Sunday, March 9, 2014

Popular Restaurants in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Restaurants around America rely on local, regular patrons that provide a core revenue stream, along with tourism that can heavily increase the number of patrons who will visit. Some restaurants build a reputation and style through a long, successful tenure and, with it, a potentially strong client base with steady referrals. With a rich local history and a strong tourism industry, Santa Fe, New Mexico is home to many excellent restaurants throughout the small city.

Image Source: koat.com

The historic downtown plaza in Santa Fe is surrounded by restaurants and shops that help each other by referring clients and recommending destinations. Northern New Mexican food is slightly different than typical Tex-Mex or strictly Mexican food, relying heavily on green chile instead of salsas and hot red peppers. Green chile is a piece New Mexico heritage and pride that combines spice with rich flavor, especially when freshly roasted across the city. Popular restaurants around Santa Fe include Tomasita's, a local New Mexican favorite, along with Maria's, which claims to serve the best margaritas in the city. Fancier restaurants just off the downtown plaza include Geronimo, located on the art-rich Canyon Road.

In Santa Fe, it is quickly apparent that no Northern New Mexican restaurant would be complete with a strong selection of burgers. Unfortunately for recent tourists, the old, famous burger dive Bobcat Bites recently closed. Famous for their green-chile cheeseburgers, Bobcat Bites was located just outside of Santa Fe and was smaller than many studio apartments. As guests frequently tolerated two hour waits during off-peak hours, Bobcat was a local favorite. The owners have recently begun a new venture in downtown Santa Fe known as Santa Fe Bite, and tourists looking for the original famous location will now have to go downtown for their famous burgers.

Visit Pete Scamardo's website for more thoughts on popular dining across the United States and restaurant information.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

REPOST: America's Favorite Casual Restaurant Chains

Find out the most popular casual restaurant chains in America by reading this HuffingtonPost.com article.


Casual Restaurants
Image Source: huffingtonpost.com


Market Force Information, a consumer research company, has released the results of its recent casual restaurant chain survey. The study, which polled 7,000 individuals over the age of 18, found that Maggiano's is the most popular casual restaurant chain in the country.

Of the 114 chains studied, Olive Garden initially amassed the highest number of votes. But when viewed as a calculation of votes per location, Maggiano’s ranked first.

“This is the first year we included Maggiano’s in the study, and it shot straight to the top, even surpassing Cheesecake Factory, which claimed the title the past two years,” said Janet Eden-Harris, chief marketing officer for Market Force, in a press release. “Once considered a restaurant for special occasions, Maggiano’s is now attracting a broader customer base of business professionals and families who are drawn to its indulgent, value-driven dining experience,” she said.

See the results of the survey:



maggianos
Image Source: huffingtonpost.com


Market Force also broke down the survey results based on certain attributes like value, taste and more. When divided by various categories, P.F. Chang's took the lead. Besides Maggiano's and P.F. Chang's, several other chains were in the top five for all seven categories: Cheesecake Factory, Pappadeaux and Bonefish Grill.


market force
Image Source: huffingtonpost.com


The study also broke down favorite chains by type of cuisine, such as Italian food or breakfast food. Here are the results:



f
Image Source: huffingtonpost.com



For more about popular dining places across the United States, visit this Pete Scamardo Facebook page.