Ribs-a-poppin

Back when I was just knee-high to a pot-bellied pig, Labor Day used to mark the end of white gloves and white shoes for the ladies. I still remember my mom wearing gloves and a hat to every nice function she went to. Nowadays, though, no one wears gloves unless they're skiing, and Labor Day means the end of the summer barbeque season. Well I don't know about you, but I think 'que tastes pretty good in the fall, too. So we're going to have a little pork barbeque blow-out at Running Rooster. We've marked our succulent Memphis BBQ Baby Back Ribs down to $7.99 per pound from now through the end of September. Meal combo prices have come down as well.

If you haven't tried our ribs and you like good barbeque, you owe it to yourself to come have a taste. We'll gladly give you a sample, that's how proud we are of these. Our ribs are smoked low and slow over real hickory wood that we import from Texas. We use our own special dry spice rub to flavor the meat and they come wet or dry, meaning sauced or not, as you like it. They are juicy and fall from the bone tender, as only baby back ribs can be. Pop on in. They are warm and ready to go anytime after 4pm.

New lunch items: New Pavo-Avo Sandwich, Chicken Tostada Salad, and Bourbon-Mustard Ham Sandwich

What's a Pavo-Avo you ask? No it's not the latest caffeine-in-a-can energy drink fad, its our new turkey and avocado sandwich. Turkey and avocado, of course, is a classic sandwich combination. The Pavo-Avo takes the delicious combo of juicy turkey and silky avocado, puts them on soft focaccia bread with mayo and locally grown lettuce and tomato, then adds a sprinkling of chipotle to accent the flavor. Delicious. Oh, the goofy name? Well, partly it's just to entertain us when people try to order it, but it is also a combination of the Spanish word for turkey (Pavo) and of course Avocado. Available starting Wednesday the 13th.

Also new this month is our Chicken Tostada Salad. If you've tried our Chicken Enchiladas at dinner, you know what an authentic unique flavor our hand-made Guajillo Chile sauce brings to that dish. We take the same chicken and Guajillo sauce filling, place it in a large tostada shell with black beans, lettuce, salsa, cheese, olives, and fresh avocado. It's the latest in our lineup of great salads. Starts Monday the 18th.

Lastly, you may have noticed that we haven't had the ham sandwich on the menu for a little while now. That was to make room for a couple new lunch items. Now it's time to bring the classic ham & cheese sandwich back, but we're going to dial up the flavor a little bit for something different. The new Bourbon-Mustard Ham Ciabatta uses the same high quality naturally smoked ham as before, but we've added a sweet mustard and bourbon (real bourbon, not the extract) spread that really accents the ham. When you add caramelized red onions and serve the whole thing warm, that's a great sandwich. Available now.

Aces Wild Contest

We've started a new twist on our referral program that improves the rewards, adds a little fun, and gives you a chance to win a free meal on the spot. It's called Aces Wild, and it is very low tech but pretty fun nonetheless. When you come in to the store to get dinner, ask to play Aces Wild. You draw a card from our Rooster deck. If that card is an ace, you instantly win a Free Family Chicken Dinner. It's been a long time since I took statistics in high school but I believe your odds of winning are about 1 in 13. That's the best contest I've heard of in a long time.

And win or not, you're not done with that card yet. We still need help spreading the word about our new hot dinners, and the Aces Wild contest can help. We will cut your card in half and ask that you give half to a new potential Running Rooster customer. Encourage them to come in and try dinner, and they get 25% OFF their first meal just by presenting that half card. Once they've come in for a dinner, you can turn in the other half and you also get a nice 25% discount. So cut the deck and good luck!

Fundraisers Back In Full Swing

Moms everywhere are doing cartwheels of joy on the front lawn, so school must be back in session. And that means that we have kicked off a new season of fundraisers here at Running Rooster. Last week, the moms and dads of Sacred Heart were in. This week, the fundraiser is for Ladd Lane Elementary followed by Cerra Vista on the 18th, and finally Spring Grove School the week of the 25th. All of our fundraisers are listed on the monthly menu calendars that you can pick up at the store or download and print from our website.

So if you are connected in some way with any of these groups, then come in during the appropriate week and don't forget to mention that you want your purchase credited toward the fundraiser. 10% of your purchase (more than any of the big chains donate, by the way) goes toward that group, but only if you mention it! We all know these groups can use the funds, and you get a good lunch or dinner to boot.

FUN FRUIT

Last week for the Hazel Hawkins Juvenile Diabetes Fundraiser, Brenda came up with a very cute and fun, but more importantly, healthy dessert alternative for kids. That is FUN FRUIT. Fun Fruit is a single serving of fresh cut fruit (pineapple, strawberries, grapes, and nectarine) arranged to look like a face.

A bunch of the moms who came in loved the idea, so we're going to keep it up a little while. We know that our Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chewy Brownies are irresistible (our own kids want them constantly) but we also understand that you may not want your kids eating something like that every night for dessert. FUN FRUIT is a great alternative that appeals especially to younger kids because of the funny looking face.

"UNCLE"

We decided to stop selling soup during the summer because there was so little demand for it, compared to earlier. Apparently, however, there is a hardcore soup eating base at the center of the more centrist and broader soup consuming public. One of these hardcore soup fans is a certain long-haired blond with whom I happen to share a home as well as an office, so you can see where this is going. Another gentleman informed us that he was mad we didn't have soup anymore and he wasn't coming back until we did. Brenda was threatening to organize the radical wing into a protest in front of the store.

Never let it be said that I'm not the kind of man who caves in to pressure. I most definitely know when I am beat. Therefore, for the past week we have again been offering soup at lunchtime. The choice varies, so ask what we have when you come in.

Customer Comment:

07/24/2006
10:13 PM

Hi Jim and Brenda, We just had the most delicious chicken dinner with side dishes that Carlton picked up on the way home from work. Every dish was delicious and I was sooooooooo happy not to have to cook in this heat. Also, it tasted better than when I cook it at home. ... There is really nowhere in Hollister that has healthy home style food that you can get as takeout. There were also plenty of leftovers so I think we will be having some delicious lunches too!
-email feedback

Upcoming Dinner Menu

You can always see our menu by checking our website menu pages, or by downloading and printing our monthly menu, or by getting a copy of the monthly menu at the store. Here are your choices for the next couple of weeks:

Regular Menu Choices:

Hot Daily: Wood-Roasted Garlic Rosemary Chicken, Memphis BBQ Baby Back Ribs, Marinated Grilled Tri-Tip (all available a la carte or as a dinner combo);
Chilled Daily: Old-fashioned Lasagna, fresh-made Pesto, and Dinner Salads (Chicken Walnut, Caesar, Cobb, and Shrimp Louie);
Fridays and Saturdays: 1/2 pound Gourmet Hamburgers served fresh from the grill.

Daily Menu Specials:

This Week: Chicken Pot Pies, Mel's Diner Meatloaf, and Seafood Enchiladas;
Next Week: Chicken Enchiladas, Super Mario Spaghetti, and Farmhouse Pot Roast (It's back, yeah!).

Subscribers Discount

This is the time of year when normal sane people swear that the whole retail industry has got a screw loose. Yes, I'm talking about the increasing encroachment of holiday marketing and decorations into early fall. It's ridiculous. Costco has those light-up lawn snowmen already on display, and I wouldn't be surprised if Macy's doesn't launch some kind of "Halloween with Santa" promotion this year. I'm not the first nor the last to complain about the cynical exploitation of our great traditions to feed the shopping economy. Reminds me of a great 1970's movie about another cynically exploitative industry.

Well this is one retailer who refuses to play this insane game. September is for Indian Summer, October is for Halloween, November is for Thanksgiving, and I don't want to hear "fa-la-la" or see twinkling lights before I've had my Turkey-Day turkey, thank you very much. If I were Santa, I'd be pretty ticked at this co-opting of my main gig. OK, I feel better now. You can put away the sedative.

Which brings me to this week's discount phrase: "Just say no to ho-ho-ho." Catchy, ain't it? In our store, saying this little Kris Kringle jingle (sorry) gets you a nice 10% across-the-board discount. Saying it at another store will probably get you escorted out the door, but if enough of us rise up mad as heck and refuse to shop for the G.I. Joe with the Kung Fu Grip until at least the afternoon of November 23rd, maybe we can reclaim fall and all the wonderful things we used to enjoy about it. If it makes you feel better, get up out of your chair, go to the window, open it, and yell it to the world. Remember to use this phrase for a 10% discount on every order at Running Rooster (including lunch).

And a free dessert to those who know the movie referenced by the clues above. And no, it isn't "Trading Places". The G.I. Joe thing is a red herring.

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