So imagine you could put your own food business...

[Lugaru]

Congrats… you just won the lottery and you can put up any restaurant or food related business you have ever dreamed of, from your own canning place to a “fifth avenue fine restaurant”. So what would you do with the cash?

I dream of setting up a nice place on one of the posher streets in Boston (Newbury st.) that reflects the more refined European influences in Mexican cooking… in other words the “we will slap you if you ask for a chimichanga” style restaurant. Not a single tex mex or western creation… it would all be southern Mexico classics made with finer ingredients. And in the middle? Myself, surrounded by 3 grills where I would be constantly cooking steak, sausages and a variety of organ meats for tacos while flipping through my huge list of “rock in Spanish“ mp3‘s.

Especially I would like it to have a nice bar where I could send my patrons complimentary spicy creations to keep them drinking, much like a place I used to frequent which I wont be mentioning due to the kind of… bar… it was.

Any way’s people would get to try lesser known Mexican delicacies such as peppers in Nogada (peppers stuffed with ground meat, fruit and spices covered in a creamy walnut and pomegranate sauce) and quail in rose petal sauce besides the obvious bar and grill setup.

Also the most important part… fresh tortillas. I would set up a tortilla factory (its not very bulky, it’s a similar belt and resistance heater system that some pizza places use) so that there would be no problem in supplying baskets of fresh and hot corn and wheat tortillas to the patrons.

Ok… what’s your fantasy business?

 

[pdswife]

I'd open a kitchen/houseware store
and have chefs give cooking demos and cooking lessons.

 

[Erik]

I would have a small intimate, romantic restaurant, serving generous portions of wonderful comfort food.

 

[luvs]

i'd have an ultra-modern place with awesome decor and food.

 

[Chopstix]

I would buy a lovely house in the south of France, turn it into a bed and breakfast, serve wonderful food (two fixed menus per day), and make lots of friends among my guests.

 

[AllenOK]

This is something I've actually given some thought.

I know a town, back in OK, where my sister and her husband live. Two major highways cross there. This town, while not terribly big, has NO BBQ restaurants. Open up a BBQ place, nothing to upscale, as it's rather cheap to do, after you buy all the meat. I might even try to cater to the trucking crowd. I may have to buy/build a larger place, lots of parking, and even stay open 24/7, as most truckers run at night nowadays.

 

[masteraznchefjr]

ill just open a resturant on the waterfront of dc with my friends. Itll be an International House of Cookery or sumthin lol.

 

[Lugaru]

I'd open a kitchen/houseware store
and have chefs give cooking demos and cooking lessons.

I would go... a lot of the little I know I learned at such a place. Back home this lady ran "casa elina" which was basically a cooking import shop where you could find all the asian and american stuff you needed. Her son ran the register (chatting on the pc all day) and her or her husband gave a variety of cooking classes in the back of the buisness (she had a kitchen set up in a patio) which she announced in the newspaper a week in advance at a pretty small cost (let's say like the equivalent of 20-30 bucks a head).

I remember me and my mother being the only one's who showed up for the "sushi" one and since we where pretty good at sushi and to still turn a profit she got into a variety of oldschool countryside dishes like hotpots, this hearty fishead miso stew and a variety of other little comfort foods. I really loved casa elina, it was also a great place to get a bottle of wine when you are underaged

 

[choclatechef]

I would open a Soul Food school.

I would teach all of the old ways I learned as a child to those kids today who are interested in learning.

 

[Audeo]

And I would open a confectionary right next door to Choclatechef so I could eat constantly from the SF menu!

I can see it now with huge front windows casing tons of truffles, taffies, hard candies and lollipops and huge poured sugar stands...! And lots of kids on field trips to see how it all is made, especially around the holidays!

 

[Caine]

I would sooner fill a bathtub up with hot water, sit in it, and slit my wrists than open a restaurant and spend 12 to 14 hours a day, on my feet, over a hot stove.

 

[MJ]

I would open up a Hooters restaurant. I would be the manager and put in long hours

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

If money were truly no object, I would open a restaurant mall. It would have distinct restaurants, each with its own theme. It would have everything from a dinner theater, to a Chucky Cheese style eatery. The most ambitious of the restaurants would be a "challenge me and my chefs" place where all kinds of fresh foods would be stocked. Each chef would have to prove to me that they are well versed in a host of different dishes and cooking techniques. There would be no menu. The customer would come in with the menu they wanted and we would choose from our wide stockpile of ingredients and make it for them. We obviously wouldn't each know hjow to make every dish, but with 6 or 7 chef's each specializing in East Indian, or European, or Oriental, or one of many cuisine styles, and with a good knowledge of cooking techniques, we could make most anything. And of course, the patrons get to watch the cooking process.

Oh, and don't forget the sandwich shop. There's the obvious potential for extreme creativity there. Think BreathKillers and Classics

If money were an object, but I had enough to do it, I would love to open my own cullinary school and teach cooking. Of course I'd have to get some type of certification so as to comply with the law.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[kyles]

I would buy the Railway Hotel in my town of Ramsbottom, and completely gut the place. By day it would offer traditional English Ales, very good quality sandwiches, salads and cakes, as well as picnic baskets for the people catching the steam train. All the food would be fresh, sourced from local suppliers, and nothing would be cooked from frozen or dried. I would have innovative drinks for the non drinkers like smoothies, traditional english soft drinks like Black Beer and Raisin (which is completely non alcoholic)

By evening it would become a cocktail bar, and have space to dance (you can't dance anywhere in this town).

 

[Bangbang]

I would open up a soup kitchen and shelter for the homeless serving soulfood....I mean good Soul Food.

Fried Chicken
Gravy
Pork Chops
Greens
Gumbo
Liver and Onions
Cornbread
Corn
Fried Fish
Fried Okra
Fried Cabbage

 

[DampCharcoal]

I like the idea of a bed n breakfast. There's a brick Inn in my hometown that dates from early 1800s and was a stop on the Underground Railroad and still has the old hitching posts out front. Right now, the first floor is used by an insurance agency and the second and third floor are used for storage. A moderately price menu and comfortable surroundings with plenty of antique furniture, paintings, etc. would fit the bill nicely. If that doesn't work out, I'll just hang out at MJ's restaurant!

 

[Russell]

opening a bakery on nassau street or witherspoon street. (They are in NJ, Princeton). Bucky know's what it would be called.

 

[choclatechef]

I would open up a soup kitchen and shelter for the homeless serving soulfood....I mean good Soul Food.

Fried Chicken
Gravy
Pork Chops
Greens
Gumbo
Liver and Onions
Cornbread
Corn
Fried Fish
Fried Okra
Fried Cabbage

See, I knew you was a sweetie Bang!

 

[pdswife]

I'd open a kitchen/houseware store
and have chefs give cooking demos and cooking lessons.

I would go... a lot of the little I know I learned at such a place. Back home this lady ran "casa elina" which was basically a cooking import shop where you could find all the asian and american stuff you needed. Her son ran the register (chatting on the pc all day) and her or her husband gave a variety of cooking classes in the back of the buisness (she had a kitchen set up in a patio) which she announced in the newspaper a week in advance at a pretty small cost (let's say like the equivalent of 20-30 bucks a head).

I remember me and my mother being the only one's who showed up for the "sushi" one and since we where pretty good at sushi and to still turn a profit she got into a variety of oldschool countryside dishes like hotpots, this hearty fishead miso stew and a variety of other little comfort foods. I really loved casa elina, it was also a great place to get a bottle of wine when you are underaged [/quot


Sounds like a great place Lugaru. There was a place like this in Bellevue but, it's closed now. I'm on the search for a new one.

 

[jkath]

I'd want a place, near a big lake, possibly Tahoe near Emerald Cove, that was constructed of brick. In the back would be a big indoor atrium/patio area that resembled an english garden, full of lavendar, rosemary, lemon balm, basil, etc...(which of course, would supply ingreds) Inside, there would be a few large fireplaces, with comfortable leather, brass tack-studded armchairs and the mood would be calm & quiet, with classical music. The food served would be the finest steaks, such as filet mignon stuffed with bleu cheese, or with a bechamel & avocado sauce. Fresh pastas would serve as courses, as well as salads that had dozens of different types of lettuces, all mixed together. There would be a classic feel to the place, as though it had been there forever. Desserts would be made fresh, daily, depending on the farmers market's fresh fruits.
Each Sunday there would be brie & fruit plates, along with wine, for those who just needed a break from the hustle & bustle of life.
On Saturday nights, there would be live jazz, of course.