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Vegan Eats in Dunedin
By: Emma Gorowski
Tags: Vegan Food, New Zealand, Restaurants, South Island, Where To Eat

After the vegan heaven of Christchurch, Dunedin couldn’t quite compare but I still managed to have some great meals here, and leave with more places on my wishlist. Here’s the rundown:

Del Sol Restaurant, 12 Moray Place

For our first dinner, I was feeling like Mexican and thankfully, Del Sol restaurant delivered. They had several vegetarian items on their menu which could be made vegan. Underestimating their portion sizes, Zak and I ordered some vegan patatas bravas to share and I ordered the vegan nachos. They were all great — fantastic chips and a good mix of flavours. They had replaced the cheese with a sort of pesto, which is not what I’d expect but it worked well. The one downside to the meal was that I forgot to ask for no avocado to be added to my nachos, but I was able to scrape most of it aside. The large room their restaurant is in also had a really fun vibe and they had a good range of cocktails to choose from.

The Perc Cafe, 142 Stuart Street

The next morning, we headed to the Perc Cafe, where I tried their vegan breakfast. It was really yummy and much more fulfilling than it looks! I can’t see this listed on their current menu, but that’s definitely what I ordered so I’d say they’re still worth a look, if you can check whether they’re still serving this.

Hutong, 388 George Street

I really enjoyed our dinner at Hutong, especially as it had been ages since I’d had a classic stir fry. The small restaurant also had some very cool decor and a quiet atmosphere. This one had so many veggies, tofu, lots of coriander and heaps of rice to soak up its delicious sauce. Hutong had several dishes which the menu states can be made vegan.

Sila Restaurant, 17 Andrew Street

The next day we were both feeling like Turkish and I’d seen on happycow.net that several of Dunedin’s Turkish restaurants were very easy options for vegan food. I went for a falafel iskender plate and choose all dairy and egg free sauces. A simple but tasty meal that hit the spot. We also enjoyed this restaurant because it had plenty of traditional style seating that took us back to our honeymoon in Turkey.

Got any recommendations for me to try on my next visit for Dunedin? It’s my favourite NZ city after Wellington so I can’t wait to get an opportunity to go back.

This post was originally published on an old blog in 2019.
ENHANCE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IN YOUR RESTAURANT BY USING THE RIGHT COMMERCIAL WATER PURIFIER
Tags: Commercial Water Purifier, Restaurant

ENHANCE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IN YOUR RESTAURANT BY USING THE RIGHT COMMERCIAL WATER PURIFIER ALFAAUV 5 days ago·1 min read

Water is fundamental to life, but did you know that it also plays a crucial role in commercial kitchens? Besides altering the taste of food and drink, poor water quality can affect the performance of equipment. Untreated water and mineral deposits can wreak havoc on the internal workings of beverage dispensers, ice machines, steamers, and dishwashers. Whether you run a small coffee shop or a huge industrial kitchen, it’s important to have a robust commercial water purifier in place. From the taste of your coffee to the appearance of your bartender’s perfectly blended margarita, from your steamer and combination oven to your ice machine — nearly everything is touched by the quality of your water. Hence it’s important for commercial kitchens to have a good commercial water purification system.

Click here to read in detail how restaurants can enhance customer experience with commercial water purifiers:

https://cloudtap.in/blog/enhance-customer-experience-in-your-restaurant-by-using-the-right-commercial-water-purifier
Generational Eating-Out Habits: What Does the Generation X’er Search For?
Tags: Restaurant Marketing, Generation X, Restaurant, Restaurant Business

11 Ways How to Treat the Generation X’ers as Restaurant Guests Right:

1. Generation X is not a digital native, but members of it are tech-savvy enough and feel really comfortable about online availabilities. They use computers for research, many of them are present on social media, and their mobile devices get filled up with apps easily. Such diners love to make reservations in order to assure the availability in the preferred restaurant at a chosen time. More and more often they will book a table online, because it’s easy, guaranteed and time-saving.

2. Generation X trust more in real reviews online, colleague or friend recommendations, than analyse the random comments.

3. Members of Generation X prefer full-service restaurants and seek for the menus that are friendly both for adults as well as kids. The more variant options are on the list, the more attractive the place becomes.

4. Like Baby Boomers, they go for quality food, excellent service, cleanliness and traditional ethos. However, don’t direct one-sided! This generation loves new interesting foodie experiences, sprinkled up with good music and cosy atmosphere, like Millenials.

5. Aesthetics is no less important. Generation X’ers will easily notice the space interior, stylistic appearance of table setting, and overall design.

6. Each Generation X’er has a list of favourite restaurants, but love exploring new places, tastes and exotic cuisines too.

7. They care about food quality. Organic products, grown up in local farms, fresh seasonal ingredients, home-made specialities, and ethical production are on their top list of preferences.

8. Generation X’ers care of healthy eating, so fresh vegetables, lower fat meats, fish or seafood delicacies will always get noticed. It doesn’t mean that when eating out they would order only the healthiest options on the menu, but will consider them willingly. Thus, there is always an option to please the diners by combining comforting meals with something healthy, whether garnishing, sauces or other wholesome alternatives. Appreciation will not go unnoticed!

9. New technologies of food preparation sound interesting and are greatly welcomed by Generation X-ers! However, don’t get surprised if at the end instead sous-vide or reverse sear they will choose the steak prepared on a good-old wood grill.

10. Give X diners a chance to personalise their order: not only to choose raw, medium or well-done steak but offer a great side dish selection, garnishing, sauces. The idea of sharing plates as well is greatly welcomed. Isn’t it nice when you can start your dinner by trying different tastes in order to expand your culinary horizon and finish with your good-old favourite?

11. Generation X’ers tend to check if the restaurant’s location is convenient enough: it should be easy to reach and create no hustle for parking. However, they can go for occasional adventure and drive long miles just to visit highly recommended restaurant too.
The Best Restaurants in Miami
By: Robert Henderson Jr. Cfp
Tags: Restaurant

Miami is currently home to some of the most inventive, memorable, and freshest restaurants in Florida. A decade ago, the best places to enjoy fantastic cuisine were only located in the local South Beach hotels, but great eating has spread throughout the city. From Wynwood to Little Havana to Brickell and beyond, Miami locals are enjoying fun, flavor, freshness, and value at every price point in the following restaurants.

Makoto — Bal Harbour

Developed by Stephen Starr, Makoto is the real deal. Chef Makoto Okuwa is taking modern Japanese dishes and making diners come back for more. Located in the Bal Harbour Shops, customers can enjoy bincho charcoal robata while considering where they’re shopping next!

Taquiza — Miami Beach

Located in North Beach, this waterfront restaurant supplies half of the restaurants in town with their famous handmade blue-masa corn tortillas. Taquiza is a traditional Mexican taqueria giving diners authentic tacos and street fare. If you can’t make it to the Miami Beach location, visit one of Taquiza’s outposts in South Beach and the Citadel.

Phuc Yea — Miami

Opened in 2011, Phuc Yea was the city’s first pop-up concept. With its old school hip hop and graffiti, Phuc Yea is a combination of Vietnamese cuisine with Cajun influences and reflects owner Cesar Zapata and Ani Meinhold’s roots. With caramel pork riblets, bao buns, seafood curry, and PY noodles, Phuc Yea is the perfect spot for happy hour or even a post-meal drink!

Ghee Indian Kitchen — Midtown

This farm-to-table Southeast Asian influenced restaurant is helmed by chef Niven Patel who was short-listed for a James Beard Award last year! A quarter of the ingredients used at Ghee are grown on chef Patel’s Rancho Patel in Homestead. The restaurant is a family affair, the dishes are seasonal, and the curries are made fresh daily!

Lucali — Miami Beach

Known as the New York City import, Lucali has been a must-visit since day one. The pizzas and calzones are made with handmade dough in a wood oven. Lucali is known for using some of the freshest ingredients seen in Miami. Add as many toppings to your pizza as you please, and enjoy!

Regardless of your dining preferences, there is something for every palate in Miami!
Top Trends in ON-Demand Food Delivery Apps
By: Poorna Stefan
Tags: Online Delivery, Food And Drink, Food And Beverage, Restaurant, Mobile App Development

Food delivery has become one of the competitive sector in 2020 and still it maintains the position

Top Trends in ON-Demand Food Delivery Apps

Food delivery has become one of the competitive sector in 2020 and still it maintains the position. There are a number of food delivery brands all over the world that have captured a huge share in the industry. The main reason of this huge market is the busy and fast life of the people around the world. Also,the recent COVID-19 pandemic has made people more active on online meal ordering.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Restaurant owners and food delivery outlets are looking for ways to enhance the overall customer experience. Online food ordering makes up a significant part of the restaurant industry and innovative approaches have become necessary to remain relevant in the industry. To withstand the competition and keep up with the ever-changing customer demands; food delivery businesses have opted to invest in Custom Software Development Services for Online Food Ordering. As a result, a huge variety of online food ordering apps have surfaced in the market with a core emphasis on providing a better service to both restaurants and customers.

As the Best Customized Mobile App Developers in India , We offers the following features online food ordering solutions.

Real-time Delivery Tracking

Personalized Platform

Preordering Food

Intelligent Menu Options

Order from Anywhere

Rider Logistics

Virtual Waiters

Push Notifications

Feedback Portal

Predictive Search

“ Research also shows that around 72% of people use these food delivery apps to avoid the hassle of going out and waiting in lines for their order. And with the corona virus pandemic outbreak around the world, demand for such apps has been more than ever ”

Get the Right Support from Zoondia

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How tapas came out on top.
By: Danilo Diazgranados, On Wine
Tags: Food And Drink, Food, Tapas Restaurant, Foodies, Restaurant

The highly debated origin stories of Spain’s signature dining style

By now, most people have had the opportunity to enjoy tapas. Though invented in Spain, the popularity of small, shareable plates paired with wine or sherry has gone global. Some countries have their own twist on tapas, like botanas in Mexico or Pica-Pica in the Philippines.

Famed chef, restauranter, and philanthropist José Andrés is credited with bringing small plates to the US — a concept so new to American diners in 2013 that his eatery, The Bazaar, was deemed the “restaurant of the future.” But tapas have been around for centuries.

Let’s start from the beginning.

Literally translated, tapas means “top” or “cover.” But there is much debate over its real origin.

Some believe that tapas have a medicinal background, stemming from an illness that befell King Alfonso X of Castile in the 13th Century. According to tapas legend, the king was prescribed large quantities of wine and required small quantities of food to be served with it to regain his strength. He allegedly enjoyed the treatment so much that he decreed that all drinks must be served with snacks.

Others attribute tapas to a visit that King Alfonso XIII of Spain took to Cardiz — a region that is notorious for its wind — in the 19th Century. To keep sand out of the king’s drink, a bartender served it with a slice of ham on top. Delighted by the presentation, the King is said to have continued to order rounds of drinks in this style until he had started a trend.

Others contend that sherry drinkers in Andalusian taverns used to cover their glasses with salty meats, normally ham or chorizo, to keep fruit flies away from their glasses. Over time, restaurant owners introduced a variety of snacks that would help keep the bugs at bay, while encouraging customers to buy more drinks.

Or perhaps tapas were born of Spanish culture itself: bars in Spain traditionally lack seating to accommodate patrons’ preference to drink while standing up at the bar. So, in order to eat, diners place a small plate on top of their drink — thus making a top.

And while there may never be a consensus on where tapas come from, or the best place to get them, there’s no denying how good they are, especially in the land where they originated. Whenever and however that was.

Danilo Diazgranados is an investor, collector, and lover of fine wines and a member of the prestigious Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, a fraternity of Burgundy wine enthusiasts.
New Normal - Beyond COVID-19 using CI
By: David J. Diperri
Tags: Continuous Improvement, Business, Success, Restaurant, Hope

Good-bye Handshake, Hello Ingenuity

Photo by L N on Unsplash

The Coronavirus has thrust upon us a new life paradigm in the blink of an eye. Sparked by simple reports out of China that a virus is impacting a small city, it “very” quickly spread to worldwide proportions. Today, May 13, 2020, only 5 months since the early reports of the outbreak and only 3 months in the United States, the Coronavirus has flipped the world upside down.

Overnight, the global economy hit the brakes. We will not know for some time, perhaps months or years, what the true impact of COVID-19 will be on the world. The ripple effects on healthcare systems, fiscal policies, the global economy at large, and how we will interact “together” in the second half of 2020 are all great unknowns. What is known is that we are now facing “The New abNormal”.

Unlike other major events in the recent history of the world, most of these have been “contained” within a certain border and their impacts only temporary. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami caused massive destruction and loss of life. According to Wikipedia, it was an undersea megathrust earthquake that registered a magnitude of 9.1. Over ¼ million people died in the natural disaster that covered thousands of miles from Indonesia to South Africa.

The 1918 influenza pandemic killed 50 million people worldwide, all on the heels of one of the most deadly conflicts in world history; World War I. Many other global calamities account for dramatic societal and world impacts. Suffice to say, the world over centuries has borne the burdens of unimaginable perils, either from natural forces or from the hazards of war.
5 simple tips for restaurants to get a jump start on health and safety prep prior to reopening.
By: Noah Bubman
Tags: Food, Safety, Operations, Health, Restaurant

5 simple tips for restaurants to get a jump start on health and safety prep prior to reopening. Noah Bubman May 16, 2020·2 min read

>>Just a quick intro, this is not meant to be a ‘Covid checklist for safely reopening’. This is meant to serve as a basic guide for making sure your establishment is health code compliant both for the safety of your customers and staff, as well the inevitable health department inspection.

If you’ve been in the restaurant business for a while, you’ve likely found yourself in this situation before…Your team is in the middle of a busy lunch service and things are buzzing along when an employee quickly walks up and whispers in your ear, “The health inspector is here”. Once you’ve greeted the inspector and identified yourself as the owner or manager, she/he will ask you for a few things. If you have prepared ahead of time, you can sail through this inspection like a cool summer breeze. This will also send a message to your inspector that you are organized, prepared and take these important matters seriously.
The Dark Side of the Kitchen
Tags: Chef, Kitchen, Restaurant, Kitchenlife

I used to think kitchen life was like The Food Network — you know, corny jokes, beautifully prepared foods, fun music. But once I got into the industry, I quickly realized that wasn’t real.

Real kitchen life is leaving at 1:00 am on a Saturday night only to be back the next morning at 9:00 am (sometimes earlier), real kitchen life is being talked down to by a guest for 30 minutes after simply dropping off a side of ranch, real kitchen life is missing every major life event because no one will take your shift.

Real kitchen life is sweltering and loud, and messy all at once. It’s nothing like it’s portrayed on TV unless we’re talking about Hell’s Kitchen.

After my first few years in the industry, I began to settle into this wild concept that maybe I wasn’t meant to enjoy my job. Maybe I was just supposed to come in, cook, and leave. Simple enough, I guess.

But who in their right mind would be satisfied with that?

Not me, that’s who.

So I left the industry (that’s right, I quit) and started working at this uppity furniture store where I had weekends off and even got to take solid hour-long breaks — but I was bored. My gosh, was I bored? I quickly grew tired of sales quotas and asking every single customer “is there anything I could help you find?” or “would you like to open a credit card today?” before being met with a stern “no”.

The atmosphere was so much different there, all I ever did was walk around and twiddle my thumbs.No passion or hustle and bustle, just dusty furniture.

It took me one more “regular” job before I ran back to the kitchen with open arms but where I ended up would turn out to be my favorite horror story.
Punchh’s Campaign Engine is at Scale
By: Punchh Technology Blog
Tags: Loyalty Marketing, Omnichannel, Restaurant, Covid 19, Cinco De Mayo

Mass Campaigns: Reliability and Performance at Scale

The number of business clients whom Punchh serves and the quantum of individual customers targeted using our platform has grown exponentially over the past two years. In 2019, using our campaign engine, our clients have targeted 100 million+ consumers and 5 billion+ times. On Cinco De Mayo 2020, 42 million+ consumers (13% of the US population) were targeted using our mass campaign engine. The Punchh platform has thus enabled our clients to engage with their customers and increase their sales on this day amidst COVID-19, emblematic of the triumphant spirit that Cinco de Mayo stands for.

One of the major objectives of the engineering team at Punchh is to scale our application and infrastructure, without slowing down campaign delivery during peak loads. Campaigns are used by Punchh’s clients to target their customers via emails, push notifications, or in-app messages and inform them about offers. The term ‘mass campaign’ refers to a large scale. In addition, Punchh’s ongoing campaigns are triggered only for customers on special occasions: birthday, anniversary, membership milestones, to name a few.

To give a sense of scale: in April 2020, the Punchh platform has delivered nearly 5.5K mass campaigns targeting 920+ million consumers, which amounts to 430 million emails and 110+ million push notifications. The Cinco de Mayo saw further increases in loads.
Meet Joe & The Juice on Allset
Tags: Apps, News, Food, Restaurant, Partnerships

Meet Joe & The Juice on Allset

Today, we launched a partnership with Joe & The Juice to offer pickup services across their 61 locations nationwide so you can access the chain’s vitamin-packed drinks easy and fast, without paying any service fees, and when it’s convenient for you. Allset Follow May 6, 2020 · 2 min read

First and foremost, it’s about sharing the same values. And when it comes to Joe & The Juice, we clicked immediately. Thanks to the awesome new partnership, we can now help people lead a fast yet healthy lifestyle together.

On our end, we won’t take any commission from Joe & The Juice — every dollar from your order will support their amazing team during this challenging time.

This partnership aligns with our safety initiatives to support the communities we serve, where we offer the new No-Contact Pickup option as well as a daily $3 discount to customers for all pickup orders placed via Allset.

Joe & The Juice, for its part, guarantees safety to every guest with a number of precautions taken at all of their locations, like dedicated contactless pickup areas and increased frequency of cleaning and sanitizing. Every order is handled with safety in mind. Trust us, we’ve tried it.

In celebration of the new partnership, the chain’s biggest fans can enjoy an extra $2 off each of Allset orders at Joe & The Juice now through June 6th, 2020.

Look for the nearest Joe in-app and swing by to grab that iconic power shake, signature java, and other healthy faves.

Order now from Joe & The Juice with an extra $2 off >>

P. S. New to Allset? You can receive $10 off your first pickup at all participating Joe & The Juice locations. Just use the promo code JOE10 at the checkout and it will automatically apply to your order. (We think you’ll like us)
I just now read on Yahoo news, a top CEO in the restaurant business says he expects that 50 to 60…
By: Freestone Wilson
Tags: Restaurant Business, Restaurant, Tech, Technology

I just now read on Yahoo news, a top CEO in the restaurant business says he expects that 50 to 60 percent of all restaurants to close!

From this article and others I have read, I think this Virus has accelerated the Tech development by at least 10 years!

RABBITS!

I read of a story where some asteroid struck the earth and wiped out most of the animal species. Only rabbits survived. At first, they multiplied greatly. An Interesting thing happened though. Ten million years went by and now there were carnivorous rabbits, flying rabbits, sea dwelling rabbits. Several species were now ten feet tall! One species stood on its hind legs and walked about and had finger bearing hands. It also walked about with a spear in one hand and a fire torch in the other!

In other words, those Who Can, Do! When something collapses, Alternatives take over and the people who are creators rush in and soon these creators will corner the market.

Our future probably is Tech. Unfortunately there will be a large number of people who will not, cannot, go tech. But suppose “Tech” is not good for the Soul?! We all might soon become in deep doo-doo!
How Can a Corporate Event Caterer Relieve Your Stress?
Tags: Restaurant, Corporate Catering Miami

Arranging a corporate event is a work of lots of responsibility. It is a kind of event where your professional known will be the guests, and you need to present yourself perfectly. If you lack in presenting things perfectly and professionally, it may lead to an impact on your image. When it comes to becoming 100% perfect in organizing an event, you cannot ignore the option of a caterer.

An event caterer in Miami, FL, has experience managing, preparing, serving, and after cleanups in the events. They can deal with all types of activities and requirements to help you get rid of lots of stress. However, if you want to get introduced to all essential factors, you should be focused on the upcoming details.

Reasons For Choosing A Corporate Event Caterer

Venue Selection

In the case of a corporate event, you cannot pick any kind of venue. You need to be a little bit specific by which you can represent the professional values perfectly. If you face lots of confusion in making a final decision, you can take help from a caterer. A caterer may have knowledge about multiple party venues where you can organize yours perfectly. You can ask them for assistance and suggesting some major options.

Menu Planning

Choosing the number and types of food items and dishes for a party is not easy for anyone. It needs lots of brainstorming and additional factors. Menu planning is a kind of tactical thing where you need to keep several factors in mind, such as — food portions, guests’ appetite, combinations, etc. If you add limited food items that cannot be useful in fulfilling the appetite of guests, guests may not have a good experience. Here, you should be focused on multiple elements.

Preparation and Servings

Another major factor is the preparation and servings. A caterer does not work alone. The professional always has a team of skilled and trained employees who can deal with everything quickly. This particular team of professionals will make all preparations and serve food to the guests easily.

These are some major reasons to help you understand why you should hire a caterer for a corporate event. With all these things, you also need to make sure you hire the best catering services.

Choose The Best Caterer

In the market, you can find out multiple options for choosing the best corporate catering Miami services. While choosing a good one, you should try to set up a proper comparison. For comparing all options, you can use different bases or elements, such as — the experience of the service provider, types of services, food preparation techniques, type of food, food deliciousness, previous records, testimonials, etc.

All these things can help you understand the service quality of a caterer. But, with it, you should try to check out service charges or prices as well. You should hire someone who can provide quality services by charging minimal possible prices.
Hiring A Full-Service Event Caterer Offers Multiple Benefits
Tags: Miami, Best Restaurants Near Me, Restaurant, Food Catering Miami, Caterer Offers

Organizing parties and events is a big thing for everyone. All individuals need to focus on multiple things here. Whenever it comes to organizing a party for sharing good news, everyone wants to make the party memorable. One thing that a party organizer always cares about is the experience of guests. No one wants to keep their guests engaged in inappropriate activities by which they may get bad experiences.

The party experience depends on two different aspects, such as — food and activities. In the case of food, you have to focus on food preparation, presentations, servings, and deliciousness. If your food lacks in any of these aspects, you may not provide the best possible experience. For dealing with food-related tasks easily and without any problems, you can hire the best event caterer. In the following details, you can gather details about catering services easily.

Reasons For Choosing A Caterer

Many individuals try to save money by managing all activities on their own. For such a thing, they hire professionals for all tasks separately instead of availing of catering services. In reality, catering services are useful in lightening the stress a lot and help you save lots of time. Let’s discuss some crucial facts about it.

Menu Planning

After the selection of venue, the biggest challenge is deciding the menu and food quantity you want. While deciding the menu, the party organizer needs to be focused on different aspects, such as — age group of guests, season, trends, etc. It can help you figure out what kind of meals or dishes you should add to the starters, main course, desserts, and beverages. Having assistance from a caterer can make it much easier for you. They have years of experience in dealing with all these things. Based on such experience, they can help you a lot in deciding menu finally.

Event Preparation

Choosing a venue and preparing food is not enough to organize a party. You have to do proper preparation at the venue by setting up everything perfectly. It can be done by professionals only. Here, an event caterer Miami can help you by managing all activities. The caterers are having a big team of trained and skilled employees.

Servings

When a party gets started and guests start visiting, you may become busy attending to the guests and greeting them. With the help of experienced and trained caterers, you can easily serve food to all of them. It is the main reason why you don’t need to worry about anything, like — guests have food or not, they taste everything or not. The team of a caterer will handle it and serve all guests.

Cleanup

After an event, you may find the place messy and lots of stuff in the surroundings. Here, you need to clean up the mess as well. If you hire the catering services, they will deal with it as well.

All these things will help you understand the importance and benefits of choosing an event caterer. It will allow you to enjoy the party.
Eating Through Los Angeles: Alex Canter’s Top 100 Restaurants for 2021
By: Alex Canter
Tags: Los Angeles, Food Review, Foodies, Restaurant, Cuisine

Los Angeles restaurant culture is a part of my DNA: I was born a few blocks from Canter’s Deli, the family-owned and operated restaurant my great-grandfather founded in 1931. I started waiting tables there when I was 12 years old, jumping right into the family business just like my father and grandfather did before me. For as long as I can remember, restaurants haven’t just been my life — they’ve been my passion.

I’ve always enjoyed discovering amazing food experiences, and sharing recommendations with others. That thrill of discovery is what led me to create this list of my 100 favorite restaurants in L.A.

I want more people to appreciate how wildly diverse the Los Angeles food scene is. It’s so much more than tacos (though we do have the best tacos anywhere in the U.S.). It’s Korean, Cuban, Japanese, Peruvian, Italian, Indian and Thai. In a single city, you’ll find crispy shrimp rice noodles, bone-marrow gnocchi, pork xiao long bao, and a mole negro that will blow your mind.

This list is really a celebration of all the different cultures that make L.A. so special. It’s a token of my appreciation—and, I hope, a means of supporting an industry that badly needs our help.

The pandemic has absolutely devastated the restaurant world, and particularly, mom & pops. Literally overnight, establishments were forced to pivot in unsustainable ways and had to figure out how to function at extremely limited capacities (if they could be open at all). More than 110,000 eating establishments nationwide have closed their doors in the last year alone. Millions of restaurant workers have lost their jobs. At Canter’s, we were forced to let people go who had worked with our family for more than 40 years. It has been a brutal 12 months, and we still can’t fathom the long-term effects COVID-19 will have on the industry.

Despite all that, I’m hopeful. Countless restaurants in L.A. have found creative solutions amidst unimaginable challenges: They’ve reworked their menus, leaned in to delivery being the new normal, embraced virtual restaurants, and figured out how to make al fresco dining in parking lots seem cool.

As our city starts to re-open, I hope this list inspires you to support local businesses and get excited about dining out again.
Allset Partners with STK Steakhouse
Tags: Apps, News, Food, Restaurant, Partnerships

Allset Partners with STK Steakhouse

Eclectic wagyu selection, sandwiches, signature cocktails, and more — you can now order anything on the mouth-watering menu of STK Steakhouse using the Allset app. Allset Follow Feb 26 · 1 min read

You got it right, we’re now working with America’s favorite steakhouse, which means the only question you should ask yourself is which surf you will be adding to your turf tonight — Shrimp, King Crab, or Lobster?

We know, the timing couldn’t be better as STK Steakhouse is offering an amazing to-go menu. So it’s about time to try something new and festive, whether it’s Short Rib Quesadilla, Meatball Hot Wrap, Buttermilk Fried Chicken Thigh, or Crispy Shrimp Po’ Boy.

Starting today, the Allset ordering is available at 10 locations nationwide, featuring No-Contact Pickup and a limited time offer of $5 off each order.

Do not hesitate to swing by the closest location near you and indulge yourself in the classic American steakhouse experience!

Click here for the best steakhouse around >>
A fresh taste of India every year
By: Jillian Briare
Tags: Food, Reno, India, Restaurant, Immigrants

India Kabab and Curry’s bright and colorful display is hard to miss when driving through midtown Reno

What started as just a friendly visit to the biggest little city became an opportunity to test the taste buds of Reno residents. India Kabab and Curry, one of Reno’s first Indian cuisine restaurants since 2005, aspires every year to bring the latest and best tasting parts of India back home to share with the community. In a growing city with both big and small businesses settling in, and a population growth rate of 2.09% each year, globalization is inevitable. It’s estimated that there are around 5,000 Indian restaurants in the USA, but not all go the extra step to keep their menus up to date. The business owner, Singh Bishan, describes the efforts the restaurant goes through to not only serve their Indian community but also the humans of Reno.

“I send a chef every year to India. New recipes always come up, we add new ones every year.”

The chef visits India for one month, sometimes in a different part of the country such as Deli, Bombay, or Hyderabad. A two week cooking class helps refine their skills, and teaches them new ways and recipes to cook. Once the chef returns, the restaurant experiments with different foods to refine and decide which new recipes to add to the restaurant menu. Bishan said they add around one or two new dishes each year. Although this annual tradition has been on a pause since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, it will still continue to be a part of India Kabab and Curry’s routine in the future.

The large, elegant restaurant decorated with Indian art serves not only its hungry customers but also gives back to those in need in the local community.

Bishan was inspired to open an Indian food restaurant when he came to America and noticed there were hardly any at the places he visited. One trip to Reno to visit a friend turned into opening one of the first Indian cuisine spots in town. He says he wanted to share his home country’s food with those who have never tried it before.

“Indian food is very popular. There was only one small place here, and when we first opened the restaurant there were like 400 people outside in a line.”

The spot not only attracts Reno’s Indian customers but also people from many origins. Coworkers exchanged conversations in multiple languages while on their breaks, with Bishan saying he has employees from India, Mexico, and Pakistan. One host said he decided to stay working with the restaurant after being hired to do an electrical job on the building.

India Kabab and Curry is also active in the local community by catering and hosting events at the restaurant, and donating food every day to serve those in need.
Zeacon Hosts Seattle Seahawks Viewing Party for NFL Stars and the Community
Tags: Events, Seattle, Restaurant, NFL, Zeacon

Zeacon Hosts Seattle Seahawks Viewing Party for NFL Stars and the Community Zeacon Dec 2, 2019·2 min read

On November 11th we had the privilege of hosting former NFL player, Lawyer Milloy’s, birthday party at Smoke & Shine for the ultimate viewing party of the Seahawks and 49ers first season meeting.

Between touchdowns, turnovers, and missed field goals, Smoke & Shine provided the perfect venue to celebrate and have fun with our guest list of just over 250 people.

Among VIP guests like Kam Chancellor, dedicated Seahawks fans, a few 49ers fans, and some of the closest people to Lawyer Milloy, we were able to bring together all different communities from the greater Seattle area through Zeacon.

The night was accompanied by food and drinks provided by Smoke & Shine, a photobooth from local company Smile Patrol, Throwbacks Northwest pop-up shop, and production and Emcee services from h206 Events.

With the Seahawks taking the win, it was safe to say, it was a night to remember.

Looking to host your own viewing party in Kirkland? Connect with Smoke & Shine to kickstart your event.

Want to find out more about what we do at Zeacon?

Come connect with us!

If you’re a local business and want to partner up on an event, let us know in the comments or drop us an email to charles.koh@zeacon.com.

Follow us at @hellozeacon for more fun community updates. 👋
Best Hotel Amenities for Business Travelers in Surat-Lords Plaza Surat
By: Shamitav Jana
Tags: Surat, Hotel, Meetings, Restaurant, Banquet Halls

Complimentary breakfast, swimming pools, a fitness center, and an on-site spa: these are some of the things you might look for in a hotel if you’re traveling for leisure. But if you are travelling for business meeting, you are often more concerned with Wi-Fi access and meeting spaces.

So if you’re traveling for business purpose instead of pleasure, don’t forget to check these basic hotel amenities before you check in and where to find them in Surat.

Free High-Speed Wi-Fi

Free Wi-Fi is becoming one of the necessary hotel amenities for business +travelers. Fortunately, the Hotel Lords Inn Surat offers complimentary Wi-Fi on a single network.

Meeting & Conference facilities

When traveling for business, productivity is often of very important. Meetings sometimes need to take place and the hotel bar or room won’t always suffice. Fortunately, when meetings of the minds or small conference-style get-together must occur, many hotel amenities for business travelers include access to meeting and conference rooms.

Dining Anytime

If you’ve traveled for business, you know regular mealtimes aren’t often observed. Especially if you’re traveling through multiple time zones, it’s important to be able to grab a bite whenever you can.

At Hotel Lords Inn from Lords Group, there are multiple quick and healthy food options for busy workers. There are healthy options for dining available 24/7.

Easy check-in

As business travelers you want nothing more than a quick, painless, and flexible check-in process after the hassle of traveling. Confirm before booking your hotel room.

Nutritious breakfast offerings

Business travelers are always on the go, and appreciate good-tasting, healthy breakfasts that are both quick and filling.

Hotel Lords Inn, for example, often have a fine dining restaurant, cafe, and casual dining space.

Comfortable premium bedding

Business trips are exhausting. Many hotels providing the bed for the night, ensures it’s comfortable.

Coffee / Tea maker

If you are travelling for business late working hours are obvious, work late and wake up early — making it hard to feel refreshed in the morning. Hotel Lords Inn give guests the extra boost they need by having caffeinated drinks available in-room.

Iron and ironing board

More so than the average guest, business travelers dress to impress. Therefore, hotels help them work out any sartorial wrinkles by having an iron and ironing board right in the room.

Hotel Lords Inn, promise to make your business travel much better and as comfortable as possible with our best hotel amenities and services in Surat.
Spak Brothers Restaurant Review
Tags: Vegan Student, Chatham University, Vegan, Restaurant, Lifestyle

By Juliette Lopez and Jesse Solomon

Spak Brothers is a popular spot on Penn Avenue in Garfield for vegans to get their “classic” takeout pizza fix.

Spak Brothers pizza shop on Penn Avenue in Garfield.

The shop is about a 20-minute bus ride from campus, but if you go on a nice day, the walk is not too bad.

As far as the menu goes, Spak Brothers does not disappoint. There are numerous options for vegans such as pizza, seitan hoagies and wings, breadsticks, french fries (curly and straight), salads and veggie calzones.

It’s also a huge plus that the shop offers vegan pizza toppings, including a variety of veggies and meat and dairy substitutes such as veggie pepperoni, sausage and mozzarella.

We decided on a six-cut pizza topped with a plethora of veggies, vegan mozzarella and veggie pepperoni. The slices were pretty small so the six cut was perfect for the two of us.

A six cut pizza topped with veggies, vegan mozzarella and vegan pepperoni.

The pizza successfully surpassed our expectations. We recommend it to both vegans and non-vegans alike, not only because the food is delicious but also because the prices are affordable — especially for college students on a budget. Our pizza was about $13, which is more affordable than other restaurants we’ve visited thus far as part of the vegan crawl.

Not only does the pizza shop serve lots of vegan options, it also has things for non-vegans who might be wary of the vegan menu.

Because most customers go to Spak Brothers for takeout, the seating in the shop is extremely limited; we sat at one of the two counters that were paired with barstools.

Whether you’re eating in or taking out, we suggest hanging around and playing with the vintage pinball machines and table Pacman while you wait. The shop also has some beautiful art on display that’s available for purchase.

If you’re planning on visiting Spak Brothers, we recommend getting takeout and sharing with a few friends (or keeping all the cheesy goodness for yourself — we don’t judge).

For more information, visit the shop’s website at www.spakbrothers.com/#pizza or call 412–362–7725.
Enjoy a Delicious Barbecue Experience in Ahmedabad
By: Magic Chicken
Tags: Non Veg Restaurant, Non Veg Food, Ahmedabad, Best Restaurants, Restaurant

The taste of barbecue is mouthwatering for everyone. Though it is originated from America, it is a common food in all parts of the world now. You can also find the best barbecue chicken in Ahmedabad too. Adequately grilled chicken is a delight for everyone. Unique spices and techniques make barbecues here a perfect taste, and you can find BBQs in some of the good non-veg restaurants in Ahmedabad. You can also find the best Kerala food in Ahmedabad, and thus the city is a hub of eateries of all sorts.

Find the Best Non-Veg in Ahmedabad

You can find the best non-veg in Ahmedabad easily. Among the non-veg dishes, Barbecues are hot favourites for everyone. There are many unique steps in the preparation of the best barbecue chicken in Ahmedabad. These steps include getting rid of fat, washing in saltwater, adding spices and finally cocking on low heat. All the good non veg restaurants in Ahmedabad adopt these precious steps in preparing BBQs.

Find the Best Kerala Food in Ahmedabad

You can find the best Kerala food in Ahmedabad in all the non-vegetarian food houses. Kerala cuisines are unique with perfect spices. Hence, tasting them is a perfect choice on all occasions.
Icon Designs
By: Yoshi Shibata
Tags: Food, Design, UX Design, Restaurant, Icons

Allergen icons used on the menus and allergen chart for our staff.

It’s not difficult to find icons through our day-to-day lives; in fact, we see so many of them. They guide us to operate our gadgets (from laptop to TV) and offer easily understandable instructions on information in the simplest way (arrows to indicate the direction, or gender icons on a bathroom sign).

During my previous role in restaurant operations, one of the most crucial information that we shared with our team and guests was allergens in each dish. Due to the limited space on the menu and the wide range of guest demographics (for those who do not understand or speak English), utilizing the icons was the best way to communicate about each specific allergen. Here are some examples that we used on our menus as well as the allergen chart for our staff.

All of these icons represent different allergens, such as dairy, eggs, and gluten. The globally recognized pictures/shapes allow the users to easily understood each icon without knowing the language spoken where the restaurants are located. And with the information interpreted from the icons, guests can identify the allergens and determine which dishes they can consume.

While the allergen icons are very convenient and help guests enjoy the experience and dine at ease, some of the icons can be challenging to identify if someone is not familiar with or does not have specific allergies, especially those not commonly known allergens. Thus, pairing each icon with a text label would help everyone better understand and interpret their meaning.
Wit Cafe
By: Alyssa Braddy
Tags: Cafe, Bubble Tea, Restaurant, Boba, Local Business

Wit Cafe is a small cafe and bubble tea shop located outside of Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. The cafe opened up just over a year ago in August 2019.

Wit Cafe is a family-owned business. The Nguyen family received the business after previous owners decided to sell the bubble tea and cafe portion of their restaurant.

When they inherited Wit Cafe, the Nguyen family received the boba or bubble tea aspects, as well as the other traditional cafe items. Since then, the family’s goal was to revamp and add on to the pre-existing menu.

Since inheriting the business from their friends, the Nguyen family has grown their menu. They have added new bubble tea flavors, including seasonal and permanent specials. They also have a wide range of food, including soups during cold weather months, paninis, breakfast sandwiches, pastries etc.

Though they are known for boba or bubble tea, Wit Cafe still has coffee, frappes and smoothies, keeping traditional cafe roots alive while still adding on to the new bubble tea component.

Even with COVID-19, onsite manager and social media manager Robby says that they haven’t had to make many changes. Since most of their items are already take-out or pick-up style items, the only changes they have had to make is to increase social media presence and add new specials and drinks to appeal to customers.

Though there are many boba destinations in St. Louis, there are hardly any on the east side of the Mississippi. Even with being the only boba place in the metro-east, Robby says that Wit Cafe is still a strong competitor to the well-known boba shops and chains in the St. Louis area. Wit Cafe has a greater variety of bubble tea flavors, as well as unique boba creations.

So, if you’re looking for a great place for bubble tea or coffee in southern Illinois and don’t want to make the long drive over to St. Louis, be sure to check out Wit Cafe.