Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/495913
TheAssociatedPress NEW YORK Olive Garden has a tablet for two wait- ing for you. The Italian restaurant chain said Tuesday that it is installing Ziosk com- puter tablets at all of its U.S. locations so custom- ers can order and pay by touch screen. Olive Garden, owned by Florida's Darden Restau- rants Inc., started using Zi- osk tablets in some of its restaurants last year. The chain said Tuesday that locations using the devices have experienced faster dining times and in- creased tip percentages for wait staff. It will start rolling them out at additional restau- rants next month and ex- pects the 7-inch devices to be in all of its more than 800 U.S. restaurants before year's end. "We've been focused on improving the dining expe- rience at every touch point, and we're excited to give our guests the ability to cus- tomize their visit by lever- aging the technology of Zi- osk's tabletop tablets," Dave George, Olive Garden pres- ident, said in a statement. Tablets have made ap- pearances in airports, where travelers can have food delivered to where they sit, but are still lim- ited in the traditional res- taurant scene. Ziosk tablets are in use at Chili's restau- rants and are in the process of launching nationwide at Red Robin. Darden's stock fell 47 cents to $68.13 in afternoon trading. RESTAURANT Tablet for 2 waiting at an Olive Garden near you soon By Jessica Yadegaran San Jose Mercury News Dessert trends come and go, but there are few ingre- dients that excite pastry chefs more than strawber- ries. The perfect accompa- niment to ice cream, tortes, shortcakes and more, those crimson berries herald a season filled with the sweetest possibilities. Samantha Miotke, the executive pastry chef at Palo Alto's Mayfield Bakery & Cafe, calls strawberries "the most exciting thing in the bakery right now. Strawberries are my favor- ite fruit so I'm probably more excited than most," says Miotke. "A strawberry at its prime and in its sim- plicity can be a dessert on its own." Miotke has fond child- hood memories of fresh ber- ries served simply, dipped in sour cream and brown sugar. But Miotke, a former res- ident chef for Sur La Table, enjoys indulging her sweet- est senses, too. On Easter, Mayfield debuted Miotke's lavish strawberry shortcake made with lemon-tinged biscuits and Grand Marnier vanilla pastry cream. "It's simple enough to make at home, but still has that wow factor," she says. The key with ripe strawberries is to keep them at room temperature and enjoy them within a day. Don't wash them un- til you are ready to eat them, Miotke says, and if you must refrigerate your berries, do so in a colan- der, lined with a paper towel. And don't limit your berry-consumption to des- sert. Miotke tops pancakes with fresh, sliced straw- berries and tosses them into spinach salad with toasted almonds, goat cheese and a balsamic vin- aigrette. "I feel like strawberries are one of those things that you shouldn't have to manipulate too much," she says. San Francisco pastry chef and cookbook au- thor Emily Luchetti sub- scribes to the same high strawberry standards. They fit in perfectly with Luchetti's #dessertwor- thy movement, which she launched to help Ameri- cans curb their sugar in- take by saving treats for special occasions -- and then by choosing sweets that are truly worthy of consumption. Strawberries, she says, have a power all their own: "There's that moment of si- lence where you put your spoon in and the world just stops because what you're putting in your mouth is so amazing." Added bonus: They're not just delicious, they're good for you, with more vi- tamin C per serving than an orange and enough nat- ural sweetness to thrill any palate. "Seasonal strawberries are so good and delicate that the trick when you're using them is not to mess it up," says Luchetti, who oversees the pastry pro- grams at San Francisco's Marlowe, Park Tavern and The Cavalier. "You want to show off the amazing flavors na- ture has produced." Luchetti loves sliced strawberries sprinkled with fresh thyme, or served alongside a slice of cake with a dollop of whipped cream. She's working on a strawberry-inspired me- ringue trifle for The Cav- alier, and she makes a blissful brown sugar me- ringue with creme fraiche that marries perfectly with fresh, hulled and quartered strawberries. But her favorite straw- berry pairing, she says, is a fluffy Goat Cheese Cake -- as opposed to a cheesecake— made by combining Laura Chenel chevre with sugar, vanilla, eggs, lemon zest and fresh lemon juice. Mmm, second- sworthy. Of course, you may think Berkeley's James Beard award-winning cook- book author Alice Med- rich would go straight for melted chocolate to pair with strawberries, but the dessert chef and First Lady of Chocolate is all about nuts. "Think about peanut but- ter and jelly. It's fruit and nuts," says Medrich, who serves her bourbon-in- fused peanut butter-choco- late torte with fresh straw- berry sauce. Actually, Medrich is such a strawberry fan — and in- cluded so many straw- berry references in her new book, "Flavor Flours" (Arti- san, 2014) — that her edi- tor suggested she spread some of that love among other berries. But, Medrich says, "ripe strawberries are just so luscious and deli- cious, they go with so many things." That list includes her sweet buckwheat sponge cake, which is served with fresh strawberries and cream with a twist. Med- rich adds a little rosewater at whipping time. Another favorite: strawberries atop vanilla ice cream with bal- samic vinegar and extra- virgin olive oil. She says, "My family jokingly calls that the vinaigrette sun- dae." STRAWBERRIES Spring desserts are blooming fast PHOTOSBYLIPOCHING—BAYAREANEWSGROUP A strawberry shortcake made with strawberries, sweet biscuit, Grand Marnier Diplomat cream, vanilla bean whipped cream and powdered sugar at Mayfield Bakery and Cafe in Palo Alto. Mayfield Bakery and Cafe pastry chef Samantha Miotke places Grand Marnier Diplomat cream on a sweet biscuit in a demonstration on how to make strawberry shortcakes at Mayfield Bakery and Cafe in Palo Alto. We'reonline!FollowusonTwitterandFacebookforupdatesandmore. Callustobookyourpartyspace! StateoftheArtArcade&PrizeRedemptionCenter Not vaild with any other offers or discounts. Good only at participating locations. Promotion subject to change. RedBluff•116W.BelleMillRoad•530.529.1760 WelcomeRodeoFans! WalnutSt. Main St. Antelope Blvd. 914 Walnut St., Red Bluff, CA 528-9496 MEXICAN RESTAURANT Authentic Mexican Food Open 9am - 9pm 7daysaweek L a C o r o n a Voted Best Mexican Restaurant in Tehama County Togo orders available Peking Chinese Restaurant DineIn,CarryOut&Lounge 860MainStreet 530-527-0523 10%Off yourticketwiththisad. Limit 1 coupon per ticket/table. No other discounts apply. Alcohol, taxes or gratuity are not included. Offer expires 4/30/15 2Bud'sBBQ 592 Antelope Blvd. Red Bluff ( In the old Pronto Market) M-F 11am-6pm • Sat. 11am-3pm • Closed Sunday (530) 528-0799 ★ BBQ PORK ★ BEEF ★ CHICKEN How about BBQ Pork Ribs with 2 large sides? $29.95 for the entire meal Callthismorning,pickitupthisevening *Limitedtoquantityonhand,it'snotmicrowaved WEDNESDAY SPECIAL DidyouknowwehaveGenuineBBQ? Not Microwaved!! Take15%offyourmeal with this ad dineinonly 723 Main St. 527.5470 www. palominoroom .com Prime Rib on Fridays nights Open Tues-Sat FOOD » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, April 15, 2015 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B4