Photo Credit: MyDesert.com

Sleek, black and modern iPads are making a big splash at a few local restaurants, changing how those fine-dining establishments run their businesses.

“The days of just an old, order-taker as a server are gone,” said Tim Snyder. “It’s an interaction that has kind of come off the page, if you will, but in a different dialogue.”

Fine dining is an industry built on human interactions, but the tablet is changing that interface in a variety of ways. Tablets have become a contemporary substitute for the paper menu, creating a more knowledgeable consumer. Payments can be done tableside, taking a fraction of the time to pay a check. Some restaurants have opted to update their point-of-sale systems with tablets instead of boxy computers. Even the server’s pad has been updated to a hand-held device.

“It definitely changes the dynamic but it also streamlines the process,” said Angelica Pappas, spokesperson for the California Restaurant Association in Sacramento. “As consumers get more comfortable and understand the benefit of efficient service ... you’ll see more restaurants doing it.” READ MORE

Photo Credit: QSR.com

Welcome to Shula Burger.

The Shula’s brand has earned credibility in the restaurant world, not only because of its world-famous namesake, former NFL coach Don Shula, but also due to the renown for its 15 Shula’s Steak Houses around the U.S. But the Florida-based company thinks its future success lies in this young fast casual that swaps white tablecloths and crystal stemware for hamburgers and hand-dipped Häagen-Dazs milkshakes.

With five Shula Burger stores in South Florida—the most recent of which opened this spring in Delray Beach—Shula’s is betting that its fine-dining know-how applied to a more casual and economical environment will make Shula Burger a national concept that can propel the parent company to new heights.

Photo Credit: Nation's Restaurant News

Cider: The next generation

Hard cider’s popularity is accelerating, according to research firm GuestMetrics, which analyzes point-of-sale data at full-service restaurants. Cider sales in restaurants grew by 40 percent in 2012. But year-over-year sales in the first quarter of 2013 jumped by 70 percent, the company said.

“Ciders obviously have made a huge jump in the market,” said Joe O’Connor, beverage director of Big Night Entertainment Group, which operates six restaurants in the Boston area. “They are appealing to all and easy to drink,” he said, adding that they’re particularly popular at brunch and in the early evening, and as a bonus they happen to be gluten-free.  READ MORE

Photo Credit: Kansas City Eat+Drink

Derek Kean recalls the frustration of trying to track down a food truck while on a trip to San Francisco.

“The app we downloaded didn’t find any. We’d seen food trucks on the streets, but we never knew where they were stopping,” says Kean, who lives in Kansas City.

That’s when Kean and his business partner, senior software developer Matt Berkland, decided they wanted to create what they hope will become the Rolls-Royce of roaming apps. Truckily rolls out this month, and it was developed with input from Kansas City food trucks Indios Carbonsitos, CoffeeCakeKC and the Funnel Cake Truck.

Truckily’s biggest selling point: It allows food truck entrepreneurs to make a location update that pinpoints them on a map. These updates flow to Twitter and Facebook, similar to the way TweetDeck allows a post in one space to migrate to all other social media platforms with a single touch.  READ MORE

Photo Credit: AdvertisingAge

Fast-casual chains are leading growth in the catering category, which has increased significantly since the recession. Even as pinched consumers slashed their restaurant spending, they invested more in catering -- and not just through local restaurants and delicatessens. Almost a third of consumers now cater through fast-casual chains.

"It fascinated us," said Melissa Wilson, principal at Technomic. "Even when consumers were watching pennies, they're still very time-pressed," and invested more in catering when they entertained at home. She added that while consumers increased their catering spending during the recession, corporations cut theirs.  READ MORE

 Over the past decade, as hamburgers have been decked out, stripped down and reimagined at restaurants of all prices and sizes, French fries have largely served as the steady if unremarkable supporting player. Sure, once in a while a place like Five Guys would tout its attention to fry detail—the chain promotes the fact that its potatoes are fried in cholesterol-free pure peanut oil—but burgers have captured far more creative attention.

Now, though, more operators are revisiting the standby side, seeing significant upsell potential in spiced, sauced and shareable (because they’re less indulgent if you share, right?) servings of fried spuds.

Fine-dining and limited-service restaurants are in on the trend; among the latter, Burger King introduced cinnamon-spiced Seasoned Sweet Potato Curly Fries as a limited-time offer in October. But out-of-the-ordinary fries also are a calling card at a growing number of fast-casual concepts—not all of them burger joints. Whether doused in herbs and spices or smothered with gravy, they stand out as an interesting complement to the flavorful, freshly prepared fare for which the fast-casual segment is known. READ MORE

Forget about "Liv Mas" and Mountain Dew AM. According the Associated Press, Taco Bell announced yesterday that it is exploring "balanced choices" to add to its menu in the next several years. The plan is to have 20% of combo meals comply with federal nutritional recommendations by 2020. To make this happen, Taco Bell is working on a "range of products" that might be introduced to the menu as soon as 2014. While the move is certainly a surprise so soon after the introduction of Doritos Locos Tacos Doritos, CEO Greg Creed says: "We're not going to walk away from who Taco Bell is."

According to AP, current sales from the calorie-conscious Fresco menu account for only 2% of sales. Along with Master Chef Taco Shill Lorena Garcia's Bell Cantina menu, the Fresco menu represents Taco Bell's initial efforts to capitalize diners' desire not to get fat. Perhaps the 375 million Doritos Locos Tacos sold last year will fund the new menu research. Read More.