Observers of the national restaurant scene were intrigued when Steve Hanson, founder of the New York City-based restaurant company, B.R. Guest, entered the Chicago market a few years back. After all, Hanson was entering the turf of Lettuce...

TAKE A FLYER: Can a hotel restaurant become hip? The Renaissance Long Beach thinks they’ve found the formula with Tracht’s. Remember when steakhouse operators thought that brightening their interiors and adding a handful of non-meat options to...

MOTHER TONGUE: Need to communicate with your staff? All of them know the common French terms. Publishers Weekly, in an early review of my new book, The Elements of Cooking, criticized it for being Francocentric (it should have been called The...

For the podcast with Steve Petusevsky and Gail Bellamy, and recipe ideas, visit www.restaurant-hospitality.com then click on the podcast icon. Chef Steven Petusevsky, a Culinary Institute of America alum and the author of The WholeFoods Market...

Good locations for restaurants are gett ing harder to find. Not only are operators competing against other restaurants, often they’re angling for the same spots as retail behemoths like Walgreen’s or Staples. “You’ve got to be very nimble, quick...

And the edamame for $25, you'd think someone could feed them to you, like grapes...

A happy, cheerful leader can move mountains.

Giuseppe Tentori describes his cooking as simple and clean, which is not surprising for a native of Milan, Italy. Italians are reknowned for cooking with the best ingredients and presenting them simply. But Tentori now lives in Chicago, more than...

PEAK FLAVOR: Asian Chicken Salad, served at Rattan Pan-Asian Bistro in Houston. Adaptability might not be the first thing you think of when it comes to Asian cuisine, but this month’s recipe pages are filled with great examples of that principle...

OH BROTHER: A number of siblings are involved in Drago’s food-related holdings. CELESTINO DRAGO, recognized as one of “The 10 Best Chefs” in the United States by Food & Wine, is an extraordinary chef who has gained both the admiration and...