Tricks of the trade

If you draw a line around it, people will order. That's why many menus box off something they want to promote. Chicken wings are a prime example. They're "garbage," says the author's son of one of my favorite noshes. "They cost pennies so they're huge profit items." Photos also sell dishes. An album of what look like ten-inch-high pies set on each table at Bakers Square make it hard to resist ordering a slice. Fancy-schmancy restaurants, however, like this one in Westport, Conn., consider photos déclassé; from them the most you'll get is a sketch or two.


Click the link for more great tricks of the Restaurant trade.

Visit: DR MENU DESIGN.com

A Slice of New Orleans is taken to Hollywood

The Big Easy. A new restaurant in Hollywood. Taking a bit of the New Orleans flavor and bringing it even further south to "Hollywood" (Florida that is). My latest creation. Making use of the old victorian tapestry style of New Orleans and blending in some of that 'Jazz', throw in some Cajun flavor and you got the makings for a pretty interesting menu. 

We thought about adding images of the food but it just became a little too distracting for the menu. With the Jazz instruments, wouldn't you agree it holds it's own pretty well without images of the food?

Another book I can't live without.

Puzzles, anchors, stars, and plowhorses; those are a few of the terms consultants now use when assembling a menu (which is as much an advertisement as anything else). “A star is a popular, high-profit item—in other words, an item for which customers are willing to pay a good deal more than it costs to make,” Poundstone explains. “A puzzle is high-profit but unpopular; a plowhorse is the opposite, popular yet unprofitable. Consultants try to turn puzzles into stars, nudge customers away from plowhorses, and convince everyone that the prices on the menu are more reasonable than they look.” Poundstone uses Balthazar’s menu to illustrate these ideas. Read on...

LINKS for tips on Menu Design

I've picked out some great material online if you are truly interested in building a menu
that brings in the most profit. I will post more links as I run across them.

The Psychology of Menu Design

Reading between the lines

The Fine Art of Menu Writing

Menu Engineering and Food Costing

Laminating can get expensive

Don’t laminate your menu. Ever. Instead, invest in [menu jackets] that have clear sleeves. These allow you to remove menus when they need to be updated or replaced because of wear and tear. Professional laminating (because we agree that do-it-yourself laminating looks cheap and tacky) will quickly get expensive if you have to reprint your menu every six months, which is not uncommon. 

High Quality Laser Printing for Your Menus

Since the local printers including "KinkiesFedX" (about $3.00 one-sided) cannot provide me with high quality laser prints at a price I can resell I've resorting to purchasing my own high end laser printer. Not expensive as some high end laser printers used in some print shops but definitely produces that color quality we take for granted. (Until we see a print-out from a cheap desktop model). And then of course this laser printer is extra special because of it's ability to print out on two sides and on card stock. Making it easy to slip a page into a tight Cafe Menu Cover. If you've ever tried it you might know what a pain in the kazoo it is trying to insert a flimsy piece of copy paper into one of these covers, let alone 2 pages into the same side. You'd have to use a cardboard backing.


For the nitty gritty; DR Design can offer a 6-panel menu, 8.5x14, 2-sided printout on card stock for $9.00 per menu? I think a no-brainer decision. Now maybe to the novice that sounds like a lot for printing. But consider the fact that pretty much any print shop would have to price quote a print run of  500 or 1000 pieces at the very least to run on any press to make it worth their while. You may only need 50.


I've priced a print run from a local (Large shop with digital presses) online... well the minimum was 1000 pieces..blah. 8.5x14, $620 on flimsy Gloss text. Now multiply that by three for a tri-fold - 6 view menu. Probably better deals out there. But tough and nearly impossible to find a low price for a short run. Consider the tri-fold menu has three slots (3-sided pages, all different). And you only need 50 menus. The only option is to go with laser printing. Inkjet - you say? Good color but lick your finger and run it across -(even 2 weeks after it dries) SMEAR!


Back to the laser printer I purchased. I read all the reviews I could find and the only negative was the price. "Yes indeedy, I need it! This thing is a monster that rocks!!!

View the PC mag review