Breakfast Restaurants Archives

University of Houston testing new robot waiter

Posted on07/05/202608/08/2023Author

“What we’re finding is guests in the restaurant are coming because of the robot,” said college Dean Dennis Reynolds.

HOUSTON, Texas — The University of Houston is testing a new research project they’re calling the “future of food service.”

Eric’s restaurant on the University of Houston campus serves more than just a menu. It’s also a training ground for students studying hospitality at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership.

“The students feel like they own it. They work here. It’s their restaurant,” Dean Dennis Reynolds said.

More than 80% of restaurant employees are students, but about a month ago, the university hired a new, robotic server.

“What we’re finding is guests in the restaurant are coming because of the robot,” Reynolds said.

It’s a scene straight out of ‘The Jetsons,’ except unlike ‘Rosie,’ ‘Servi’ is the strong, silent type, unless you get in her way.

“Excuse me,” ‘Servi’ said.

The university got the robot to give students hands-on training for tomorrow.

“My goal was to be the first restaurant in the city of Houston to have a robotic server,” Reynolds said. “A lot of people, unfortunately, are teaching kind of what we did 20 years ago, and that’s not going to help the student 10 years from now. So we want the students to see what is the future and this is the future.”

The robot is currently serving as a food runner at the restaurant. She’s first plated and then programmed. Once she arrives at the table, the waiter delivers the food.

“Press the number of the table that you’re sending to and press go,” Executive Chef Tanner Lucas said. “What Servi is going to allow us to do is stay on the floor and really get to interact with our guests. And I think that’s where the heart of hospitality really lies.”

Servi is staying in the restaurant, but the university hopes to one day get more robots, possibly to help out with catering in the banquet halls or even room service in their hotel.

“Can you imagine going to a reception in our big ballroom and having this thing just passing hors d’oeuvres,” Reynolds said.

And they’re not just putting the robot to work, they’re using it for research.

“The data will also tell us what guests think,” Reynolds said.

And the possibilities are endless, because, ready or not, the future is here, no matter how you slice it.

“We just don’t know where this can go,” Reynolds said.

The Restaurants With the Most Loyal Customers

Posted on14/04/202608/08/2023Author

Culver's ButterBurger — Photo: James Andrews1 (Shutterstock)

Being enthusiastic about a restaurant is not the same as being loyal to it. I had an absolute blast the last time I ate at Applebee’s, and I fondly recount the pulled pork nachos to anyone who will listen. But am I loyal to Applebee’s? No. I haven’t set foot in an Applebee’s in 12 years. Consumer loyalty is a hard thing to measure, but market research firm Datassential decided to put the question to consumers themselves, asking the definitive question: Which restaurants do you go out of your way to patronize, even when they’re not the most convenient option ? Using that data, Nation’s Restaurant News has compiled the top 24 chains with the most loyal customers.

What’s notable about this list isn’t just the two dozen restaurants that comprise the rankings, but the chains that have fallen off the list since last year. NRN notes that Five Guys, Starbucks, and even Chipotle failed to make the list in 2022. This makes a kind of sense, since the most habitual customers of those chains are most likely to be in a dense urban area where convenience and frequency of use are evenly distributed matched. It’s the stuff you have to make a track for that demonstrates greater overall loyalty.

Here are the top five most beloved chains, by Datassential’s metrics, and the percentage of consumers that reported being loyal to each:

5. In-N-Out Burger (58%)
4. Culver’s (58%)
3. Jet’s Pizza (59%)
2. Chick-fil-A (60%)
1. Papa Murphy’s Pizza (61%)

Several other heavy-hitters rounded out the top 10, including Jersey Mike’s (America’s fastest-growing restaurant chain), Red Lobsters (home of the Endless Shrimp), and Whataburger (purveyor of the best ketchup).

While you might have expected something with the more obvious name recognition to take the number-one spot, the dominance of Papa Murphy’s Pizza isn’t actually all that surprising. Pizza is, after all, a crowded landscape, and the big four chains—Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, and Papa Johns—offer only a slightly different product. A brand that sets itself apart can really endear itself to its customer base, and Papa Murphy’s take-and-bake pizzas are a differentiator in the market. (Consumer loyalty toward Jet’s Pizza only underlines this point, since it’s the one chain known for the unique Detroit-style pizza.)

If the top five loyalty-inducing chains demonstrate everything, it’s that having a signature menu item is integral to staying top of mind for consumers, even when they’re not in the immediate vicinity. Culver’s is the home of custard and ButterBurgers. In-N-Out is all about Animal-Style. Chick-fil-A? It goes without saying. The point is, none of these restaurants are trying to be everything to everyone. Loyalty is something that’s built up over time, and offering a curated menu that never loses sight of its core customers is the way to get there.

Damn, I really should go back to Applebee’s.

15 celebratory restaurants and bars in Dallas

Posted on27/02/202608/08/2023Author

As we jog toward the busiest time of the year, this month’s Hot List will add a special theme: celebratory restaurants and bars in Dallas. These spots are wonderful gathering places to celebrate a successful year, toast a friend, remember a birthday or anniversary, and get into the holiday spirit.

Bring one person, bring 10 — all of these places offer a dash of delight to a hectic season.

We’ve chosen to limit the list to Dallas only, to keep it concise. Email [email protected] if you want a celebratory restaurant recommendation in another North Texas city.

Apothecary

on Greenville Avenue in Dallas

Dip into one of Dallas’ most interesting cocktail bars, Apothecary on Greenville Avenue. It’s a dark and mysterious place, often chosen as an after-dinner cocktail spot, although the Apothecary serves ambitious bar snacks if you’re hungry, too. Cocktails can be playful, like the Toomami that’s made with cereal milk and dark rum. They can also be peculiar, like the Kimchini that’s made with kimchi-infused vodka, mushroom soy and gochujang. End with the Candelabra dessert: a trio of candles that are lit on fire. You blow out the candles, then eat them. It’s a fun party trick.

The Apothecary is at 1922 Greenville Ave., Dallas. It’s open Tuesday through Sunday, evenings only. Walk-ins are available, but it’s better to make a reservation.

Brass Ram

in downtown Dallas

My No. 1 place in Dallas to celebrate anything right now is Brass Ram, Nick Badovinus’ new prime rib restaurant in downtown Dallas. He’s managed to make a giant cut of sexy meat while you load up on mac and cheese, French onion soup, steak frites and crab cakes. Toss in a plate of $41 lobster bucatini or a $27 burger, because hopefully someone else is paying, right? Brass Ram is expensive, opulent and a hell of a good time. It’ll be one of the toughest reservations to get this season.

Brass Ram is at 2130 Commerce St., Dallas (on the second floor, above the National Anthem). Reservations are recommended. Call 469-677-6170 Tuesday through Saturday between 2 and 5 pm, or email [email protected].

Carbone’s Fine Food and Wine

near Highland Park

Italian-American dishes like tortellini and Italian sausage with vodka sauce or... — Italian-American dishes like tortellini and Italian sausage with vodka sauce are at Carbone’s Fine Food & Wine in Dallas until the end of 2022. Then the restaurant gets remodeled and renamed. However, some of the favorite dishes will stick around.(Nathan Hunsinger / Staff Photographer)

You’ve likely heard by now that Carbone’s Fine Food & Wine on Oak Lawn Avenue will close in Jan. 1, 2023. After an elaborate food fight between Carbone’s and the new Italian restaurant Carbone, the smaller, local company has agreed to take a knee. Owner Julian Barsotti plans to close, then reopen his Italian restaurant — exactly the same spot, similar menu — in spring 2023, with a new name. Get to Carbone’s before New Year’s Eve for Sunday-night gravy. You won’t regret it in early 2023, when you’ll have to go without.

Carbone’s Fine Food and Wine is at 4208 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas. Call for reservations: 214-522-4208.

Custom Meats

in University Park

Home cooks, here’s one for you: Custom Meats is a new specialty butcher shop on Lovers Lane near the Dallas North Tollway. Stop in for your family’s typical steak order — it’s a rib-eye for him, a filet for me, in my house — or ask the knowledgeable butchers about a more interesting cut. They also sell house-ground hamburger meat, beef tallow, duck eggs and raw dog food.

Custom Meats is at 4333 Lovers Lane (near the Dallas North Tollway), University Park.

Delucca Gaucho Pizza & Wine

in the Dallas Design District

Bonus: Delucca also has restaurants in Fort Worth, Plano and Southlake

Doesn’t matter your age, if you like pizza, you’ll enjoy Delucca. (And if you don’t like pizza, first, why?) There’s no need for a dinner menu at Delucca because servers bring around lobster bisque, salad, meatballs and slices of pizza for a flat fee of $24.50 per person. It’s like a buffet, but you never have to get up. A bottomless pizza party, if you will. i love it.

Delucca Gaucho Pizza & Wine is at 1628 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas. Reservations are not required, however consider them for larger parties.

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