Favourite sandwich/salad/burger topping?

[Abbica]

Hi, I know someone who is in financial difficulties at present with their restaurant, like a lot of people I know, but she wants to update the menu, bring down the prices, make it more focused on the main sellers that are cheaper to buy in but with more variety and she is is stuck for ideas, as am I.

I was wondering, if you were going for lunch what would be your favourite sandwich or salad or open burger with topping? my favourite sandwich is chicken, bacon, lettuce, onion, cheese and mayo (not the weight watchers option), salad would have to be chicken with the usual trimmings, burger would be bacon, cheese and saute onions. Or alternatively, what would be your ideal lunch. Vegetables, pasta, potatoes not an option, more fast food.

 

[delgirl]

What your friend should do would depend on her location and who her customers are.

She should perhaps have a look at what Avoca Handweavers are doing. Their business is booming as the product is excellent and, more importantly, consistent in terms of quality, flavour, portion size and presentation.

Brambles Cafe's in the Dublin area have tried to copy their concept. They haven't been entirely successful, the consistency, presentation, flavour and portion control is poor, but they appear to be doing reasonably good business.

Avoca aren't keeping their recipes a secret either, you can buy their cookbooks in store and possibly on line as well. Definitely good for inspiration and their concept works - they're full for lunch 7 days a week even in the winter!

The salads and variety of salads are really good plus they're served with a small hot dish on the side, which can be prepared in advance and microwaved to cope with the lunchtime rush.

It's a shame your friend can't serve pasta, potato dishes and pizza as these are the items which she could earn the most profit from.

She's got the right idea - a lot of restaurants and hotels are adapting their menus to suit the market - I know of one 5 star hotel who discovered that their guests were ordering in pizzas instead of using the room service menus. They promptly put pizza on their room service and lounge menus and are doing a roaring trade. Not very 5 star, but that's what the customers want.

 

[MOB]

The tempation in a deli type restaurant is to do a 'total revamp' on the menu. Unless busines is already woeful - Don't. Menu change is a process and it should be continuous.

Some customers will always try the 'New and Special' item; So have a special every week, or even every day.

Apart from the 'Special' the other job is to monitor what is not selling and get rid of it. Stock that doesn't sell is wasted money. Every couple of months, you should be cutting the poor performers from the menu.

The objective is to have a menu which is constantly being fine-tuned to what your punters want. Frequent mutations plus Natural Selection = menu evolution ( hopefully);

 

[csirl]

Why not ask the customers for their suggestions?

 

[Abbica]

Thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated. Menu is staying the same in theory, just upgrading it with extra style of burger and perhaps a caesar salad, philly baguette with cheese instead of just the philly baguette they do now, just ideas on what you like yourself, you the customer, to eat at lunch. I suppose we kind of already have an idea, just lucking for some signature dish I may be missing that would bring in the customer.

 

[csirl]

philly baguette with cheese instead of just the philly baguette they do now,

Didnt think you could have a philly baguette without cheese? Philly = steak, chease & onions - traditional local dish in Philadelphia.

 

[becky]

Make sure you have some decent low fat options. This was a pub who use to do a waist watchers dish and it was very popular.

I find a lot of shops have will have full fat mayo (no low fat) or no relish. A lot of the salads will be smothered in mayo and olive oil.

When I do buy a sandwich I buy in the shop which has nice chili chicken and other salads mixes which are not smothered in mayo or olive oil.

But do take it easy on the cucumbers and sweet corn.

 

[mathepac]

Hi, I know someone who is in financial difficulties at present with their restaurant ... Vegetables, pasta, potatoes not an option, more fast food.

So its a sandwich bar / fast-food outlet masquerading as a restaurant - is this why its in trouble, failing to meet expectations based on the description / title?

"Mary's Burger & Baguette Bar" instead of "Mary's Fine Dining Emporium" perhaps?

 

[woodbine]

, just ideas on what you like yourself, you the customer, to eat at lunch.

i usually bring my own lunch but on the odd occasion that I buy a sandwich it's this:

brown bread
tuna and mayo (mixed before going in the sandwich, not in it!)
chopped green olives
slice of emmental cheese.

yummy

 

[gipimann]

As someone who is allergic to fish, cheese and tomatoes (I'm sure I'm not alone with some if not all of these choices!), maybe some plain sandwiches/rolls to cater for me and folk like me? The number of times I go to buy a pre-pack sandwich only to find that they've all got one of the ingredients in is frustrating.

For example, Spar/Insomnia are advertising their hoagies & coffee offer....however all of the hoagies have both cheese and tomato in (which I can only find out by buying as there isn't an ingredient list).

My favourites are chicken, mayo and stuffing or chicken, mayo and sweetcorn on granary bread - as long as it's kept far away from the grated cheese!!

 

[Cahir]

How about falafels? There's not enough of them in this country and I would go out of my way to get them at lunch time.

 

[Vanilla]

Or do a coeliac option. And advertise it in the Coeliac yearly food list/website.

The numbers of diagnosed coeliacs in Ireland are hugely increasing and there are so few places you can go to just buy a sandwich. I've found a few restaurants that advertise themselves as being coeliac friendly and when you go there, they offer a salad with a gluten free roll ( and not the nice kind- the cheap nasty kind).

If ONLY there were places that did gluten free sandwiches in the bigger areas like Dublin, Limerick, Cork- I think they'd be inundated. Probably wouldnt be enough demand in smaller towns. BUT they should make sure the bread is nice ( a lot of the ones you can buy to reheat are nasty) and target advertise.

Also you'd need to learn about the disease and make sure there was no cross contamination.

 

[Graham_07]

If ONLY there were places that did gluten free sandwiches in the bigger areas like Dublin, Limerick, Cork- I think they'd be inundated. Probably wouldnt be enough demand in smaller towns. BUT they should make sure the bread is nice ( a lot of the ones you can buy to reheat are nasty) and target advertise.

Also you'd need to learn about the disease and make sure there was no cross contamination.

It would be great if they did, but I think the bread is the main problem for a coeliac sandwich. As you said a lot of these breads are nasty and have a very short useable date which might make them unprofitable for the vendor. The necessity to keep coeliac foodstuffs and all associated boards/utensils etc. well separated from the rest might also make for problems in this type of business unless serious staff training was given and the location permitted space to do this. The option of using domestic bread makers is there but I can't see too many going to that trouble for a limited market. My brother-in-law is both T1 diabetic and coeliac so imagine his restrctions on eating out. However there is one restaurant locally who have the menu properly annoted as to coeliac options and the owner/chef is very clued in to that and will vary items to ensure they suit the restricted diner. Definitely gets the business from the family at large as a result.

 

[JJ1982]

It would be great if they did, but I think the bread is the main problem for a coeliac sandwich. As you said a lot of these breads are nasty and have a very short useable date which might make them unprofitable for the vendor. The necessity to keep coeliac foodstuffs and all associated boards/utensils etc. well separated from the rest might also make for problems in this type of business unless serious staff training was given and the location permitted space to do this. The option of using domestic bread makers is there but I can't see too many going to that trouble for a limited market. My brother-in-law is both T1 diabetic and coeliac so imagine his restrctions on eating out. However there is one restaurant locally who have the menu properly annoted as to coeliac options and the owner/chef is very clued in to that and will vary items to ensure they suit the restricted diner. Definitely gets the business from the family at large as a result.

A friend of mine is similar to yout BIL, and somtimes whne we go out to eat it can be traumatic. One memorable time was asking a waiter if there was flour in the soup. The waiter answered "Yes I think so" and then my friend said, ok then I cant have it. And the waiter said, "Or maybe not, i dont think so actually"!! I mean surely waiters should be SOMEWHAT aware of the restrictions with flour and wheat!

 

[Graham_07]

A friend of mine is similar to yout BIL, and somtimes whne we go out to eat it can be traumatic. One memorable time was asking a waiter if there was flour in the soup. The waiter answered "Yes I think so" and then my friend said, ok then I cant have it. And the waiter said, "Or maybe not, i dont think so actually"!! I mean surely waiters should be SOMEWHAT aware of the restrictions with flour and wheat!

Agreed, for some coeliac's they have a reasonable tolerance level if something mistakenly end up in the food but for others an extreme reaction can come from the smallest contamination with flour. That reaction was simply amazing. However it comes down to training, or lack thereof.

 

[Vanilla]

That reaction was simply amazing. However it comes down to training, or lack thereof.

Not amazing in my experience- it's much more common to be greeted with that reaction than with one of any knowledge at all. But then again, when I was a student I regularly waitressed in cafes, chinese restaurants, a french restaurant ( that was a laugh ) and hadn't a clue about anything on the menu, and most other staff were the same. We don't have as many experienced, knowledgeable waiting staff in restaurants as they do on the continent where it is a career- here it's a stepping stone. I have an explanatory card in English and French which I carry with me in my wallet and can hand to the waiter/ress- the coeliac society provide them.

However with regard to cross contamination- with a small amount of training it should be easy in most kitchens. After all, coeliacs all around the world do it in their own kitchens, so...

 

[Vanilla]

My brother-in-law is both T1 diabetic and coeliac so imagine his restrctions on eating out. .

That must be tough.

I usually prefer to go for a low fat option as well as being gluten free and that would ( I feel ) be seen as pushing it a bit, so I don't persist. Once I turned 21 there last year () I felt it was important to try to watch the figure more.