Founder of online ordering service calls marketing key to competitive edge

BOSTON — PlanetBistro.com, a new on-line restaurant delivery and takeout service, plans to pursue a marketing-driven strategy because “marketing is definitely, absolutely vital” to ensuring success, company founder Timothy Healey said.
The service, which was launched last fall, entered the on-line business world in the wake of numerous dot-com failures, but Healey, who once headed U.S. marketing efforts for the Allegra brand of Aventis Pharmaceuticals USA, said he knows why those companies went out of business and how to avoid a similar fate.
“Dot-coms fail for three reasons,” he said. “First, because of a poor business model; second, because of incompetent management; and the third reason would be misappropriation of marketing funds. That third element turns out to be key to having a competitive advantage.”
Although Healey declined to discuss specific numbers, he said PlanetBistro.com would devote about 20 percent of its operating budget to marketing activities, “and over time it may go up slightly.”
The company kicked off its marketing efforts by taking a road trip of sorts. It retrofitted a school bus with a powerful stereo system and 24-foot banners painted on the sides and traveled to “wherever there were lots of people,” Healey said.
“We had fairly loud music with a disco theme,” he said, “and we had about 10 young people working for us who were dressed up as chefs while they were dancing to the disco music.
They also distributed informational material as part of a technique known as “guerrilla marketing,” a type of quick-hit promotion that occurs without advance notice to consumers.
“One of the basic tenets of guerrilla marketing is that you want to take your marketing to the people,” Healey explained.
In-store material at the more than 100 restaurants that have joined PlanetBistro.com plays a major role in marketing efforts.
“That’s important,” Healey said. “Many people are already customers and might use [the restaurants] more if they had the convenience of on-line ordering.”
To boost brand awareness in New England, the company recently forged a strategic alliance with Takeout Taxi, the nation’s largest multirestaurant delivery service.
“They are very advanced in their thinking,” Takeout Taxi founder Kevin Abt said of PlanetBistro. “We had some desires in the online food-fulfillment arena that weren’t being done, so we felt this made a great strategic partnership.”
Takeout Taxi delivers thousands of fax and email communications every week, and “every one of those is an opportunity to co-promote PlanetBistro,” Abt said. “The level of receptiveness to interactive ordering is probably a thousandfold more prevalent than it was a year ago.”
Healey said that competently run on-line ordering services should have a long and successful run, and PlanetBistro.com hopes to expand outside of New England after establishing itself in that market.
“There’s a huge demand for on-line services that are good,” he said. “Total purchases [in 2000] were a 50-percent increase over ’99. That might be smaller than forecast, but it’s tremendous growth. Philosophically, I believe the Internet is just another communications channel. For some people it’s become the preferred communications channel. It may become the dominant channel as it gets more and more convenient.”

American fast-food chain buys Mexico, skewers symbol—not

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s national symbol, an eagle with a snake in its beak, was skewered by this city’s newspaper last month in an April Fool’s-style prank.
On Dec. 28, known in Mexico as Day of the Innocents, La Jornada reported that an unnamed American fast-food chain bought the rights to the eagle, which is immortalized on the flag.
According to the newspaper, a spokesman for the restaurant firm said the symbol was going “to be fried like a chicken.”
The Associated Press, however, reported that the story was part of a traditional holiday prank that is played every Dec. 28. The report noted that the day gives local newspapers the chance to satirize things like Mexican president Vicente Fox’s perceived pro-Americanism and his zeal for privatization.
Other newspapers ran headlines about Fox’s purported love life, active volcanoes being found in Mexico City and a decision by Mexico’s gold-medal-winning female weightlifter to become a lingerie model.

The After Party Party

You may have just hosted a marvelous holiday meal—the table was breathtaking, and the food, divine; the guests felt pampered and happy—but it’s only after the bird has been relegated to Tupperware and the torn gift wrap tossed into recycling that the really good times kick into high gear. “The day after, the pressure’s off and entertaining isn’t about performance cooking,” says O at Home’s entertaining maven, Susan Spungen. “That’s when you can just hang out with people, get into smaller conversations, or play parlor games.” Picture it: The refrigerator-door hinges get a workout as people nosh their way through the day. You can actually be with them all, while mulled cider and soup simmer at the ready.

Informal doesn’t have to mean haphazard, and your groaning board will be all the more inviting if it’s beautifully laid out. Planning ahead is key, Susan says. You’ll save time if you combine shopping for the big meal with shopping for the aftermath. And several recipes can be made ahead, which frees you up for the universally beloved post-holiday activity: gossiping about who misbehaved the night before!

Casual trend gains ground; new ideas challenge many independents – dining scene in the United States

With the emergence of American-trained chefs and a new and highly sophisticated customers base, the once-solid underpinnings that have characterized the fine-dinning scene in the United States for decades are beginning to wear thin.

A host of innovative concepts, featuring multiethnic cuisines, unstructured menus and fresh regional ingredients, are combining to put the squeeze on traditional, European-dominated establishments.

Among the latest victims in that changing environment is Narsai’s in Berkeley, Calif., where owner Narsai David has for 13 years maintained a rigid adherence to classical French cuisine and service. The restaurant will close its doors next month because of a steady decline in profits and patronage, according to its general manager, Don Link.

The problem for Narsai’s and other traditional Bay area fine-dining spots is that customers–particularly on the West Coast–have begun to redefine dining priorities. Owing to the efforts of such innovators as Alice Waters, whose Chez Panisse in Berkeley has become one of the trendsetters of the new movement, patrons have discovered less expensive, more informal and highly exciting alternatives to the traditional European mold.

“Things are becoming much more competitive,” admitted John Wan, manager of Fleur de Lys, one of San Francisco’s classical French restaurants. Sales at the restaurant, he added, are down substantially from those of last year.

IN THE Los Angeles area, where Wolfgang Puck’s Spago has taken the restaurant scene by storm, old-line establishments are also feeling the pinch of increased competition.

Already, Ambrosia–a once-popular top-of-the-line restaurant–has passed into memory while Perino’s another long-established classical dinning spot, is struggling to retrench after filing for Chapter 11 reorganization last year.

“The days of having only elaborate restaurants with high prices thought of as the best are over,” stated Spago’s general manager Tom Kaplan, adding that the restaurant buys many of the same ingredients purchased by pricer restaurants in the Los Angeles area but sells them for less.

“We’ve found that the people who have the most money don’t necessarily want to spend it,” Kaplan concluded. “The taste and food satisfaction here is much the same as at the fancier and more expensive places, although the atmosphere is not as subdued or elegant.”

In nearby Beverly Hills, Mike Bedalian recently opened Bistango, dubbed by some “the working man’s Spago” because it produces fine, inventive food at moderate prices in a facility expansive enough to handle a large drop-in clientele. Bedalian predicted that first-year sales would top $5 million with a pretax margin of more than 20%.

While restaurants like Narsai’s have resisted change with catastrophic results, some fine-dining operators have managed to alter their approach to suit the younger, less-affluent “foodies” who now comprise a growing percentage of the fine-dining customer base.

At Le Dome in West Hollywood, co-owners Eddy Kerkhofs and Michel Yheulo have taken the restaurant’s menu through a series of changes–from brasserie fare to classical to nouvelle to the current mixed-bag menu of mostly European country dishes–to survive the flurry of food trends that have swept the Los Angeles area.

Now, Kerkhofs and Yheulo are about to open a second concept–Cafe Colorado–geared specifically to the new-wave customer. The restaurant will offer a more-downscale menu than does Le Dome, based on Belgian and French country dishes and featuring a “Spanek method” vertically roasted chicken. Cafe Colorado is slated to open next month.

“WHAT WE’RE trying to do is give a full plate of good, simple, basic food at a low price that today’s customer can afford,” said the Belgianborn Kerkhofs.

While California has been the spawning ground for much that is new in the fine-dining arena, the wave of changes has swept East. In Chicago, where Bob Nyman’s classically oriented Enzio’s has closed, a spate of chic regional northern Italian establishments spearheaded by the Levy Organization and Rich Melman’s Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises has become the new “in” spots. Levy’s Spiaggia and Melman’s Avanzare head the growing list, which also includes the less pretentious Carlucci.

In Philadelphia, Steve Poses has introduced Frog’s, which specializes in a multiethnic mixed bag of cuisines. Under one roof, patrons can order from a menu that includes French, Thai or Arabic dishes.

AND IN New York City, the bastion of the country’s old fine-dining order, Jonathan Waxman, who made his culinary mark at Michael’s in Los Angeles, has returned to New York to open Jams.

Meanwhile, Larry Forgione’s An American Place has taken the city by storm with its innovative brand of American cooking that is now being widely imitated.

For all the new trends, however, the best of the traditional European fine-dining establishments–mostly dominated by a strong management personality or an extremely talented chef–continue to thrive in the old school.

sunken treasures – seaweed in cookery

Versatile sea vegetables are a gold mine of nutrition and flavor
The mere mention of eating seaweed can conjure up strange images for many of us. But you may be surprised to learn that you’ve probably been eating seaweed most of your life. In fact, one type, carrageen, has long been used as a thickener in puddings, ice cream and other commercial food products.
Seaweeds, or sea vegtables, have been prized since ancient times for their nutrient-rich qualities. Especially popular in Japan, these gifts from the sea are incorporated into soups, salads, appetizers, entrees and even desserts. They are also harvested and enjoyed in New Zealand, Britain, Ireland and many parts of Europe. Until recently, however, sea vegtables were virtually unheard of in the United States, except by sushi and macrobiotic enthusiasts, who value them as an important part of the diet.
These days, creative American chefs are turning to a variety of sea vegtables for their texture and flavor, which can range from delicate and mild to salty and spicy. They are also being recognized for their health benefits, including high concentrations of protein, calcium and other vitamins and minerals–especially those that are hard for vegetarians to get, like iron and [B.sub.12]. Perhaps the best-known sea vegetable is nori, the glossy purplish black sheets used to make sushi rolls, or “maki.” Sushi isn’t just about raw fish. Numerous all-vegetable maki rolls are available at Japanese restaurants and many supermarkets.
While most sea vegtables are versatile enough to add to soups or salads or cook with vegtables or grains, a few are used in unique ways. Agar-agar, for example, makes an excellent vegan alternative to gelatin, which is derived from animal by-products. Agar’s natural jelling property adds thickness and stability to puddings and other desserts. And kombu, or kelp, helps dried beans cook faster and aids digestion.
When purchasing sea vegtables, it is best to buy only certified organic varieties. Less expensive sea vegtables are sold at some Asian markets, but the superior quality of organic brands is worth the extra money. Since sea vegtables are sold in dehydrated form, they can be stored airtight in a cool dark place, such as a kitchen cupboard, and will keep indefinitely. Remember that a small bag of sea vegtables can go a long way, since only a small amount is used in recipes.
The soaking time varies depending on the type of vegetable, and some expand considerably more than others. For correct preparation, follow individual instructions on the package or in the recipe. Often, people new to sea vegtables prepare too much at first, not realizing how much the seaweeds expand. Since the vitamin and mineral content of sea vegtables is so concentrated, you only need to eat a small portion (about 1/3 cup) of sea vegtables two to three times per week for maximum benefit.
An easy way to get acquainted with these natural treasures is by sampling the array of sea vegetable convenience foods that are available for both seasoning and snacking. Ready-to-use shakers filled with flakes of dulse, kelp or nori can be used as salt substitutes or to season foods while adding vitamins and minerals. (The next time you make popcorn, sprinkle on dulse instead of salt.) Snack food lovers may also enjoy organic corn tortilla chips seasoned with kelp and dulse plus garlic and onion powder in place of salt. Or, for a change from regular pickles, bite into a sea pickle made with fresh kelp that has been pickled with shoyu soy sauce, rice vinegar and garlic. There are even sweet and chewy snack bars made with organic kelp blended with barley malt, maple syrup, vanilla and either peanuts, raisins or sesame seeds.