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OOPS - Last Weeks Newsletter
Thursday, November 17th
Last week, our newsletter was sent out to the daily specials list and not our weekly newsletter list. We noticed and realized that many of you did not receive it and we want to apologize. For those of you who are interested and would like to read it, you can access it from the link below.
Uptown Updates- Thursday, November 17th
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Uptown Updates
Over 5,000 Subscribed
By Nikki
After about two and a half years since the first Uptown Updates was sent out, the total number of people signed up to receive our newsletter surpassed the 5,000 mark! To us, this is a great accomplishment. A lot of time and effort goes into the newsletter each week, and we are happy to see it paying off. Thanks to all of you subscribers who read what we put together for you. Whether it's our food specials or something interesting we would like to share, we do it to spread the word and keep you all coming back for more. So thank you again, we hope to keep you interested in our newsletter and please spread the word for others to join. Let's keep it going!
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Behind the Bar
The Wine Sellar? The Pour Mans Pour? The Claret Sale?
By Ray
I have wanted to do an article about wine pricing for sometime now. Also along the same line, I want to introduce a new wine special we will have in house whilst supplies last. First, I want to talk about wine pricing. One night on the floor recently I overheard, a disgruntled customer talking to one of our managers about our wine by the glass pricing. On one hand, I understand the customer. On the other when you find a really good value, it is hard not to pass it on to your customers. With the recession, the wine world has changed significantly in the last few years. I agree some of our glass wines have gotten a little expensive (I will explain shortly). We do try to keep a balance of lower priced wines. We deal mostly with distributors that specialize in smaller, lower production wineries with really great reputations. These are types of wine that you won't find in a major chain because there just is simply not enough made. With the economy the way it has been, the wineries have suffered greatly. Nowadays, when we do our semi-annual tastings we are offered items to pour by the glass at a discount far beyond what we would pay if we sold it by the bottle only. Many times when we select a glass wine our choice is to serve a $5 glass for $5 or offer a $15 glass for $9. I know we need to have a balanced price range but it is hard to turn down sometimes. What the wineries have figured out is one of the most effective ways of marketing their wines and building customer loyalty is to serve wines by the glass in restaurants like ours. Several years ago, I started to notice wines like Belle Glosse Meomi, Klincker Brick or Kim Crawford for sale by the glass in the nicest restaurants for prices that had to be discounted way beyond pricing I was familiar with. Currently, we are serving the same wine by the glass that one of the Ritz Carltons is pouring. I can tell you ours is much less expensive. They do this to gain market share and breed customer familiarity. They discovered with all the choices out there, it really helps to sell a bottle in a retail situation if the customer has experience with their wines. When we started selling a $9 glass of wine, we did not know how it would go over. Many of our customers told us they appreciate to be able to buy a great wine by the glass instead of having to purchase a whole bottle. While we have been finding these great values the last couple of years, we have gotten away from some of the lower priced wines. We are working on it. I know next week Jimmy has got a great inexpensive Argentinian Merlot coming in and a Cabernet that we will be selling in the $5 range. One other thing to think about when comparing wine prices is the size of the pour. We pour four glasses to the bottle which not many places do. Most of our industry pours five or more to a glass. We also use a 20 ounce wine glass to give you enough room to savour, sniff, and swirl your wine. With a large glass like this, it becomes very hard to "eye" up the proper portion. This is the reason your pour will start in the quarter bottle carafes we use. I know we are not the cheapest but when you consider, size, quality and attention to details I hope you think we are the best value. This brings us to our next offer. Over time our wine list builds up. There are wines that we might have just a few of and others where we just did not judge the customer demand properly and have way too many. In the past, we would just let them sit on the wine list for years. Also we are limited in the amount of wines we can fit on our list, store and refridgerate. We decided to offer these perfectly good wines by the glass at a deep discount. Sometimes at less than we paid for them. We will try and keep these in the $5 range, a white and red. With these specials we will also offer a wide range of regions and varietals. This week we are starting with a Glatzer Blaufrankisch from Austria '07 and a Havens Albarino from Italy '09. We are not sure what to call it. The wine sellar? The pour mans pour? The claret sale?
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Kid's Meals
Where We Are Today
By Ryan
Marketing has always been a key component to any successful business. After all, it's how you market your product that brings in business. So, in 1979 McDonald's launched, "The Happy Meal." A marketing campaign that ultimately was created to garner the attention of young children. Over the years, I think it would be safe to say that the "Happy Meal" was a huge success. Who hasn't either had or purchased a "Happy Meal?"
What has happened in the last decade has been severe backlash over this marketing campaign. McDonald's has even been sued for contributing to the obesity of teenagers. As if those teenagers, or their parents, didn't have a choice of what they could put into their mouths, but I am not here to debate that. I am here to discuss how drastically things have changed for the fast food kids industry. Today's kids menu's, not only within the fast food industry, but also amongst casual restaurants must feature healthy menu options. For example, McDonald's downsized it's fry portion and changed from offering soda to offering white or chocolate milk. Burger King has cut apples to appear like french fries in their kids meals. Also at Burger King, children can donate part of their purchase to animals, the environment, or towards educational efforts. As we become more and more informed of the value of healthy nutrition, I think you will see a lot more government regulation within the restaurant industry. Not only towards kids meals, because that transition has already begun, but also towards an entire restaurant's menu. While forcing people and children to eat more nutritional meals can only be good for the general public, it begs the question of whether or not government should be involved in those decisions. I know as a parent that I need to be fully involved in my child's nutrition. I believe that's my job and not the job of someone else. Ultimately, healthier options make this much easier on me as a parent, but it's fundamentally taking away from a successful job of marketing by one entire industry and forcing them to change what has led to them being successful. It's a very interesting contrast of events and I listed below a time line of some major events within the fast food industry and kids meals: 1979. The Happy Meal launches in the United States. Almost instantly, it is used to sell something else. An early toy tie-in promotes Star Trek: The Motion Picture. 1990. Burger King launches its ''Kids Club'' campaign to help appeal to consumers age two to 13. In the first six months, 1.6 million children join the club for the newsletters, promotional toys, and child-sized meals. ''Children are important because they not only represent a significant percentage of our customers, but they also have an incredible influence on what fast-food restaurant their parents will choose," a Burger King spokesman says at the time. 1992. McDonalds fields parental backlash after using the Happy Meal as a vehicle to promote Tim Burton's Batman Returns, which The New York Times describes as a "violent, sexually suggestive movie" in which "kids are abandoned, kidnapped and threatened with death." A McDonalds spokesman says the promotion "wasn't intended to encourage young kids to see the movie." 1993. McDonalds begins distributing nutritional pamphlets with its Happy Meals in association with the American Dietetic Association. The pamphlet tells kids that meat "can make it easier to do things like climb higher and ride your bike farther." The claim drew opposition from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. 1999. Burger King begins offering the "Big Kids' Meal" for older-or just hungrier-adolescents; McDonalds counters a couple years later with its "Mighty Kids Meal." 2002. A group of teenagers sue McDonalds, claiming the chain's youth-targeted marketing contributed to their obesity. 2006. Disney severs its promotional deal with McDonalds, after a decade of offering toys in Happy Meals pegged to its films. 2011. The federal government attempts to encourage purveyors of fast food to agree to voluntary guidelines for selling food to kids. Industry giants like McDonalds, Burger King, Kraft, and PepsiCo respond by forming The Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative and The Sensible Food Policy Coalition, arguing that they're capable of regulating themselves. Several chains make minor menu changes to their kids' meals. Burger King launches its pro-social initiative. "We're all in favor of charity, and it's nice of BK to donate what amounts to something like a third of one percent of the meal's cost, but I can guarantee you that the Web site kids will be directed to will contain yet more marketing of BK products," The New York Times' Mark Bittman weighs in on the campaign. He's right. 2012. McDonalds will launch an Olympic-themed campaign focusing on "balanced eating and fun play." U.S. Olympic swimmer Dana Torres will serve as the global ambassador for the campaign. Have It Your Way: The Evolution of the Kids' Meal
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Why should you choose the Uptown Grill? Come One! Come All! Let Us Host Your Holiday Parties.
By Jim
December is right around the corner and it is time to start thinking about holiday fun and planning your holiday parties. Although, anytime is a good time to party, a cold December night is always a perfect time to get together with family, friends or even coworkers that you have not visited in a while. Once the kids had gone back to school and the weather started to get cold, hasn't it seemed like it has been so long since you had a night out with friends? It just gets harder and harder to plan time hanging out with those you seen so much during the summer. We all seem to take a break and stay home until about the first week of December. It's traditional routine. As the shopping season nears, everywhere you go, Christmas lights and holiday music put that feeling in the air and it's time to get out of the house and have some fun. This is where we come in. Although we would love to host your family or company Christmas parties, we would also like to accomodate all those smaller get togethers. We welcome the floor nurses from all our area's hospitals, an after work cocktail party of local teachers or your local book clubs. You name it, we are here. Now is a good time to put together that E-vite or circulating e-mail to plan your December night out to mingle.
Why should you choose the Uptown Grill?
Why not? We have the areas most diverse menu that will be sure to accomodate everyone in your groups taste and budget. You do not have to have a full course meal to come out, hang with friends and enjoy yourself. There are a ton of items on our menu to choose from. Just because some people in the group are having entrees, does not mean you have to splurge too. A housemade soup with an Uptown spinach salad, a sashimi grade tuna appetizer or stop in for one of our featured specials we have every day of the week. They are all great values. Where else would you be able to choose from such a selection? We are also a great stop after work for a few appetizers and cocktails. Come in for drinks, apps and drinks, or for a full course meal. There is no room charge for our main dining room nor do we limit the menu in any way for these larger groups. You could do it all. We serve the same menu lunch through dinner, every day. We also accept separate check parties, where not a lot of places allow groups of 8 more to do separate checks. We know it can be hard on everyone to add up what each person has. It can be time consuming and annoying to deal with when you are trying to leave.
Not only do we take pride in the products we serve, we strive to provide the best possible service experience. How many times have you been out with a group and had one server for your entire large group? It can seem like forever to get a drink, let alone wonder how is the server going to get all your food correct and out in a timely manner. We limit the amount of customers that we let a server take care of. Where other places may give you one server, we give you 2 or 3. A server at 6 tables with 20+ people cannot provide good service to every table. Our servers loads are continually monitored to what we feel they can provide. We feel the more our servers are available, the better the service is to you. It can be hard to take care of a larger table, everything seems to take longer, and there is more of a chance of error. By putting more servers on the party, someone is always available to help with drink service, getting the food out or clearing that dirty dish in front of you. We strive to bring entrees in a timely manner and with everyone getting them at the same time. Not only do we have the best food and service in town, we have the most square footage to hold any size group. Our dining rooms are filled with all the holiday glamour of lights, wreaths, garland, poinsettas, etc. Our cozy atmosphere is sure to put everyone in that holiday mood and it makes the evening so much more fun. Be part of the "in" crowd while other groups around you share an evening together as well. There is something about walking into a full restaurant with Christmas lights, music and a crowd having fun that puts you in that holiday mood and takes you away from all of life's everyday problems. It is your night out.
So come one, come all. We would love to share the holidays with you. We hope to accomodate any occcasion to get together. We feel we provide the most complete dining experience in the area at a reasonable cost. Call us at 815-224-4545 or click the link below to make your reservations today. Make Your Reservation Here
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On Special
Spaghetti Rigati Alla' Amatriciana
By Nikki
Amatriciana is one of the most well-known pasta sauces in Italian cuisine, originating in the town of Amatrice. It is traditionally made with guanciale, pecorino cheese and since the 18th century, tomato. Guanciale is an imported salt cured bacon similar to pancetta, and packed with a ton of flavor.
Spaghetti Rigati, or "ridged spaghetti", was created for pasta lovers and inspired by its cousin, spaghetti. The delicate grooves you can find from end to end, help to capture more flavor from this dish with every mouthwatering bite.
We serve this one of a kind Italian meal with the guanciale, onion, cracked red pepper and garlic sauteed in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Served all over the spaghetti rigati, it is topped with our delicious reggiano parmesan. Come into Uptown for a little bit of Italy from our kitchen!
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"Burger Me" Thursday
Burger and a Beer for only 10 Bucks!
"Turkey Burger - The Burger That Would Have Been"
Thursday, we are closed for Thanksgiving! Enjoy yourself some turkey and have a wonderful, safe holiday. Gobble until you wobble!
We will re-open at the normal time of 11:00 AM on Friday, and continue regular hours all of the Holiday weekend.
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Three Things to Try
By Andrew - Campari /Jaguar Shark - Most often nowadays when many of us hear the word "bitter", we think bad or unpleasant. Of course it can mean those things given the situation, but something bitter that I find to be rather pleasant is Campari. Made from a top secret recipe of herbs, aromatic plants, fruit, and alcohol, Campari has a very complex bittersweet flavor. It's great on it's own as an aperitif. It's also an awesome ingredient to use when mixing cocktails. Most recently we have been mixing it with Absolut Mandarin and orange juice with a splash of sierra mist in a special drink that I call "the jaguar shark". The name comes from Wes Anderson's 2004 movie "The Life Aquatic" in which Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) drinks Campari seemingly all day, everyday. While I'm not recommending you do that, I will urge you to try some Campari or "the jaguar shark" on your next visit to the Uptown. It won't disappoint.
By Nikki - Bruleed Cheesecake - Honestly, the name says it all to me. I love trying different cheesecakes, and I can definitely say this one is one of the most delicious ones. This cheesecake is made in house and topped with caramelized sugar. It's much more enjoyable when it doesn't come out of a box! It is served with dulce de leche, which is a delicious caramel-like sauce. Have this cheesecake after dinner before this special is gone!
By Kim - Spiked Apple Chai - A couple months ago we featured a Banana RumChata drink in which we used a Carribean Rum made with cream and cinnamon called RumChata. With the holiday season coming up, we have revamped our drink specials. One of our new specials is the Spiked Apple Chai martini in which we use RumChata and Absolut Orient Apple vodka, which has an apple and ginger flavor. This martini is one of my favorites to date because it reminds me of my mom's apple pie that is served every Christmas. Perfect for an after dinner dessert drink, this is one martini you won't want to miss.
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"Not Your Everyday Specials"
Monday Nights, Steak Diane
Every Monday after 4 pm, we will be serving Steak Diane for $14.75. This will be just like the Red Door Inn. With Victor's stamp of approval.
Fish Taco Tuesdays
Every Tuesday, we will be serving fish tacos. The taco includes panko breaded tilapia, red cabbage, chipotle mayonnaise, and a mango pineapple black bean salsa. They will be served with corn chips and adobo sauce. Available for dine in and carryout. 3 for $6.75 or 2.50 each.
Wienerschnitzel Wednesday
Every Wednesday after 4pm, we will be serving authentic German Wienerschnitzel. Served with roasted asparagus, spaetzel and veal demi glaze, it is only $11.75.
Burger Me Thursday
Each week we change our bizarre burger and serve it all day with any beer in house for only $10.00! This Thursday, November 24th, we are closed for Thanksgiving. But, as a sneak peak.. we are going to be offering our gourmet burger topped with a variety of mushrooms on Thursday, December 1st.
Friday Nights, Seafood Mixed Grill
4 oz. grilled lobster tail with drawn butter, 4 oz. grilled tuna with tomato caper relish, and 4 oz. whitefish parmesan with lemon caper butter. All for only $19.75
Prime Rib, Friday and Saturday Evening
Available after 4pm every Friday and Saturday night is our herb crusted prime rib of beef. Our prime rib is slow roasted for several hours in our 1980 alto shaam. It is served with au jus, mushrooms and your choice of side dish. Available in 12oz or 16oz.
Sunday, All Day, Sizzling Fajita and Margaritas
You get a chicken fajita with a 64 ounce pitcher of margaritas, perfect for a relaxing Sunday! Serves 2 for $20!
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On Special This Week appetizerartisanal cheese sampler1. Fromager D'Affinois Brebis (France) 2. Life Prov Fontagne (France) 3. Clarissa Sardinian Goat (Italy) 4. Pinna Brigante (Italy) 5. Shaft's Aged Bleu Vein (USA) 6. Sap Sago, Switzerland. serves 2 to 4 people 19.75 tomatillo chicken nachosfresh fried tortilla chips on a bed of shredded lettuce topped with grilled marinated tomatillo chicken, del caribe cheese, and pico de gallo 9.75 oysters on the half shellbeavertail oysters from northwest coast of prince edward island, canada. clean, crisp medium to large size. initial mild sweetness with medium to high salty finish. served with a mignonette 11.75 saladblt club chop saladchunks of toasted warm pane bigio bread, turkey, grape tomatoes, applewood smoked bacon and green onion tossed with romaine. applewood smoked bacon dressing 12.50 sandwichmesculyn salad & panini sandwich comboimported french ham, brie cheese and caramelized red onion. served with a mesculyn, walnut and gorgonzola salad. balsamic vinaigrette dressing 10.75 with cup of soup of the day 12.25 entreesherb roasted duck breast with cherry jusroasted duck breast prepared medium served with roasted baby carrots and a wild rice and oyster mushroom pilaf 22.50 flat iron steakchargrilled 10oz flat iron steak topped with chimmichurri sauce. served with stone ground mustard mashed potatoes and roasted baby carrots 18.75 stuffed chicken breastbreaded boneless chicken breast stuffed with ham, havarti cheese, and chives. served with our rice blend 12.75 infused chickentwo six ounce dijon infused chicken breasts served with a honey dijon glaze and our seasoned rice blend 13.75 pretzel crusted rainbow trout10 oz. pan fried pretzel crusted rainbow trout with a lemon caper cream reduction. served with swiss chard and broccolini sauteed with shallot in a white wine plugra butter 18.75 spaghetti rigati alla` amatricianaguanciale, tomato, onion, cracked red pepper and garlic sauteed in balsamic vinegar and olive oil over spaghetti rigati. topped with reggiano parmesan 15.75 dessertbruleed cheesecakehousemade cheesecake topped with caramelized sugar and served with dulce de leche 5.75 chocolate lovin' spoon caketwo layers of dark chocolate cake separated by creamy chocolate pudding topped with drizzled chocolate 6.75
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Foodie Fight
Each week in the newsletter, we will ask three questions from the foodie fight cards. The first person to email us (see link below) the correct answers to all three questions will receive a complimentary lunch. The winner has to have the exact answer for all three questions, no exceptions! The following week we will publish the correct answers and the winner of the previous week. So come in and have a drink, study the cards, test each other and have fun. Good Luck!
1. What food is being served in Norman Rockwell's painting Freedom from Want?
2. What American city is home to the cheesesteak sandwich?
3. What filled, masa-dough dish is reserved for special occasions in Mexico, but is common on Mexican restaurants menus in the United States?
Email your answers to [email protected]
Fine Print...
You must be the first person to respond with all three correct answers.
The response must go to the email address in the above link.
You must reply within 24 hours from the time the newsletter is published.
Participants are eligible to win a limit of 3 times a year.
Last weeks questions and answers...
1. What does a fork, prongs pointing down, crossed over a knife on a plate, tell well-trained food servers? THE DINER IS NOT FINISHED EATING ("REST" POSITION)
2. When do you not raise your glass during a toast? WHEN YOU'RE BEING TOASTED
3. What treat, born of boredom in New York City's The ChipShop kitchen, became a hot new item for state fair concessionaires in 2002? BATTER-DIPPED, DEEP-FRIED TWINKIES
Last weeks winner of the free lunch ....... Doneida Simms
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Uptown Grill
601 First St.
La Salle, IL 61301
815-224-4545
Monday - Thursday
11AM -10PM
Friday - Saturday
11 AM - 11PM
Sunday
12PM - 10PM
uptowngrill.com
Uptown respects your privacy and will not sell or distribute your personal information.
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