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Is McDonald's Launching a Dollar Breakfast Menu?

YumSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:56 -0800

In this economy, even the savviest of fast food diners have a hard time stretching their dollar. But if the rumors are true, value-seekers may soon find it a lot easier to fill up for a buck early in the day. According to the Chicago Tribune and the Wall Street Journal, McDonald's plans to reveal a nationwide breakfast dollar menu.

Based on internal documents obtained by the two publications, the McDonald's breakfast dollar menu will begin a national advertising run in January 2010. Although McDonald's has declined to comment, the burger giant tested a breakfast menu with $1 items in August in its Chicago stores, offering items such as a sausage McMuffin, breakfast burritos, and hash browns.

The chain, which is also rolling out the Mac Snack Wrap nationwide in January, will face some stiff competition.

Burger King recently added the quarter-pound Double Cheeseburger to its menu through March, and Dunkin' Donuts just rolled out a temporary $0.99 menu in Chicago. If two leading newspapers are publishing stories on it, the alleged menu can't be too far from the truth. What would you hope to see on a $1 breakfast bonanza?

Among Small Businesses, Office Gardens Are Sprouting

YumSugar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:00:37 -0700

A number of boutique companies have begun offering a vegetable garden as an added perk for their employees. A garden requires virtually no resources, yet it can bring in huge benefits for the company, such as an increase in office morale, a pronounced focus on worker health and wellness, and an edge over other competitors.

Minneapolis, MN-based branding agency Haberman invested $10,000 to set up a garden for its 30 employees. Said co-founder Fred Haberman: "It's creating that water-cooler effect. People have a greater excitement [about] working at Haberman."Company-sponsored gardens are also gastronomically, emotionally, and financially rewarding for staffers who participate. Twisted Limb Paperworks, a recycled paper products company with a 1,500-square-foot garden outside its Bloomington, IN, office, estimates employees have reaped $2,400 in produce this season.

I'm in love with this idea, and might have to lobby for my own company to consider a plot in the big city! What do you think of it? Do you know of any organizations that are experimenting with corporate gardens?

Denny's Strives to Hit the Late-Night Sweet Spot

YumSugar — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:00:36 -0700

2009 has been a rough year for casual dining, with many restaurant chains struggling to stay afloat. The solution proposed at Denny's? Become friends with the cool kids. Denny's, a 24-hour eating establishment with a reputation as a family road trip pit stop, is attempting to transform itself into an all-night hotspot for young adults.

With the onset of its Allnighter program last year, Denny's began its metamorphosis into a night-owl oasis, blasting rock and country from the hours of 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The company also started offering a Rockstar menu at night, hawking dishes like burritos designed by Good Charlotte and a country-fried steak combo created by Rascal Flatts.

The payoff has been meager with late night traffic increasing by only 5 percent. Still, the chain continues to promote its newly-minted image to college campuses, in hopes that schools will consider changing the names of existing locations to "Allnighter" and offer the restaurant's Rockstar menu. I haven't hit up a Denny's since my last road trip, but I'm curious to know if any of you have checked it out. Does the new late-night Denny's lounge seem to have an edge on the competition?

Photo by sun dazed

FDA: Packaged Foods' Health Claims Make Them Drugs

YumSugar — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:00:19 -0700

Could the breakfast staple, Cheerios, be classified as a drug? That's what the Food and Drug Administration is claiming, based on the product's labeling that it's "clinically proven to help lower cholesterol." On May 5, the FDA sent a warning letter to General Mills, the maker of Cheerios, charging that the cereal's cholesterol-lowering health claims violate federal law. It stated:

Based on claims made on your product's label, we have determined that your Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal is promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug because the product is intended for use in the prevention, mitigation, and treatment of disease.

According to The Wall Street Journal, if General Mills wishes to keep the statements on the Cheerios box as is, the company has to file a new-drug application for the cereal. In a statement issued this morning, General Mills expressed that it will "look forward to discussing this with the FDA and to reaching a resolution."

While I agree that the FDA should be closely involved with health claims in consumer products, I can't help but wonder whether this is taking resources away from a larger problem in the FDA's hands: improving food safety in our country. Should packaged foods be able to make health claims, or does that render them drugs?

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France's Wine and Cheese Recovery Act

YumSugar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:00:58 -0700

After embittered battles this year over Roquefort, beef, and Coca-Cola, France has decided it needs to show the rest of the world some love. Concerned that outsiders perceive two of France's top exports, wine and cheese, to be unapproachable, the French government, with the help of local producers, has agreed to spend $2.1 million to sponsor cocktail parties in 19 different countries. While many events around the globe will take place in large convention centers, the program in the US will be different. In an effort to capitalize on the American trend of entertaining at home to save money, the stateside program will be a series of parties subsidized in private homes. On June 4, 1,000 Americans will hold wine and cheese parties, complements of the French Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

The American effort is being organized by House Party, a marketing company that arranges sponsored parties. Hopeful hosts simply apply online; if selected, they'll receive 15 percent discounts on select French wines, a free gift when they order online at specialized cheese websites, and a box of French-themed party gear. In return, hosts are required to throw a party, photograph and blog the event, and answer a survey about the products they tasted.

Considering many parties already revolve around wine and cheese, this seems like a solid idea. Do you think this effort will have an impact on French wine and cheese sales in the US? Are you planning to apply?

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Do You Buy Wine Online?

YumSugar — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:45:46 -0700

Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, wine columnists and founders of Open That Bottle Night, recently assessed the world of online wine, only to find it came up short.

"Some really fine stores out there haven't spruced up their sites since dirt was invented," they lamented. They did, however, manage to find a handful of wine sites that do online wine sales right.

I've purchased hard-to-locate bottles of wine online for a couple of special occasions, and never had a problem. Still, if I ordered wine online all the time, I'd be screwed on a couple of last-minute hostess gifts, and stuck with quite a hefty shipping bill. How about you?

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How Do You Make Reservations?

YumSugar — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:45:43 -0700

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal that reviewed online dining reservation applications prompted a discussion I had with PartySugar about the preferred method for booking reservations. If possible, I'll score a reservation online; it's convenient and sites such as OpenTable offer incentive points for doing so. Party, however, always prefers to book over the phone; she believes it's easier to get a reservation that way. I'm curious to know: how do you book your dinner reservations?

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This Saturday, Uncork That Cherished Wine

YumSugar — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:30:37 -0800

Chances are you've got at least one bottle you've been saving for a special day, but what if you don't know what that significant occasion will be? That's the idea behind Open That Bottle Night, a dedicated evening when wine aficionados proclaim there's no time like the present to open a meaningful bottle of wine.

2009's event takes place this Saturday, Feb. 28, marking the 10th anniversary of the celebration created by Wall Street Journal Tastings columnists Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher. As the two wine writers have put it: "You should worry less about what is the perfect moment for the wine than what is the perfect moment for you."

I've been celebrating OTBN for years, because I couldn't agree more with the message. It's important to enjoy life in the present. Isn't it time to take a moment to relax, pull the cork, and enjoy life by the sip? I'm looking forward to opening a bottle of 2006 Bella Vineyards Late Harvest Zinfandel that I've been holding onto. It's not about the monetary worth of the wine, but rather its sentimental value: I have nostalgic thoughts about years past when I drink it.

This weekend, what wine do you look forward to opening and why?

Cilantro Preferences May Be Genetic

YumSugar — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:30:24 -0800

For every cilantro lover who basks in the bright, citrusy flavor of the herb, there's an equal and opposite voice that denounces its soapy, overly floral scent and taste. So why is cilantro (and not, parsley, oregano, or sage) so polarizing? At least one scientist believes that preference for cilantro may be a genetic trait.

Behavioral neurologist Charles J. Wysocki studied identical and fraternal twins' preferences for the herb and found that while more than 80 percent of the identical twins gave similar ratings on the "pleasantness" of cilantro, only 42 percent of the fraternal twins had like assessments. He also believes that disgust for cilantro comes from its odor, rather than its taste.

Wysocki cautioned that he hasn't run enough analysis of data to come to a firm conclusion, but this finding could explain a lot of things. After all, the Internet is rampant with anticilantro communities, from websites like I Hate Cilantro to opposition groups on Facebook, and even Julia Child wouldn't touch cilantro. What do you think of Wysocki's biological theory?

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At One London Restaurant, the Bill Is up to You

YumSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:30:17 -0800

With the global economy floundering, restaurants have tried to come up with as many resourceful ideas as possible, from prix fixe dinners to built-in tips, to draw in diners and keep businesses afloat. At London's Little Bay Restaurant, however, one restaurateur has gone where few others have gone before: for the month of February, he's letting his customers decide how much they ought to pay for their meals - if at all. To learn why, read more.

"It's entirely up to each customer whether they give £100 or a penny. All I'm asking is they pay me what they think the food and service is worth," said Peter Ilic, the restaurant's owner, in a statement. "It just seemed the right thing to do with everyone . . . feeling pretty miserable."

This tactic sounds like it could be problematic, considering diners at the restaurant feast on such high-cost items as duck salad and caviar-topped haddock soup. But according to Ilic, the restaurant's made above its average spent per head over the last five days.

This focus on the honor code of customers isn't the first we've seen - last year, we told you about a San Francisco bar with a billing system that relies on the honor code. This is the first incident where I've heard of customers being given the power to decide how much they think a meal is worth. Since most of you said you wouldn't pay the full amount at an honor code-based system, I'm rather surprised by the news that the restaurant's seeing profits. After watching the clip below, tell me: Has Ilic put an admirable concept into practice, or is he simply setting his restaurant up for failure?

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