Restaurant Supplies for Profit: Alcohol Still a Winner

What more appropriate topic for a late Friday afternoon than….alcohol?  I’ve got good news for those businesses sporting a liquor license: according to an article I found throught the National Restaurant Association, alcohol sales continue to climb (albeit slowly) in these somewhat uncertain times:

“According to the Norwalk, Conn. research company, wine consumption increased 4%, while distilled spirits were up 3.2% and beer rose 1.2%.”

Now that’s reason to celebrate, isn’t it?  Even better, one of my favorite beverages is doing exceedingly well (but keep your eyes peeled for the effects of a bit of a hops shortage this year):

“Craft beers also saw double-digit growth, while wine continued to find appeal with newer drinkers.”

 

So while Americans may be tightening their belts, they’re willing to spend a little extra once in a while for a really great beer.  So keep your back bar coolers stocked, and your taps running smoothly!

Restaurant Equipment Tips: Burnt Coffee in the Morning

Restaurant Equipment Tips: Burnt Coffee in the Morning

I love a good cup of coffee to start my day, but the morning can quickly slip by without anyone noticing that empty coffee pot baking on the heating plate…  What do you do about that burnt brew at the bottom?  I googled this question and found an answer I recall hearing once before (years ago–confided by a server at a steakhouse where I worked).  It may not exactly be a trade secret, but here’s a reminder about how to get those coffee pots sparkling: How to Clean a Blackened or Burnt Coffee Pot from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit Ever leave the coffee pot on over night? Can’t get rid of the discoloration at the bottom of your pot? This article will show you how. Steps Place 1 teaspoon of salt into the coffee pot. Add 2 cups of ice into the coffee pot. Swish around the solution to start melting the ice. If the ice isn’t melting, add a little bit of cold water into the coffee pot. Continue to swish the mixture in multiple directions. You should begin to see the burned color coming off of the pot. Tips If the pot is severely discolored you may have to repeat this several times, but eventually it will come clean. The swish motion is important. Make sure while you’re swishing that you are doing this over all the discolored areas. Missing areas will not get the pot entirely clean. Warnings When adding additional water, it is important that it is cold. Hot water mixed with the ice will cause the pot to crack or shatter. Salt and ice mixture on the skin can freeze it so make sure to keep them separate until you put it into the pot. Frostbite is painful and the skin can take several weeks to heal. Do not use cleanser, although it seems faster. Coffee pots often have lips that could hide a bit of the cleanser even when it is rinsed. Those bits could end up in your coffee. Think hygiene and not eating grit. This is especially important in restaurants where customers expect sterile equipment. Things You’ll Need A discolored coffee pot 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups ice Cold water Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Clean a Blackened or Burnt Coffee Pot. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.Serv-U proudly offers coffee makers and accessories by leaders in the industry (think the likes of BUNN brewers, Hamilton Beach urns, and Service Ideas French presses for example).  And if you’re ready to free your inner barista (hey, even McD’s is doing it!), we’ve got a great selection of grinders and espresso machines to choose from.  You’ll be producing latte art in no time!+                       = (Latte art pic courtesy of “adactio” on Flickr.)

Pizza Supplies

When you buy a pizza pan you should first consider what kind of pizza you want to make. Are you planning to make thin crust, deep dish, or thick crust? If you want to make a crispy thin crust pizza, I would recommend a perforated pan. Perforated pans are pans with several holes in them.  A couple of examples of these pans are the SuperPerf or the Mega Screen.  These pans allow a more evenly baked crust because they allow air to circulate beneath the crust. Therefore the pizza is crispier and the pizza stays fresher.  It also takes less time to cook the pizza with these pans.  Perforated pans are also good for frozen pizzas. Pizza stones are good for keeping your crust from getting soggy.  But if you don’t want your crust too done, it is probably a good idea to use a pizza screen in conjunction with your stone.  Pizza screens produce a more evenly baked crust. Another option for getting a crispier crust is getting pizza pans with “nibs” on them.   Any 2″ pan that American MetalCraft manufactures can be furnished with NIBS. The nibs are approximately 5/8” diameter and raise the pizza about 1/8” above the surface of the pan.  Raising the pizza off the surface allows moisture to escape and a fresher, crispier pizza may result.  Perforated pans, stones, and pans with nibs are definitely important pizza supplies to have. 

 

When cooking deep dish or pan pizzas, I recommend using special Deep Dish pans. They should be aluminum and be either 1” or 2” deep.   If you want the best, you should get the heavy weight aluminum pans.  You can get either round or square deep dish pans. One difference between thick crust pizza and pan pizza is that the thick crust pizza is often cooked on a pizza stone or a tile in the oven.   I hope you get an idea of what type of pan to use. If you need pizza pans or other pizza supplies you can find them at www.servu-online.com.  If you have any questions about pizza supplies you can call or chat online with a Serv-U sales rep.