my 2 cents

Passover

It's as sure a sign of spring as the first robin... Passover.  It's when Jews recall the days of slavery under the Pharoah in Egypt, and the seder, done at home followed by a meal, retells the story.

We can't eat bread for a week, but matzoh's not bad.  And matzoh is used in lots of traditional eastern European Jewish cooking, like chicken soup with matzoh balls and matzoh brei -- essentially a matzoh version of French toast.

So many of us will be at a seder tonight and tomorrow night. We won't be eating bread and many other foods, but we'll be chowing down on lots of other yummy "kosher for Passover" goodies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matzoh brei -- It tastes better than it looks... really.

 

 

 

 

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Say it isn't so.... please

Hostess has been having financial problems for a while, including going into bankruptcy in 2004 and again earlier this year.  But this time, it doesn't look good for the maker of iconic baked goods including Wonder Bread, Hostess Cup Cakes and Twinkies.

For those of us who grew up in the '50s and '60s, we all knew that "Wonder Bread builds strong bodies eight ways."  I can't recall what those eight ways were, but it had to be true because Howdy Doody and Buffalo Bob told us so.  Wonder Bread was THE key ingredient for all sandwiches.  (This was before bagels became an American food.) 

And Twinkies.  What more could a kid want for a well-balanced nutritious meal?

My favorite was -- and still is -- Hostess Cup Cakes, the ones with either the golden or chocolate topping and the white squiggle down the middle.  I still rely on those to keep me going on a long drive.  It's automatic -- stop to get gas, go to the bathroom, and get a package of Hostess Cup Cakes.

The news reports are saying Hostess has filed a motion to shut its plants, lay off 18,000 workers and liquidate its business.

Please... say it isn't so.

 

 

Weekend Thoughts

 

 

Not the real thing

 

The bagel is as American as pizza, tacos... or apple pie.

 

Originally thought of by many as a "Jewish English muffin," the bagel came to this country from eastern Europe -- particularly from Poland -- with the migration of Jews from that part of the world in the late 1880s and into the early 20th century.  And for decades, bagels were pretty much a Jewish food.  Beyond major cities with large Jewish populations, you would never find -- nor even hear of -- a bagel.

Before the advent of bagel stores (seemingly on almost every corner, at least here in New York City), bagels were produced in bagel factories and delivered in the early morning hours to bakeries, delis and restaurants.  I remember, as a teen, driving down to the Bronx on a Saturday night to the bagel factory on Jerome Avenue to get a bag of a dozen bagels to bring home.  The bagels were steaming hot and tasted fantastic.  

Supposedly, New York bagels were the best.  It was the water, we were told.  My cousins in Cleveland, Baltimore and L.A. readily admitted the locally-baked bagels just weren't the same as the real thing from New York.  My Montreal blogging friend Mark Goren challenged me to a taste test a couple of years ago, and I must reluctantly admit that the Montreal bagels he brought down to me were pretty damn good. So I'll re-do that last sentence to read... they weren't the same as the real thing from New York or Montreal.  (I wonder how they compare to the original real thing from Krakow.)  

And then Murray Lender came along.  He took a business started by his father Harry in a New Haven garage and, with his brothers Marvin and Sam, made bagels available to the heartland.  Harry, who came from Poland and hand-rolled the bagels himself for years, began freezing some of his product in the 1950s so he could sell it to bakeries and stores farther from New Haven.  Fresh bagels, you see, don't have a long shelf life, as anyone who's ever bitten into a stale bagel will attest.

Murray led the company as it expanded its reach and became a staple of frozen food sections in supermarkets everywhere.  Lender's frozen bagels became a popular sandwich bread, perfect for whitebread America to enjoy with peanut butter & jelly or ham & cheese.  (Oy!)

Of course, real bagel aficionados frowned upon Lender's.  And the idea of putting PB&J on a bagel was disgusting to those who felt a bagel just had to hold cream cheese and lox.

Murray and his family eventually sold Lender's to Kraft (just this week renamed Mondeeza, or Mondoleeza or something like that).  And bagels, frozen little replicas of the real thing, became an American staple.  Americans last year bought more than 140 million Lender's bagels, worth just under $41 million.  That's a lot more than how many bagels were sold in Israel or probably even Poland.

Bagels -- even the frozen New York (or Montreal) wannabees  -- are now a true American food.  They've been mixed into what my friends Bob and Steven Frissora call America's salad bowl.

Murray Lender died Wednesday in Miami.  He was 81.

No. Please, no. A bagel burger??

 

Weekend Thoughts

Just a cuppa Joe

I had to laugh when I saw the story in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that reported on new procedures at Starbucks that limit the number of drink orders the "baristas" can take.  Now it's only two at a time, so they can concentrate on doing it just right.  Some customers and store managers are afraid that will slow the lines down even more than they now are.

 

The whole Starbucks phenomenon amazes me.  It's another example of how the public can be led around like sheep, to be a part of something that's "cool" (or maybe it's more appropriate to say "hot"). 

 

Now obviously Starbucks has been doing something right.  Just look at how it’s grown from a few shops in Seattle to a nationwide institution that's everywhere – even inside other retail venues like Border's or Citibank.

 

But I never did – and still don't – get it.  The basic coffee is too strong for my taste… and I'm a lifelong coffee fanatic doing 3 – 6 or more cups a day.  But taste aside, I can't stand the whole pricing and size thing at Starbucks.  Whatever happened to small, medium and large?  Ok, even add a jumbo if you want, but what is this venti, tall, grande BS.  If I want a small, let me just ask for a small.

 

And I just don't understand why so many people gladly fork over $3.45 for a medium (ok, a grande coffee) when you can get the same thing at the deli on the corner for $1.  Or the next block over, at Dunkin Donuts, for $ 1.69.  And to my palette, Dunkin's coffee tastes sooo much better.

 

What Starbucks has gotten right is the atmosphere – a place where you're encouraged to hang and chill.  No rush to turn over the tables.  Stay, read the paper, chat with friends, go online.  And they've been smart about using their many locations and high traffic to integrate other things into their menu – like CDs and books. 

 

But when it comes to their basic product:  latte, frappe, venti, whatever… just give me a plain old coffee.  A small one, please.

 

Obviously, I'm way out of the mainstream on this one.  I know.  (If I'm coming across as a grump here, I apologize.  I haven't had my 2nd cup of coffee yet.)

 

A Perfect Match

Sponsorship of events is a giant business because it can be a great way to generate exposure for a brand that, if properly done, generates sales and develops customer loyalty.

I saw it work firsthand some 30 years ago, when I helped develop an event sponsorship for client L'eggs pantyhose. Those were the days of women coming into their own in sports and fitness, when it had become acceptable – or even fashionable – for women to sweat. We organized a nationwide series of women-only road races – the L'eggs 10K Series. The program cost about $250,000, but it generated several million in publicity and cemented the loyalty of countless active women.

That sponsorship tie made sense.

I've seen so many other sponsorships that make little or no sense. If you have to think about why a company or brand is sponsoring an event or program, then it probably isn't a good fit.

But I read today in The Wall Street Journal online about a new sponsorship that made so much sense I had to laugh out loud. As we approach the Fourth of July, we also draw closer to the annual rite of gluttony – the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island. It garners news headlines far beyond the metro New York area; it's become a national – or perhaps international – news story.

Every year, when we see the news coverage of guys stuffing themselves with hot dog after hot dog, we gag at the thought of eating so much. Our stomachs ache just watching someone like Joey Chestnut down 68 hot dogs (with buns) in 10 minutes.  Ugh!

So what better brand to become the sponsor of this annual pageant of piggery than Pepto Bismol? Actually, according to the Journal story, the brand will be sponsoring the Nathan's contest, which is part of a national series of eating competitions under the banner of Major League Eating.

Over-stuffing yourself with Nathan's hot dogs and Pepto Bismol – what a perfect match.

(burp)

Excuse me.

Weekend Thoughts

For a Luxury Brand, It Should be ALL About Service

For this post, I'm borrowing the category of my friend and colleague Jeanne Byington, whose excellent blog "The Importance of Earnest Service" is all about customer service.

I had a breakfast meeting Friday morning.  Kim and I had met in a new business pitch several weeks ago, and we knew it could be good for us to meet again, informally, to get to know more about each other and to explore ways we might work together.   Since she was in midtown for a conference, we agreed to meet in the restaurant at the 5-star luxury hotel that was the conference site.

The restaurant had a handful of tables occupied -- most were empty.  Maybe that shouldn't have been surprising, since I had noticed the prices on the menu as I walked in ran $24 and up for a continental breakfast of coffee, juice and breads, even in this economy.

After standing for three or four minutes while the hostess just looked at us and then continued doing whatever she was doing at her station, I went to her and asked for a table for two.  Despite a half-dozen empty tables behind me, she told me they'd have a table ready in a few minutes once they set one up.  Somehow, I sensed this was going to take a while and I knew Kim had to be upstairs at the conference in less than an hour.  So I asked if we could take one of the smaller tables.  "Of course," she said.

As I sat, I then noticed those tables were only set for one.  No one came over to add another setting for us, so I did it myself -- I picked up the placemat, dish, silver and coffee cup from the next table and brought it to ours.  The hostess saw me doing this and didn't lift a finger or rush over to say something like, "Oh no, please, let us do this for you."

After sitting ignored for another several minutes, we had to ask for service.  Someone brought over menus (whoa, Nelly!) and several more minutes passed before a waiter took our order.  I don't remember if we had to flag him down or if he came on his own.  Kim's omelette and my coffee came within a reasonable time.

We sat and chatted.  Not once did anyone come to check on us.  No one offered to refill my coffee after it got cold.  When we were ready to leave, I had to get up and ask the hostess for the check.  Someone eventually brought it and again we sat and waited. 

The check, by the way, for one coffee, two orange juices, one omelette and a basket with two rolls, two pastries and a small muffin came to $60-something.

And as we waited, again for an unusually long time, for someone to pick up the check and credit cards, I got up and told the hostess how horrible the service had been, starting with her ignoring us when we had first arrived.  I figured it won't make a difference, but it would make me feel better just to have told her.

A few moments later the manager came over and asked if everything was ok.  I surprised myself by saying, "Actually, it was not ok."  I told him what had been happening.  He apologized and picked up the check and credit cards.  He returned a moment later, handed us the credit cards and said he had taken care of it and there would be no charge.  He hoped we would excuse the lapse in service and give them another chance sometime.

As we thanked him, I told him it wasn't about the food and it wasn't about the prices.  The food, once it arrived, was actually quite good.  And we knew coming in that the meal wouldn't be cheap.  But the entire experience had been marred by inexcusably poor service.

The manager did the right thing to comp us.  But shame on the management for allowing such terrible service to have happened at all.  The fact that it happened at an extremely pricey restaurant at a 5-star luxury hotel like Sofitel on West 44th Street made it even more inexcusable.

 

They won't tone it down -- mayo war

This shows how little I know or normally think about mayonnaise.  Until this morning, I thought Miracle Whip was just a low-calorie version of mayo.  We have jars of both Miracle Whip and Hellman's in our refrigerator.  If I'm going to put mayo onto a sandwich or into my tuna salad, I just grab whichever jar happens to be closer to the front.

But as I was reading the paper this morning, I learned that there IS a difference.  A full-page ad caught my eye.  (Had I been reading the paper online, I probably wouldn't have seen or looked at the ad.  But that's a subject for another post someday.)

It was an open letter to Comedy Central host Steven Colbert, who evidently made some disparaging comments recently about Miracle Whip.  Possibly he was responding to a new ad campaign the Kraft Foods brand launched a few weeks ago, trying to differentiate Miracle Whip from real mayo by talking about its blend of spices that give it a distinct flavor.  (I never realized that.)                                         graphic: District Domestic

The Miracle Whip folks are turning Colbert's joking comments into a faux mayo war which seems to me is a very clever way to get attention and promote the product benefits.  They're doing it in a way that may reach people who wouldn't respond to a traditional food product ad.

Some excerpts from the ad:

"Mr. Colbert, we found your attacks a little harsh, occasionally funny and at times wholly inaccurate.... But unblike most advertisers who are so mayo, who would back down at the slightest whiff of controversy and pull their advertising not just from your show but from your entire network and all its sister entities -- we intend to do just the opposite.

"On November 12, we will dominate the airspace on your show.  With every commercial break, your viewers will be exposed to hardcore Miracle Whip attitude and revelry.  You will see our legion of "mayonay-sayers" snarfing sandwiches topped with our one-of-a-kind flavor in a very cool and totally hip way.  They will be in your face... They will not tone it down.

"Think about it, Mr. Colbert.  In a sense, we will own you.  We're raisiing Hell, man."  (Hellman's, get it?--DR.)

I don't know if this whole thing is a set-up they've done with Colbert and the Comedy Central ad sales team, or if it's just smart exploitation of an opportunity.  But here's a brand that's not taking itself too seriously, and their response to Colbert's "slight" seems in character with their new positioning and attitude.

I might even do as the ad says at the bottom -- "This is not over.  Tune into The Colbert Report November 12 on Comedy Central."

Oh,I found this Miracle Whip spot on YouTube.  When I checked this morning, the 45-second clip had more than 23,000 views.  You can see it here.  

Bad Idea -- new Hershey's packaging

I'm sure the folks at Hershey's thought they had a great idea when they decided to market their Ice Breakers breath mints in small clear blue or orange packets that melt in your mouth, giving a burst of flavor as the packet dissolves.

Bad Idea, it turns out. 

MSNBC reports that police in Philadelphia are having a problem with the packaging, because the packets look very much like heat-sealed plastic packets that cocaine is often sold in.  Police fear a child who knows the Ice Breakers come in those little blue or orange packets could mistakenly swallow a bag of coke.

A Philly Police Inspector told the Philadelphia Daily News that the packaging glorifies the drug trade.  A spokesman for Hershey's responded with, "It is not intended to simulate anything."

I believe the Hershey's people on this.  I don't think they would intentionally try to market a product by making it look like a dangerous drug.  But by defending the packaging without taking further action, they may do themselves -- and some young children -- real harm.

Having been warned about the possibility of child making a horrible mistake and swallowing a bag of cocaine, possibly with lethal results, why would this family-oriented company wait until such a tragedy occurs?

Hershey's should take the initiative and recall the packaging that's now out there, and quickly get the product out in another form that cannot be mistaken for a drug.  Then they'll turn a Bad Idea into a good one that can make them lots of money for many years to come, without harming any kids or the company's reputation.