The show will stray away from the “reality” aspect that TLC is well known for and will instead be in the form of a traditional instructional cooking show featuring traditional Italian recipes.

Well first, to go over a little history on the restaurant chain.  They were founded by the Marriott Corporation in the late 1960s.  Around their peak between the 70s and 80s, they had around 650 restaurants around the NJ, MD, PA and VA area.  However, in 1990 they sold the chain to Hardee’s in a plan to exit the fast food business.  They converted any of the non-franchised restaurants into Hardee’s restaurants, but due to a customer revolt, turned them back into Roy Rogers restaurants again.  Hardee’s ownership of the Roy Rogers franchise eventually failed because their quality of food was not the same as the original Roy Rogers.  Hardee’s eventually sold all of their Roy Rogers locations to McDonalds, Wendy’s and Boston Market.  And like that………..they were pretty much gone.  But not quite yet.

In 1997 CKE Restaurants (Plamondon) acquired Hardee’s from Imasco, but Imasco held on to the Roy Rogers trademark and franchise system. Plamondon negotiated with Imasco for about three years before a private purchase agreement was reached in 2002.  Roy Rogers was relaunched as Roy Rogers Franchise Company, LLC in 2002 when Plamondon Companies bought the trademark and franchise system from Imasco, the former owner of Hardee’s.  Plamondon interestingly enough, is owned by Jim Plamondon and Peter Plamondon Jr., the two sons of Peter Plamondon Sr., head of the restaurant division at Marriott when the Roy Rogers brand was created.

Currently the restaurant chain is mainly operated by  HMSHost (formerly Host Marriott Services), who owns the couple dozen Roy Rogers found on rest stops on the eastern region.  There are only around 18 company owned Roy Rogers while the rest is owned by franchises.  It’s kind of a nostalgic and exciting occurrence when one actually finds a stand alone Roy Rogers that isn’t attached to a rest stop of some sort.  The company is currently trying to encourage franchisees to open more stores on the northeast region.  Roy Rogers has also launched a new website at http://www.royrogersrestaurants.com and also now operate  Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube accounts.

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Where have you ran into a Roy Rogers, and is the one you found any good?  Finding a Roy Rogers is like a special event these days.  I for one, have planned car pools simply to visit a Roy Rogers that we heard existed through rumors, secret messages and carrier pigeons.  Let us know where we can find us some “FIXENS”, will ya?

Laura offers many different private culinary services to her customers.  Clients can have all of their meals for the week prepared and delivered straight to their door.  Many other services are available including tailgate parties, backyard bbq and elegant dinner parties, baby and bridal showers, and a private dinner prepared for two.  Laura also offers private cooking lessons for those who would like to cook more for themselves.

Hiring a private chef has many benefits.  It allows working families to spend more time together at dinner.  For those that are constantly on the go, it eliminates the health problems that constantly ordering take-out and fast food can cause.  And for those that like to entertain guests, it allows the host to spend time and mingle at their parties instead of being stuck in the kitchen the entire party.

If you’d like to hire The Moonlight Chef for your next party, event, or own private household, you can visit her website at http://www.themoonlightchef.net/ or search for “The Moonlight Chef” on Facebook.

Red Bank RiverCenter is presenting Dine Downtown along with the New Jersey Restaurant Association to promote local restaurants and to stimulate the economy.  The first event started 5 years ago and has been a hit ever since it started.

For more details and a list of restaurants visit: http://www.redbankrivercenter.org/dinedowntown/index.cfm

http://poll.fm/2acaz

Many beer drinkers take great pride in developing their own palette and choice of beers, and just like wine drinkers have their favorite regions, brands or styles. The explosion of micro-breweries in North American and the broadened availability of items such as wheat beer, stout, ale and pilsner have broadened Americans” knowledge and appreciation for beer that is not mainstream.

The modern, educated beer drinkers will argue that beer shall be enjoyed from a beer mug and not directly from the bottle, which is often otherwise in the case in American culture. The American Beer Mug, which is a classic dating back to the Wild West, is broadly considered to bring out the beer”s qualities and taking it to its full capacity. Generally, a thick beer mug will also keep the temperature of the beer down – which is an important attribute since American beer-drinkers traditionally prefer their beers cold.

So just what does the beer mug add to the beer?

According to John Haglaund, a research scientist with the Carolina Institute of Food & Beverage, the beer flavor experience is a combination of oxidation (beer”s interaction with the environment it is in), the exposure to light (or lack thereof) and temperature.

The beer was developed to be enjoyed cold and hence a mug and material that is able to keep a temperature is the most ideal.

The beer is often poured directly from a dark bottle that protects it from destructive sun rays and light rays, or directly from the tap – as a result there is no need for a mug with colored glass, other than for fun.

The oxidation process begins immediately when a beer is poured into the beer mug which is why it is important to enjoy a beer within 30 minutes of pouring to appreciate the flavor that was intended at point of brewing and bottling.

The design of the sturdy, thick-glassed beer mug was not just accidental, but was optimized to maintain all the qualities from brewing and bottling. Elaborate tests conducted by Mr. Haglaund showed a more rapid decline of the beer”s flavor when poured into a regular glass. The test further concluded that the thick bottom allowed the carbon dioxide that causes the bubbles in the beer to prevail by up 20% longer than in a traditional glass. According to the test, a thinner, regular glass will eliminate carbon dioxide by its more rapid loss of temperature.

So when you are enjoying a beer, ale, pilsner or stout – go for a high quality Beer Mug – it will make your beer taste better and last longer

DiscountMugs.com is a large distribution company based in Miami, Florida. They are web-based and factory-direct which allows them to keep prices lower than the rest of the competition. They also have a huge selection of glassware from champagne flutes and wine glasses to shot glasses and beer mugs.

It’s called the French Paradox — the link between the low rate of heart disease among the French and their fat-laden diet was a daily dosage of red wine. Well, there’s no denying the results of that study. But what the public doesn’t know is that the health value of beer has been known, documented and applied for centuries. But there are folks out there who don’t want you to know about it (I wonder why).

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