National Restaurant Association Show at McCormick Place

Restaurant Industry on Display
McCormick Place hosted the annual National Restaurant Association 2011 conference once again. The show ran from Saturday, May 21 through Tuesday, May 24 (today). The exhibit floor was lined with companies offering products and services related to the restaurant industry. According to the NRA, the restaurant industry is “one of the nations largest private-sector employers, with 12.7 million employees, and is expected to post sales of $580 billion this year.”

Sensory Overload
Not only a feast for the eyes, the NRA show featured food prepared on-site and available for sampling. I enjoyed a host of meat and poultry options, including prime rib, chicken wings, roast pork, and lamb, which was my favorite. The rack of lamb I sampled was prepared in a Turbo Chef oven. The Turbo Chef  ventless oven cooked the lamb remarkably fast (about 10 minutes), but it tasted as if it had been roasted in a traditional oven. 

Chandelier made of wine glasses

Samples, Samples, Samples
I also sampled an assortment of desserts and snacks: cupcakes, ice cream, and potato chips. There were plenty of beverages to sample as well; I had a hot cup of coffee to go with my red velvet cupcake.

I hadn’t planned on eating my way through the show, but I’m not complaining. Not at all.

"2011 National Restaurant Association Conference"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

Is GrubHub Chicago's Next Big Thing?

Growing Fast in Chicago

According to Crain's ChicagoBusiness, GrubHub, based in Chicago, is growing. The company that “shows all the restaurants that deliver to you,” currently employs 100 people. Acccording to GrubHub CEO, Matt Maloney, the company plans on doubling that number this year. And that’s not all that’s doubling. Today GrubHub is in 13 markets, but expects to be in 26 markets in 2011.

This ad from GrubHub illustrates how their service works.

Ordering Food Online

GrubHub lists restaurant menus and phone numbers for free on its Web site. But a restaurant has to be signed on as a “partner” with GrubHub for you to be able to order through their site. Fifteen percent of a registered restaurant’s tab goes to GrubHub. In Chicago, less than 40 percent of the city’s 2,000 restaurants are signed on with GrubHub. 

80,000 Menus by Summer

At present, GrubHub has 13,000 menus listed, but has an ambitious plan to increase that number to 80,000 by summer. According to Maloney, pick up and delivery services are growing in the “double-digits” every year. Another impressive statistic from the National Restaurant Association (NRA) says that half of the $600 billion in revenue from restaurants today is from delivery, carry-out, and drive-thru.

 

Let's Hear From You

Have you ordered food through GrubHub or a similar site? What was your experience like? Are you a regular GrubHub customer? Please share your thoughts here.