What's for dinner?

Before I took over the diner, I discussed the menu with the previous owner. I wanted to know what the bestsellers were, the recipes and the suppliers for each of the products. I was buying an existing business, not starting from scratch. Now, if I  had I been an experienced or renowned chef, with my own black book of recipes, I would have approached things differently, but that wasn't the case.  I was taking over and I didn't want to rock the boat until I had both my oars in the water. 

The previous owner had "deep fried zucchini sticks" on the menu. Zucchini.... yes, the vegetable we have to hide in chocolate cakes. The same vegetable you have to give away from your garden each fall. The same vegetable you practically have to pay your neighbours to take a second time! I politely inquired as to its sales volume. She said, "oh it's good. It has a loyal following. We probably sell 5 or 6."  Ok, I replied.... 5 or 6 a day? "No, a year" she said with a straight face. 

I immediately took those off the menu and rapidly pursued uncovering the other duds. 

In an 8 foot kitchen, with limited fridge space and an absolute commitment to fresh products I had to narrow down the menu to multi purpose items. To add to our menu, a product had to be used 4 ways. 

For example, I wanted to add a homestyle chili to the menu. To make the grade, we decided to offer it as:  chili nachos, chili & cheese dog, chili fries, and as a bowl of chili with a toasted fresh bun.  We make the chili with a moderate spice and only top quality beef and beans. This gives it a wide audience appeal and lends itself to each application without fighting off the other flavours.  Chili has been very well received and has become a menu staple, especially in cool weather. 

Bacon is a kitchen necessity, especially in a diner. We use it on burgers and dogs, BLT sandwiches, we add it to a perogy platter and very recently we introduced it as a topping on poutine. Our new bacon and cheddar poutine was an instant sensation!  I regret not adding it earlier. 

One of the best reasons to have only multi-use items in your kitchen, is freshness. The more you use, the more fresh the product. And fresh is always best. 

In my kitchen, our bottom line is, "if you wouldn't serve it to your family, you don't serve it to our customers. Period. " It's an easy determiner and it guides everything we do.