petrol/gas stations have convenience stores which sell pre-packaged sandwiches, doughnuts, and hot food. Many gas stations in the United States also sell frozen foods and have microwaves on the premises in which to prepare them. Traditional street food is available around the world, usually from small operators and independent vendors operating from a cart, table, portable grill or motor vehicle. Common examples include Vietnamese noodle vendors, Middle Eastern falafel stands, New York City hot dog carts, and taco trucks. Turo-Turo vendors (Tagalog for point point) are a feature of Philippine life. Commonly, street vendors provide a colorful and varying range of options designed to quickly captivate passers-by and attract as much attention as possible. Depending on the locale, multiple street vendors may specialize in specific types of food characteristic of a given cultural or ethnic tradition. In some cultures, it is typical for street vendors to call out prices, sing or chant sales-pitches, play music, or engage in other forms of “street theatrics” in order to engage prospective customers. In some cases, this can garner more attention than the food itself; some vendors represent another form of tourist attraction. Modern commercial fast food is often highly processed and prepared in an industrial fashion, i.e., on a large scale with standard ingredients and standardized cooking and production methods. It is usually rapidly served in cartons or bags or in a plastic wrapping, in a fashion which minimizes cost. In most fast food operations, menu items are generally made from processed ingredients prepared at a central supply facility and then shipped to individual outlets where they are reheated, cooked (usually by microwave or deep frying) or assembled in a short amount of time. This process ensures a consistent level of product quality, and is key to being able to deliver the order quickly to the customer and eliminate labor and equipment costs in the individual stores. Because of commercial emphasis on speed, uniformity and low cost, fast food products are often made with ingredients formulated to achieve a certain flavor or consistency and to preserve freshness. Although fast food often brings to mind traditional American fast food such as hamburgers and fries, there are many other forms of fast food that enjoy widespread popularity in the West. Chinese takeaways/takeout restaurants are particularly popular. They normally offer a wide variety of Asian food (not always Chinese), which has normally been fried. Most options are some form of noodles, rice, or meat. In some cases, the food is presented as a smörgåsbord, sometimes self service. The customer chooses the size of the container they wish to buy, and then is free to fill it with their choice of food. It is common to combine several options in one container, and some outlets charge by weight rather than by item. Many of these restaurants offer free delivery for purchases over a minimum amount. Many types of sushi ready to eat A francesinha fastfood restaurant in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal. A fast-food kiosk in Yambol, Bulgaria Sushi has seen rapidly rising popularity in recent times. A form of fast food created in Japan (where bent? is the Japanese equivalent of fast food), sushi is normally cold sticky rice flavored with a sweet rice vinegar and served with some topping (often fish), or, as in the most popular kind in the West, rolled in nori (dried laver) with filling. The filling often includes fish, chicken or cucumber. Pizza is a common fast food category in the United States, with chains such as Papa John’s, Domino’s Pizza, Sbarro and Pizza Hut. Menus are more limited and standardized than in traditional pizzerias, and pizza delivery, often with a time commitment, is offered. Kebab houses are a form of fast food restaurant from the Middle East, especially Turkey and Lebanon. Meat is shaven from a rotisserie, and is served on a warmed flatbread with salad and a choice of sauce and dressing. These doner kebabs or shawarmas are distinct from shish kebabs served on sticks. Kebab shops are also found throughout the world, especially Europe, New Zealand and Australia but they generally are less common in the US. Lamb shish kebab Fish and chip shops are a form of fast food popular in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Fish is battered and then deep fried. The Dutch have their own types of fast food. A Dutch fast food meal often consists of a portion of french fries (called friet or patat) with a sauce and a meat product. The most common sauce to accompany french fries is mayonnaise, while others can be ketchup or spiced ketchup, peanut sauce or piccalilli. Sometimes the fries are served with combinations of sauces, most famously speciaal (special): mayonnaise, with (spiced) ketchup and chopped onions; and oorlog (literally “war”): mayonnaise and peanut sauce (sometimes also with ketchup and chopped onions). The meat product is usually a deep fried snack; this includes the frikandel (a deep fried skinless minced meat sausage), and the kroket (deep fried meat ragout covered in breadcrumbs). In Portugal, there are some varieties of local fast-food and restaurants specialized in this type of local cuisine. Some of the most popular foods include the popular frango assado (Piri-piri grilled chicken previously marinated), francesinha, francesinha poveira, espetada (succulent turkey or pork meat on two sticks) and bifanas (pork cutlets in a specific sauce served as a sandwich). This type of food is also often served with french fries (called batatas fritas), some international chains started appearing specialized in some of the typical Portuguese fast food such as Nando’s. In the United States alone, consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in 2000 (which increased from US$6 billion in 1970).. The National Restaurant Association forecasted that fast food restaurants in the U.S. would reach US$142 billion in sales in 2006, a 5% increase over 2005. In comparison, the full-service restaurant segment of the food industry is expected to generate $173 billion in sales. Fast food has been losing market share to fast casual dining restaurants, which offer more robust and expensive cuisines.. In 2006, the global fast food market grew by 4.8% and reached a value of 102.4 billion and a volume of 80.3 billion transactions.. In India alone the fast food industry is growing by 41% a year.. McDonald’s is located in 126 countries and on 6 continents and operates over 31,000 restaurants worldwide.. On January 31, 1990 McDonald’s opened a restaurant in Moscow, and broke opening day records for customers served. The Moscow restaurant is the busiest in the world. The largest McDonald’s in the world is located in Beijing, People’s Republic of China.. There are numerous other fast food restaurants located all over the world. Burger King has more than 11,100 restaurants in more than 65 countries.. KFC is located in 25 countries.. Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with approximately 39,129 restaurants in 90 countries as of May 2009,. the first non-US location opening in December 1984 in Bahrain.. Pizza Hut is located in 97 countries, with 100 locations in China.. Taco Bell has 278 restaurants located in 12 countries besides the United States.. Fast food chains have come under fire from consumer groups, such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a longtime fast food critic over issues such as caloric content, trans fats and portion sizes. In 2001, Eric Schlosser’s investigative work Fast Food Nation provided Americans with a detailed look at the culture of fast food from rangeland to the range top. In 2008, Caesar Barber attempted to sue a number of fast food restaurant chains for making him obese. The suit never went to court. Social scientists have highlighted how the prominence of fast food narratives in popular urban legends suggests that modern consumers have an ambivalent relationship (characterized by guilt) with fast food, particularly in relation to children.. This guilt is projected onto processed food, where bizarre tales of contamination and lax standards are widely believed. Some of the concerns have led to the rise of the Slow Food, or local food movements. These movements seek to preserve local cuisines and ingredients, and directly oppose laws and habits that favor fast food choices. Proponents of the slow food movement try to educate consumers about what its members considers the richer, more varied and more nourishing tastes of fresh, local ingredients that have been recently harvested. In Japan, the emphasis is instead on education about food nutrition and production, called shokuiku. The government does not campaign against personal decisions but ensures that every citizen understands where their food comes from. According to the Massachusetts Medical Society Committee on Nutrition, fast food is especially high in fat content, and studies have found associations between fast food intake and increased body mass index (BMI) and weight gain.. A 2006 study. fed monkeys a diet consisting of a similar level of trans fats as what a person who ate fast food regularly would consume. Both diets contained the same overall number of calories. It was found that the monkeys who consumed higher level of trans fat developed more abdominal fat than those fed a diet rich in unsaturated fats. They also developed signs of insulin resistance, which is an early indicator of diabetes. After six years on the diet, the trans fat fed monkeys had gained 7.2% of their body weight, compared to just 1.8% in the unsaturated fat group. The director of the obesity program for the Children’s Hospital Boston, David Ludwig, claims that “fast food consumption has been shown to increase calorie intake, promote weight gain, and elevate risk for diabetes”.. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranked obesity as the number one health threat for Americans in 2003.. It is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States and results in 400,000 deaths each year.. About 60 million American adults are classified as being obese with another 127 million being overweight.. Health issues associated with obesity causes economic despair regarding health care. According to a 2003 study conducted by RTI International in North Carolina, the cost of health care in America is said to increase by $93 billion a year, mainly from Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, both associated with obesity.. Excessive calories are another issue with fast food. According to B. Lin and E. Frazao, from the Department of Agriculture, states the percentage of calories which attribute to fast-food consumption has increased from 3% to 12% of the total calories consumed in the United States.. A regular meal at McDonald’s consists of a Big Mac, large fries, and a large Coca-Cola drink amounting to 1,430 calories. A diet of approximately 2,000 calories is considered a healthy amount of calories for an entire day (which is different depending on several factors such as age, weight, height, physical activity and gender). Besides the dangers of trans fats, high calories, and low fiber, there is another health risk: food poisoning. In his book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, Eric Schlosser describes in gross detail the process of meatpacking. Meatpacking has become one of the most hazardous jobs in America, with the risk of injury being three times higher than any other factory work.. The meatpacking factories concentrate livestock into large feedlots and herd them through processing assembly lines operated by poorly trained employees increase the risk of large-scale food poisoning. Manure gets mixed with meat, contaminating it with salmonella and Escherichia coli 0157:H7. E. coli 0157:H7 is one of the worst forms of food poisoning. Usually spread through undercooked hamburgers, it is difficult to treat. Although antibiotics kill the bacteria, they release a toxin that produces hurtful complications. About 4% of people infected with E. coli 0157:H7 develop hemolytic uremic syndrome, and about 5% of children who develop the syndrome die. E. coli 0157:H7 has become the leading cause of renal failure among American kids.. In a research experiment done by Pediatrics, 6,212 children and adolescents ages 4 to 19 years old were examined to find out some information about fast food. After interviewing the participants in the experiment, it was discovered that on a given day 30.3% of the total sample have reported to have eaten fast food. Fast-food consumption was prevalent in both males and females, all racial/ethnic groups, and all regions of the country. Children who ate fast food, compared with those who did not, consumed more total fat, carbohydrates, and sugar-sweetened beverages. Children who ate fast food also ate less fiber, milk, fruits, and non-starchy vegetables. After reviewing these test results, the researchers concluded that consumption of fast food by children seems to have a negative effect on an individual’s diet, in ways that could significantly increase the risk for obesity.. Caesar Barber (born 1945) is an American man who became famous for his attempts to sue the fast food chains McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, and KFC for having made him addicted to their foods, resulting in his becoming overweight. At the time of the suit, Barber was 57 years old and weighed 272 pounds (123 kilograms). He was medically obese, suffered from diabetes, and had two heart attacks. He lived in the Bronx, and worked as a maintenance worker. Over a period of years, he ate fast food four to five times each week. “I trace all . back to the high fat, grease and salt, all back to McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King – there was no fast food I didn’t eat, and I ate it more often than not because I was single, it was quick and I’m not a very good cook. It was a necessity, and I think it was killing me, my doctor said it was killing me, and I don’t want to die.” His lawyer, Samuel Hirsch, hoped to qualify for class action status, which would have had allowed him to sue on behalf of all overweight people in New York state, and perhaps nationally. In so far as more than 30% of Americans are overweight, 30% of that are obese, and more than half eat at McDonald’s regularly, the potential judgment was enormous. Hirsch called McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and KFC Corporation irresponsible and deceptive in the posting of their nutritional information. He railed that they need to offer healthier options on their menus, and that they create a de facto addiction in their consumers, particularly the poor and children. “You don’t need nicotine or an illegal drug to create an addiction, you’re creating a craving. I think we’ll find that the fast-food industry has not been totally up front with the consumers.” The lawsuit didn’t ask for a particular amount of money, and ultimately never made it to court. Fast food often comes in wrappers coated with perfluoroalkyls (PAC) to prevent grease from leaking through them. These have been proven to get into the human body. PAC changes to a more harmful form inside the human body and can cause numerous health problems.. The United State’s National Institute of Health stated that while other sources of this pollutant exist, the wrappers should be “considered as a significant indirect source of human PFCA contamination.”. Fast casual restaurant A fast casual restaurant is a type of restaurant that does not offer full table service but promises a higher quality of food and atmosphere than a fast food restaurant. In the USA, it is a relatively new and growing concept to fill the space between fast food and casual dining. The typical cost per meal is in the US$8–$15 range. During the economic downturn beginning in 2007, fast casual dining saw an uptick in sales from the 18-34 demographic.. Customers with limited discretionary meal spending tend to use it on dining perceived as healthier.. Counter service accompanied by handmade food (often visible via an open kitchen) is typical. Alcohol may be served. Dishes like steak may be offered. The menu is usually limited to an extended over-counter display, and options in the way the food is prepared are emphasized. Health-conscious items have a larger-than-normal portion of the menu. Some restaurants may emphasize high quality ingredients like free range chicken and freshly made salsas. Overall, the quality of the food is presented as much higher than conventional fast food. While full table service is not offered, conveniences like non-plastic utensils and plates are common. Technomic Information Services created the term “fast casual restaurants” to describe restaurants with the following classifications:. * Limited-service or self-service format * Average check between $8 and $15 * Made-to-order food with more complex flavors than fast food restaurants * Upscale or highly developed decor There is a FastCasual.com Web site, launched by NetWorld Alliance and published by Paul Barron, who coined the term “Fast Casual” in the late 1990s.. There is also QSR magazine, first published in 1997 by Journalistic, Inc., covering both the quick serve/fast food and fast casual segments. Fast Food Nation Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal (2001) is a book by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser that examines the local and global influence of the United States fast food industry. First serialized by Rolling Stone. in 1999, the book has drawn comparisons to Upton Sinclair’s classic muckraking novel The Jungle.. The book was adapted into a film of the same name, directed by Richard Linklater. Schlosser opens the book with the ironic delivery of a Domino’s Pizza to the top secret military base, Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado. He describes various high-tech capabilities of the base and its extensive defensive system, speculating that if the worst were to happen and the entire base were entombed in the mountain, anthropologists of the future would discover random fast food wrappers scattered amongst military hardware. Both, suggests Schlosser, would give important clues about the nature of American society. America is becoming an obese country and needs to act upon the fast-food chains. The book continues with an account of the evolution of fast food and how it coincided with the advent of the automobile. He explains the transformation from countless independent restaurants into a few uniform franchises. This shift led to a production-line kitchen prototype, standardization, self-service, and a fundamental change in marketing demographics: from teenager to family-oriented. Regarding the topic of child-targeted marketing, Schlosser explains how the McDonald’s Corporation modeled their marketing tactics on The Walt Disney Company, which inspired the creation of advertising icons such as Ronald McDonald and his sidekicks. Marketing executives theorized this shift to market toward children would result not only in attracting children, but their parents and grandparents as well. More importantly, the tactic would instill brand loyalty that would persist through adulthood via nostalgic associations to McDonald’s. Schlosser also discuss the tactic’s ills: the exploitation of children’s naïveté and trusting nature. In marketing toward children, Schlosser suggests, corporations have infiltrated schools through sponsorship and quid pro quo. He sees that reductions in corporate taxation have come at the expense of school funding, thereby presenting many corporations with the opportunity for sponsorship with those same schools. According to his sources, 80% of the sponsored textbooks contain material that is biased in favor of the sponsors, and 30% of high schools offer fast foods in their cafeterias. The wound ration of youth employees within the United States is approximately two times greater to fully developed employees. . Anecdotes are given suggesting that students that disregarded sponsorships could be punished, such as the case with high school student Mike Cameron. He was suspended from school for an incident on “Coke day”; while his fellow students wore red or white T-shirts and posed collectively as the word COKE while aerial photographs were taken, Cameron instead wore Pepsi-blue. In his examination of the meat packing industry, Schlosser finds that it is now dominated by casual, easily exploited immigrant labor and that levels of injury are among the highest of any occupation in the United States. Schlosser discusses his findings on meat packing companies IBP, Inc. and on Kenny Dobbins. Schlosser also recounts the steps of meat processing and reveals several hazardous practices unknown to many consumers, for example, the practice of rendering dead pigs and horses and chicken manure into cattle feed. Schlosser notes that practices like these were responsible for the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, aka Mad Cow Disease, p. 202-3), as well as introducing into the food supply harmful bacteria, such as E. coli O157:H7 (ch. 9, What’s In The Meat). In the later section of the book, the fast food industry’s role in globalization is discussed, linking increased obesity in China and Japan with the arrival of fast food. A summary of the McLibel case is included. In later editions, Schlosser provided an additional section that included reviews of his book, counters to critics that emerged since its first edition, and then discusses the effect that the threat of BSE had on Federal Government policy towards cattle farming. He concludes that, given the swift, decisive and effective action that took place as a result of this interest and intervention, many of the problems documented in the book are solvable, given enough political will. Drive-through A drive-through, or drive-thru, is a type of service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was first pioneered in the United States in the 1930s. but has since spread to other countries. Orders are generally placed using a microphone and picked up in person at the window. A drive-through is different from a drive-in in several ways— The cars create a line and move in one direction in drive-throughs, and do not park, whereas drive-ins allow cars to park next to each other, the food is generally brought to the window by a server, called a carhop, and the customer can remain in the parked car to eat. Drive-throughs have generally replaced drive-ins in popular culture, and are now found in the vast majority of modern American fast-food chains. Sometimes, a store with a drive-through is referred to as a “drive-through,” or the term is attached to the service, such as, “drive-through restaurant,” or “drive-through bank.” Restaurants A drive-through restaurant generally consists of: * A speaker and microphone, or a window, for customers to order from * A speaker and microphone or wireless headset system for employees to hear the customer’s order (when a speaker is used) * A trigger pad beneath the concrete to activate the microphone and headset, possibly augmented with a CCTV camera * One or more free-standing signs listing the menu items, called a menu board * Newer drive-throughs feature a LCD or LED display within the speaker system in order to show the full order and total cost to avert order errors through miscommunication. At many Yum! Brands restaurants a secondary display featuring the total is placed directly next to the order window. * One or more windows where employees interact with customers by taking the order and money and/or giving the customer the order Drive-through designs are different from restaurant to restaurant; however, most drive-throughs can accommodate four to six passenger cars or trucks at once (called the queue).. In-n-Out Burger claims to have built the first drive-through restaurant in 1948. Harry and Esther Snyder, the chain’s founders, built their first restaurant in Baldwin Park, California, with a two-way speaker to enable patrons to order directly from their cars without the intermediation of a carhop.. Maid-Rite also claims to have had the first drive through window. Other sources cite Jack in the Box as the first major restaurant specifically designed as a drive-through and featuring a two-way intercom.. The first Jack in the Box opened in 1951 in San Diego. The drive-through concept was so unfamiliar to people at the time that the Jack in the Box “clown,” where the speaker was housed, held a sign saying, “Pull forward, Jack will speak to you.” McDonald’s Sierra Vista, Arizona, was the first city to have a McDonald’s drive-through. The first McDonald’s drive-thru was created in 1975 near Fort Huachuca, a military base located adjacent to the city—to serve soldiers who weren’t permitted to get out of their cars while wearing fatigues.(http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/our_story/our_history.html) The original McDonald’s was closed down and demolished in May 1999 and a new McDonald’s replaced it. The first drive-through restaurant (a McDonald’s drive-through) in Europe opened at the Nutgrove Shopping Centre in Dublin, Ireland in 1985.. In Spain and Russia, McDonald’s drive-thru services are often called McAuto. In Germany, Poland and France, McDonald’s drive-thru service is called McDrive. In Argentina, McDonald’s drive-thru service is called AutoMAC. Healthy Fast Food Considerations It is easy to see that making your own meals these days is a lot more difficult than eating out. There are restaurants everywhere! It is no wonder that the nation’s obesity rates are continuously climbing, along with heart disease and diabetes. The convenience of fast food and its low price is just hard to ignore, even for the most disciplined eaters. The time you’ll spend going to the grocery store and buying food, and then cooking it yourself greatly outweighs the cost of buying it directly from one of these places. Really the only time it makes sense to make your own meals is if you are cooking for a group of people. This is especially difficult to do for bachelors, and students living on their own. But just because the economics of eating this food is good, doesn’t mean you should do it all the time. This can have some very adverse effects on your health. Many of these restaurants have tried to introduce healthy fast food options. Now these kinds of foods may or may not be better for you. Healthy fast food items are sometimes difficult to distinguish if they are actually healthy, or just better than eating a greasy burger. In any case you should do your research and figure out what exactly you are eating. Try to minimize calories and fat intakes. So even if you’re going out to eat several times a week, it would certainly help to research some better options. Maybe you can’t be cooking at home all the time because you are on the run, but you can still make choices that will help you feel a lot better. Picking salads, and other low-calorie options can greatly reduce your chance of growing fat. Take some time and read the nutritional information on these so-called healthy fast foods. It is important to understand exactly what you are putting into your body. Fast Food History in America Most people think the McDonald brothers of California started the fast-food craze in America, but in reality, it was the White Castle hamburger chain that actually started fast food history in America. J. Walter Anderson opened the first White Castle in 1916 in Wichita, Kansas, and people liked the cheap hamburgers, fries, and colas he offered. However, fast-food really didn’t become common in America until after World War II, when Americans first began to fall in love with their cars, and had leisure time and more money to spend on eating out. The McDonald Brothers The real heroes of fast food history in America are Richard and Maurice McDonald, the two brothers who created the first McDonald’s restaurant in 1948 in San Bernardino, California. They wanted their restaurant to be more efficient and cost-effective, so they designed a simple menu in a small building without any tables, so people took their food and ate in their cars. By 1953, the brothers had decided to franchise their idea, and two franchises opened in Downey, California and Phoenix, Arizona. Copycats As the McDonald’s became more successful, others began to take notice and copy their example to make their own fast food history in America. Keith Cramer started an operation in Florida that would turn into Burger King, and Ray Kroc, a blender salesman, was so impressed with McDonald’s that he asked the brothers if he could sell their franchises. He opened his own McDonald’s in Des Plaines, Illinois in 1954, and eventually he bought out the brothers and became the owner of the corporation. Kroc was the driving force behind the food chain’s fantastic growth throughout America in the late 50s and early 60s. Wendy’s was created by Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, where the first restaurant opened in 1962. More Newcomers As fast food caught on, and more people decided they liked dining in their cars; more fast food shops sprang up around the country. Jack-in-the-Box began in San Diego, California in 1951, and by 1960 it had spread out of California into other areas. Troy Smith opened the first SONIC Drive-In in 1954 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Dunkin’ Donuts first opened in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1950, and the first Taco Bell opened in 1962 in Downey, California. All of these operations based their business at least loosely on the McDonald’s operation and then modified it to work with their specialty foods. Today’s History Today, fast food chains have spread all around the world, and have spread American culture right along with them. There are many more popular chains, like Carl’s Jr., Arby’s, Domino’s and Dairy Queen, indicating that fast food isn’t always about hamburgers. In fact, pizza, Chinese food, and just about any type of food imaginable are now available for take-out at fast-food chains across the globe. Fast food history in America is really the foundation of fast food as we know it today, and that history has made millionaires out of many of the people who first stated the fast food concept. Healthy Fast Food There are times when all of us are going to need to avail ourselves of fast food. I mean, really, it has many advantages. You can get it without getting out of your car, it doesn’t cost much, and you can eat it on the go. However, there is one big problem. Fast food seems to be antithetical to healthy eating, doesn’t it? It doesn’t seem realistic that you could ingest a steady diet of fast food and still maintain a healthy diet. But, never fear! There are healthy fast and casual food restaurant alternatives that won’t break your bank, your schedule… or your waistline! The trick is knowing where to look for these healthy alternatives on fast food menus, and, actually, in knowing which drive through restaurants to try for in the first place. For instance, at McDonald’s, you can purchase yogurt and fruit parfaits. These are low in calories, and they avoid the dreaded fast food trap – fried food. In fact, most of the hamburger based chains (McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr, Burger King, etc.) offer chicken sandwiches, many on whole wheat buns. But the good you reap by choosing this option is almost destroyed if you choose their fried chicken option! Always stick with grilled when you have a choice between grilled and crispy. If you have health in mind, crispy is not even an option for you. Jack in the Box, in fact, offers grilled chicken strips that are perfect for low carb diets, and are also perfect for supplementing the protein content in their more than adequate selection of salads. Carl’s Junior has a brand new section of salad offerings, including a delicious option which features walnuts, cranberries, and apple slices. All of their salads come with the option of grilled chicken slices which can provide much needed lean protein content in your diet. When you go the route of ordering salads from drive through chains, though, there is a pitfall you can fall into that is similar to the grilled versus crispy trap. The dressing. Some of the dressings that are offered with fast food salads are almost as calorie rich as the hamburgers that the same restaurant serves. You are destroying the sacrifice you are making by passing up that burger, and you might not even be aware of the damage you are doing. You absolutely need to use your common sense and, at times, do a little research to eat healthy in drive through restaurants – but it absolutely can be done! And the truth is, if you are trying to get rid of belly fat, or even if it’s not that specific and you are simply attempting to get rid of fat, controlling your fast food fat content is a must!