Sneaky Restaurant Tricks
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Trimming Costs
In Troubled TimesSoaring food costs, rising gas prices and cash-strapped consumers mean one thing for restaurants: trouble. As restaurants struggle to stay afloat many are forced to swap ingredients, trim portion size and makeover their menus.
Click through our gallery as freelance writer Carol Vinzant shares the sneaky ways that restaurants are cutting costs and trying to get you to spend more.
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· Post: Have You Seen Any Tricks?
First Up: Restaurant Trick No. 1 -
Cutting Back on Portions
Restaurants normally spend between 25% and 40% of their budgets on food. So if they can make a smaller hamburger and still sell it for the same price, their profits go up. Milk shakes at family diners that could once be split three-ways may now truly be single serve. There are reports of some restaurants buying smaller plates so customers won't notice they have reduced portions and chefs won't be tempted to heap on food to make dishes look appealing.
Next: Restaurant Trick No. 2 -
Redesigning the Menu
The third item in a list is generally the most selected item. Owners are using this knowledge and professional menu design to steer eaters to the highest margin items. Profitable items may also get stars or boxes around them. You may see prices de-emphasized. Kristoff Creative, a design firm, steers restaurants away from the typical diner menu where all the prices line up in a column.
Next: Restaurant Trick No. 3 -
Swapping Key Ingredients
Managers may shift to dishes that call for less expensive ingredients, too -- for example, from beef to chicken or from chicken to pasta. Consumers may want these lower priced alternatives. And restaurants like them because they can often make a higher profit margin on them. If you see a menu item for some kind of marinated steak, it may be a flank steak, a cheap, tough, cut that has been marinated and pounded to submission, said one chef at a private club who asked not to be identified. You may see more items with ground chuck, otherwise known as hamburger.
Next: Restaurant Trick No. 4 -
Cutting Back on Freshness
Food distributors are charging restaurants fuel surcharges these days because of high gas prices. So, restaurants are trying to cut back on the number of deliveries they get. Instead of getting fresh produce every day, they get bigger quantities less frequently. Other kitchens may switch to frozen for items that they rarely use but want to keep on hand, such as avocados.
Next: Restaurant Trick No. 5 -
Using Up Everything
The chef may prefer to discard tomatoes that aren't the ripest red. But, these days, to make use of every last tomato ordered, you might see a few green slices make their way onto your hamburger. That new special soup? Could be just an excuse to use some meat and vegetables they got for another dish but didn't sell. See lots of chili? It may be a disguise for leftover hamburger. Bread pudding? That's yesterday's Danish. Homemade croutons? A great use of stale bread. Potato skins? A terrific way to use the leftover baked potatoes.
Next: Restaurant Trick No. 6 -
Pouring Weaker Drinks
Your favorite bartender is probably not stingy with portions. Bartenders have a way of pouring generous drinks and maybe even offering one on the house. But now his boss may be breathing down his neck to ensure he is not so glad-handed.
In the United Kingdom pubs must sell liquor in 25 ml or 35 ml servings and have bar gadgets that pour exactly that amount. Maybe they'll start becoming a common sight in the U.S., too.
Next: Restaurant Trick No. 7 -
Using Cheaper Ingredients
Restaurant owners have become compulsive shoppers. That's quite a change. Owners normally stick with the same supplier year after year, almost like baseball players stick with lucky socks. Now they're trying many suppliers and many brands. For restaurant owners who are less fastidious on quality, a switch to a cheaper supplier can mean lower quality. If your favorite grilled cheese doesn't taste quite as good as it used to, a change in suppliers could well be the reason.
Next: Restaurant Trick No. 8 -
Using Cheaper Disposables
From take-out containers to garbage bags to toilet paper, there are big bucks in paper and disposables. And owners can sometimes get the same items for less if they just spend more time shopping. Or, they may decide that food quality is sacrosanct but napkin quality is not.
Next: Restaurant Trick No. 9 -
Tweaking the Recipe
Maybe the recipe calls for five sticks of butter. In good times, the baker adds six because she thinks it tastes better. But in tough times, she'll stick to five (or worse, substitute a stick or two of margarine in the recipe). The chef may prefer to load up on shrimp when preparing his signature gumbo, but he knows his job depends on restricting the number to four or five per serving. Cooks may also be told to use 10% less chicken or chop off less of the head of strawberries when they make shortcake.
Next: Restaurant Trick No. 9 -
Slowly Raising Prices
Restaurants normally raises price only once or twice a year. Now you'll see many more increases along the way. That's because prices are moving as much in a month as they used to in a year. One restaurant owner now prints only 500 menus at a time instead of 5,000. He used to check his ingredient prices every couple months; now he makes sure to look every week.
Next: Restaurant Trick No. 10 -
Begging for Sympathy
You may start seeing signs about higher commodity prices. Or news articles pinned to the window. Or hear desperate justification of the higher prices in a conversation with the owner. They want to make sure you know they're not just being greedy.
· Post: Which Tricks Have You Seen?
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Recent Comments
Rcbntx 10:52:54 PM Aug 01 2009
Working in the Food and Beverage Industry for 20 years, and now working for a Texas based fast food chain as a General Manager, I speak from experience on this. It is true that the costs are being shifted to the restaurants from the suppliers, and then to the consumers. However true it may be for some restaurant chains or independent's, those dedicated to quality are doing their best to stick to their beliefs that made the company what it is. Some changes do occur, but some changes are necessary. However, if you see "green tomatoes" on a burger, that is a definite sign that the care in presentation AND quality has been compromised for the "bottom line". Continue to give support to those that do not substitute their reputation for a dollar. For we do care about you. If not for you, the success, and ability to continue to be there for you woulod not be possible. And sometimes, some need to be reminded that it is YOUR restaurant. Don't be ashamed to remind any of us on that fac
Lois457 01:29:03 PM Jul 31 2009
MY HUSBAND AND I EAT OUT A LOT AND ALWAYS ORDER SOMETHING WE CAN SHARE. (WE ARE NOT BIG EATERS AND TRY TO WATCH OUR WEIGHT) OUR FAVORITE STEAK HOUSE WAS SPINDLETOP RESTURANT. ONE EVENING WE ORDERED OUR USUAL 16 OZ STEAK AND THEY TACKED ON AN EXTRA $5.00. FOR THE EXTRA PLATE. THE NEW MANAGER DECIDED YOU CANNOT SHARE OR IT WILL COST YOU AN EXTRA $5.00. THEY SOON WENT OUT OF BUSINESS NEEDLESS TO SAY. SUCH A SHAME TOO BECAUSE THEIR STEAKS WERE THE BEST IN BEAUMONT.
NGray46 07:38:30 AM Jul 31 2009
The story I just told was what happened at ONE Denny's. I don't believe this is the normal at other Denny's restaurants. This one manager was definitely out to cheat the customers as we were short half the meat on 3 different items. We are not there to be cheap. Our usual bill is $35 for 2 adults and a child's drink. Cutting back is one thing but shorting the orders is another.
NGray46 07:36:07 AM Jul 31 2009
The story I just told happened in ONE Denny's. I beleve it was ONE manager trying to cut costs but we didn't walk in with STUPID stamped on our foreheads. We eat there at least once a month and order the same appetizer and child's meal. We know what comes with our order. Our average bill for 2 adults is $35 plus tax and tip. This manager WAS out to cheat us. This was NOT an accident as there were problems with 3 different items being shorted meat.
NGray46 07:32:24 AM Jul 31 2009
We went to Denny's in Cape Coral, FL on "kids eat free" Tuesday. We do this once a month. The child ordered the chicken nuggets with fries. The meal came with the normal portion of fries and buried under them was 2 chicken nuggests. There were problems with both the adult meals too and we asked for the manager. Our waiter looked sheepish and said "it might take a few minutes because he's cooking." The manager was putting about 1/2 the meat portion on all our plates. We had ordered an appetizer platter (3 items). and got 2 chicken strips instead of the 4 shown on menu. Menu showed 3 condiments with this and we received a TINY bowl holding about 1 tablesppon of marinara sauce. We had to ask for the other items the menu said it came with. We had to ask for individual plates to share this with 4 people. If you didn't know what you were to get, this manager was charging full price and giving you less than 1/2 the meat and condiments. WILL NEVER GO IN THERE AGAIN. We aren't ch
RockIslandMusic 09:26:15 PM Jun 13 2009
just be smart when u eat. We go to one of our local pubs the food is great and we buy a few cocktails, Keeps them in business and they do not have to raise the prices. The profit is in the booze. Drink don't drive besides it's cheaper.LOL
KrisXpress 06:29:58 PM Jun 10 2009
Anyone in South Florida,Go to Duffy's Sports Bar! Great food,great atmosphere, great service.
KrisXpress 06:28:41 PM Jun 10 2009
Anyone in south florida, go to Duffy's Sports Bar, great food! great atmosphere!
CATnDRYER 03:12:49 PM Jun 10 2009
The Media has way too much free time and way too many stories to do.Restaurants......like any and every other type of business are advertising specials to get you into the Restaurant.......with the hopes of "selling you up" when you eat your discounted meal. They are going to try to sell you the extra drink.....or the dessert.....to make up for the profit lost in the special.Give them a break...............they wash the dishes for your lazy azzzzzz.
SCOX112973 02:33:13 PM Jun 10 2009
This is a ridiculous article, meant only to get people upset! Restaurants arn't out to screw their customers. Some of these tactics might be true, but it seems to me for good reason. Restaurants are businesses and they should be profitable. Serving a milkshake that could feed 3 people is a waste of a milkshake, unless 3 people are sharing it. The same goes for portion size. Why should a restaurant be expected to provide enough food for 3 people, in 1 meal? It gives people a false sense of how much food they should be consuming - which leads to obesity, a big problem in this country. As for cutting back on disposables and wasting less produce - Bravo to the restaurants. Most people throw away the plactic forks and paper napkins that accompany take-out. Restaurants in our neighborhood only include them if requested. How about if AOL writes a complementary article on how restaurants are doing their part to help the economy and offer a service to the rest of the population, rathe
