Crab Shack in Newport, Oregon

There comes a time in every menu blogger's life when she needs to get away from the 107 degree heat and the exciting, tumultuous world of menu design and restaurant marketing, and head to the shore.

Oh, right. They don't call it the shore out west. My bad.

Next week, I'll be taking off on Wednesday and driving up the coast to Newport, Oregon, for some much-needed time off, cool breezes and seafood. To say that I am excited for the seafood would be an understatement—other than good mussels on my birthday, I haven't eaten good seafood in months.

Stop #1 will be the Drift Inn in Yachats, Oregon, on Highway 101. Don't let the simple menu fool you—I've had some seriously yummy seafood specials at this fun, funky joint. I especially like the halibut in a hazelnut-blackberry sauce that pops up occasionally on their specials menu.

But what I am looking forward to most of all is visiting what my husband calls "The Crab Cooker." I'm not even sure of its real name; all I know is that it has a big sign out front that says CRAB. If that's not the epitome of a crab shack, I don't know what is.

Our Crab Shack Menu captures the casual fun of the local crab shack. Looking at it, I realize that I can't wait to tear into a fresh Dungeness crab.

Menu of the Week: Juice Bar Menu

It's going to be 107 degrees in Ashland today, according to the weather report. When it's this hot, all I feel like doing is drinking frozen drinks and eating salad. My first instinct is to run down to the closest 7-11 for a Slurpee, but lately I've tried to make healthier choices.

This Juice Bar Menu makes me want to run out to the local juice stand and get a bunch of fresh fruits blended with ice—and call it lunch.

Food Festival Flyer: Garlic Festival

The Gilroy Garlic Festival is happening this weekend in Gilroy, CA. Garlic ice cream, garlic popcorn and all sorts of garlic-infused dishes will all be served. Also on the menu will be live music, the Miss Gilroy Garlic 2009 contest and the Great Garlic Recipe cook off. Sounds like a fun time!

We have food flyers for a variety of festivals: blueberry, mushroom and more!

Menu of the Week: Latin Fusion Menu

What's Latin Fusion cuisine? If you'd ask me, I'd say spicy, vibrant flavors and fresh tastes. This week's featured menu, Latin Fusion Menu Long, looks like a party on the page, with varied fonts, bright colors and fun accents.

Family Restaurant Menus

I live in southern Oregon, which is hardly the dining hotspot of the U.S. However, there are many really good restaurants in and around the area. There are also many so-so, out-of-date, or even bad restaurants. Family restaurants seem to be the worst offenders when it comes to out-of-date food, I've noticed.

What do I mean by out-of-date? Well, for one, not offering things that customers desire. Zero healthful options for kids and no vegetarian options. No appetizers, no smaller portions. Dated offerings like wrap sandwiches and chicken Caesar salad.

Now, we all know that the local family restaurant isn't at the forefront of haute cuisine. But occasionally freshening up the menu offerings by getting rid of the poor sellers and adding seasonal specialties and capitalizing on larger trends that have exploded in popularity in your target market is a good way to show that you are paying attention to customer concerns.

MustHaveMenus has loads of diner menus and cafe menus for family-style restaurants. We're sure that you'll find a menu design that will help you freshen up your look.

Half Page Bakery Menu - Just Print and Cut

Sometimes you don't need a full page menu. Wine lists, dessert menus and bakery menus are often presented on half sheets of paper for a clean, elegant look.

MustHaveMenus just expanded its Bakery Menu category to include half page menus. Also called 2 for 1 menus (because you get two menus on one page), these bakery menus are perfect for listing pies and cakes to go.

July is National Ice Cream Month!

Designated by President Reagan in 1984, National Ice Cream Month is all about celebrating this cool, wonderful sweet treat! Seriously, what tastes better in the sultry month of July than a cone of strawberry ice cream?

Our Ice Cream Flyer was designed specifically to promote this summer event. Use it to announce ice cream specials, present a dessert menu, or just to catch your customers' eye as they stroll on by.

Loyalty Marketing for Restaurants

I'm a big fan of loyalty marketing, in theory. I get a variety of coupons in the mail and in my email for percentages off purchases, free birthday dinners, and more. But for the many offers I get, I only take advantage of a small number of what is sent to me. For one, I am lazy and going out to a store maybe be beyond me. Second, I also am cheap, so the offer must be attractive enough to offset my cheapness.

If you follow my Twitter feed, it's obvious that I am obsessed with Chicago-style hot dogs, despite the fact that I don't eat meat. So I was a big fan of the D's Six Pax & Dogz -- Buy 10 Hot Dogz and Get One for Free card. This loyalty marketing program worked, mainly because D's was an after-work hangout for my group of friends. Good beer, large variety of fried things to choose from, and of course, veggie Chicago dogs. So what's my point? Cater your loyalty program towards your most loyal customers! For the most part, we would have chosen D's anyway, but a few times I know we went to get an extra punch on our hot dog card, or to get our free hot dog. And of course, along with that free hot dog we would order many pints of non-free beer and other food.

Don't try and market your loyalty program to your occasional customers—focus on your regulars. Reward them, and they'll be more likely to reward you with their presence.

PS-- It must be noted that I am way too unorganized to deal with a loyalty card. Much props goes to my friend E for dealing with the card and making sure we always got our punches!

Local Food Exhaustion?

An interesting article in the August 2009 Bon Appetit caught my eye. On the surface, the article is about Vancouver, British Columbia and the local food movement there. But dig a little deeper in the article and you'll uncover what I'm beginning to think of as "local food exhaustion."

No one's arguing that a local diet is not a good thing—it is, and that has been proven by Michael Pollan et al. I, for one, can't wait to taste the local blueberries and, of course, the delicious pears that southern Oregon is famous for. But, as I was staring at a pineapple at the Ashland Food Co-op, sometimes I just want something different. Something....not from around here. Should I feel guilty about my chocolate, almonds, coffee and pineapple?

Some of the chefs in the Vancouver area are starting to grumble about it (off the record, of course) about how the local movement is affecting them, and how it's almost become "like a religion" to some. However, if a chef makes an honest effort to buy locally, should we fault them for buying chicken that was shipped from 150 miles away? Or, more horrifying (to me, at least) should I eat nothing but apples, cabbage and squash all winter? Sometimes a person just wants a banana.

Has the local movement instilled too much guilt in us to eat hyper-locally?