But if you are a small business and/or restaurant with an upscale target market and a really polished image, it might not be the best thing for you, especially if you’ve opened recently. Google for “groupon sucks” and the #1 hit you will see is a blog post from a spa marketing company talking about how discounting is not always the best way to attract new customers. It is certainly food for thought and a great post, but targeted at “luxury” goods like hundred-dollar treatments and the like.

What if your per-check average is well under $20? Is it such a bad idea to discount, then?

A friend just told me that they were hesitant to try a local restaurant because it always looks empty. I know for a fact that the restaurant’s food is quite good and told him so. They have a dining room too big for their needs and that hurts them with walk-by traffic, as my friend’s perception shows. This place might benefit from a quick-and-dirty campaign to get more people in the door. Or perhaps you can skip giving half the money to Groupon and just go to the restaurant. Do we have a deal? Good. Also try out another local place experimenting with Groupon – but just go instead of buying the coupon. Their sandwiches are amazing.

This week there are some really amazing specials (like a Cantaloupe Bisque TODAY), so take a quick little drive and check out Jay’s cooking skills.  He’s open every single day with the latest hours on the mountain – that’s great news for you, even on a “school night”.

Greenside Cafe

Open weekdays at 7am, weekends at 8am, and open until 8pm weekdays, 9pm weekends.  Here are some other of the nifty specials this week (via Facebook):

Seabass Tacos:  Seared Pacific seabass, served with white corn tortillas, black beans, rice, fresh avocado and spicy grilled pineapple salsas

Buffalo Tortilla Burger: Grilled onions, pepper jack, all rolled up in a flour tortilla with a grilled 1/3 lb hamburger.

Watermelon Gazpacho

Beer poached bratwurst with saurkraut served OR Hebrew National Hot dog topped with homemade chile.

Oh, and don’t forget – Jay makes his own ice cream!!!

On my radar slash hit list in recent weeks and upcoming months:

Torinos @ Home

P’Tit Louis Bistro

Noah’s Ark

La Oja (new chef)

Amici

Slate at the Museum

The Oasis

What else?  New stuff I haven’t yet spotted?  Lay it on me!

A nominee for “Best Chef Southwest”, I was tipped to this by Chantal’s tweet, and had to do some digging to find good links – as for a stint of time yesterday, the James Beard site was pretty much down under the load of a bazillion foodies all wanting to see the nominations list, from regional chefs to restauranteurs to writers and everything in between.

But then, way up in Denver, my old pal Westword comes to the rescue:  List of  Nominees 2010

They even included a link to the pdf, which I’ll post (below) when I can download the darn thing.

[Congrats are in order, as well, to James Campbell Caruso of La Boca (IMO, best fig newton EVER), and Eric DiStephano of Coyote Cafe (IMO, best bacon bourbon cocktail, seriously)]

Here’s the original link to the James Beard site, and a direct link to the pdf file

Regardless, they’re opening left and right here in Albuquerque.  Al Bilotti’s Lucia in the Hotel Andaluz (more about *that* later), and now in the Doubletree, home to fresh baked cookies at check-in, we have a New Mexican-Californian restaurant called La Oja.

No word on menu specifics.  I hope it will be decent combinations of our own local treasures with some of the stereotypical California touches – goat cheese enchiladas?

Good luck to Chef Alberto Mendez – let’s see what ya got!

http://albuquerque.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2009/11/09/daily31.html

Grants.  A little burger joint wins favor with 2/3 lb slabs of beef topped with not only chile and cheese, but also bacon and guacamole.  Is that necessary?

Hmm.  Its only 60 miles away, not far at all, and certainly less hectic driving-wise than a trip to Santa Fe, especially the gorgeous view from 9 Mile Hill on your return trip.

Badlands Burger in Grants, NM will be featured in the upcoming Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail, along with its other competitors in the first annual Governor’s challenge.

Although they’re under wraps on discussing just what the heck happened, general comments indicate the blame is being directed at a former executive who said they were doing things correctly but apparently were not.  If that’s at all the case, we have yet to find out.

This institution has been around for over 40 years and fed, entertained, and margarita’ed you and your family and your visiting out of town friends many times over.  If you still love their food and the crazy atmosphere, pay a visit and show your support by keeping the green flowing in while they try to stay on top of their debts.

My personal favorite has always been the Chile Rojo, a huge bowl of red with sirloin tips and a half dozen other garnishes.  Red meat + red chile = happy me.

Not one of their workers has yet to be laid off, despite an obvious cash problem.  Kudos to Gardunos for that.

Go to any other large city and you’ll see lots of restaurants with big “A”s or “B”s in their windows. Sometimes you’ll see a “C”. In fact, many chowhounds will insist that an ethnic restaurant graded “A” can’t really be all that good or authentic – its the B and C ones worth seeking out.

To bring the Duke City in line with all of these other progressive urban areas, it has been proposed that we, too, use the ABC method. And let the battle begin!

Its the New Mexico Restaurant Association vs. City of Albuquerque and city councilor Trudy Jones!

Each has their own talking points, arguments, and rebuttals. Here they are in a nutshell:

City of Albuquerque: “The old rules are outdated and behind the times and we must change them.”
NMRA: “The new rules embrace new technology but badge restaurants for six months based on inspection results that were likely fixed on the spot.”

I’m still reading everything and forming an opinion; since this is my blog I’ll be spouting it soon, don’t worry.

Santa Fe is known for a lot of touristy things, but one of them is not catering to the desires of those who like to eat, drink coffee, or shop past 8pm on weeknights.

If you happened to be awake in Santa Fe on a Saturday or Sunday morning and wanted portable coffee, where did you go?  O’Hori’s has some of the best beans in town.  Closed weekends.  Santa Fe Baking Company?  Sequestered away next to the Trader Joe’s (still, probably your existing best option and its close to St Francis if you’re driving through town).  Holy Spirit Espresso?  Closed weekends.  Dunkin Donuts?  Hey, at least its open!

When Flying Star opened in 2009, it expanded the drinkable coffee options in Santa Fe to a significant margin, especially in the evenings.  A few other local places open early and serve coffee, true.  But stay open late?  Not typically.

Now, a pissed off employee set the place on fire.  Why?  Who knows, but the reaction has been to blame Flying Star’s food and their “intrusion” into the local dining scene. 

I say WTF, and will continue saying it.  Flying Star is not the best restaurant around by a stretch, and I will keep saying that, as well.  But they are reliable, diverse, amicable to picky diners, cook organic meats and eggs, have great pastries, serve decent coffee, and are open many many hours every single day.  And, they are LOCALLY owned. 

What more do you slow food people want?

Interestingly, it has been at two chain restaurants, both with Texas in the name:  Texas Land & Cattle, and the Texas Roadhouse.

Might other steak places be next?  Or just other large chains that potentially carry cash (though I can’t imagine any restaurant keeps much around for this very reason) . . .

I hope the culprits are caught and no more incidents occur.