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Mayor Bloomberg’s New York City Soda Ban Overturned!

March 14, 2013 1 Comment

New York City’s now infamous soda ban has raised a lot of important questions and become one of the most polarizing topics of 2012. Mayor Bloomberg’s ruling was set to take effect on March 12th, until Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling overturned the ruling. The beverage industry, small businesses and several interest groups rallied together to sue and keep the city from enforcing the drink regulation while the case was deliberated on. At last, Judge Tingling declared that “The loopholes in this rule effectively defeat the stated purpose of this rule.”

Mayor Bloomberg and city officials felt that the soda ban was a huge move for public health, aiming to lower obesity rates and thus decrease obesity-related illness costs by close to $2.8 billion annually in New York City. The soda ban was only the latest of Bloomberg’s motions to create a healthier New York. In previous years he compelled restaurant chains to post calorie counts on their menus, banned artificial trans fats from restaurant food, and even limited the amount of salt food manufacturers would use.

Supporters of the Mayor’s health initiatives make the case that sugary drinks are clearly tied to weight gain, and now nearly 24 percent of the city’s adults are obese, up from 18 percent in 2002. City lawyer Mark W. Muschenheim said the soda ban will “have significant public health effects, and the sooner that happens, the better.”

However critics of the soda ban have been far more outspoken, calling it arbitrary in that it applies to only some sugary beverages and allows other beverages to be sold only in certain stores. Critics also stated that the City Board of Health went beyond its jurisdiction in approving this size limit rule. The elected City Council did not preside over the initial ruling, instead a panel of doctors and health professional appointment by Bloomberg approved the soda ban.

While meant to curb obesity, the soda ban would hurt many businesses that relied on beverage sales and would have to retool their menus and change inventory with no compensation, while other established businesses like grocery stores would be allowed to carry on selling large sugary beverages.

Although Bloomberg’s health initiatives may have hit their first real hitch, the Mayor seems unfazed by the judge’s ruling. Shortly afterward he tweeted “We plan to appeal the sugary drinks decision as soon as possible, and we are confident the measure will ultimately be upheld.”

Filed under Food for Thought Tagged with beverage, judge, Mayor Bloomberg, NYC, soda, soda ban, sugar, Supreme Court

Food Trucks Experts Pioneer New Services to Stay Competitive

March 4, 2013 Leave a comment

Over the last few years food trucks have exploded onto the scene in cities all throughout the country, offering more variety than the traditional taco trucks that first made an entrance on the west coast. Today’s food trucks offer food from all over the world, and have gotten pricier as well with gourmet options and former restaurant chefs leaving their kitchens behind for the open road. However like any market, the mobile food market has considerably grown, and food truck entrepreneurs have found a number of ways to stay competitive and distinguish their businesses from the rest.

Some of the greatest limitations food trucks face are local and citywide ordinances that restrict their hours of operation and the space in which they can sell food. Because of these rules, many trucks take advantage of a huge rush in business during peak hours but are forced off the road shortly afterwards. Finding innovative ways to fill their schedules helps these trucks stay profitable even during off-peak hours.

More food trucks are directly interacting with their customers by having their chefs come to parties and events and personally cook for all the guests. Personalized catering options give customers an opportunity to become more acquainted with food trucks and change up their normal routines. Other trucks special events every weekend, including parties, lunches and weddings. In New York City the trend “Food Truck Fridays” has caught on with many companies that spice up their weekly catering with lunch from a popular food truck.

Some trucks are focusing on what they do best, and leaving everything else out of the equation. East Coast restaurant and food truck chain Luke’s Lobster has limited its offerings to put a focus on the lobster, shrimp and crab rolls that is does best. Vice president Ben Conniff says “We know we can do three things better than anyone else. Some ingredients are so good the best thing you can do is keep them simple.”

Industry experts also suggest that new food truck operators invest in high quality equipment to make sure they stay competitive with other trucks. Losing time replacing broken equipment or adding new fixtures can be very costly for new trucks. Conflicting rules in different cities and municipalities can also hinder new trucks. In cities like Chicago and New York City law enforcement is particularly stringent on food trucks, and having insight into how trucks interact with city government can save thousands of dollars in fines.

Despite how popular food trucks have become, the market continues to grow and failed ventures only make up a small percentage of the mobile food industry. As the trend gains more traction, more cities finding ways to incorporate the trucks, and even restaurant brands are building their own food trucks to build up buzz.

Filed under Food for Thought Tagged with catering, chicago, Food Truck Fridays, food trucks, Lukes Lobster, lunch, NYC, weddings

Mike ‘N Willie’s Fish Tacos

February 13, 2013 Leave a comment

The memorable green and orange truck started by two guys from Brooklyn named Mike and Willie has always been a safe bet for lunch. Sliders and tacos are more popular than ever, and the truck keeps expanding its options with more vegetarian fillings and even rice bowls for those looking for a less messy meal. But it wasn’t until I tried their fish tacos that I realized what a winning recipe Mike ‘N’ Willie’s has, with huge chunks of flaky battered fish with a fresh slaw and tasty cilantro sauce.

Mike ‘N’ Willie’s has a number of appetizing combination deals and daily specials, letting you mix and match between their tacos, sliders and sides. The 3 items for $10 deal is what caught my attention, especially because these tacos are stuffed with delicious fillings. Last time I tried Mike ‘N’ Willie’s they had just run out of fish tacos, so I ordered two of those and a short rib taco.

I bit right into the short rib taco first, doubled wrapped in two tortillas to make it easier to handle and topped with a smoky barbecue sauce, pickled red onion and cotija cheese. The taco was stuffed with sweet and savory meat, even better than the last time I tried it.

Each fish taco had a huge beer battered hunk of flaky fish in it, and I squeezed some lime on each one to give them even more of a kick. These were some of the best fish tacos I’ve tried, fried to perfection but perfectly complemented by the fresh slaw, sauce and lime juice. Finding tacos like this from a food truck in Manhattan seems as rare as finding a dolphin in the Gowanus, but anything can happen in New York. For a truly great lunch at a reasonable price, try Mike ‘N’ Willie’s food truck all around Manhattan and Dumbo, Brooklyn. Or cut to the chase and order online.

Filed under Food Review Tagged with brooklyn, Fish, fish tacos, food truck, lunch, Manhattan, Mike N Willie's, NYC, short rib, tacos

McDonald’s Makes Nutrition Info More Accessible for Customers

January 22, 2013 Leave a comment

McDonald’s and other fast food chains have had to respond to requests to be more transparent about the nutritional content of their food in recent years. At the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy, McDonald’s first included nutritional information on its packaging. Now this same information is available on restaurant menu boards, brochures, tray liners and online. Just recently, McDonald’s took the next big step in making consumer information readily available, including QR codes on its new packaging on all carry-out bags and fountain beverage cups that direct mobile users to online nutritional content.

Last week the QR codes were released for the first time in the U.S. and they will continue to be released throughout 2013. The text will also be translated into 18 different languages, marking the QR codes as a global initiative. McDonald’s is hoping that its new packaging will help the company communicate its brand through a blend of informative text and illustrations. Customers now have access to unlimited information with their mobile devices, and QR code packaging will help them get connected to McDonald’s much more efficiently.

“Our new packaging is designed to engage with customers in relevant ways and celebrate our brand,” said Kevin Newell, chief brand officer. “Customers tell us they want to know more about the food they are eating and we want to make that as easy as possible by putting this information right at their fingertips.”

In September, McDonald’s began listing calorie information on restaurant and drive-thru menus nationwide. This move is partially motivated by citywide laws on nutrition information, like New York City’s war on saturated fats and laws forcing chain restaurants to publicly post calorie information, as well as consumer data indicating a preference for more transparency. McDonald’s consulted its Global Advisory Council, a group of independent advisors on nutrition, public health and fitness. The group urged McDonald’s to provide customers with access to nutritional information.

At the end of 2011 McDonald’s launched a mobile app for customers with more nutrition information and an online “meal-builder”. These changes, in addition to a recently published nutrition progress report demonstrate that McDonald’s is raising the bar for fast food restaurants and nutrition. Almost a decade after the documentary Super Size Me slammed McDonald’s and the fast food industry, McDonald’s is increasing health awareness proactively rather than waiting for legislation to fall into place.

Filed under Food for Thought Tagged with calories, fast food, health, mcdonalds, menus, mobile, nutrition, NYC, packaging, QR code

2013 Restaurant Week Kicks Off

January 7, 2013 Leave a comment

It’s that time of year again when restaurants will post their prix-fixe menus outside and lure customers in with exciting dishes at great prices. In other words, it’s NYC Restaurant Week, or Restaurant Week(s) considering this event will last a full three weeks. This year over 300 restaurants in NYC are participating with either a $38 three-course dinner or a $25 three-course lunch. For some of the ‘trendiest’ restaurants in New York, these fixed prices can offer you a huge deal, as long you make a reservation in time.

Starting today, the 300+ restaurants will accept reservations for lunch and dinner, although some of the fancier restaurants offer lunch options only. The price of dinner has also increased this year, from $35 to $38, while lunch has increased by 93 cents. No doubt many of the participating restaurants campaigned to raise prix-fixe prices this year after serving low-tipping customers on an already marginally profitable meal.

Of course some hiccups can be expected in service with so many mouths to feed, so we recommend to customers to just enjoy a meal at a new restaurant and be understanding of the week’s demands. Of course we also recommend that you do your research before heading out to a restaurant. Some regular menus will clock in at about the same price at the prix-fixe, while other restaurants generally charge far more than they would for Restaurant Week. Of course the prix-fixe only accounts for your meal, and does not include drinks, tax and tip. Time to get on the phone and start making those reservations!

For a full list of participating restaurants, click here.

Filed under Food Festivals, Food for Thought Tagged with dinner, lunch, meal, NYC, prix-fixe, reservations, restaurant week, restaurants, tips

New York City Fast Food Workers Strike for Better Pay

November 30, 2012 Leave a comment

Workers at Burger King, McDonald’s and Wendy’s have gone on strike in New York City in protest of their low wages and their trouble starting a union to organize and demand their rights. These strikes follow closely after the nationwide strikes at Walmart, which has notoriously prevented its workers from unionizing and increasing their wages.

Workers began striking Thursday, protesting outside a Burger King near Penn Station standing behind a metal barricade with union organizers, clergy and other fast food workers. Inside the restaurant there were two customers, a security guard and a few cashiers. Customers have mostly avoided the chaos, and protestors hope to change the structure of the fast food industry where workers typically drift between jobs without much room for growth.

The strikes may be due to changing demographics among fast food workers, where teenagers working part-time jobs have been replaced with laid off workers, parents and families looking to support themselves. Organizers from New York Communities for Change helped coordinate protests among fast food workers.

“Especially now after the recession, a lot of people who lost work are now taking these jobs. Our economy is becoming a service sector economy but most of these jobs are minimum wage. This is a huge problem”, said Jonathan Westin, organizing director at New York Communities for Change.

The workers are specifically requesting the ability to form unions and to be paid at least $15 an hour. Fast food workers make approximately $8.90 an hour, which is the lowest of any occupation. These workers usually move to other jobs instead of demanding raises at their current ones, and the franchises that own each fast food establishment actively block attempts at unionization.

The event organizers have not been completely clear about their plans to unionize workers, but they intend to change standards across the whole industry rather than just at individual franchises. Despite the striking employees, franchise owners will most likely continue to pay workers on a store-by-store basis across New York.

Filed under Food for Thought Tagged with burger king, fast food, mcdonalds, NYC, strike, unions, wendy's

Public Comments Supporting Food Trucks in D.C. Suddenly Disappear

November 23, 2012 Leave a comment

Food trucks in Washington D.C. are currently facing off against a new wave of regulations that may limit the time they can spend at certain spots and raise the penalties they can be subjected to. The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs gave Washington residents a final chance to combat these new rules by submitting their thoughts online to be considered. However when the comments were reviewed, only about 200 people, businesses and groups submitted a response before the November 13th deadline.

Now the DC Food Truck Association is adding some controversy to this story by declaring that over 1,000 letters of support for food trucks were never received. Last year over 3,000 public comments were received in response to similar regulations, marking an unusual decline in this year’s recorded responses. The DCFTA submitted the comments through the automated letter-writing site, RulesThatWork.org, according to Executive Director Che Ruddell-Tabisola.

The NYCFTA is currently looking into what could have happened to the 1000+ emails that were never received, though if it was a problem on their end it would be too late for the responses to be accepted. As of the November 13th deadline, only 43 comments had been received from RulesThatWork.org.

No one had yet suggested that sabotage may have played a part in the missing votes, but the DCFTA suspects that the issues may have been caused by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs’ email systems.

“Because DCRA was receiving emails at one point and then apparently stopped, it leads me to wonder if there was a technical change on their end, such as some kind of system update, security update, a change in a spam filter or firewall setting, etc. It looks like the last day they posted comments from RulesThatWork.org was Nov. 10, so I’m wondering if there was a change then,” said Ruddell-Tabisola.

The DCRA is denying any wrongdoing in receiving the comments, checking through junk mail folders and affirming that they posted every single comment they received. DCFTA submitted its own 20-page response outlining its problems with each regulation and offering potential solutions to replace them. The Association responded this way after hearing that public comments do not actually sway any decisions that are made, no matter how many are received. The DCFTA then had to wait ten days before meeting with the Department of Transportation to clarify the language used in the regulations, delaying their ability to conduct necessary research.

The food truck industry has also been kept busy by Hurricane Sandy, assisting efforts in New York to mobilize the New York Food Truck Association which has partnered with the city to donate free meals to thousands of displaced residents. From the standpoint of the DCFTA they generated 1,000 public comments in only five days.

While the DCRA has not announced a timeframe for reviewing the comments they have received, they announced that is their IT team finds the missing comments in a junk folder somewhere they will be accepted and posted online.

Filed under Food for Thought Tagged with DCFTA, food trucks, NYC, NYCFTA, regulation, washington DC

Join us this Saturday for a Lower Manhattan Food Crawl!

November 16, 2012 Leave a comment

Although it’s been more than two weeks since Hurricane sandy hit the Northeast, many small businesses are still feeling the effects of the storm. Restaurants in particular rely on small margins to remain profitable in New York City. By closing their doors even for a few days many restaurants have lost their profits for an entire month or more. This Saturday, November 17th, Foodtoeat.com is holding a fundraising benefit for downtown Manhattan restaurants that lost business during the storm.

Starting at noon, 18 restaurants and bars in lower Manhattan will offer specials until 4 p.m. for all participants of the food crawl. Registration is just $10 and all proceeds from the event will go to participating restaurants. Join the FoodtoEat team beginning at Evelyn Drinkery to pick up a food crawl map, raffle tickets and purchase your registration if you haven’t already. Then follow the map and sample the discounted specials at each restaurant and bar until the final stop at Kafana restaurant. Stick around for the great raffle prizes, entertainment and interact with foodies all afternoon.

Purchase your tickets here and bring your appetite on Saturday! The full list of venues is listed below:

Cocktail Bodega
Continuum Coffee
Evelyn Drinkery
La Lucha
Mercadito
Mezetto
Prohibition Bakery
Proto Pizza
Sons of Essex
Common Ground
Idle Hands Bar
That Burger
Maharlika
Simone Martini Bar
Yaffa Cafe
Culture Fix
Cafecito
Royale Bar
Kafana

Filed under Food Festivals, Foodtoeat.com Tagged with bars, downtown, events, food crawl, foodtoeat, fundraiser, Hurricane Sandy, Lower East Side, Manhattan, NYC, restaurants, Sandy

New York Restaurants Find Their Own Way to Weather Through Storm

October 30, 2012 Leave a comment

For thousands of restaurants in New York, and all along the East coast of the United States, Hurricane Sandy has had a tremendous effect. Restaurants face structural damages as well as forgone profit from days of closure. However some restaurants managed to brave the weather and remain open despite all odds, and several lists were compiled to direct hungry customers where to eat. For those restaurants that remained closed many were hindered by employee transportation issues, or were directly in zones that were ordered to evacuate.

By Tuesday afternoon many restaurants throughout New York had reopened, relieving people suffering from power loss or simply looking forward to a good meal. While many restaurants owners are still assessing the damage to their properties, the prevailing mood is positive among those in the restaurant industry, providing as much empathy to hungry customers as possible, and supporting the businesses directly in the storms path.

“NYC restaurants will be fine, we got through 9-11 & New Orleans has proven just how resilient the cooking community can be #hardasnails”, tweeted restaurateur David Chang. In Brooklyn, New York restaurants showed just how tough they are by remaining open late into Monday night, some even maintaining delivery to a lucky few customers.

Around Clinton Hill in Brooklyn Dominoes continued to deliver pizzas until about 7:30 p.m. Monday night. Employee Angel Perez explained “It’s the rule. Domino’s always stay open, no matter what.” The pizza is delivered from a van instead of a bike, and company policy requires the restaurant chain to keep delivering as long as possible.

Other restaurants kept up a healthy takeout business throughout Monday night, with Anima Italian Bistro selling plenty of food throughout the day. The owner refused to let his employees risk themselves delivering food however, and the restaurant stayed open until 8 p.m.

Meanwhile food trucks were mostly grounded throughout Monday, particularly those in Brooklyn. Even those that that didn’t risk flooding would find few customers and face significant risks powering up their trucks. Redhook food truck Snap Truck tweeted “Rising waters in #RedHook where we live. The end of Van Brunt & Conover are wet, but most of the ‘hood is ok for now.” The popular World Financial Center food truck lot was also closed on Monday, with the majority of New York’s food trucks closed for the day.

While many restaurants opened their doors throughout the storm sensing a business opportunity, others saw their businesses as way to help their local communities. Putnam’s Pub in on Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill served food Monday until 5 p.m. The bar was packed with local residents, but the owner chose to close early out of concern for his employees.

“A lot of the guys in the kitchen live out in far Queens, so I’m driving them home,” said owner Gerry Rooney. “The people who work at the bar mostly live within a two-block radius, so when the storm gets bad, we can just lock the door and run home. But I wouldn’t want to drive on the BQE once the hurricane hits.”

Filed under Food for Thought Tagged with brooklyn, clinton hill, delivery, food trucks, hurricane, NYC, Red Hook, restaurants, Sandy

My First Schnitzel (& Things)

October 26, 2012 Leave a comment

Schnitzel & Things is one of New York’s most iconic food trucks, and has since expanded into a brick-and-mortar location in Midtown, Manhattan. Somehow I have eaten from dozens of food trucks and overlooked Schnitzel & Things. This truck made a big splash when it debuted in 2009, winning Rookie of the Year at the Vendy Awards in its first year of business, and becoming the first food truck in New York to serve authentic schnitzel. For those who don’t know what schnitzel is, it’s a fried cutlet of meat that is gently breaded, and Schnitzel & Things serves it in a sandwich or as a platter with a choice of delicious sides.

Veal Schnitzel is what the truck is best known for, but unfortunately they were out of it by the time I placed my order. I settled with the pork schnitzel platter and chose the Austrian potato salad and chickpea salad as my sides, and got to sample three sauces; pesto mayo, ginger scallion and garlic relish, and chipotle sour cream.

For $10 I was more than impressed with size of this meal. The pork cutlet was massive, and they loaded up my to-go box with plenty of potato salad and chickpea salad, even including two lemon wedges to pack on more flavor. The schnitzel was light and fried to perfection, and each sauce complemented the meat in a different way. The two mayo-based sauces were great at alleviating the dryness of the meat, but the ginger scallion and garlic relish stood out as the clear winner of the sauces. This light, tangy sauce brought out all the flavor in the schnitzel without overdoing it.

The Austrian potato salad was good as far as potato salads go, compared to the rest of my meal it didn’t stand out too much but was still a tasty side dish. The chickpea salad on the other hand was bursting with flavor, mixed in balsamic pesto vinaigrette. The two side dishes countered the fried texture of the meat, and never made me think twice about needing a beverage with this meal.

Schnitzel and Things blew me away with the tasty simplicity of its food. Instead of overdoing flavors and combining plenty of ingredients together, Schnitzel & Things made simple food taste great. The sauces weren’t overwhelming and the meat was barely flavored, but the subtle tastes were more than enough to make this a great meal. After eating from Schnitzel & things I even felt healthy, which is more than I can say for a lot of the heavier options out there. I would definitely go back for more, and I can’t wait to try the legendary veal schnitzel.

Filed under Food Review Tagged with food trucks, NYC, pork, schnitzel, schnitzel & things, veal, Vendy Awards

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