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Industry Showcase
Report From The 2012 National Restaurant Show
By Ray
This past week, I was at the annual National Restaurant Association Show. We are lucky to have the worlds largest hospitality industry show right in our back yard at McCormick Place. I have gone to this convention every year since 1975 and find the changes that I observe each year very interesting. The products and services that a restaurant buys mirror what an average American household buys more so than any other industry. This really says much about what is happening in our country and with globalization, now the world.
The size of the show continued to decrease this year, by about another 10% by my estimation. I would estimate the number of exhibitors to be about 60% of what it was just a few years ago. The number of booths that listed themselves as being from China seemed to triple. One could probably say there were more booths from China than there were booths selling china.
Gluttons for gluten free. There has been a trend in diners asking for gluten free product and there was an explosion of gluten-free booths.
We also went to a seminar on the Durbin amendment that is supposed to reduce our industry's debit card processing costs. There are plans to change how cards are processed. One of which they claim will be new hardware we have to install to enable us to process credit cards right at the table as opposed to letting it leave your possession. The other being we will all have to be issued new cards that have a chip embedded in them by 2015 to prevent fraud.
Our speaker also told us a couple of interesting credit card tidbits. He said that 2/3 of all credit card breaches in the world come from United States restaurants. U.S. restaurants are hacked more than any other segment of business in the entire world. Don't worry, we use state of the art equipment that was just installed last year and we are told we fully compliant with all the standards for safe credit card processing. He also told us that Sweden has the highest electronic transaction ratio of any country in the world. 96% of all transactions are handled electronically.
Technology continues to amaze. There are iPhone and iPad apps for almost anything you can do on a computer in a restaurant. Soon I will be able to look at your guest check with my iPhone. By far the biggest change was iPads being utilized for everything imaginable. There is now an iPad app for our seating software. I predict in a few short years iPads or tablets will be utilized for wine lists and menus in our restaurant. They are greener, more versatile and much more flashy than paper. I find all this amazing. I would really like for my current staff to go back to the old days for just one day to appreciate how this changes the way you do things. How did we ever use carbon paper tickets, manually add guest checks with a calculator, and have to call the credit card company for an authorization code every single time?
There are always a couple of cool gadgets, inventions and food trends. The "Wine Shield" inserts into a bottle of wine and acts like plastic wrap that floats on top of your wine. It will keep an unfinished bottle from oxidizing. Salted Caramel seems to be this year's foodie buzz word.
Top ten gadgets at the 2012 NRA Show
Click here to visit the wine shield website
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Behind The Bar
Capital Island Wheat Ale
By Jim
It has been a year or so since we last had a Capital product on our draft beer list and just recently, we have brought back one of their signature brews. Capital Brewery has been producing quality beers in Middleton, Wisconsin since 1984. If you are not familiar with Middleton, it is located just outside the city of Madison. Not only Capital brewery, they lay claim to being the home of the National Mustard Museum. Yes, over 5,000 jars, bottles and tubes from 50 states and 60 countries of all different styles of mustard. Mmmm......mustard and beer, I can just see Homer Simpson overendulging himself with both.
Capital produces over 15 different styles of beers that consist of a strong German influence. The brewmaster knows Wisconsin is a state that has a rich heritage of lager style beers. However, they are not afraid to explore new variations of the traditional styles. Capital Island Wheat Ale is a classic American wheat ale with a Wisconsin twist. The wheat harvested for producing this brew is from the state's own farmland. The beer is cloudy and golden like a tradtional wheat ale with a refreshing mild finish.The American wheat beers are cousins to the German wheat beers. The biggest difference is that over here, there is less fruit and spice giving it that milder body and flavor.
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On Special
Steamed Mussels in Lemon Wine Broth
By Andrew
This week on special we have one of my personal favorites, steamed mussels. The mussels are steamed in a delicate broth of white wine and lemon and served over linguine. The broth is light, but full of flavor. That's what I like so much about this dish. You get the great flavor from the mussels and the broth and you're not going to feel too full to move after eating. The herb crusted breadstick pretty much seals the deal for me on this one. It's great to use the breadstick to soak up some of that broth and none of the flavor is wasted. This dish would be great accompanied by a light white wine or a Belgian beer. I suggest you give it a try.
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Mothers' Day Specials
10oz. australian lobster tail
10oz. australian rock lobster tail with drawn butter.
served with rosemary smashed potatoes and roasted
cauliflower with garlic and parmesan cheese 39.00
slow roasted prime rib12oz. 20.75 16oz. 23.75
 brown sugar and mustard glazed bone-in ham
brown sugar and mustard glazed bone-in ham, slow
roasted and served with bourbon raisin sauce, rosemary smashed potatoes, and roasted cauliflower with
garlic and parmesan cheese 12.75
slow roasted pork loin12oz. sliced boneless pork loin topped with a bourbon demi glaze. served with rosemary smashed potatoes, and roasted cauliflower with garlic and parmesan cheese 17.75 
crab and shrimp stuffed tilapia farm raised tilapia stuffed with crab and shrimp bread
stuffing, topped with orange hollandaise. served
with seasonal vegetable 16.75
pasta primavera with garlic chickenasparagus, broccoli, sundried tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini and squash in a white wine cream sauce over linguini with garlic buttered chicken 15.50
ricotta salata and pancetta stuffed chicken boneless chicken breast stuffed with ricotta salata cheese, pancetta and spinach, breaded and lightly fried. served with uptown rice blend 12.75 
double dipped chocolate covered strawberries dipped in white and dark chocolate 6.75
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Burger Me Thursday
Burger and a Beer for ONLY 10 Bucks!
The Mac Daddy
Next Thursday, May 17th
our gourmet half pound burger
is topped with a family recipe of
elbow macaroni and swiss cheese with
caramelized onions. along with any
micro brew of your choice for only $10!
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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
Every week we have a new burger creation that we serve all day with any beer in house for only $10.00!
Friday Nights, Seafood Mixed Grill 4 oz. grilled lobster tail with drawn butter, 4 oz. tilapia filet with crab meat stuffing, and 4 oz. whitefish parmesan with lemon caper butter. All for only $19.75 
Friday Nights, Surf Your Turf Friday nights we offer a 4oz lobster tail that you can add to any steak on our menu for only $5.18! This means that you will pay what we pay for the lobster and not a penny more! 
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.  Slow Roasted Boneless Pork Loin,
Saturday Evenings Available after 4pm every Saturday night we have slow roasted boneless pork loin with a bourbon demi glaze. 10oz sliced pork loin served with our daily mashed potato and vegetable side 
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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Specials This Week
appetizer
artisanal cheese sampler
1. Port Salut (France) 2. Capriko (USA)
3. Widmer's 1 Year Aged Cheddar (USA) 4. Queso a La Sidra (Spain)
5. Saga Blue Brie (Denmark) 6. Sap Sago, Switzerland
serves 2 to 4 people 19.75
charcuterie tray
black kassel salami, raisin river prosciutto, peppercorn brandy pate, and fra'mani
rosemary ham served with mediterranean olive mix, gherkin pickles, sweet
cherry peppers, stone ground mustard, and flat bread crackers 11.75
salad and sandwich
ciliegine mozzarella and orecchiette salad
fresh ciliegine mozzarella, orecchiette pasta, molinari salami, fire roasted
red and yellow tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and grape tomatoes
tossed with romaine lettuce and italian vinaigrette.
served with cracked black pepper 12.75
mesculyn salad & panini sandwich combo
black forest ham, brie cheese, and an apricot dijon glaze. served with a
mesculyn, walnut and gorgonzola salad. balsamic vinaigrette dressing 10.75
with cup of soup of the day 12.25
meat
top sirloin and sauteed shiitake mushrooms
10oz. top sirloin with sauteed shiitake mushrooms. served
with mashed potatoes and swiss chard sauteed with
asparagus, white wine, and plugra butter 19.75
stuffed chicken breast
lightly breaded and fried chicken breast stuffed with ricotta salata,
pancetta and fresh spinach. served with white wine cream
sauce and uptown rice blend 12.75
seafood
steamed mussels in lemon wine broth
fresh steamed mussels in a lemon wine broth over spaghetti.
served with an herb crusted breadstick 15.50
stone ground mustard crusted salmon
10oz. fennel and stone ground mustard crusted norwegian salmon
filet served with sour cream smashed potatoes and sesame soy
glazed sugar snap peas with shiitake mushroom 19.75
applewood bacon wrapped sea scallops
chargrilled bacon wrapped sea scallops over wild rice. served with
sesame soy glazed sugar snap peas with shiitake mushroom 22.75
dessert
affogato al cafe
traditional italian dessert made with vanilla ice cream
topped with a shot of espresso 4.75
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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 French, cloth-lined bread proofing basket imprints baked bread with its decorative pattern? 2. What vegetable also goes by the names gumbo and lady's finger? 3. What do sheep ranchers call meat from an animal that is more than one year old? E-mail your answers to foodiefight@uptowngrill.comFine 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 up to 3 times a year. Last weeks questions and answers...
1. What Japanese soup is made from a dashi stock? Miso soup
2. What kind of hand-held blender can go directly into a pot or bowl? An immersion blender
3. What is the French term for a flavor base that is typically a mix of two parts onion, one part carrot, and one part celery? MirepoixLast week's winner..................... Janis Novak |
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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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