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New Year's Eve
 As the new year kicks in I think what you have resolved in the last year is as important as your New Year's resolutions, especially when you run a business. Weeks turn into months and then years and what you actually got done is more important than what you plan to do. I like to do this on one level to blow our own New Years Eve noise maker. On another level, to show you the customer and also our employees that we are not sitting on our hands. We are making steady improvements to our operation.
 When the year started, I resolved to get a bunch of smaller things done and wait on the two big things on my agenda, a major menu overhaul and our much needed remodeling. With the economy still on very thin ice I feel more comfortable treading softly. When we finally start, I want to do both of these things right and not just apply a fresh coat of paint or switch to new paper. I promise the moment I feel the economy is headed in a new direction it will be full speed ahead on these two things.
When I started to make out this list I was really impressed by what my team got done! Kudos to Ryan, Jimmy, Chef Chris, Andrew and the gang! We did make many major improvements.
We started to work on our exterior. All of our existing awnings were replaced along with the addition of new roll out awnings for our side walk cafe. The French Bistro was a big hit. We also started and hope to complete in the coming weeks, brand new signs for the exterior of our building and refurbishing the art deco stripe that used to circle the top of our building. We added a billboard on I-80 and replaced our interstate signage.
Our big project for the year was replacing our "POS" system. This is the computer that tracks orders, prints guest checks and processes payments. Back in 2009, we replaced our 1991 POS with a brand new one. I picked the wrong company. Not only was support terrible, it was very unreliable and not accurate. A big mistake on my part. In June, we switched to one of the industry standards, Aloha. It has been great and my staff was great in the conversion.
 We also added Aloha's Guest Manager software. This was an amazingly difficult transition from grease pencils, paper and magnet boards. It has taken some getting used to, letting the computer help us manage our customers. The ultimate test was New Years Eve and it went great. It managed guests. We put almost 600 people through here while keeping the place full (my goal), nary a customer waited (your goal). The other thing I wanted to accomplish with this system was guest recognition. Who is here, when, how often and what are their likes and dislikes. Believe it or not, we really had no way of tracking any of the 100,000 plus customers that come through here each year, until now.
 We also had a goal of coming up with weekly promotions that were worth coming in for, original, and not just a 50% off job. Most of these have been a consistent steady growing success. A chicken fajita and a pitcher of margaritas for two people for twenty bucks is great value for that lazy Sunday afternoon. The Monday Steak Diane special has captured many of the old Red Door Inn customers that were longing for a taste of the past from the one place that can accurately recreate it. Fish Taco Tuesday highlights our best new menu addition of the year. At $6.75 I feel this is the best dining value in the Illinois Valley. The Weinerschnitzel Wednesday is probably the best seller. I always loved a great Wienerschnitzel but I had no idea that so many other people did too. Last but not least is the Burger Me Thursday. This is the most fun I have ever had doing a promotion. After 6 months we have not run out of absolutely  outrageous burger ideas. You really need to check this special out! A gourmet half pound burger and a beer, your choice 10 bucks!
Our new website and our new digital look went live. Our old site was invented in the Al Gore days. We are proud of the new look. Believe it or not, we took all of the food pictures here. You can now use a credit card to buy a gift card from us online. Also coming soon, look for us to add other items to our on-line store. Our newsletter continued to grow and surpassed 5000 subscribers.
 Chef Chris continues to come up with some amazing specials to go together with our base menu, the one that you guys will not let us change. Some of my highlights were fresh figs with buratta, lamb lollipops, halibut cheeks and ricotta cheese cake. We even toyed with some sushi items for the first time. We went to all homemade on many of our products. Fresh mozzarella, cookies, and have you had our caesar dressing lately? Good bye Cardini! With Bernardi's, (our down the block butcher) going out of business last January, we had to come up with solutions. None of them had the quality to keep us satisfied. Today after much trial and error most of our beef is ground fresh in house and we cut and process all of our chicken and pork. I think we might have the best pork tenderloin in the world and I mean it. Our banquet menu has been getting a bit of an update as well.
The Playlist Theater died and came back to life. It is nice to see Jimmy and Ryan fired up about this.
 Sales for the year were up, slightly. In our industry, they now say about sales comparisons "flat is the new up". So I guess we were really up. This being said it has been the strangest year since I have been in business. Usually you will see a trend slowly build. Trending both up and down over an entire year. This year sales chart looked like the stock market chart. Several times during the course of the year we had wild swings in business both ways as compared to the year before.
Thank you for another great year. We will keep them coming as long as you keep coming, Ray.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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Warm Drinks
National Hot Tea Month
By Nikki
 An interesting fact you might not know about is that January is National Hot Tea Month. The reason being is because the cold weather usually prompts people to drink hot beverages more often. Tea boosts the immune system which is a wonderful way to stay away from the flu virus or a cold in this chilly month. Hot tea can encourage weight loss, low cholesterol and can even help detox and cleanse your digestive system by drinking it regularly. Drinking tea could be a great way to start the New Year off right. New drinking habits can be formed, like minimizing the cups of coffee you drink in a day and substituting it to healthy cups of tea instead. So step out of the box and try different types of tea this month. Nothing is better than a relaxing and satisfying cup of hot tea! Here's a list of the ones we offer. Our teas we have are fresh loose leaf and we buy them all in bulk.1. Spiced Chai Tea - A multitude of fine black teas with six different spices to create a true spiced chai for real tea lovers. It is excellent hot or cold with cream and sugar to taste. 2. Peppermint Tea - One of the oldest known herbal teas, Peppermint leaves are brisk, refreshing and can be brewed either hot or cold. Originally from the Mediterranean, Peppermint is naturally caffeine free with a cooling menthol flavor. 3. Acai-Wulong Tea - There is a tremendous amount of buzz these days about the health benefits of Acai Berry. As said before, this tea is one definitely claimed to be beneficial for weight loss. Acai-Wulong uses full-leaf semi fermented Wulong tea leaves as its base, with freeze-dried Acai berries. 4. Strawberry White Tea - This white tea features a mix of fruit, rose petals, and marigold pieces. Topped off with strawberry flavoring, this tea is great both hot and cold. 5. Pumpkin Chai Tea - This is a custom blend of black (Chinese Orange Pekoe) green (Sencha) and herbal tea (Yerba Mate). It is enhanced by our amazing Pumpkin Spice flavor and a secret splash or our Caramel Royale flavor. Then we add our special Spiced Chai mix made up of Ginger, Cinnamon, Clove and more.6. Rooibos Tea - contains no caffeine. Packed with vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants, it is a natural and healthy choice  7. Earl Grey Tea - Our Earl Grey is true to the origins of the blend, flavored with real bergamot oil extracted from the rind of bergamot oranges. 8. English Breakfast Tea - This tea is a traditional mix of Chinese Keemun tea and other black teas. It gets its "breakfast" name from its strong, heavy flavor and dark color. It is strong enough to take the addition of milk and sugar. Regular and Decaf 9. Jasmine Green Tea - It features 1st grade green tea leaves that are lightly scented with jasmine blossoms to create a very aromatic and flavorful infusion. 10. Darjeeling - Darjeeling tea originates from the famed Darjeeling region at the base of the Himalayas. This tea is highly regarded for its light, unique flavor and gold colored liquor.
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Industry Trends
2012 Food and Beverage Trends
By Jim
 As in every industry, keeping up with the trends has to be one of the more important parts of running a business. You simply have to keep up with what people are looking for in products in order to sell them and make money. You have to be open to change in order to capture the audience and bring them in, but in the same vain, not steer away from what your core values are. There are trends in the food and beverage industry every year that restaurants hope to capitalize on, in order to become home to the next big thing and not "yesterdays news". We must admit, we do check these lists to see what is out there that we might not have already tried to incorporate into our menu, or what we actually already have that allows us to say..."we knew it." Every year, restaurant professionals and chefs through the National Restaurant Association are surveyed to identify the key trends for the upcoming year. 2012 trends include: 1. Locally sourced meats and seafood 2. Locally grown produce 3. Healthy kids' meals 4. Hyper-local items 5. Sustainability as a culinary theme 6. Children's nutrition as a culinary theme 7. Gluten-free/food allergy-conscious items 8. Locally produced wine and beer 9. Sustainable seafood 10. Whole grain items in kids' meals 11. Newly fabricated cuts of meat 12. Farm/estate-branded items 13. Food trucks/street food 14. Artisan spirits 15. House-made/artisan ice cream 16. Health/nutrition as a culinary theme 17. Nontraditional fish 18. Fruit/vegetable kids' side items 19. Children's mini-meals (i.e., smaller versions of adult menu items) 20. Culinary cocktails As you can see, the most identifiable trends seem to be locally sourced meat, produce, seafood and kid's nutrition. Chefs will try to focus on kids meals while trying to battle the challenge of making food that kids should eat into what kids are actually willing to eat, especially while dining out. They believe that kids meals should be scaled down presentations of what adult meals are focused on. Finally, the survey revealed that gluten free and food allergy options will be requested by more and more customers. Here are some more interesting facts about upcoming 2012. Food & Wine Top 10 Restaurant Dining Trends for 2012Buying Local, Kids' Nutrition Top 2012 Restaurant TrendsExpected restaurant trends in 2012
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In the Industry
Winter Weather Effects on Restaurants
By Ryan
 Well, with the New Year behind us and 2012 directly in front of us, I thought it might be interesting to review a little bit of winter weather history and its effects on our business. Last month was a great month for us and we thank all of our customers for a very enjoyable holiday season. We enjoyed many nights with a full house to go along with a very festive Christmas atmosphere. It was a fun month. Thank you!
 However, we would also like to extend a big thank you to Mother Nature. What do you mean, you might ask? Well, starting back in October as indicated by the attached accuweather.com article, I have been hearing about how our winter for 2011-2012 would be so horrible from La Nina, the farmer's almanac and all that. Then in mid December I was reading about how the lack of measurable snowfall so late into the month only meant that when the snow did come, it would just be that much more fierce. And now, here we are in January and the 10 day forecast does not have a trace of snow. Thank you, we'll take it!
Just to review a few dates of bad winter weather the last 2 years and how it effects us during our evenings:
Sunday December 6th, 2009: Winter Weather Advisory. 10" of snow forecast.
We served 50 customers and nothing happened.
Monday December 7th, 2009: Winter Weather Advisory.
Storm watch moved to Tuesday into Wednesday. Again, we served 34 customers and the storm had not yet happened.
Tuesday December 8th, 2009: Winter Weather Advisory. The storm of the year is on its way.
Yet again, no snow until midnight and we served 27 customers.
 Wednesday December 9th, 2009: Winter Weather Advisory until 6pm. It did snow, but not very much. It was the high winds, coupled with light snow that was dangerous. We served 20 customers.
Wednesday December 30th, 2009: 2" of snow mixed with sleet. The day before NYE, we served 100 customers. This year, the day before NYE, we served 215 albeit a Friday.
While 2010 was not as bad as 2009, there were a few days that hurt.
Monday December 20th, 2010: Winter Weather Advisory (that word again). 3-6" of snow. We get 4" of snow and serve 41 customers. 10 customers per inch!
Wednesday December 29th, 2010: Winter Weather Advisory (I cringe). 3-5" of snow. We serve 58 customers. This year, two days before NYE, we served 130 customers.
So, as you can see, the weather greatly effects us. We pay close attention to the daily forecasts and to the radar. It helps us make many staffing decisions as well. So when we read the predictions for 2011-2012, we thought the worst. We were glad things turned out the way they did and we're sure you did as well. When the bad winter weather does come, and we all know it will, remember it takes about 20" for us to close a shift. Even in the worst of winter weather, we will be here.
Worst of Winter 2011-2012 Aimed for Chicago
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"Burger Me" Thursday
Burger and a Beer for only 10 Bucks!
The Pizza Burger
Available all day every Thursday, we will be  offering an enticing and different gourmet burger along with any beer for just $10. This is correct, any beer, including our selection of 10 microbrews!
We started the "Burger Me" Thursday concept back in mid July last year and this special has become so much fun for us. We really get excited during our burger brainstorm sessions. Our staff puts forth their own ideas every week to try and bring you some of the craziest, most delicious, and most obscene burgers that you have ever laid eyes on. This week our gourmet burger will be topped with pizza sauce, olives, onion, red and green pepper, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese.
Available all day Thursday, January 5th
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Three Things to Try
 By Ryan - Double Burger - After New Year's Eve, there's always a need for hangover food. Our double burger, formerly known as the "Elvis Burger," can cure just about any hangover. Sometimes, one burger just isn't enough and that's why this double stacked full pound Uptown burger is so good. Add any toppings you like and see if you can tackle this monster. I put forth my best effort this week, but came up a little short. 
By Nikki - Fine and Dandy - Martinis are quickly becoming one of my favorite drinks to try. Everytime I go out with friends I always seem to end up trying a martini special they have featured. Well it's not a surprise that this martini we have is definitely a delicious one. In it, there is canadian club whiskey, triple sec vodka and the finishing taste of the dubonnet rouge will open up your palate. This martini is perfect to start off the night before dinner.
By Jennifer - Italian Custard Torte - As soon as I took my first bite of this, I fell in love. Don't let appearances fool you, some of the most tasteful things come in simple packages. The lightness of the crust with the pleasant shot of custard is fantastic. Two of my favorite things, raspberries and melba sauce complete this sweet treat. Enjoy!
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"Not Your Everyday Specials"
Monday Nights, Steak Diane
Every Monday after 4 pm, we will be serving Steak Diane for $15.75. 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
The "Pizza" Burger
Each week we change our bizarre burger and serve it all day with any beer in house for only $10.00! This week, our gourmet half pound burger is topped with pizza sauce, olives, onion, red and green pepper, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese.
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
appetizer
oysters on the half shell
blue point oysters long island, new york. medium choice oyster
with a bright brine and firm meat. served with a mignonette 11.75
artisanal cheese sampler
1. 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
salad
maple glazed quail, pear and butter crunch lettuce salad
maple glazed quail and pear over butter crunch lettuce.
served with sugared almonds, dried cherries, parsley and
grape tomato. sherry vinaigrette dressing 13.50
sandwich
mesculyn salad & panini sandwich combo
genoa salami, provolone cheese and giardiniera. served with a
mesculyn, walnut and gorgonzola salad. balsamic vinaigrette
dressing 10.75 with cup of soup of the day 12.25
pasta
lobster ravioli in a saffron cream sauce
maine lobster stuffed ravioli in a lobster saffron cream
sauce. topped with tri color pepper confetti. 24.75
meat
infused chicken
two six ounce butter garlic infused chicken breasts served with
white wine cream sauce and our seasoned rice blend 13.75
seafood
broiled cod filet
10 oz. broiled cod filet served over sauteed spinach with a
roasted red pepper cream sauce 18.75
side
maple glazed carrots
tri colored carrots in a light maple glaze 5.75
dessert
italian custard torte
served with fresh rasberries and a melba sauce 6.75
housemade cherry and almond bread pudding
housemade cherry and almond bread pudding warmed and
served with a whiskey creme anglaise 6.75
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"Like" our Facebook and be the first to know about food specials, drinks, and MORE!
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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 sauce is the title of a song made famous by Nat King Cole and sung by Diana Krall in a 1996 tribute album to Cole?
2. What ingredient served with chicken won Anna Ginsberg one million dollars at the 2006 Pillsbury Bake-Off contest?
3. What kinds of foods are listed as crudo on an Italian menu?
Email your answers to foodiefight@uptowngrill.com
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 instrument will help ensure proper consistency in jams, jellies, sherbets, and ices? A HYDROMETER
2. What English breakfast dish, adopted from India, is made of flaked, smoked fish, rice and hard-cooked eggs? KEDGEREE
3. How many 4-ounce servings are in a 750-milliliter bottle of wine? SIX
Last weeks winner of the free lunch ....... Jessica Bernabei
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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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