The $10 Diner Dinner Project Update

The concept of an "off the menu" dinner special has been well received. Our guests are intrigued and engaged. Many are trying the daily specials, but even more are following along through social media.

Personally, I'm enjoying the challenge and it is a fantastic test of my creativity. It's giving me a chance to showcase some of our fabulous local veggies and regional flavours.

Before I forget, I want to write a list of the dinners we have offered so far at just $10 a plate.

1) Bison Salisbury Steak, Farmer's market beans and fries
2) Tacos
3) Pulled pork on a bun with fries and coleslaw
4) Meatballs, new potatoes in dill, marinated vegetable salad
5) BBQ chicken with roasted market veggies
6) Chicken Havarti with FMbeans
7) Meatloaf with mashed garlic/bacon/cheddar potatoes, coleslaw
8) Perogies and Kolbassa, coleslaw

Chicken Havarti 

Less nervous; More fun

Soft Taco Plate

Diner Dinner Project Day 2

Today, was Taco Tuesday. I made taco plates with fresh Pico de Gallo and guacamole. I also served an old-school deep fried ice cream sundae for dessert.

It was more prep than I'm used to. Simply because I was prepping our normal day as well, and without an assistant (like I would have on a Friday). I also like to take Tuesdays off wherever possible as it is our slowest day of the week. However, it was worth the hard work.

Our guests responded and really enjoyed the nightly special. And that makes it worth the while.

Fresh Guacamole

Friday is still a mystery.

Fresh Pico de Gallo 

Fried Ice Cream Sundae

Here's a fun Pico recipe very similar to mine.

The Daily Special

Again, with the Dr. Oz Show reference. Dr. Oz suggested, and his guest discussed the restaurant daily special as being a "clearance rack" for items and ingredients that are near their expiry date or at the end of their shelf life.

I would vehemently argue that's not the case in my diner! I can only speak for my own kitchen, of course, but I would never hesitate to choose our special and here's why:  We are such a small diner, with limited dining space but also limited freezer and fridge space. We operate on an on-demand supply system. We get stock 4-6 times a week. Yes, that's nearly every day. We operate with one head chef, and 2 sous chef. There is constant communication and we always know what's fresh, what's new and how we rotate stock. Fresh is our way of life. And our kitchen motto is "if you wouldn't serve it to your own Grandma, you don't serve it to our guests. Period."

The way we choose our daily special is based on stock availability. What do we have the MOST of. Keeping the right quantities on hand, so you never have to tell a guest "sorry, we're out of your favourite" can be a delicate balancing act. Therefore, in order NOT to run out of chicken fingers, we would discount and feature a burger instead. When something is discounted and marketed as a daily special guests tend to choose it, especially if they are in a rush or consider it in the top 3 items they would eat at your restaurant normally.  So, it takes the "pressure" off chicken, if burgers are the popular choice that day.

Similarly, we can choose a special to counter-act a mistake in ordering. Whoops.... ordered all bottle cokes instead of cans? Then today's special is a bacon cheeseburger, fries and a bottle coke for take-out. It's a perfect set.  Hard to sell a taco salad with a bottle coke.

There have been instances where a supplier will offer you a quantity discount on in-season produce. I like to jump at those opportunities and cook with what's fresh and delicious in the moment. Fresh peaches make amazing parfaits with hot caramel sauce. While it's not on our regular menu it sure sounds good, tastes good and sells well as a special.

That's how we roll at the Retro Diner.

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.