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FOOD
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MEN & CHOCOLATE
"The saw is that it's a women's thing,
but it isn't," says John Scharffenberger,
noting that it's the men who are "hyperinterested" in
chocolate, reports Elizabeth Olson in The New York
Times (12/19/04). But it is not the taste of chocolate that so captures
the imagination of the male enthusiast: "They want to know
about where the beans grow, what percentage of sugar is added or
information about the agricultural history ... Men are really interested
in the details," says Mr. Scharffenberg, "and they wrap
their enthusiasm around this information." Women, by comparison,
are generally more interested in how the chocolate tastes. "Women
typically find something they like and stick with it," observes
Adam Smith, who carries 225 varieties of chocolate
bars at his store, the Fog City News in San Francisco.
Mr. Smith says the chocolate bars, since he added them to his selection
of international newspapers and magazines three years ago, have
grown to account for "35 percent of his revenue, from 5 percent."
A good move, obviously, and one that tracks with research from Mintel,
mintel.com, showing that Americans consume "some three
billion pounds" of chocolate annually, or 11.7 pounds a person."
Mintel also "found that 40 percent of men chose dark chocolate
as their favorite, compared with 35 percent of women." And,
according to the folks at Lake Champlain Chocolates,
sales are shifting to the dark varieties. Or shall we say, varietals?
Yes -- chocolate mongers "are introducing 'single origin' and
'varietal' chocolates." No less an authority than Jean-Michel
Valette, president of Robert Mondavi Winery,
endorses the concept: "The year it's grown does make a difference
in how it tastes," he says of chocolate. The Guittard
Chocolate Company, guittard.com, actually "has introduced
a Founder's Reserve line whose bars have beans
grown only on specific estates in Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela."
Newman's Own Organics is also among those riding
this trend, enjoying "a 25 percent increase so far this year
in sales of its chocolate bars and chocolate cups."
The introduction of a new dark bar was inspired by Paul
Newman himself: "Paul loves orange peels covered in
dark chocolate," says Peter Meehan of Newman's Own
Organics. "But in a pinch, he says that our sweet
dark chocolate orange bar will do." Paul certainly fits the
profile of the dark-chocolate crowd -- male, over 50 and well-to-do.
Mintel's research shows that dark chocolate is preferred "by
43 percent of people who earned at least $75,000 a year, but by
only 32 percent of those earning $25,000 or less." That's no
doubt partly because these chocolate varietals are expensive. Dark
bars by Scharffen Berger, scharffenberger.com,
weighing in at 3-ounces, go for $3.49. A bar from Amedei
Porcelana sells at $9.50. But the price points work, because
a 3-ounce bar is considered by many to be enough for two people,
and at about 250 calories a serving, is lower-cal than many other
desserts. "It's about rewarding themselves, having some every
day -- even if it's a small amount and not just for special occasions,"
explains Joan Steuer of Chocolate Marketing, chocolatemarketing.com,
a company that tracks trends in chocolate.
(c) 2004 CoolNews.com
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CAFÉ BRUECKE OPEN ON PROSPECT
Café Bruecke, an
eclectic new café on Milwaukee’s Eastside
has opened at 2101 North Prospect Avenue (formerly
Hartter’s Café).
Christine Lorch, a Riverwest resident since 1999
will own and operate the café with assistance on weekends
from her husband and beer professional, Jerry Patzwald.
The café’s ambience will be informal with two distinct
atmospheres, a dynamic bar area including a “Stammtisch”
table for communal customers and an intimate dining area for solitude
and quiet conversation.
Beverage connoisseurs seated at the small bar can observe
their Anodyne espresso made with the aid of the
La Marzocco machine or enjoy a draught beer served
Belgian style from the Antoine beer tower.
Food will be served tableside from a menu of diverse and reasonably-priced
appetizers, sandwiches, seasonal soups and salads, entrée
feature of the day and desserts.
Live music will be featured occasionally. The interior space is
wheel chair accessible and smoke free when the doors are closed
due to a chill in the air. Café hours are Tuesday through
Thursday 4 - 11 PM and Friday & Saturday 4 PM - 12 midnight.
The restaurant is German only in name and means “bridge”,
paying homage to the “Bruecke” society of expressionist
painters who flourished in Germany in the 1920’s.
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YARD HOUSE
OPEN IN GLENVIEW
Award-Winning Eatery Features 130 Taps,
American Fusion Favorites, and Late-Night Dining
On June 14, the Yard House, an award-winning eatery,
made its Chicagoland debut at the new Glen Town Center
in Glenview, Illinois. Located approximately 20 miles north of Chicago,
this is only the second Yard House restaurant to open outside of
Southern California in the company’s nine-year history. The
restaurant, which features more than 100 menu items, 130 taps of
beer, a prix-fixe children’s menu and daily late-night dining,
will open for dinner only Monday-Thursday from 5-11 PM. The restaurant
will serve lunch Friday-Sunday starting at 11:30 AM and remain open
until 1:30 AM Friday and Saturday, and until 11pm on Sunday.
The Yard House promises to razzle dazzle ‘em
with its creative concept of great food, classic rock and the world’s
largest selection of draft beer. The restaurant will be a cornerstone
and complement to the tenant mix at the new Glen Town Center, a
45-acre urban mixed-use lifestyle destination and the focal point
of a master-planned community known as The Glen. The center itself
enjoys a historic past having served as the Naval Air Station (NAS)
during the 1940s. The Yard House, which spans a roomy 9,800 square
feet with a 323 guest capacity that includes both indoor and outdoor
seating, pays homage to NAS by incorporating some historic elements
within its design.
“We’re extremely excited to introduce our concept to
suburban Chicago,” said Steele Platt, founder and
CEO of the company. “In choosing this location, we
felt the demographics were an ideal fit for us. While we’re
known for our extensive selection of draft beer, we are first and
foremost a restaurant catering to families with young children,
couples and, as the night wears on, an affluent singles crowd.”
The interiors are a contrasting mix of warm wood and stainless steel
accents complete with a signature oval bar and an assembly of tap
handles adorned with clever icons representing the various breweries
including a selection of Illinois brews. The walls are graced with
original and bold artwork commissioned by Jerome Gastaldi and a
state-of-the-art sound system, which can be instantly programmed
to reflect the age and preference of guests, plays continuous classic
rock tunes. A collection of video monitors have been strategically
placed throughout so that guests may enjoy their favorite sporting
events.
Adding to the ambiance is a menu of American Fusion fare created
by award-winning Executive Chef and Partner Carlito Jocson.
With a nod to his Filipino heritage, many of Chef Jocson’s
dishes feature flavors of the Pacific Rim, which are then infused
with more traditional fare. The menu, which features more than 100
items, includes a creative list of appetizers, salads, sandwiches,
rice and pasta dishes, as well as steak and seafood. Signature dishes
include an ample and stacked California Roll, open-ended Moo Shoo
Eggrolls, and a generous double-crusted Turkey Pot Pie. A prix fixe
children’s menu, printed on a 12-page activity book, features
a selection of items found on the regular menu only served in age-appropriate
portions and accompanied with French fries or fruit, a Kustom Kooler
beverage and fresh fruit dessert bar.
The Yard House takes its name from the early Colonial tradition
of serving beer in 36-inch tall glasses -- or yards -- to weary
stagecoach drivers. The Glenview location will carry on this tradition
by offering guests full yards of beer, as well as half-yards and
traditional pint glasses. The restaurant houses a glass-enclosed
keg room where endless rows of steel barrels are stacked on top
of one another. These containers collectively hold thousands of
gallons of beer which are transported to the trademark bar through
miles of stainless steel tubing and then fed to each individual
tap.
The Yard House, which first opened in Long Beach,
California, in December 1996, was recently lauded as having the
“Best Beer List” by both Nation’s Restaurant News
and Cheers Magazine. The company’s long list of accolades
includes being ranked among the nation’s Top 100 Independent
Grossing Restaurants by Restaurants & Institutions Magazine,
as well as being recognized as a Concept of Tomorrow by Restaurant
Hospitaliy, a trade magazine which also named the Yard House among
the nation’s 50 fastest Growing Full Service Chains. The Los
Angeles Business Journal has also ranked the Yard House as the third
highest grossing independent restaurant in Los Angeles County, which
is a major accomplishment in a town known for its many restaurant
casualties.
The Irvine, California-based company, which reached a financial
milestone in 2003 when it passed the $50-million mark in gross sales,
currently has six restaurant locations throughout Southern California
and a single unit in Denver, Colorado. The Glenview location marks
the company’s eighth restaurant and its first Midwest venture.
This October, Yard House Restaurants will open another Southern
California location in Rancho Cucamonga, just east of Los Angeles
on historic Route 66. Further expansion is being considered for
such key markets as Las Vegas, Nevada; Scottsdale, Arizona; and
Palm Beach, Florida. This year the company, which recently hired
nearly 200 people at its Glenview location, projects annual gross
sales to reach the $66-million mark.
The new Yard House is located at the new Glen
Town Center, located off the I-94 at the West Lake Avenue
exit in Glenview, Illinois, approximately 20 miles north of Chicago.
For more information, call 847.729.9273 (YARD).
Or take a virtual visit at www.yardhouse.com.
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ESSENHAUS OPEN
IN WI DELLS
The
Essen Haus announces the opening of its new location
in the Wisconsin Dells. The authentic German restaurant and drinking
hall is part of the Bavarian Village and Chalet Complex
located on Broadway in downtown Dells. “We saw a great opportunity
to introduce our Old World tradition of family fun to the Wisconsin
Dells. We’re really excited about the tourism industry and
look forward to providing authentic food, beer and music to the
travelers,” states Neale Hansen, manager
of the Essen Haus.
Filled
with authentic Bavarian décor, the Essen Haus’s staff
members serve guest while dressed in traditional Lederhosen and
Dirndls. Outside the German Glockenspiel re-enacts the legend of
the Pied Piper of Hamelin every half hour, right next door to the
Essen Haus’s outdoor beer garden. The Essen Haus offers a
menu filled with German specialties and is open for lunch and dinner.
In addition to 12 imported German beers on tap, the restaurant features
various imported bottled beers from around the world, live oom-pah
music nightly and the world-famous boot. A popular attraction among
patrons, the boot, is a 2-liter glass boot filled with beer. Tradition
follows that the boot if flicked for luck, sipped from and then
passed to the next guest.
Also
located on the Isthmus in downtown Madison, the Essen Haus
German restaurant began when it was opened by local restaurant entrepreneur,
Bob Worm in 1983. In addition to being the owner and neighbor to
The Hotel Ruby, Come Back In and The Up North Pub,
the Essen Haus is one of Madison’s most favored
destination spots among locals and tourists. It has been recognized
as “The Best of Bars” by the Food Network and was selected
by Martha Stewart Living Magazine as one of America’s top
“Tasty Destinations.”
“Now
we’re continuing our traditions in the Wisconsin Dells. It
really is a great place for family fun. We have great food and the
kids love to dance to the live polka music while their parents enjoy
great tasting beer,” states Hansen. For more information about
the Essen Haus in Madison or the Wisconsin Dells log onto www.essen-haus.com
or call 608-255-4674 in Madison or 608-253-7766 in the Dells.
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