Family-owned-and operated, Coakley’s Pub was established in 1997 as a casual family style pub serving lunch and dinner 7 days a week.  Great food and service at everyday affordable prices.  Everyone loves coming to Coakley’s Pub whether it be for appetizers, lunch or a full course dinner.  They have it all on their huge menu.

Coakley’s features fresh seafood, appetizers, salads, pizza, lots and lots of sandwiches, and a large dinner menu with great crabcakes, steaks, and pastas.  Their seating compacity is 200+ for dinning; three bars with entertainment nightly, dance floor and live music on Saturday nights.

SPECIALS:
Every Monday:  WING NITE!  $.35/cent for awesome wings.
Every Tuesday:  RIB NITE! Their ribs fall off the bone and served with ranch fries and corned bread.  ½ Rack - $6.95 Full Rack $11.95 
Every Wednesday:  STEAK NITE!  N.Y. strips are $10.95.  Add 1/2lb steamed shrimp or ½lb snow crab or oysters and clams for a great combo - $6.00 more. 
Every Thursday:  SEAFOOD NITE!  Great deals on all steamed seafood from their bar. 
Every Friday:  GET HAPPY @ COAKLEY’ PUB!  $.35/wings, ½ lb. Shrimp $4.95, Jr. Seafood Nachos $4.95 and Jr. Nachos $3.95.
Every Saturday:  Entertainment and great dinner specials!

As you can see, this is a family place with great food and lots of fun! Be sure to check out Coakley’s the next time you’re near 95 North & Harve de Grace, MD.

Located conveniently off of 95 North at exit 88 Route 155.  Right at Juniata; Left on Otsego; and Right on Union Avenue; bare left at statue and they’re the first business on the right. 

ENJOY YOUR VISIT!

SLIDERS:  Definition - Miniature hamburger patties on miniature buns. 

Real sliders should be minimally dressed with just the basics:  a dill pickle chip & grilled onions, with cheese and mustard optional.  Sliders should be small, no more than 2 1/2 inches and ideally, square-ish, but definitely not round. 

These little burgers are everywhere!  For the past few years, sliders of all sizes and types have been popping up on all the menus of restaurants and pubs.  They usually are listed as appetizers and tend to be served on a plate of three or four sliders.  Often meant to share for a table of diners.  But they’ve also been spotted under entrees for one person.  Add a couple of sides and you have a great meal.

Sliders vary from place to place.  Their size, ingredients, taste and culinary styles can change without notice.  Some places serve a choice of the traditional burger slider, but also offer barbecue bacon, pulled pork, and chicken parmesan along with dipping sauce and coleslaw.  Offer lettuce and tomato, or bacon and cheese as an option to your slider. 

Here’s a special slider idea:

SOUTHWEST SLIDERS:
Melt Monterey Jack cheese on top of patties.  Spread rolls with Chipotle Mayo (recipe below) and garnish with a slice of crispy bacon and avocado.

Chipotle Mayo:  1/2 cup mayo, 2 Tbs finely minced canned chipotles in adobo sauce and 2 tps fresh lime juice.

ENJOY!

M & T Bank Foursome



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Jeff Fisher, Chesapeake Spice, Scott McBrien, Saval Jeff Saval, Deli Brands, & Chris Auth, Saval.



Saval Employee Volunteers at the 5th Annual Golf Tournament



Shirley Howard, President & Founder of the Children’s Cancer Foundation

Creating and serving "Menu Specials" in your restaurant will generate interest with your guests and will help motivate your staff and boost margins.

For many chefs and owners, the process of developing specials can be a task that is often neglected, thus resulting in "specials" that are not so special after all!  Developing a plan of action for creating specials can make the whole precess run smoother and more enjoyable.

SIX TIPS TO HELP CREATE UNIQUE MENU SPECIALS:

1.  PLAN AHEAD.
    Try to plan a week’s worth of specials the week before you need them.  This will give you plenty of time to order product that is needed, give your culinary staff time to research and plan, and provide the servers time to familarize themselves with the specials.

2.  TALK TO YOUR STAFF.
    Many times your staff will have great suggestions for a menu special.  Your culinary staff will see it as a way to be creative and think "outside of the box" from their daily menus.  The serving staff will see this as an opportunity to greet their guests and have a story ready to tell when approaching the table.  Encourage your staff to come up with ideas that reflect their heritage.  Be sure to ask your staff what specific dishes their customers have been requesting that are not on the menu.

3.  WORK WITH SUPPLIERS.
    Your suppliers can be a valuable source for menu ideas.  Through new products, market trends, and items that they need to move and are motivated to sell at a discount.  All of these ideas can provied your customers with a deal and you with better profits.  All you need to do is ask your sales rep or supplier for deals.

4.  GO SEASONAL.
    Many seasonal products, such as produce and seafood, are perfect for menu specials.  Talk to you rep to determine when a product will be at its best price and feature a special around that time.

5.  CELEBRATE SOMETHING.
    Restaurant owners find that focused specials and festivals attract more attention and easier to promote.  Celebrations like St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco De Mayo lend themselves easily to creating special food ideas.  Your specials can run for several days leading up to the specific day of celebration.  Ask your sales rep for suppliers` point of sale to help promote the event.

6.  CREAT A FESTIVAL.
    Running a special promotion for a couple of weeks or even a month can generate interest.  Events such as March Madness, Seafood Festival, or Cajun Week are examples of ideas to build menu specials from.  These specials can run during traditionally slower periods during the year and can be promoted and advertised in the local newspaper.

Whatever you do to create specials in your restaurant, remember to plan ahead and use these specials as a way of creating excitement and opportunity to increase margins.

Source:  Kraftfoodservice.com/Business Solutions, May 2008
   

SOUP & SALAD. . .

The Perfect Seasonal Pair

With the transition from winter to spring, when the days are still plenty wet and chilly, nothing tastes better then a bowl of hot soup.  Soup for dinner is a complete meal when you add a delicious salad.

Try pairing soups with interesting salad combinations, warm, crusty bread and butter.

Spring soups generally are full of seasonal ingredients like asparagus, peas, garlic and young root vegetables; whereas summer soups rely on tomatoes, cucumbers, corn and sweet peppers, and cold weather soups include meats, root vegetables, greens, dried beans and grains.

When adding a salad to the meal, keep in mind the characteristics of early spring vegetables.  Focus on hearty greens like escarole, frisee and radicchio rather than tomatoes and stone fruits of summer.

Homemade soups are very easy to make.  They often require little more than beef, chicken, or vegetable broth, plus fresh or frozen vegetables, spices, a little meat for seasoning or pasta.

Be creative with y our soups, adding to the broth left over chicken, rice or pasta.  Top your soup with buttered breadcrumbs, homemade croutons, sour cream, crumbled bacon or fresh green herbs. 

Salads can be as plain or as complex as you want.  Generally, if you have a very hearty soup, then a lighter salad, using only greens and maybe one other ingredient, like cheese or nuts would be the perfect complement.  And if you have a hearty salad, such as escarole with bacon and fried potatoes, then keep your soup to a smaller portion or a light clear broth soup. 

With a well-stocked pantry and a few weekly purchases should keep you in soups and salads throughout the various seasons, and with so many variations, you never have to repeat the same one twice.  

Source:  The Chronicle, March 12, 2008

Keeping your menu fresh and current can be a challenge.  Your regular customers always like their tried-and-true favorites, but you want to keep fresh and current items on your menu.

By doing a little research you will be able to tell trends from fads.  A fad comes and goes fairly quickly, while a trend tends to stay around and become mainstream.  Read trade publications, consumer magazines and promotions at large chain establishments.

There is no need to revamp your whole menu.  By using “Specials” menu inserts, blackboard specials and weekly promotions there will be no need to revamp your entire menu.  Once you see a trend you like, look around your local area for inspiration.  If you want to add an ethnic flavor to a menu item, then find that ethnic eatery in your area and sample a few items to get a some ideas.  It’s very easy to add an ethnic “inspired” item to your menu to give a sense of that type of cuisine.  And always remember, you’re not an authentic ethnic restaurant, so there’s no need to try to be too authentic.

Use commercially-available products – such as marinades, prepared sauces and dressing – these can easily provide a very specific flavor profile.  For example, it’s very simple to offer your current chicken wings as “Spicy Teriyaki Wing” and add a side of teriyaki dipping sauce to the plate.

Take advantage of the hamburger “extraordinaire”.  Add creative twists to your burger menu by using a variety of breads such as focaccia or ciabatta, cheeses and flavored mayonnaise or dressings.  Burgers are a very popular and profitable item on your menu.  It just takes a little imagination.  Why not try a different burger each day of the week as a “special”.  Once again, no need to redo your menu and add additional cost to your overhead.  Simply add it to your chalkboard each day.

Tweaking current menu items to take advantage of trends is an easy way to add a little creativity.  One way is by offering diners a few new salad dressings.  Maybe add fresh strawberries and blueberries to your salads.  These fresh fruits are very healthy and add a great flair to any basic salad.  Add fresh herbs to commercial vinaigrette dressings or olive oil and you have a new exotic item on your menu.  Be creative, you’ll be surprised by the possibilities.

As a last note, remember to gain valuable insight into what works by asking both customers and peers for feedback.  Future decisions will be much easier and your menu will remain very exciting!

Here are a few helpful tips in shopping for different types of saute pans, their positives and drawbacks.

CAST IRON:
Uses:  This cast-iron pan is at home on a stovetop and above a campfire.  Use it for Cajun-style blackening and other high-heat methods, pan-roasting, baking corn bread.
Pluses:  Durable, great heat retention, no hotspots, decent nonstick properties when well-seasoned.  Available in most areas.
Drawbacks:  Very heavy, heats and cools slowly, must hand wash.

STAINLESS STEEL:
Uses:  Anything but blackening.
Pluses:  Durable, heats up and cools faster than cast iron; Available in nonstick, light weight, and dishwasher-safe.
Drawbacks:  Eggs and similar foods may stick, the interior will scratch and the exterior will dull over time, some models are expensive; Cheaper models tend to get hotspots and warping.

STAINLESS-LINED COPPER:
Uses:  Anything but blackening.
Pluses:  Durable, fastest heat responsiveness, available in nonstick, even heating/no hotspots, beautiful!
Drawbacks:  Eggs and similar foods may stick, requires extra care, interior will scratch and the exterior will dull overtime; some models are heavy, expensive, and you have to hand wash.

SUPERMARKET NONSTICK:
Uses:  Good for eggs, reheating sticky leftovers, and low-fat sauteing.
Pluses:  Inexpensive, effort-free cleanup.
Drawbacks:  Prone to hotspots, nonstick coating may scratch and will wear out; Should not use in a very hot oven or beneath a broiler.

What is the restaurant industry showing? 
    Sometimes knowing who wants appetizers, can be the key to making the most of the left side of your menu.  The following suggestions may give insight to your serving strategy. 

    - Most appetizers are ordered during the dinner time.
    - Adult-only tables order twice the appetizers as tables with kids.
    - 35% of appetizer sales are on weekends.
    - 18-49 year olds order about 60% of all appetizers sold.
    - Older diners prefer shrimp. 
    - Younger diners go for fried cheeses, chicken strips, wings, and nachos.

Now that you know the front-of-the-house desires, how about some ideas to spice up your appetizer menu.
    - Samplers are unique - they`re a low-risk way to experience a new taste, and also a good opportunity for you to try new ideas before placing them on the main menu.
    - Pizzas, bread and bruschetta are on most menus, and non-Italian styles of these appetizers are exploding with diverse toppings, from Asian flavors to dried fruit and nuts.
    - The fried cheese favorite can be made even more appealing by adding some exoctic dressings and dips or frying treatments.
    - Our old friend the nacho platter still seems to be a strong favorite.  Some platters are now served with a little more exotic flair, for example an additional of wasabi cream.  You might want to try substituting fried wontons for the tortilla chips.

Even with the appetizer arena changing so fast, your menu can keep up with the best - and with a touch of your special creativity and inspiration, your appetizers could be the talk of the town! 

Source:  kraftfoodservice.com

Our new 65,000 square foot addition allows Saval Foodservice to maintain its position as the area’s largest independent foodservice distributor.  Our new warehouse expansion was completed in October, 2006 and features additions to all temperature zones - freezer, dry and refrigerated.  The expansion, along with new technologies will give Saval Foodservice the capacity and capability to enhance its service offerings to its customers.  

Here is the complete text of the article:

http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2006/02/20/smallb2.html

Simple Tips to Garnish Diners’ Satisfaction.  The old saying, "You only get one chance to make a first impression," certainly is applicable to the restaurant business.  When it comes to a customer’s initial visit to your establishment, it’s important that you make that experience a positive and lasting one from the welcome to the walk out the door.  There’s no better recipe for success than securing a diner’s tasty review and promise to come back again.

It costs five times as much to attract a new customer as it does to keep an existing one.  Yet how do you boost business without breaking the bank?

Whether you own a small sandwich shop or manage a large restaurant, you can apply simple and cost-efficient "garnishes" to more than just the plate to keep you customers satisfied.  Here are a few tips for getting it right from the start:

1.  Always greet your customers with a smile and finish with a pleasant "Thank You" to show your appreciation for their business.
2.  Make sure that your menus are free of dirt, fingerprints and fraying.  Cleanliness remains a top priority for today’s diners.
3.  Personalize your menu with house specialties from salad dressing to signature spreads and desserts.  This can be easy and cost-efficient by combining a few standard ingredients such as adding salsa to ranch dressing or mixing up your own honey barbeque sauce.  Set your restaurant apart from the competition.
4.  Spice up your menu with "romantic" names.  Customers will be more attracted to entrees or side dishes that use descriptives like "grilled," "hand cut," "imported," and "certified."
5.  Sweeten up the tab by leaving the check with a piece of chocolate, hard candy or mint.  You’ll be sure to enhance the customer’s mood (and often the tip!) and leave them with a good feeling.  Much the same as a warm smile, encourage waiters to personalize the check with a handwritten "thank you" on the back.
6.  Always offer something new.  Be sure to vary the menu regularly to denote freshness and creativeness at your restaurant.  Something as simple as changing to hearty soups and side dishes for the winter months and light salads and desserts for the summer season. 
7.  Don’t skimp on quality!  A restaurateur’s primary focus needs to be on the quality of the food served.

Overall, remember to always deliver the expected (friendly service, quality food, clean restaurant) AND take the initiative to "WOW" your diners with the unexpected.  Once you’re on this path, you’ll see how easy it is to increase your patron satisfaction.

Source:  Kraft Foodservice.com/Business Solutions