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| NO MORE! PLEASE! photo from awesomebites.com |
The problem is this: the go-to small bites that restaurants are going to are either pulled pork sliders or carnitas tacos. I'm tired of it.
Example: Last Friday I went to the Christian Brothers High School Wine, Beer, Food Extravaganza. It was a great event with good bands, a lovely location (the high school grounds), and plenty of eats and drinks. But I would say as much 70% of the savory items were either carnitas tacos or pulled pork sliders.
Don't get me wrong. I get it. Beef prices are rising, chicken can be tricky, pork is forgiving and cheap. Tacos and sliders are small and easy. Thing is, at an event like this I would think you should regard it as a marketing opportunity to get new customers. You want to stand out and be memorable. You want me to remember that you were participating - that you were even there!
There was a restaurant that night, for instance, that I had never heard of. We asked questions about where they were for future reference. They happened to be a Mexican restaurant, so guess what? Carnitas tacos. At the same time, across the way was Tequila Museo Mayahuel. See? I specifically remember them because they had what I considered to be the best 'bite' of the evening. It's a restaurant that I have yet to eat at. I am more interested to eat there now because they served a small cup of their Crema de Chile Poblano soup. It was hot, flavorful, spicy. I loved it!
My point is that if you want to be memorable, if you want me to give your restaurant a try since I've never been there before, then the tacos and sliders are NOT going to do it. With a dozen sliders around the event(s), I'm not going to remember yours. They all blur together. I even said to people, "You would think we were at a pulled pork slider competition." Honestly, we are tired of it.
So I'm challenging restaurants. I challenge them NOT to serve either carnitas tacos or pulled pork sliders at chartiy food events ANY MORE! Mexican restaurants can do taquitos, flautas, anything but tacos. Other restaurants can do skewers, canapes, etc. Use pork. That's not really the issue (the type of meat). It's how you are using that pork. There are plenty of other inexpensive bites that can be made besides sliders and tacos.
The next big food charity event like this is coming up with The Taste of Sacramento on September 21st. I ask everyone to check and see how many tacos and sliders are there and report back to me (in case I don't go). I really hope restaurants take this message to heart and we see none. But I think that's a dream and there will still be too many.
6 comments:
Chef Russell Michel (Morgan's) I understand where she is coming from however I have served pan-seared scallops over Dungeness crab risotto with smoked chili beurre blanc at the Taste of Sacramento and had rave reviews about it. Did most of those 1000 people come into Morgan's to have the scallops after the event? No. Fundraisers are designed to raise funds for those in need and I do not go to an event to just blow people away with food. Morgan's is here for the community and supports those in need. If we increase business because someone enjoyed our tastes at one of these events, then that is beautiful. If not, we are proud to support our community.
"Honestly, we the public are tired of it."
^^^^^^^^^^
Obviously "they" are not since they continue to frequent places like Chando's, Red Rabbit, Golden Bear, Ella (Chef's lunch special), etc hip dining spot when given the choice where to dine in their free time. Restaurants/chef see that and that's also why they're serving carnitas and pork sliders at these events.
To be clear, I understand the generosity of the restaurants making donations of their time and food for these events. I'm just asking them to change it up a bit with what they decided to serve.
There was more than one event that night and some of these restaurants donated their food and labor to both. There are daily requests for similar events for every calendar day of the year. The cost to support all these causes (like wealthy kid's schools) is a lot more than the entry ticket. People may consider being gracious recipients of the gifts hard working restaurants struggle to provide.
Were you able to consult with the bands on their set lists?
Perhaps you could sit on a second Saturday committee and direct the artists in their selections as well.
I genuinely hope you get the gifts you like for Xmas this year so your friends and family know they met your expectations.
I knew I would hit a nerve (I've done that a lot lately) and put restaurants on the defensive. And I guess it does sound ungracious. As a friend said on Twitter - guess they aren't interested in the marketing aspect. I just respect many of the restaurants that do these events and know they have the ability to do more than sliders and tacos. And there are certainly cheaper options if it were just a matter of money.
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