Here at Resturant.com we like to keep up on the latest trends in the industry, especially those that concern consumer spending trends. A new research article published in an American Express Market Brief about restaurant trends contains some surprising facts about consumer’s online habits as relates to eating out. One thing that was readily evident was that although many people are using the Internet to interact with restaurants on the Web, far fewer of them have gotten used to the practice of actually making restaurant reservations online.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of consumers surveyed indicated they used social media on the Internet within the previous 30 days, and of those users, about a third (30%) used the net to find or follow a restaurant. The report also stated that about half (51%) of the consumers following restaurants online did so to find out about deals and coupons. Over a third said they went online to read restaurant reviews. Despite all the online activity available to connect restaurants with their customers these days, only 14% of respondents said they had actually used the Internet to make restaurant reservations online.

That only 14% of consumers have made online reservations is a pretty low figure considering the technical revolution has been in place for a few decades now. In an era of ubiquitous “intelligent” hand-held devices that are a cross between cell phones and laptops, one would think online restaurant reservations would be de rigueur by now.

The only logical conclusion is to assume that only a few people have gotten used to online restaurant reservation services so far because the technology is so very new and might be intimidating at first. The few consumers who do currently utilize online restaurant reservations services seem to be taking advantage of the convenience it offers as well as the at-any-hour services, instead of being restricted to calling only when the restaurant is open for business.

In this light it is easy to see that online restaurant reservation systems are likely to continue to grow in popularity and consumer usage due to the convenience and time-savings they offer. If your favorite restaurant is not yet open to online ordering, you might mention to them the next time you’re in. Any new way to bring in new customers and added revenue is always a great idea.

Here at Resturant.com we are always interested in anything that makes life and eating easier for busy people. Urbanspoon is an iPhone / iTouch application aimed at enhancing the dining-out experience for people (like most of us) who are overworked and short on time. It can help you find the right place to eat in your own hometown or somewhere unfamiliar out on the road. Urbanspoon can also help you select the restaurant that’s right for your mood at the time, or it can select one for you. The Urbanspoon iPhone program is derived from Urbanspoon the Web site, where a compilation of restaurant reviews from newspapers, Blogs, and individual diner’s experiences are published to help users select good places to eat.

The Urban Spoon app is free at all Apple App Stores, and once installed it asks only that you first register as a user in order to enable the nifty features it contains. One of the more entertaining features is called the “Shake” screen. The Shake screen looks sort of like a slot machine display. Three vertical rows containing your locations and locations near you are displayed on the left, the center row is filled with different types of cuisine, and the far right is occupied by different price categories. Simply “shaking” the phone in your hand will activate the “reels” and start them spinning, and when they stop a restaurant has been chosen for you. You can preview the selection the app has chosen by pressing on the restaurant name on the display. If you want another random selection, shake your phone again, that’s all there is to it.

Of course, the Urbanspoon app is not just about random choices, the program also allows you to lock in any or all of the parameters displayed onscreen and more narrowly define your search options. Selecting and locking-in “Mexican” on the center reel will cause the app to select a nearby Mexican restaurant for you. If you lock-in your location and a price range, Urbanspoon will select a restaurant in from the random cuisine list, but in the location and price range you specified. Any combination of the three parameters can be utilized or disregarded, and makes the app totally customizable for each user.

Urbanspoon knows your location through the iPhone’s built-in GPS function and allows you to go restaurant-exploring in other states and cities when traveling too. It is a handy and entertaining little app that lets you search restaurants and recommendations online while you’re on the go. Urbanspoon is compatible with any iPhone or iPod running iPhone 2.0 software.

Ketchup is a different kind of fun place to eat on Sunset Boulevard in the heart of Southern California. Located at 8590 Sunset Boulevard, Ketchup is a second story eatery located right on top of “the Sunset” complex. The glass-encased space is bathed in red neon light and decked out in clean white décor accented with red (ketchup colored). The entrance and elevator are located on the ground floor where a hostess station and patron’s waiting area are located. When your table is ready, you’ll take the elevator up to the second-floor dining area. Inside, rows of white floors, booths and chairs are set off by many ketchup-colored accessories and lend a trendy look to this newest restaurant venture created by the Los Angeles-based, Dolce Group of investors.

The mood created is that of an uber-modern family diner, huge windows yield great Hollywood views from floor to ceiling and the walls are decorated with red-themed paintings of ketchup bottles and tomatoes. More glass doors lead to an adjoining bar area, again in red with red candles all around. The atmosphere is undeniably romantic, if a bit ultra-modern. An extensive wine list is always available and the bar will make you any drink you like, but specializes in creative martinis using Kool-Aid to add exotic colors and flavors.

The menu at Ketchup features everything you’d expect to find at an American-style diner, but with a bit of an urban, upscale French-fried twist. You’ll find a variety of all the usual diner-style selections, but one thing remains a constant, everything comes with fries. You can order corndogs, hamburgers and chili. You can order seafood items like Mahi-Mahi, scallops and lobster wraps, or you can choose from a variety of salads like the Waldorf salad, Cobb salad and BBQ Chicken salad. If you order a steak or a chicken dinner you’ll need to sample the lobster mashed potatoes too. And if you tire of “regular” fries, Ketchup also serves great sweet potato fries with your choice of cayenne or garlic seasoning. Of course, all those French fries will need ketchup on them and Ketchup lives up to its name with a selection of five different types to choose from. Ranch, maple, mango, chipotle and “regular” flavored ketchups are all made from scratch on the premises daily.

The prices at Ketchup range from $10 to a lot more. Dinner and drinks for two is usually only about $100 though, which isn’t bad for a Hollywood restaurant these days. Ketchup is open for lunch and dinner, but reservations are recommended for both as the crowd often gathers early. See you there.

Online commerce is a fact of life for most retailers in the U.S. these days and nearly every business has a website of its’ own to allow the ordering of their products and services online. If numbers are proof, industry analysts predict revenues from online retail businesses will exceed a whopping $250 billion by the end of 2011. Among Internet retailers, restaurants have been some of the slowest businesses to adopt online practices. Pizzerias, however, are a different matter.

The business of online ordering has been a proven success in for the pizzerias that have tried it. The big pizza chain restaurants like Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Papa John’s have already embraced online ordering and now many independent pizzeria operators across the country are jumping on the bandwagon too. They are quickly learning that online ordering can help improve overall sales and increase the number and area of customers reached with their advertising. A strong online presence with ads, menus and ordering can give a smaller operator the same marketing power that the big guys enjoy.

Pizza Hut can handle Pizza Hut’s orders and Pizza Inn will handle their own orders too. The independent pizzerias that have online presence will probably be able to take care of the business that comes from their own sites as well. But what if you didn’t want to go to 13 different sites to order a pizza? What if you wanted to simply go to one Website and order your pizza from any restaurant of your choice, without restrictions on the store, price or location? Could you do it?

Now you can order just about any pizza, just about anywhere from just one Website, thanks to Pizza.com. The owner of the Website with the generic-sounding name has big plans for it, “It’s probably the best generic domain name in existence,’’ said Sean Moriarty, CEO of Pizza.com. Moriarty plans to develop Pizza.com into the most comprehensive pizza resource on the planet and online ordering is a big part of the plan.

Moriarty recognized that the big chains account for about 30% of all pizza sales in the U.S. That left 70% of the business to independent stores who each averaged about $500K in annual sales last year. Pizza’s popularity with younger customers and families, along with the delivery side of the business, indicated that online pizza ordering would probably be one of the first commercially successful applications of the new technology to enjoy widespread acceptance.

Pizza’s popularity has made it America’s favorite food and the delivery side of the business is a huge part of the success story. It is estimated 90% of the people ordering food online are ordering it for delivery. It was only natural that the technologically-savvy, younger pizza consumers would be the first to utilize online ordering, and that the rest of the pizza-consuming public would soon follow suit. The Website with the strongest direct, type-in name for Pizza on the Internet, Pizza.com, hopes to become your first stop online when you order your next pizza.

Everyone loves being treated to their favorite restaurant. That’s why a restaurant gift certificate is a great idea. A good meal is sure to be enjoyed, unlike a questionable sweater or a certificate to a store where they never shop. Gift certificates are often sold in restaurants, but they can also be found online. When you’re in search of restaurant gift certificates at lower cost to you, buying them online may be your best option.

Businesses commonly post their best deals on the internet. When word spreads about these deals, it encourages traffic to their websites which in turn increases traffic to their businesses. Clothing retailers and airlines do it, and restaurants do it as well. So while it’s not a bad deal to buy a restaurant certificate at it’s redeemable price, restaurants are willing to offer you better deals.

By doing a simple online search, you can find discounted restaurant gift certificates. These may be bought at a lower price that what they’ll eventually be redeemed for, sometimes significantly less. For example, it may be possible to pay $2 for a restaurant gift certificate that buys a $25 meal for a friend. There are often restrictions on these deals, such as that the certificate may only be used on weekdays and may not be used to purchase alcohol. When you’re getting a deal like this, though, such restrictions hardly matter.

A number of websites offer discount gift certificates – you have to search to decide which site offers the best deal. It may be the restaurant’s own site or it may be a site which offers coupon codes. In the case of coupon codes, you’ll likely need to copy to code they offer and enter it on the restaurant’s website when buying the gift certificate.

The discount will then be applied to your purchase as you proceed to the online checkout. Beware that coupon codes offered on websites don’t always work as they may be outdated. If the gift certificate is sold on the restaurant’s website, a code may be shown plainly on the website and it’s up to you as the buyer to enter it upon purchase. Even without coupon codes, it is common for discounts to be offered simply for purchasing restaurant gift certificates online.

When trying to find the perfect gift for your favorite graduate, newlyweds – whomever – start your search online to find the best discounts on restaurant gift certificates. You may even want to purchase one for yourself.

Who doesn’t love good food? Food can provide comfort when we need it. Food can transform an evening. Food can bring people together. It is essential for life. Since everyone has got to eat, it is crucial to know where to go. Some places receive a lot of hype, but are they really worth the craze?

There is no better way to determine which restaurants are best than trying them out for yourself. Unfortunately, its virtually impossible to hit every restaurant and you would inevitably run across some less than appetizing dished. Well, the next best way to find the best restaurants in town is to let other people try their food and tell you all about it. With a little research you can find the best burger in town in no time.

The web is such a useful tool. You can pull up a listing of every restaurant in your city, county or even state. Once you find a restaurant that seems appealing, then search for the reviews. An easy keyword search using the name of the place and location should provide you with plenty of opinions from people who have actually eaten there.

You can find out about the quality of service, the prices, wait times and even the overall atmosphere of the restaurant. People enjoy spreading the word when a place has really great food. They want others to enjoy it as much as them. The same goes for a place that has terrible food or incredibly lousy service. In order for a person to take the time to write a review, something needs to stand out to them. If a restaurant is mediocre, then there probably won’t be much information on them. Don’t fully dismiss them yet. The place may be new or might not generate the business it takes to accumulate plenty of reviews. They could very well be the best kept secret in town.

While restaurant reviews can be great and very informative, everyone has different taste, literally. One may find a paste sauce too bland but the person at the next table may think it needs less garlic. You may say it is the best sauce you’ve ever tasted! If you really want to know how wonderful a place is, take a gamble and try it out for yourself. Then write your own reviews and help some fellow food lovers out.

In cities and suburbs everywhere, Chinese cuisine is ubiquitous. Although a majority tend to focus on carry-out and delivery, families often add a visit to their local favorite Chinese food spot as part of their weekly or monthly routine. With such popularity, it’s quite remarkable how few Chinese food chains there seem to be. Nevertheless, there are a few eateries that make the list of best chain Chinese food restaurants that you should try.

Panda Express

If you’ve wandered into the food court at the local mall, chances are you’ve passed by a Panda Express. With over a thousand different locations, it is certainly the largest of all the chains. There is even a outlet within the Pentagon. The menu is pretty simple, but what they do, they do well. The entrees consist of such standards as Orange Beef and Kung Pao Chicken, and each come with a choice of white or brown rice or chow mein. It’s the perfect oasis for a quick Chinese food fix.

Walk To Wok

One of the newer chains that began in Europe and has since made its way to the States is Walk to Wok. It is similar to Panda Express in that it caters to those seeking food-to-go. However, as opposed to mall food courts, Walk to Woks can be found mostly in urban settings. Their design features a specific shade of orange and a “man walking” logo that has made their brand instantly recognizable. The meals follow a very simple 3-step process in which the customer chooses a type of rice or noodle, then a meat and finally a sauce. This results in quite a range of entree choices.

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro

Chinese food chains do not only offer carry-out. P.F. Chang’s provides quality sit-down meals and can be found around the country. The cuisine here is also a bit more sophisticated than that of the average take-out menu. Customer favorites are Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps and the Chengdu Spiced Lamb. They also offer an array of vegetarian and gluten-free options. P.F. Chang’s is a perfect place for celebratory meals or a romantic evening out.

Although you may already have your favorite local spot for Chinese cuisine, you never know when you’ll get that craving when you’re out of town. On such occasions, one of the best chain Chinese food restaurants that you must try luckily may be nearby.