Funny Look at Eating Out

Best of BC

For all you hospitality people in the Lower Mainland of BC, I came across this "best of" list on a paste site so I'm not sure of any accuracy in the surveys but found it interesting. Enjoy!

Readers' choices
Media, Arts & Culture
Lifestyle
Travel
Sports & Recreation
Food & Drink
City Life
Style
Mind, Body & Soul

These winners were selected by readers in an on-line survey conducted earlier this year. To view a winner's details, click on a question.
Food & Drink
Best restaurant wine list (international wines)
1. Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar
2. Cioppino's and Cioppino's Enoteca
3. Salt Tasting Room

Best place for cheap drinks
1. The Cambie
2. Café Crêpe
3. Metropole

Best coffee shop (national chain)
1. Starbucks Coffee
2. Blenz Coffee
3. Tim Hortons

Best tea shop
1. The Secret Garden Tea Company
2. DAVIDsTEA
3. Granville Island Tea Co.

Best bakery (breads)
1. Terra Breads
2. COBS Bread
3. Uprising Breads Bakery

Best lesbian club event/bar
1. Lick
2. Hershe Bar
3. Celebrities Night Club

Best B.C. wine/winery (red wine)
1. Burrowing Owl Estate Winery
2. Mission Hill Family Estate
3. Quails' Gate

Best restaurant bathroom
1. Cactus Club Cafe
2. Joey Restaurants
3. Moxie's Classic Grill

Best coffee shop (local chain)
1. JJ Bean Coffee Roasters
2. Caffè Artigiano
3. Bean Around the World Coffees

Best restaurant to take out-of-town guests
1. The Sandbar
2. The Boathouse Restaurant
3. Seasons in the Park
3. The Salmon House

Best brew pub
1. Yaletown Brewing Company
2. Steamworks Brewing Company
3. Granville Island Brewing Taproom

Best restaurant/café with free Wi-Fi
1. Waves Coffee House
2. Starbucks Coffee
3. Blenz Coffee

Best sports bar
1. Shark Club
2. Forum Sports Bar
3. Red Card Sports Bar + Eatery
3. Score On Davie

Best B.C. wine/winery (white wine)
1. Burrowing Owl Estate Winery
2. Quails' Gate
2. Mission Hill Family Estate
3. JoieFarm Wines

Best romantic restaurant
1. Seasons in the Park
2. Bishop's
2. Chambar Restaurant
3. Il Giardino

Best locally brewed beer
1. Granville Island Brewing: Lions Winter Ale
2. Granville Island Brewing: Cypress Honey Lager
3. Granville Island Brewing: Island Lager

Best brunch
1. Medina Cafe
2. Milestones Grill + Bar
3. Sophie's Cosmic Cafe

Best gay bar
1. Celebrities Night Club
2. Odyssey Night Club
3. Lounge 1181

Best fair-trade coffee shop
1. JJ Bean Coffee Roasters
2. Salt Spring Coffee
3. Bean Around the World Coffees

Best bar
1. The Roxy
2. The Lamplighter Public House
3. The Cambie

Best produce store
1. Kin's Farm Market
2. Capers Whole Foods Market
3. Donald's Market

Best butcher
1. Windsor Quality Meats
2. Jackson's Meats & Deli
3. Granville Island Public Market

Best organic produce store
1. Capers Whole Foods Market
2. Choices Markets
3. Vancouver Farmers Markets

Best B.C. beer brewed outside Vancouver
1. Okanagan Springs
2. Phillips
3. Kokanee

Best Canadian beer brewed outside B.C.
1. Sleeman's
2. Alexander Keith's
3. Big Rock
3. Unibroue

Best strip club
1. Brandi's Exotic Nightclub
2. The Number 5 Orange
3. Penthouse Night Club

Best restaurant for meat
1. The Keg Steakhouse & Bar
2. Memphis Blues Barbeque House
3. Gotham Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar

Best late-night takeout
1. Fritz European Fry House
1. The Naam Restaurant
2. Tsui Hang Village
3. McDonald's

Best cheese store
1. Les amis du FROMAGE
2. La Grotta Del Formaggio
3. Granville Island Public Market
3. Mount Pleasant Cheese

Best restaurant for fine dining
1. Bishop's
2. West
3. Chambar Restaurant

Best veggie restaurant
1. The Naam Restaurant
2. The Foundation
3. Bandidas Taqueria

Best restaurant (independent)
1. Chambar Restaurant
2. Vij's
3. The Naam Restaurant

Best coffee shop (independent)
1. JJ Bean Coffee Roasters
2. 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters
3. Caffè Artigiano

Best restaurant for cheap eats
1. Hawker's Delight
2. Bon’s Off Broadway
3. The Foundation

Best restaurant wine list (B.C. wines)
1. Raincity Grill
2. Salt Tasting Room
3. Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House

Best bubble tea shop
1. Dragon Ball Tea House
2. Bubble World
3. Pearl Castle
3. Pearl Fever

Best pickup bar (F seeking M)
1. The Roxy
2. The Lamplighter Public House
2. Republic
3. The Sandbar

Best place for cheap beer
1. The Cambie
2. Café Crêpe
3. Royal Canadian Legion

Best fresh seafood store
1. Granville Island Public Market
2. Seven Seas Fish Company
3. The Lobster Man

Best cooking school
1. The Dirty Apron Cooking School
2. Pacific Institute Of Culinary Arts
3. Vancouver Community College

Best patio
1. The Boathouse Restaurant
2. The Keg Steakhouse & Bar
3. Bridges Seafood Restaurant

Best new restaurant
1. Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie
2. Maenam
3. The Corner Suite Bistro de Luxe

Best local microbrewery
1. Granville Island Brewing
2. Storm Brewing
3. R&B Brewing Co.

Best restaurant to work for
1. Cactus Club Cafe
2. Earls
3. The Keg Steakhouse & Bar

Best all-day breakfast
1. Denny's
2. Bon’s Off Broadway
3. Sophie's Cosmic Cafe

Best wine store
1. Liberty Wine Merchants
2. B.C. Liquor Stores
3. Marquis Wine Cellars

Best imported beer
1. Stella Artois
2. Heineken
3. Guinness
3. Corona

Best kid-friendly restaurant
1. White Spot
2. Little Nest
3. Red Robin

Best pickup bar (M seeking F)
1. The Roxy
2. The Sandbar
3. Republic

Best gelato/ice cream shop
1. Mario’s Gelati
2. La Casa Gelato
3. Gelarmony

Best restaurant (chain)
1. Earls
2. Cactus Club Cafe
3. Milestone's Grill and Bar

Best grocery store
1. Capers Whole Foods Market
2. Choices Markets
3. Save-On-Foods

Best bakery (pastries)
1. Fratelli Authentic Italian Bakery
2. Thomas Haas Patisserie Chocolate Café
3. Terra Breads
3. Notte's Bon Ton Pastry & Confectionery

Hospitality Hiring Trends

I came across an interesting article yesterday touching on employment trends in foodservice, from fastcasual.com. They've quoted senior executives in the industry as seeing improved revenue and profitability in this year and next but that job seekers will only see gradual improvements in opportunities into 2011.

Many see a full recovery over the next couple years and suggest new product innovations and merchanising schemes to be the driving factors. They also found that increasing their outsourcing of technical and business procedures - yeah, recruiters! - will spur along the recovery.

Some are suprised that outsourcing recruitment will accelerate the recovery, but to a long-term recruiter in the hospitality industry, it seems quite obvious. A recruiter can take on much of the HR function for a client company, and a good recruiter will lighten the finanaical investment for executives tapping into their established networks and resources. Let's face it, an executive has an important role that largely does not include recruitment or the time to develop the resources a good recruiter will have secured.

The overall outlook, according to the majority of executive respondents in the KPMG survey: revenue and profitability is better now than a year ago. That’s in marked contrast to KPMG's survey of the sector last summer, when less than one-third thought these business measures were better than the previous year.

For those who are looking for work or planning on making a move, "39 percent of respondents were more optimistic about employment in their sector over the next year, which is seven percentage points higher than last summer's survey."

The executives that noted an increase in planned hiring, a mere 23% of respondents, marking a tough market for prospective employees that will need to be well prepared for interviews and scrutinizing of their references and credentials, not to mention their social networking behaviour!

Your Attitude and Your Energy

The hospitality industry is very much a people focussed career and requires much of your personal energy to service customers and care for staff that also do so on the front line each day. Your personal energy is an important component productivity. Most people cycle between positive and negative energy states during the work week. But the percentage of time spent in positive and negative moods varies significantly. Some people seem to be overwhelmingly negative, which makes to tough for them to work in hospitality! Others in similar circumstances can remain much more positive.

Therefore, to increasing the time spent in a positive state will improve your personal productivity. Here are a few suggestions to be mindful of that will not only support your working conditions and those around you but also your personal life:

1. Work first on your relationships.
A simple yet prime issue, relationships are both our best sources of happiness and our biggest sources of problems and frustrations. Developing good relationships and improving or ending the poor relationships in your life will increase your personal energy. An effective tactic to start improving your relationships is to develop better personal boundaries and standards and work on reducing tolerations.

2. Develop a routine to start every day in a positive mental state.
It is very helpful to start the day with a routine that creates positive energy. Many people find activities like an early morning walk, exercise, meditation, quiet time, etc., effective in getting their day off to a positive start. It is easier to stay positive, if you can start with a positive attitude.

3. Learn how to monitor your current mental state and changes to it.
This is a complex area, but if you can link negative mood changes to a source or cause, then you are frequently in a position to quickly change back. The important point here is once you are in a negative state, get the message or value from the situation, then take some action to return to a positive state.

4. Create an energizing physical environment.
Invest some time and money to make your personal surroundings pleasing and energizing to you. Some small items may make a big difference to how your personal space affects your moods. Poor lighting can lower your mental state, especially in the winter in rainy Vancouver! Some people report a big improvement in their mood just by cleaning up their bedroom and making the bed before leaving for work. Clutter is de-energizing to many people. A sink full of dirty dishes is de-energizing to some. A small water fountain can create a feeling of energy.

5. Carefully monitor your self-talk.
Negative self talk is a common source of low moods. When you are hearing negative self talk, be alert to the unrealistic, overly negative messages. Focus on getting any truthful message, then shifting out of overly self-defeating criticism. It is true that we are usually our own worst critic.

6. Deal with problems effectively.
Problems are a part of life. Few people enjoy problems. But, in many cases we can learn from them and it may help to ask yourself several questions, such as:

•What am I contributing to this problem?
•What Life Lesson have I been missing here?
•What is the worst that can happen and how can I improve on that?
•What am I doing right?
•What am I going to do differently?

7. Focus your energy on attracting more of what you want.
Time and energy spent dwelling on problems is frequently better spent pursuing desirable goals. It helps to examine your own contribution to any difficulties and understand how you may need to change. Then be sure to ask others directly for what you want from them; don't fall into the trap of under communicating. In this way, you are always making course corrections and moving forward.

8 Be a positive energy source with others.
Negative energy seems to attract negative results. Keeping your own mood positive can encourage positive moods and suppress negative behaviour in others.

9 Avoid using negative energy as an energy source.
Many people have a shortage of positive energy in their lives and use negative energy as their energy source. They create busyness, use deadlines, crises, and problems to keep them going. In many cases, their motivation patterns shift entirely from seeking pleasure to avoiding pain. In most cases, serious burnout is the eventual result of becoming dependent on negative energy sources.

Food Quality Following BP Oil Spill

Anyone else have a concern about the food from our oceans following the catastrophic oil spill of BP's? Surely, we'll be concerned to avoid highly contaminated foods in our grocery stores and restaurants but what impact will the spill have? how will be know it's safe? are suppliers being questioned? If you're as concerned as me, perhaps you'd be interested in this article from prweb.com on May 28, 2010:

"The International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI), a leader in delivering career-spanning, standards-based food protection training to state and local food safety officials, announced today it is partnering with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to train food protection officials to determine the safety and acceptability of seafood from the oil-contaminated Gulf-state area.

This federal program will provide hands-on training to develop skills in sensory detection for taint in seafood exposed to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. These skills are critical for seafood safety monitoring in order for food protection officials to take regulatory response measures that can include advisories and opening and closing of fisheries. All instruction will be provided by a special NMFS/FDA Sensory Expert Team that has been collecting base-line samples from the Gulf region for these and future training sessions.

In addition to coordinating attendance of state officials from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, IFPTI will reimburse attendees' travel expenses to overcome the limited funding for training and tight travel budgets that would otherwise have prevented these food protection officials from getting this vital emergency training.

To date, working in partnership with the Association of Food & Drug Officials, and in collaboration with the FDA, IFPTI has trained more than 500 food protection professionals from 37 states. Utilizing a FY2010 federal appropriation, IFPTI expects to train approximately 1,000 state and local food protection professionals in 2010 and the Institute is preparing to train up to 2,000 to 3,000 food safety officials in 2011 utilizing funding allocated for such purposes in the President's FY2011 Budget. "

Employee Retention in Hospitality Industry

When managing in restaurants, hotels, reorts, casinos.... our number one goal is simple: attract customers and repeat customers because that drives our bottom line.

What makes it not so simple is creating the framework for this customer focus. One thing we know is that we depend heavily on the retention of management staff. Who wants to incur the loss of their management team's experience, education and indepth knowledge of the company brand?

According to Lori McInerney, hospitality employment expert with Careerbuilder.com, "hospitality organizations will need to upgrade retention strategies ...to keep their top performers, and their guests, from checking out early."

Hospitality is an industry that is prone to high employee turnover rates. Two in 10 hospitality workers have worked for 10 or more employers. In a nutshell, employees leave when the cost of staying exceeds the reward of leaving. This cost can be a broad range of compensation factors but the main pillars for candidates are challenge, responsibility and actual financial gain.

A retention program that targets financial gain, responsibility and challenge will up your employee retention rate. McInerney recommends the following hospitality employee retention tips:

* Define a clear path for upper mobility with training and development opportunities. Employees are more likely to invest in their jobs if they feel the company has invested in them.

* Communicate often. An informed employee is a connected employee who will feel a personal stake in the success of a company.

* Implement the "Three R's Rule": Recognize, Reward, Repeat. Pat your employees on the back for every job well done to continually reinforce your appreciation of their performance.

* Ask them about their day. Measure employee satisfaction with the same conviction applied to measuring guest satisfaction as the first will determine the latter.

The Knowledge Drain in Your Company

Each company I recruit for recognizes that knowledge is the key element in hiring a new employee. Knowledge about the company, how to perform their role, how to attract and please their customers, how to deal with staf issues - all part of what they look for in a new hire and a successful long-term employee.

It is precisely knowledge that companies pay for in valued employees, whether it be in paying top salary for someone who knows what their doing, knows the industry, knows the community and market, or in paying to train them to know the company's culture, policies, procedures that set them apart from the competition. It's all about knowledge and we entrust that knowledge in our employees - but how does the increasing mobility of the work force and impending baby boomer retirements drain your company of its most tangible asset?

"We are facing a severe and pervasive problem and almost no one seems to be doing anything about it," said Beazley, a former professor at George Washington University and now chairman of the Strategic Leadership Group in Arlington, Va.

Beazley cautions that the Information Age relies on the transfer of knowledge, which now is being done haphazardly.

"`How do I keep knowledge in my business?' should be the question every manager asks today," he said. "It's never been as important."

In the Information Age, knowledge is power. And transferring that knowledge from worker to worker is the key to success. This is an argument he spells out in his new book "Continuity Management," written with co-authors Jeremiah Boenisch and David Harden.

"You have to remember that we have switched very rapidly from the Industrial Age to the Information Age," Beazley says. "The knowledge of the company is not in its database, but in the heads of its employees. It is loaned to the company and goes home with the employees. We are just starting to grapple with that. It is not something we needed to worry about 30 years ago."

In the Industrial Age, you replaced a body with a body. The Information Age requires the hiring of one mind to replace another. The task is simply not as easy.


"Everything has shifted," he said. "It is no longer a badge of honor to stay with a company. In fact, it is held against you. These forces are occurring, but we haven't done anything to assure that knowledge is retained within our companies when people leave."

The intensity of these forces has stunned executives, Beazley said.

"I think it is so shocking that they are in denial," he said. "They want to put off dealing with it because they can't quite believe it is really happening. But it is."

If there is an alarm buzzer, executives seem to be hitting the snooze button.

"The point is that if you let employees leave today or you terminate them, it's not a cost savings," Beazley said. "It is a disposal of assets. If you can't retain knowledge, you can't be a learning organization.

"The phrase we keep hearing today is to `work smarter.' How do you work smarter? You do it with knowledge. You can't allow knowledge to escape from your organization."

Downsizing and the increasing use of temporary and contract employees should be enough to guarantee that a mobile work force is certain in the future. At the same time, flattened organizational structures mean each company has more decision-makers working for it.

The question becomes: What will executives do to ensure that what those employees know is transferred to others before the learning curve has to be repeated?

Beazley is the first to admit that his concerns should be self-evident.

"It's so obvious that we expect people to be doing it. When people hear about this, they look at me like everyone already knows this. But when I ask them what their company is doing about it, the answer is always, `Nothing.'"

That's the wrong answer.

[Source:Michael Kinsman. "Career: When employees hit exits, knowledge leaves." The Sun - Plainfield (IL). 2002.]

Bedroom Communites and Your Restaurant

Apparently, bedroom communities will continue to sleep well, so to speak. According to a study by research company, Mintel, the under 34 crowd rank a restaurant's proximity to their workplace, not their home, as very important/important when selecting where to dine (62 percent of 25 – 34 year olds and 55 percent of 18 – 24 year olds, versus 41 percent of all respondents).

Its new report suggests that in the current economic conditions value has become the mantra of many contemporary diners. However, convenience still resonates with the out-to-eat crowd,as well as extended hours (ie: late-night)and speed of service, especially for those under age 34.

"Though value remains important to diners in this economy, our survey reveals convenience may be equally as important," said Chris Haack, senior analyst at Mintel. "Young adults and young families, especially, are pressed for time, making restaurants an easy and often necessary solution for meals. As foodservice establishments struggle for revenue, improving convenience may help them get diners in the door."

The report also' points out these consumers' attitudes toward delivery and takeout, including:

* Forty-three percent of respondents say they've cut spending on delivery and takeout this year.

*Approximately one in six 18 – 34 year olds say they're spending more on these convenient services compared to 2008.

* In the past three months, 18 – 34 year olds were twice as likely as the general population to have ordered delivery.

* Approximately 30 percent of them picked up food from a restaurant, compared to 20 percent of all respondents.

Restaurants make mealtime easier, especially for 25 to 34 year olds, many of who work full-time or have young children. Nearly half (49 percent) say they dine at casual restaurants because they’re too tired to cook, while 40 percent do so because they have no time to prepare a meal. (This compares to 40 percent and 30 percent of all respondents, respectively.)

But special occasions, food quality and socialization remain top reasons that younger adults go to restaurants. “Restaurant usage is truly integrated into the lifestyles of adults under age 34. Many people value the fact that they can get quality food with minimal effort at a restaurant. As a bonus, they can spend that meal time with friends or family,” said Haack.

"Food Fast" Trend - A Customer's Perspective

Although single restaurant operators and large corporate chains may have a distint definition of their business segment, from a customer's point of view, the restaurant industry is no longer divided into clear-cut segments. With the increasing growth of the fast-casual concept, and the addition of curbside service to full-service restaurants, a dual concept has emerged: food fast.

Customers now perceive the traditional fast food and "food fast," options on par and expect meals served quickly with flavor, quality and ambiance.

Consumers, who once defined "fast food" as quick-service, drive-thru restaurants and convenience stores, now include other restaurants segments in that definition. A significant percentage of consumers (41 percent) are reporting that their idea of places offering "fast food" has expanded to include fast casual restaurants such as Panera Bread and full-service restaurants offering carryout and curbside service, according to Technomic Inc.

Keep these findings in mind:

* Nearly half of consumers (49 percent) say they eat at fast food restaurants at least once a week; about one fifth of consumers said the same for fast casual (16 percent) and full-service (20 percent) restaurants.

* One out of four consumers (24 percent) say they’ve increased their visits to fast food restaurants in the past year, higher than for any other restaurant segment

* Roughly half of consumers (52 percent) say that a fast food meal should be delivered within five minutes; consumers are willing to wait somewhat longer for items they perceive as "food fast."

* About a third of consumers say they would like to see dedicated take-out areas at fast food (32 percent) and fast casual (33 percent) restaurants.

* Efficient ordering and carryout options at full-service restaurants have strong appeal. Call-ahead ordering for pickup, separate take-out stations, and curbside service interest 40 percent, 37 percent and 31 percent of consumers, respectively.

(The Status and Future of Fast Foods: Consumer Trend Report is based on data from a November 2009 survey of 2,000 consumers. The report integrates industry data from the Top 500 U.S. restaurant chains, select secondary sources and menu analysis from Technomic's MenuMonitor database. Appendices include menu and concept profiles of 10 innovative food-fast concepts, and comprehensive demographic breakdowns for fast food and fast casual restaurant user groups and consumer clusters.)