NealD'Amico and Sons-Corporate Eatery
November 18th 2008 09:04
Through the years, D'Amico and Sons Italian fast-casual restaurants in the Twin Cities have made it clear that appealing to demographic groups far outweighs making interesting and tasty offerings.
In 2004, D'Amico changed some things about their menu. The menu boards themselves got a pink border and their best offering by far, the pan roasted pork loin and replaced it with chicken saltimboca. Other feminine friendly offerings came through, like the "chicken-walnut-apple salad." They did this because their research showed that rich, jobless moms are their key demographic.
I hadn't been there in a while, but they still make pretty good food even though almost none of it is freshly made; most of the meat is precooked as are some of the veggies, and the pasta salads aren't necessarily made every day. The one I went to was all new construction, so I really couldn't tell the difference between it and a Pot Belly Sandwich Works or some chain hell hole which I'm sure is what the D'Amico youngsters love. The Sausage Penne, a very tasty dish be it not traditional Italian, was still great. What changed are the pizzas which lost at least an inch in circumference and gained an inch of crust! They used to be the best brick oven pizzas in the Twin Cities but now are smaller, more expensive and options don't include one of their best offerings: a mushroom and fresh mozzarella with tomato puree. Nope, just a Neapolitan that I ate in 3 minutes.
The D'Amico bros obviously want this place to catch on around the country which wouldn't be bad in theory in that it could challenge the horrible Olive Garden, but expansion rarely comes without loss of quality and sacrificing originality for the almighty buck.
In 2004, D'Amico changed some things about their menu. The menu boards themselves got a pink border and their best offering by far, the pan roasted pork loin and replaced it with chicken saltimboca. Other feminine friendly offerings came through, like the "chicken-walnut-apple salad." They did this because their research showed that rich, jobless moms are their key demographic.
I hadn't been there in a while, but they still make pretty good food even though almost none of it is freshly made; most of the meat is precooked as are some of the veggies, and the pasta salads aren't necessarily made every day. The one I went to was all new construction, so I really couldn't tell the difference between it and a Pot Belly Sandwich Works or some chain hell hole which I'm sure is what the D'Amico youngsters love. The Sausage Penne, a very tasty dish be it not traditional Italian, was still great. What changed are the pizzas which lost at least an inch in circumference and gained an inch of crust! They used to be the best brick oven pizzas in the Twin Cities but now are smaller, more expensive and options don't include one of their best offerings: a mushroom and fresh mozzarella with tomato puree. Nope, just a Neapolitan that I ate in 3 minutes.
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