The Food Scout

Admittedly, the above claim is completely subjective and not scientifically based. But I have been traveling extensively across the U.S. for the past 6 months, checking into dozens of hotels, checking out at hundreds of grocery stores and restaurants, and from what I can see, the recession has improved customer service across the board (well, except maybe in Charleston, S.C.). Not surprisingly, I have a lot of theories about this, and they aren't necessarily politically correct. Basically, I think that when the economy was humming and everyone was dreaming of being in a better job (and believed they could find one at the drop of a hat), there wasn't a lot ...

Perhaps you've noticed I haven't blogged in more than a month. That's because I've been Tweeting instead. I can't say I necessarily like the whole Tweeting phenomenon that has people stopping their own lives to track what Ashton Kutcher is doing, but Twitter has done a couple of interesting things for me. One development is that I now "tweet" my ideas more frequently than I was blogging them, because the barriers to entry are much lower with tweeting than with blogging. I can just tap the Twittelator app on my iPhone and send off my trend observation without having to craft an article or upload a photo. Done. Plus, since these ...

Flip, sip, enjoy, says IHOP Cafe.  I love surprises when it comes to new restaurant concepts. Last week I was buzzing around suburban San Antonio looking for what's new in supermarket delis when BAM! I caught a bright royal blue awning hanging over a brightly lit strip mall-based store with a strange sign called "IHOP Cafe."  While IHOP has been making news of late with funny-faces and free pancakes across the country to compete with Denny's Grand Slam it hit two days after the SuperBowl, IHOP has also apparently been quietly taking the brand in potentially another direction.  Judging by the fact that there are just a few ...

Given that prime-grade beef, usually only found at steakhouses, is piling up in Sam's Clubs, it shouldn't be surprising that burger innovations are taking center stage these days. Hardee's shrank its Thickburger several months ago but Burger King recently introduced miniaturized Burger "shots," more in line with the mini burgers now common at casual dine restaurants like Ruby Tuesday's, TGIFriday's, and Chili's. Then, just this week, BK opened its first of many Whopper Bars at Universal Studios Theme Park in Orlando, where burger lovers can custom-build their burgers with a choice of 22 toppings. Recent months have also seen the opening of chef-run burger joints. TV personality (oh yes, and chef) Bobby Flay opened ...

In many ways, 2008 was the coming out party for tea - both iced and hot - and now the question is how much hotter the tea trend can get.  Tea has long been the "alternative" beverage: It was just the right compromise when you didn't want just water or a sweet beverage with your restaurant meal. And if you weren't a coffee lover, but wanted to partake in the coffee culture, tea was there to provide a cup of status that was more drinkable than a stout cup of java.  But thanks to the time-honored tradition of pre-sweetened iced tea in the South, which was institutionalized and spread by McAlister's Deli chain ...