Not so very long ago, new restaurant rollouts in this town were conceived along the lines of Colin Powell’s famous doctrine for military engagement: If you’re going to fight, use overwhelming force. Restaurateurs shocked diners with giant, spangled rooms, awed them with inventive culinary techniques executed by imperious superstar chefs, then pummeled them into submission with a multitude of menu choices and highly sugared cocktail drinks. But these days, with the city’s upmarket restaurant community tucked in a protective crouch, culinary entrepreneurs have something more elemental in mind. At all levels, glitz and grandeur have been replaced by simplicity and economy. Neighborliness and congeniality are in, and destination dining is out. Your goal, if you’re crazy enough to open a new restaurant in the midst of this economic tsunami, isn’t to dazzle, distract, or even entertain. It’s to cut your costs as much as possible, provide a soothing bunker of comfort for your customers, and, above all else, survive.
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