The Oreo Cafe: What Went Wrong?!

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September 4, 2021

As a person who grew up with Oreos, I can tell you that it’s exceedingly rare to find a situation where I will turn one down. I mean, I don’t keep them in the house because I’ll keep eating them till they vanish…often in one sitting! So, when I found out that the Oreo company just started up a cafe at the (local to me) American Dream Mall, I had to check it out.

Unfortunately, this might be one of the only times where I actually have to write a review that’s not glowing about something that doesn’t involve snooty doorkeepers. Either way, I feel like it has to be discussed simply because I took the trip out there and it was a lesson in corporate greed. Or just corporate failure.

How I Found Out About Oreo’s Cafe

I’ll be honest. I got an Oreo horoscope from Twitter and it came with a cute message telling me to check out the world’s first Oreo cafe. Luckily, it was literally 15 minutes away from me by car and at a mall I’m quickly growing to love.

So, I ended up going there.

Finding out about the place was one story. On the other side of the story was actually arriving in the mall and trying to find it. There were no signs as to where it was. Not even in the directory! I had to ask a clerk at a store where the cafe was. Apparently, it was tucked away on the third floor of It’s Sugar!

The Oreo Cafe

After we wandered about, we got to the third story and there it was…Right amidst a mess of Oreo swag and a bunch of screaming kids. Honestly, the swag stands were slick. I actually wanted to buy a shirt there, really. But the cafe itself? Well…

It was more like a cafeteria. I appreciate the Oreo-themed ceiling, but the tables were basically IKEA tables with Oreo stuff printed on them. Around the area was an Oreo banner and a booth that looked like it belonged in a food court.

I mean, to a point, I don’t know what I was expecting. I low-key had hoped that it would be a kawaii-style cafe, the way that they would have it in Japan. You know what I mean, right? Everything cute as a button, Oreo-centric, with gourmet goods that look perfect, in a quiet setting with table service?

Yeah, this was not that. There were a bunch of loud kids here, which is great if you are a parent who wants to give thier kids a place to chill. For me, and my more adult tastes, it was awkward sitting there with my spouse as the only non-family there. It really looked like a cheaper Dunkin Donuts that had a theme glued to it.

The Food

So, our food order here wasn’t actually food. I ordered a coffee drink with blended Oreo goodness into it and my husband ordered some plain vanilla ice cream. We each took a bite (or sip) out of each, and immediately recoiled.

It was sweet. Like, cloyingly sweet. Sweet in a way that people over the age of 25 will not want to try. Heck, I’m pretty sure that people over 18 might have a diabetic shock trying to eat it. Worse, both the ice cream and the whipped cream had a strange fatty texture to them that clung to your mouth.

Neither my husband nor I were able to stomach our treats, though we both admitted that the waffles the kids at the next table had looked good. Actually, everything looked great. It just tasted like diabetes. Even my coffee was less like a coffee and more like a thick shake with lard in it.

If you take a look at my photos, you can tell that I’m a bit queasy. Thank you, Oreo cafe. You have done what drinking 5 Monsters a day could not. I’m not even mad. I’m impressed.

What The Hell Happened?!

I’ll be honest. I probably should have seen the writing on the wall with this cafe the moment it was in a candy shop. I have been dealing with upscale stores that are pretty, quiet, and awesome. To a point, I may have forgotten that families with kids exist and that kids don’t want to have gourmet truffle fries.

Even so, I can’t help but notice that the food was pretty gnarly, even for parents who are used to going to Chuck E. Cheese. It’s all the high fructose corn syrup and fake flavoring they added to the goods here. That, with the synthetic oils they used in the food, messed everything up.

My Verdict: Yikes?

I’ll be honest. I enjoyed the swag outside the cafe more than the cafe itself. This is not a cafe for adults. It’s 100 percent made and marketed towards kids and parents who want to pay a premium price for stuff that your dog wouldn’t even want to eat.

I loved the concept, but god-DAMN Oreos, you really have to rework what you’re doing. This was not a cafe. This had two “coffee” drinks and the rest were…something else. If you have an extra $20, don’t go to this place. Just get an Oreo tee shirt instead.

Have Restaurant Reviews Become Weaponised?

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Dave Winteridge

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September 2, 2021

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Have Restaurant Reviews Become Weaponised?

There is no doubt that we live in a world whereby you are only as good as the last review you received. Last year I wrote an article for this magazine about the modern review culture and how we have become obsessed by, not only leaving reviews, but by reading them and digesting them as if our lives depended on it.

The point at which I draw the line is when I get asked to leave a review or comment regarding the packaging or the state of the delivery driver’s van. But, unfortunately, this culture has led some people to become malicious in their opinions and leave comments that they know will do harm to someone’s business. This is how review culture has become weaponised and we need to do something about it now!

There are plenty of restaurant review sites

Let me explain. There are plenty of restaurant review sites out there but two of the biggest are possibly Tripadvisor and Google. Tripadvisor has certainly tightened its criteria over recent years and has made an attempt to give less credence to one-time reviewers. The one-time review can work both ways, in that a restaurant owner may ask his friends to give him some 5 star reviews. Conversely, it can also be used against the restaurateur if, for example, someone has an unjustified reason to be negative or works for a competitor restaurateur.

Tripadvisor believes that if a person has done several varied reviews there is a greater chance that their reviews will be genuine. But what measures do they take to ensure that a review is genuine and that that person has actually eaten at the restaurant? The answer to that, in my experience, is very little. Some years ago my own restaurant was the subject of a malicious review attack. I knew that these people had never set foot inside my restaurant but when I confronted Tripadvisor their response was that the review matched their criteria.

I even asked the “reviewer” to tell me what they had eaten, because there was no mention of this in the review. So the next malicious review picked several menu items from my published menu, but again Tripadvisor stated that the review matched their criteria. As a business owner it is extremely difficult to get these comments removed and, although we can respond to each review, most potential customers are only scanning through in order to get an overall picture and are not interested in reasons and responses.

The biggest culprit, however, is Google. An anonymous person, bored on a sunday afternoon, can flick through a series of businesses and leave a “rating” from 1-star to 5-star. They don’t have to leave a comment or their name or actually have any knowledge of that business. Or perhaps they do have knowledge of that business and just want to do it harm! If you were so minded it would be possible to lower the average score of a business very quickly.

We have a situation locally where I live whereby a restaurant owned and operated by a couple is being targeted by local people who do not like that they are not French. À series of negative comments and 1-star ratings has severely affected the business and the well-being of those who operate it to the extent that they have closed temporarily. These small-minded, pathetic individuals will never be brought to task because the review websites make it too easy for this to occur. Their motivation is not to highlight restaurants but to gain as many reviews as possible making them the go-to site for travellers and in return earning extra advertising revenue – sounds cynical; maybe, maybe not.

A friend and local restaurateur is so incensed by the unfairness of the system that she wants to start a movement against the big companies. What people don’t realise is how hard we work within the hospitality industry and that our business is not just a job; it is a way of life and occupies practically every waking moment of our time. Most importantly we are human with families, personal issues, good days and bad days. As restaurateurs we don’t have a choice of whether or not we are included on review websites. So, we want to call on Tripadvisor and Google and all the others to tighten their criteria.

Firstly, do away with the rating system. Do not allow anyone to just rate a restaurant, make them write a structured opinion that includes information about the place where they have eaten. If the restaurateur does not believe that the person has actually visited their establishment, make the customer provide evidence, whether it be a till receipt or photos taken at the time.

Secondly, if the restaurateur has a genuine grievance, investigate it properly. Don’t just state that it fits with your criteria or current algorithm.

Thirdly, if a restaurateur wants to have their listing suspended temporarily or removed permanently, let them. I know the argument is that the customer should be able to see a balanced overview of the businesses available but for some business owners the pressure is too much particularly when suffering a negative run of reviews.

Unfortunately, I know it will be too much to ask for the small-minded idiots who deliberately leave bad reviews in the hope of harming someone’s business to change their ways. But I think that as restaurateurs we should call out these people and not let them hide in the shadows and remain anonymous. If just one person reading this thinks twice about how they word their next review and the impact that it might have, then my work is started.

Italian Food

By

Dave Winteridge

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August 29, 2021

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In my opinion Italian Cuisine is amongst the finest in the World, and I say that while living in France! It is also one of the most imitated cuisines in the World and can often leave the diner feeling underwhelmed when it is done badly. The variation of fresh ingredients combined into some of the most scrumptious dishes imaginable.

Italian food is not just pizza and pasta, although they will feature heavily, but some delicate blendings of meat and fish with flavoursome sauces that change throughout the seasons.

Italian food is very much about freshness, flavour and variety and will change depending on the region. In the north, near the Alps, the diet will be quite different to the southern, Mediterranean regions. What follows is a brief overview of eating in Italy.

Italian Food: Ossobuco — Image by RitaE from Pixabay

In winter try Osso Bucco (literally bone with hole), beef shin cut across the bone cooked slowly with fresh vegetables, tomatoes and white wine. The marrow dissolves into the sauce, creating the hole in the bone, making a delicious rich dish. In summer, how about a fresh sea bream straight from the Mediterranean, grilled on the BBQ, drizzled with olive oil and served with a fresh salad of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil leaves. And one more dish for you, Saltimbocca, which translates as jump in the mouth, referring to the flavours that explode together. Thin veal slices married with Parma ham and fresh sage leaves all brought together with a Marsala wine sauce.

So what about the pizza and pasta? Italian restaurant menus are often composed of antipasto (before pasta) which can often be some olives or cured meats, primo (first course) pasta is always the first course of choice, secondo (the main course) often meat or fish and dolce (dessert) possibly fresh fruit or, maybe, something a little more decadent. Eating pasta as a first course will be a small portion and will only be the pasta dish – it will not be served with bread or a salad – and will have a light sauce. Italians do not eat pasta everyday.

Pizza is the ultimate street food in Italy and is often served from kiosks a slice at a time. However, if you venture out to a Pizzeria, pizza is considered a food for sharing with friends, although you should order one pizza per person. True italian pizza is thin crust but at the same time light and fluffy. Stuffed crusts and deep-dish are not Italian. The best pizza I have ever tasted was in Italy (surprise!) and what made it truly great was the addition of an egg in the middle as it came out of the oven – the egg white cooked with the residual heat and the yolk stayed beautifully soft and runny.

Whilst researching for this article I was surprised to learn that there are some fairly strict rules with regard to eating in Italy and I will try to summarise as best I can.

Breakfast is composed of sweet pastries and is the only time of day you should order a cappuccino coffee. After 11am coffee is espresso – end of story.
Pasta is served as pasta and not with garlic bread or salad. In fact Italians eat one dish at a time, so salad would be a separate course. Bread would be served with cheese or cured meats and no butter.
Do NOT add cheese to a seafood pasta – ever!
Never cut spaghetti. If you are 5 years old it is acceptable but after that twirl it round your fork.
Drink wine or water with your meal. Drink beer or soda with pizza.
If you don’t finish your pizza do not ask to take the remains away.

Just recently archeologists have unearthed a fast food store in Pompeii, after being buried in volcanic lava for nearly 2000 years. It is believed that hot drinks and food would have been served to locals who did not have their own kitchen in their home. The site is due to open to the public some time later this year. However, I suspect the menu may have changed!

If you get the opportunity to visit Italy, enjoy your food and try to avoid the tourist traps. If you find a menu with pictures, move on! Try going up a side street to a small Trattoria and do your best with the locals.

The Revolution of Italian Cuisine

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August 26, 2021

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The list of various necessities of life cannot be complete without the inclusion of food. If you want to lighten up a person’s mood, order some food or take them to the nearest food restaurant near you and let the food work its magic. The same applies to wanting the forgiveness of a loved one; just get some homemade cuisine alongside some flowers and bang, you’re good to go.

We sometimes get bored from eating the same food over and over again. Over the years, food has come to serve as means of connecting and bringing people together from across the globe. This has been made possible by cooks and people sharing their traditional cuisines with the rest of the world on various social media networks. Let’s not forget the work of food bloggers and travelers who travel to certain places in the world to discover different dishes among the people in that country.

How Italian Cuisine has become one of the Most Popular Dishes around the World Today

Italian cuisine is a cuisine commonly known among the people of the Mediterranean Basin, which consists of a variety of ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques. Italian cuisine is based mainly on the quality of the ingredients rather than the style or method of preparation. This has made it one of the most popular dishes around the world. The simplicity of the cuisine makes it easy to prepare even if you’ve never come across the dish before. This is because it generally consists of only two to four main ingredients. It also provides plenty of tastes and flavors that influence different cuisines around the world.

Which is the oldest Italian cuisine made?

Atriya is a cuisine developed in Sicily. It is mostly considered as the first real Italian cuisine. It is made from flour and water into long strings. It eventually became trii in Southern Italy, also known as spaghetti.

Different Italian Cuisines

The various areas of Italy have different dishes they consume, according to CNN. In Central Italy, the common food consumed is spaghetti and pizza. Fish, potatoes, rice, sausages, pork, and cheese are also common among the people of Northern Italy. The Southern Italian cuisine comprises tomatoes, capers, peppers, olives, and olive oil, garlic, ricotta cheese, artichokes, and eggplants.

Italian Rice Cuisines

Risotto Congamberi

Risotto Congambeti is an Italian dish that uses rice (resorting rice), butter, olive oil, and almighty shrimp as the main ingredients. Other ingredients also include onions, celery, garlic, stock, white wine, and seasonings.

Risotto al Salto

This Italian Rice cuisine uses risotto alla milanese or risotto al parmigiano, butter or olive oil was an ingredient. The butter or olive oil is spread into a pan and the risotto is added to the mix.

Risotto ai funghi porcini

Its ingredient includes mushrooms, rice, olive oil, meat stock, butter, shallots, pepper, salt, and white wine.

Ritalian fish cuisine — Image by JLB1988 from Pixabay

Italian Fish Cuisines

Zuppa Dipescue

This Italian seafood stew includes squid, mussels, clams, and shrimp. The base soup consists of clam, broth, white wine, and tomato sauce.

Seafood salad

also called the Feast of the Seven fishes, is a seven-course meal eaten mostly on Christmas eve. This makes it one of the popular Italian seafood dishes. The number of fishes included has no limits.

Scampi

Scampi is one of the simplest dishes of Italian seafood. Its ingredients include scampi or large prawns which are covered in a little spicy cherry tomato sauce, with garlic, onion, dried chili, and some seasonings.

Italian Meat Cuisines

Polto alla cacciatora

This fish is known by Americans as “chicken cacciatore”. It ingredient includes a cooked bird (broiler), tomato sauce (must be spicy), herbs and some mushrooms. The bird is sometimes substituted for rabbit or hare.

Involtiai al pomodoro

Also known as braciole are made by rolling small beef cutlets into bite-sized parcels with celery, cheese, pork, which are browned and covered in tomato sauce.

Picchiapo

This cuisine was common among the people of Roman. The recipe involves pieces of boiled beef mixed with onion, olive oil, canned tomatoes, and some white wine.

How the journey of Italian cuisine to popularity began?

The journey first started when the people of Italy went to the United States of America in search of jobs. They had to make their own traditional dishes with the ingredients available. This brought about Italian-American cuisine. It made it impossible for the Americans not to fall in love with Italian food.

Why everyone craves Italian food

Easy access to the ingredients

The important ingredients needed for Italian cuisine are common everywhere provided you have a supermarket near you. This makes it easy for the dishes to be prepared.

Easy to afford

Although the food is famous, it’s quite cheap. It’s easy to order pizza or make some lasagna without wasting much money on the ingredients.

The food is shared

Italian food is shared among friends, families, and food blogs. This has resulted in the increasing number of people that consume the dishes.

Its health benefits

Italian cuisine is considered one of the healthiest cuisines in the world. Some of its ingredients include fresh vegetables, olive oil, non-fatty red meat, chicken, and fish rush in vitamins.

Different varieties to select from

Italian cuisine comes in different varieties which even makes it difficult for you to be selective, from rice to fish to meat cuisines, you’ll definitely find the best one for you.

The influence Italian cuisine had on the British cuisine

The introduction of Italian cuisine into the UK around the 1960s has provided informality as compared to the formality the UK restaurant possessed.

Pizza, one of the popular Italian dishes.

Pizza is basically the Italian name for pie. History has it that it was consumed by ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks, which has today improved tremendously with different toppings such as vegetables, meat, fish as well as fruits. Pizza is said to have modernly originated from Italy, the city of Naples.

In 1869, queen Margherita with her spouse visited Naples and requested pizzas from the city’s Pizzeria Brandi. The variety she enjoyed was called Pizza Mozzarella which was garnished with soft white cheese, red tomatoes, and green basil. It was not long after named pizza Margherita after the queen of Italy.

The immigrations of the Neapolitans into the United States for factory jobs made known of pizza to American cities and other immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Since then till today, pizza has become one of the most consumed food worldwide with over 5billion sales each year.

Top Three kinds of Pizza and Their Toppings

Meat lover’s pizza

Toppings; Cooked and crumbled Italian sausages or ground beef, bacon, and sometimes sliced ham

Deluxe / Supreme Pizza

Toppings; cheese, bacon, pepperoni, red and green pepper, ripe olives, onions, basil.

Pepperoni

Toppings; olives, bell peppers, tomatoes, pepperoncini.

Health Benefits

The pizza sauce is mostly made from tomatoes which are rich in antioxidants like cycopene which can help reduce blood pressure, minimize cholesterol and even help in the prevention of cancer.
Pizza toppings like ham or beef can be a source of lean protein. Cheese provides the body with essential protein to build and repair tissues.
Green leafy vegetables contain vitamin k which helps reduce the risk of heart diseases. Carrots which are high in vitamin A play a very important role in eye health.

Benard Mount

5 Food Prep Items Every Home Chef Can’t Live Without

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admin

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August 22, 2021

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5 Food Prep Items Every Home Chef Can’t Live Without

As a food writer, I don’t just go to restaurants—though that is a huge part of my work. I also read cookbooks, study food history, and also learn to cook like a chef. I want to be the writer who can write about every aspect of food. So, rather than stick to the restaurant stuff, I decided to help people get a better idea of what my kitchen looks like.

To do this, I’m going to talk about my favorite food prep tools and why everyone should have them in their kitchens, too.

1-A Knife Set from KitchenAid

I got a KitchenAid knife set with a sharpener and cutting block. It is basically my life. Every chef needs to have a good knife kit, and for a while, I had an IKEA set. I stupidly thought it wouldn’t be that bad.

The IKEA set was stainless steel…and it friggin’ rusted. And they dulled after I basically sneezed on them. Never again. So far, I’ve had the KitchenAid set for about a year and have noticed no problems with it whatsoever. I love them.

2- 3-Cup Food Chopper from Hamilton Beach

I remember trying to chop food with a hand chopper. I hated it. This sucks, because I basically live on guac, shepherd’s salad, and salsa. Like, for real. I eat a sickening amount of it. So, what was I to do? Give up on my foods? Nope.

Hamilton Beach’s 3-cup food processor is what I got. I just have to push on the lid and everything gets chopped in seconds. Since I got it, I’ve started to go through about three pounds of tomatoes and onions per week. Take from that what you may.

3-A Food Steamer from Amazon

Yes, it’s true. I love me my wontons and steamed dumplings. If you’ve ever had a steamer, you already understand how magical it can be to bite into a dumpling fresh from the steamer.

But, there’s more to this issue than just my dumpling love. Since the bottom half can also be used to cook soups, it’s a great space-saving tool for people who want to have a lot more food prep tools in a lot less space.

4-A Turkish Coffee Pot from Destalya

Now that we’ve gotten a little bit more into the world of mutli-purpose food prep, let me introduce you to my coffee pot, my tea pot, my butter warmer, and my sauce heater: a Turkish coffee pot.

It’s small, it is amazingly good at evenly conducting heat, and makes sure that your tea gets heated fast. I “put the kettle on” at least four times a day thanks to my green tea habit, so this gets a ton of use.

5-A Crock Pot by Crock-Pot

Okay, raise your hands if you have one of these at home or knew I was going to say this. Okay, everyone? Well, maybe that makes sense. These are a darling of almost every household that involves crazy work hours.

When we use the slow cooker, we’re able to spend a day doing our thing. It’s all “set and forget.” Mine has a removable pot for easy cleaning, and honestly, I use the pot part as a baking dish from time to time. It’s amazingly versatile.

What’s Your Favorite Tool?

Kitchens are never one-size-fits all, especially when you live in a studio apartment like I do. There are always some food prep items or appliances that work better for some people than others. Hit me with your faves!

100 Year Old Rule Change in Champagne

By

Dave Winteridge

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August 18, 2021

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France is not renowned for the pace at which things change – the basis of law is still based from Napoleonic times! But in the Champagne region an established rule is about to be altered.

Champagne vines have traditionally been planted at 1,5 metres distance to each other for over 100 years. It was believed that this was the optimal separation in order for the vine to flourish, have sufficient water and produce a decent yield of grapes. Vines like to be competitive and to struggle, the soil in Champagne is notoriously poor and chalky, and with the spacing of only 1,5 metres the fight for water was such that the vine would not over-produce fruit.

When the original spacing rule was implemented the harvest was carried out by hand and the tight space was ideal for a person to be able to reach vines all round. But even France has to move with the times and after an evaluation and a vote by the Syndicat General des Vignerons de la Champagne (SGV) the space between vines will be changed.

There are a couple of reasons behind allowing vines to be planted upto 2,20 metres apart. The primary being our old friend – climate change. The president of SGV, Maxime Toubart was quoted as saying, “The aim is to accompany the necessary agro-ecological transition by adapting Champagne vines to climate change, while at the same time preserving the quality and unique quality of Champagne vines……” Which is a fancy way of saying that the increased space will allow more modern and efficient machinery access to the vineyard.

It is estimated that by 2025 the Champagne industry will cut carbon emissions by 25% and the use of herbicides will be reduced by 50%. One other factor that has determined this outcome is that the climate has already changed and more drought is predicted for the region in the future. Although vines are happy to compete for water, the extra space between them should help them become drought resistant and produce the same quality yields that we have come to expect.

Not everybody is happy with the change. The militant left-wing union, CGT, is extremely disgruntled and have been heard to say that this is no more than a cost saving exercise under the pretence of environmental friendliness! The union estimates that up to one quarter of the 10,000 employees in the Champagne industry could lose their job. There is also opposition from locals for no other reason than it is a change to tradition.

To put this into perspective. The study that was carried out to determine whether an extra 70 cm of space would be beneficial in the future took fifteen years. The rule change still needs further approval from a governing body and Monsieur Toubart himself said, “It will be a long transition, over one, two or even three generations”

Food Drink Magazine Issue 13 August 2021

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August 17, 2021

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Food Drink Magazine Issue 13 August 2021

Italian Food, Help Wanted, The Revolution of Italian Cuisine, The Stern And Bow: Closter’s Hot New Seafood Restaurant, 5 Must-Try Traditional Italian Foods, 100 Year Old Rule Change in Champagne, Remaining Hospitality Restrictions Lifted, Cancion Tequila, an Award- Winning, Ultra-Premium Tequila Line, Launches in Connecticut, and Oggi`s Commemorates 30 Years in Business are this month’s topics.

You can reach our Digital Magazine at https://issuu.com/fooddrinkmagazine and https://www.magzter.com/US/HGH-Perfect/Food-Drink-Magazine/Food–Beverage/All-Issues.

Help Wanted

By

Gilberto Preciado Meza

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August 14, 2021

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With the pandemic regulations becoming more relaxed the restaurant business has been able to reopen its doors. The problem is that this world milestone brings an unprecedented problem to restaurants. That problem is that when they were closed or when they had to reduce the man power they had to accommodate the new regulations. They laid off most of their employees and with little to no idea of how long they were going to be unemployed most, if not all of the laid off employees had to find a different way to pay their bills.

Whether it be by finding a different job, early retirement or the very lucrative alternative of unemployment well that all depended on them but they all had to do it. Nobody knew how long we were going to be on mandatory curfew nobody knew how long we were going to depend on essential workers. The only thing all the suddenly laid off restaurant workers knew was that they had no job, and they needed to fix that as soon as possible.

Time passed and everybody adjusted to the regulations as best as they could. Now with regulations being changed and restaurants being able to reopen their doors to the public they began to face a new problem. Understaffed restaurants began to post Help Wanted signs but unlike before when they would post jobs and people would line up to try and get a job nobody came. No line was formed no calls were answered giving information on the job.

Nobody came nobody answered the call for help. Now restaurants have to limit their menu to adjust to the workforce they have. As the community gets more freedom to go back to normal and are allowed to eat inside restaurants again they will expect full service. That puts restaurants in a very difficult situation they need to hire as soon as possible. They need to get back to the work force they had before the pandemic hit and they need to do it fast.

That puts pressure on them to risk mass hiring and not getting quality employees. The food industry as always been dependent on those that work in it to be polite, attentive and thick skinned but those same people were laid off and had to find different jobs. Now in order to get them back restaurants will have to raise wages to compete with unemployment checks, they will need to try and win back those employees from their new jobs and that’s not going to be an easy task.

Restaurant doors are reopening for inside dining, chairs and tables are going back to normal distances with social distancing now a distant memory the customer flow is slowly and steadily going back to normal.

With meat prices already higher than before the pandemic the menu prices have already showed a price increase especially on beef items, so how much more will restaurants need to raise menu prices to be able to get the workforce needed to run them? That’s just part of the problem the real problem or should I say the real challenge that they face is the workforce just isn’t there anymore. The workforce they had over a year ago has been dismantled and steered towards all kinds of different jobs.

So with a lack of employees a menu pricing increase and another one on its way to help accommodate the employees they do manage to get. How many restaurants will be able to make it to the light at the end of the tunnel? How many mom and pop shops will make it past the pandemic side effects? How many people will answer the call when they see the help wanted signs? I guess we will all have to wait and see. So next time you see a Help Wanted sign ask yourself is it a help wanted or is it really a help NEEDED?

OGGI’S COMMEMORATES 30 YEARS IN BUSINESS

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August 10, 2021

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OGGI’S COMMEMORATES 30 YEARS IN BUSINESS

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (Aug.16) – Oggi’s Sports | Brewhouse | Pizza is celebrating an honored 30 years in business. Aug. 16 marks the anniversary of 30 years celebrating family, friends, food and fun. Oggi’s, founded by brothers George and John Hadjis originated from a pizzeria style to a sports-themed restaurant, and shortly evolved into a pioneer of the brewing industry. With 10 Oggi’s award winning craft beers on tap, it is now a hub for the gathering of friends and family and serves as a modern meeting place where the love of pizza, great food, craft beer and sports collide.

Oggi’s has remained a family-owned business since the day it opened its doors at its first location in Del Mar, Calif. in 1991. Now, spearheaded by George’s daughter and VP, Estella Ferrera the company continues carrying on its long-lived traditions. The franchise currently possesses 16 different locations spanning throughout Southern California and Arizona, all of which exude the same family-centric environment as the original location 30 years ago. The company continues to expand its franchise while holding to the belief that each location is a piece of the Oggi’s family.

“It is an absolute honor being such a deep part of the communities that our Oggi’s have served for 30 years! Our entire family values the meaning of family, friendship and community and do our best every day to spread that culture and love throughout Oggi’s,” said Ferrera. “We are constantly evolving and are excited to share our new technologies and experience over the next couple of years. Thank you for all of your support and love over these last 3 decades. We are excited for the future.”

As the company reflects on the past 30 years, it pays due to the challenges and successes this most recent year brought about. While our Oggi’s are owned and operated by amazing families, surviving the COVID-19 pandemic reminded Oggi’s how important family is at all levels. Whether immediate family, friends that have turned into family, or customers that are considered to be family, the company would not be able to celebrate without it. Oggi’s franchise is proud to have seen sales trend upward by 14% from 2019 this past year.

To celebrate its 30 year anniversary as well as a strong year of communal support, Oggi’s will offer its infamous Oggi’s Stix and award-winning Oggi’s craft beer for only $3 on our anniversary. Join all of the Oggi’s families as they celebrate 30 years of delicious food and devoted customers. Here is to another 30 years that is yet to come. Get your beer and Oggi’s Stix fix on Monday, Aug. 16th from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at select Oggi’s locations. Contact your local Oggi’s for details.

About Oggi’s | Sports | Brewhouse | Pizza: “Oggi” stands for “today” in Italian. It symbolizes freshness and “the here and the now.” It is congruent with high-quality pizza, pasta, salads, beer, and even sports. The Oggi’s franchise was originated by two brothers, George and John Hadjis, who began serving up their own pizzeria experience in August of 1991. After more than 20 combined years working in the technology industry, George and John opened their first restaurant in Del Mar, California as a franchisee of an existing local pizza chain. Throughout the years, the restaurant concept evolved from a pizzeria style to a sports-themed restaurant with many televisions, the addition of delivery, followed by the evolution into the brewing industry. For franchising information please visit, www.oggis.com.

Top Ten Italian Restaurants in Birmingham, AL

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August 9, 2021

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Top Ten Italian Restaurants in Birmingham, AL

With a metropolitan population of nearly a million people, Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama.

No need to pigeonhole Birmingham as serving only fried pies and barbecue. The city is home to “the Oscars of dining,” with James Beard Foundation award winners and nominees.

In recent years, Birmingham has become something of a culinary rock star, with an upspring of new bistros, delis, and chef-owned restaurants. The area’s dining scene is something to relish.

Because food is foremost in the minds of residents and visitors alike, the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau has launched a branding campaign designating Birmingham as “Dinner Table of the South.”

“This brand is a natural for us,” John Oros, CVB president and CEO, said. “When you talk to people in our region about our most enjoyable pastimes, dining invariably comes up as one of our best offerings.”

In this article, we tried to compile for you the best Italian restaurants in the “Dinner Table of the South: Birmingham”.

Methodology

We have taken as a basis the top 20 Italian restaurants in the 2 most popular websites, yelp and tripadvisor. We gathered the rankings of the restaurants on each website and divided them into two and got our score. If any restaurant is in the top 20 on one website but not on the other, we have accepted its ranking as 21 on this website.

Finally, we ranked the restaurants according to the points we achieved and put the top 20 restaurants here. What happens next is up to you. The top 10 of these 20 restaurants will change with your votes.

			Yelp	TripAdvisor.
1	2	Gianmarco’s Restaurant	1	3
2	3	Amore Ristorante Italiano	5	1
3	4	Giuseppe’s Cafe	2	6
4	6	Bottega Restaurant	10	2
5	7	Bellini’s Ristorante & Bar	7	7
6	8.5	Bettola	8	9
7	10	Trattoria Zaza	12	8
8	11	Le Fresca	3	19
9	11	Bocca	6	16
10	11.5	Carrabba’s Italian Grill	13	10
11	12.5	North Italia	4	N/A
12	12.5	Slice Stone Pizza & Brew	N/A	4
13	13	Post Office Pies	N/A	5
14	15	Joe’s Italian	9	N/A
15	16	DeVinci’s	11	N/A
16	16	The Filling Station	N/A	11
17	16.5	Area 41 Pizza Co	N/A	12
18	17	Ranelli’s Deli & Cafe	N/A	13
19	17.5	Olive Garden	N/A	14
20	17.5	Bongiorno	14	N/A

How I Found Out About Oreo’s Cafe

The Oreo Cafe

The Food

What The Hell Happened?!

My Verdict: Yikes?

There are plenty of restaurant review sites

Italian food is not just pizza and pasta, although they will feature heavily, but some delicate blendings of meat and fish with flavoursome sauces that change throughout the seasons.

How Italian Cuisine has become one of the Most Popular Dishes around the World Today

Which is the oldest Italian cuisine made?

Different Italian Cuisines

Italian Rice Cuisines

Italian Fish Cuisines

Italian Meat Cuisines

How the journey of Italian cuisine to popularity began?

Why everyone craves Italian food

The influence Italian cuisine had on the British cuisine

Pizza, one of the popular Italian dishes.

Top Three kinds of Pizza and Their Toppings

Health Benefits

1-A Knife Set from KitchenAid

2- 3-Cup Food Chopper from Hamilton Beach

3-A Food Steamer from Amazon

4-A Turkish Coffee Pot from Destalya

5-A Crock Pot by Crock-Pot

What’s Your Favorite Tool?

Food Drink Magazine Issue 13 August 2021

Methodology

Follow us on Instagram @fooddrinkmag

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