Tablebases.com Blog

Update 5/30/14: A European company is now working on 3D printing not just candy, but actual foods. FastCoExist.com reports that Bizoon, a German food company, is attempting to print everything from broccoli to chicken, using a method of blending the food down into a 3D printable material. The project, which is still a long ways from completion (estimates say the end of 2015), is focused on nursing homes and those with conditions that prevent them from eating solid foods. Rather than endure the current fare, which is basically food blended down into a paste, the technology would allow for these processed foods to appear more like their original forms. Continue reading →

Getting food and supplies up to the International Space Station (ISS) is quite an endeavor, requiring tens of thousands of dollars as well as extremely precise planning. NASA is hoping to ease the process, as well as provide fresh food to astronauts, by growing crops on the ISS. The experiment marks the next step in NASA's VEGGIE program, an attempt to set up a sustainable food system aboard the station. While some astronauts have successfully grown plants on the ISS, this marks the first time that NASA will attempt to grow vegetables in space for human consumption. Continue reading →

A brand new brewery and grill has set up shop in the heart of Monterey, California, a coastal town about 2 hours south of San Francisco. The Alvarado Street Brewery and Grill (named after the main street downtown) opened in May of this year, and features beers on tap, brewed in house, as well as an expansive dining area. The interior design, which utilized our cast iron K series table bases to great effect, is fluid and inviting, creating a great place to stop and escape Monterey's notoriously foggy weather. Showcasing big, bold images of vintage beer containers, as well as modern touches like metal chairs and bar stools, the restaurant balances the old and new in a coastal town with rich history. Continue reading →

This is one of those bytes of news that falls under the "duh" category. Facebook just announced that restaurants in the US and Canada can now add menus to their social pages. Using SinglePlatorm from Constant Contact, an online listing service (the same service which provides menus on Foursquare and Yelp!), restaurants can upload their menus to Facebook. The real news behind this story is not the headline, but rather, the implication, as Facebook increasingly encompasses the details of our everyday lives. Continue reading →

http://vimeo.com/52516698 Consumer focused technology is starting to find interesting applications in restaurants and bars. iPad's are now used as POS systems in trendy coffee shops, Yelp! is the new word-of-mouth, and in-store charging stations for smartphones are becoming an increasingly common sight. Software, too, has been advancing, with mobile applications (such as Square Payments, OpenTable, etc) that aim to help restaurants interact with customers in new ways. Enter NoWait, a suite of guest list and reservation management software that runs on smartphones and tablets. NoWait has two parts: a business facing app, and one aimed at consumers. Each handles a different side of the service. Continue reading →

America's taste in booze has been changing over the last several years, with consumers looking for more adventurous takes on classic spirits and cocktails. As we've covered, whiskey specifically has seen a huge growth in market share recently, with consumers gravitating towards the complex profiles of the aged varieties. Since producing aged liquors inherently requires extended amounts of time, availability of super-preimium aged spirits has been dwindling while their prices rise. A new piece of technology, called the SonicPrep, is making big waves in the drinks category, and a New Orleans bar has been testing it's usefulness in truncating the drawn out aging process, from years, to mere minutes. Continue reading →

  Have you ever eaten Brussels sprouts and thought, "These aren't Kale-y enough", or enjoyed a kale salad and wondered, "why aren't these shaped like brussels sprouts"? Well, wonder no more! As Modern Farmer reports, UK vegetable breeding company, Tozer Seeds, has come up with a hybrid brussels sprout/kale vegetable, called the Kalette™ ("Flower Sprouts" in the UK). The produce is the result of a 15 year long process that, fortunately, saw results just as America's kale obsession has reached new heights. Continue reading →

Google Glass, a wearable device that connects to a users smartphone and provides information on a small screen above your right eye, has had a tumultuous year since its debut. Early adopters, dubbed "Explorers", were exclusively chosen by Google via Twitter, though the program has since expanded. Those explorers have been testing the capabilities, usefulness and social acceptability of Google Glass for the past year. In a year when American concerns over personal privacy have spiked, the glasses-like device, equipped with a camera, has been ill received in many establishments and communities. Now, some recent projects involving the use of Google Glass in back-of-house operations are showing that the device may have a place in restaurants and bars after all. Continue reading →

We know that choosing a table base can get a bit confusing, no matter if you are filling a restaurant with 40 tables, or choosing pieces for your dining room. That is why we are continuously looking to improve our customer service, to help make your choice as easy as possible. We are pleased to announce that we have indeed made it even simpler for you to find answers, using the live chat feature on our website! Just click on the green chat bar in the bottom right hand corner of any page on our website, and type away. You'll be connected to a customer service representative who will listen carefully, and give you the best advice available. Whether you are looking for a specific product, checking stock, or just need a quick freight quote, we'll do our best to provide prompt responses and thorough answers. And as always, you can call us at 1-800-258-2320 to speak with a representative, or find us on Facebook, Twitter & Google+. We look forward to hearing from you! Continue reading →

Our customer photos this week come courtesy of Phil West, owner of the Third Rail, a cocktail bar in San Francisco's Dogpatch. This industrial neighborhood has experienced a major transformation in recent years, and is now a bustling area of the city, with butcheries, fantastic small restaurants, and (now) a great craft cocktail bar. A bench is built into the wall across from the bar, creating seating for 8 small, hardwood tables, paired with our C14 Table Base. The tidy bar features mid-century inspired furniture, and some big statement pieces to remind you of the establishments inspiration (the 3rd street rail line). Continue reading →