The RB staff combed through hundreds of great ideas before whittling down the collection to 50. It was even harder to pick favorites, but the editors put these on the top of the list.
Pat's Pick: Noodles to go
Pat Cobe, Senior Editor
Spaghetti Incident, a new full-service Italian place with a takeout window in New York City, borrows its name from a Guns ’n Roses album and its concept of serving pasta to-go in paper cones from Italy’s 1950s street-food scene. To hold up to the hustle and bustle of New York streets, owner Emanuele Attala and his partners developed a sturdy, no-spill carrier with a lid. The curved sides help guide the strands of spaghetti around the fork, facilitating twirling and lessening the risk of losing even a single caper on the ground, Attala says.
Pat's Pick: Barstool Built for Two
Pat Cobe, Senior Editor
When couples want to eat at the bar, they often have to wait until two adjacent seats are free. Amy Morton, owner of Found Kitchen in Evanston, Ill., solved the issue with bar-height seats that two can share. Morton, a descendant of Morton’s The Steakhouse family, remembered a similar stool in her grandfather’s original restaurant, took an old photo to a furniture-maker and had the seats custom-made for Found. They grace both the bar and the chef’s table, which guests can reserve for date night.
Sara's Pick: Locals as priority market
Sara Rush, Senior Editor
St. Paul, Minn., gathering place Saint Dinette offers a complimentary grocery valet, so guests coming from the nearby farmers market can relax over brunch instead of rushing home to put away perishables. The cold storage is limited though, so the restaurant draws the line at holding refrigerated food; patrons with dry goods are on their own.
Sara's Pick: Sriracha/Chuloula pumps
Sara Rush, Senior Editor
The spicy trend shows no signs of slowing; over the last five years, mentions of “spicy” on restaurant menus increased 14 percent, according to Technomic. And younger consumers are differentiating the types of spice they want, often pursuing popular ethnic variations. To appeal to that crowd, Chicago-based Protein Bar swapped out the traditional ketchup and mustard pumps in its self-serve stations for two trendy Asian hot sauces.
Sara's Pick: Real-time feedback
Sara Rush, Senior Editor
Earlier this year, Los Angeles-based Umami Burger tested an “Umamify the Guest” program. Instead of stuffing a survey into a check presenter or relying on Yelp, servers at Umami handed dine-in guests a coin at the end of their meal. Diners were asked to drop their coin into a jar that best represented their experience—stellar, good with room for improvement or bad. The jars were stationed near the exit, far enough from the host so diners would feel comfortable giving honest feedback, but close enough to spot a negative mark, affording the chance to get more details from the guest or server.
Kelly's Pick: Dessert-Drink Pairings’
Kelly Killian, Group Editor
At Gamlin Whiskey House in St. Louis, the choice between an after-dinner drink and dessert is not an either-or decision. Proprietor Derek Gamlin teamed up with nearby Clementine’s Naughty & Nice Creamery to offer a shareable Boozy Ice Cream Flight—three ice creams paired with three 1-ounce whiskey shots for $40. Clementine’s already was using some of Gamlin’s cocktails to inspire ice-cream flavors, so the flights were a natural next step. “We like to partner with local businesses to bring fresh ideas to our guests,” says Gamlin. “It’s a great way to experience the St. Louis food scene.”
Kelly's Pick: Customizable Walls
Kelly Killian, Group Editor
Instead of artwork, Ampersand, the 600-square-foot private-event space within Chicago seafood restaurant Kinmont, covered its walls in chalkboard paint. Those renting the room can personalize the space by writing their menus on the walls, posting a marketing message or jotting ideas during a meeting. “Probably the most central tenet of the Ampersand concept is the ability to customize the entire space to best accommodate the event taking place as well as the audience in attendance,” says partner Chris Freeman. Some guests get very elaborate, says one server, hiring chalkboard-stencil artists to spend upward of two hours decorating the whole room in illustrations.