Hard times for Fast Casual

.. plus 600 new Five Guys outlets in the next two years. A summary of what's up in the restaurant industry from Business Week.

I'll drink a toast to that ...

Frita Batidos finally got their liquor license.

In what world does it make sense for that process to take eight months?

Frita Batidos

Frita Batidos is the new Cuban-inspired down-scale restaurant from Eve Aronoff, who operates the decidedly upscale Eve, which is one of my two or three favorite restaurants in Ann Arbor.

We've been twice and enjoyed it both times. The decor (and some of the crowd) is hipster (at least by Ann Arbor standards) but not overbearing. The staff are enthusiastic. The food is as yummy as you would expect. I've tried the Chorizo Frita and the Inspired Cuban sandwich and would gladly have both again, with a slight preference for the Inspired Cuban. I've also had the Especial Batidos, a sort of Cuban shake sweetened with honey, and really enjoyed that too.

In short, highly recommended.

Good news in Ann Arbor

Sabor Latino at last has its liquor license.

The arroz con pollo is amazing.

Places to purchase particularly pleasing pizza

A list of officially (!) recognized good pizza restaurants from the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana.

Who knew that Seattle is the capital of good pizza?

Hat tip: Sue Dynarski

Giant new Chinese restaurant in Ypsilanti

Another new restaurant, this one in Ann Arbor's next door neighbor, Ypsilanti.

I particularly liked this bit from the AnnArbor.com piece:

Hong Kong-style food is like when Europeans talk about French cooking," she [a friend of the owners] said. "It’s the best. And it's much lighter.”

Nothing say "light" like French cooking! More cream sauce anyone?

A great mystery was solved for me a couple of years ago when I went to Beijing for a conference. I had always wondered why Chinese restaurants in North America had such garish decor. I discovered that in fact restaurant decor is even more garish in China! So what I thought for years was decorative fakery is in fact a realistic part of the cultural experience.

Silvio's grows

My wife and I are big fans of Silvio's Organic Pizza in Ann Arbor, located just north of the "diag" on the University of Michigan's central campus. As reported by AnnArbor.com Silvio has just doubled the size of his restaurant by incorporating the space next door formerly occupied by a clothing store.

At the same time, the decor has changed from organic granola frumpy to Italian modern. It is quite nice indeed, and the food remains delicious.

Recommended!

Another new restaurant in Ann Arbor

Mercy's replaces the Earle Uptown in the Bell Tower hotel.

More of Eve to love in Ann Arbor

Good news for A2 restaurant lovers!

Eve Aronoff, proprietor of the aptly named "Eve", is opening a second restaurant in town, this one more casual and with a Cuban theme.

Eve is, along with Zingerman's Roadhouse and Cafe Zola, one of my three favorite restaurants in town.

Yum.

Brand loyalty and Chipotle

A campaign of resistance has been launched against the new ads and menu items from Chipotle by the folks at cheapotle.com. I quite liked the old ads as well - they were distinctive and fun and played a role in making the brand enjoyable for me.

At the same time, it is clear to me that chipotle needs to do something as it has passed its initial phase of hipness and rapid growth and entered into a more mature phase of business life. Starbuck's is facing much the same challenge at the moment as well. When Chipotle came to the strip mall by the University of Maryland's College Park campus when I was teaching there, it had lines out the door at lunchtime every single weekday that classes were in session for over a year. Now, partly this reflects the fact that the lunch options within walking distance of campus in College Park kinda suck. But there is more than that. The new Chipotle in Ann Arbor, amazingly the first within walking distance of central campus, never has more than four of five people in line when I go there to get lunch. There are people in the restaurant but I have never seen it particularly crowded.

I think the current Chipotle response to both changing economic circumstances and a new stage of the business life cycle is partly right and partly wrong. Introducing less expensive menu items makes sense during a recession and adding to the menu as a way of generating fresh interest makes sense more generally (though part of Chipotle's charm is its very simple menu). Abandoning the attitude that animated the earlier ad campaigns and helped to define and popularize the brand does not.

Restaurant: Acadiana in DC

Last night I dined at Acadiana in DC with two of Michigan's star undergrads, now working at jobs inside the beltway. Acadiana is run by the same folks who run several other DC restaurants, including DC Coast, which I have enjoyed in the past. It has a New Orleans theme.

Perhaps oddly, I was attracted to it both by my love of New Orleans food and by this snarky review from the Washingtonian. The review is maddeningly pompous: basically the reviewer complains about the fact that the food at Acadiana is designed to appeal to customers, rather than challenging them. The reviewer is correct; the food is delicious. The service was excellent as well. Sometimes in DC one gets servers who have attitude issues along the lines of those embodied in the Washingtonian review; that was not the case here (and is something I am glad to be rid of in Ann Arbor).

Highly recommended. I will be back.