Boston Market Roasted Sirloin Earns Top MenuMasters Honor; USDA Choice Roasted Sirloin Wins Best Menu/Line Extension Award

Business Wire, April 17, 2006

GOLDEN, Colo. -- Boston Market has won the top honor in the Best Menu/Line Extension category in the 2006 Nation's Restaurant News MenuMasters Awards for its USDA Choice Roasted Sirloin meals. The annual awards focus on menu innovation and culinary leadership in the areas of foodservice research and development.

"We are very proud of our sirloin menu items and are thrilled to receive this recognition from the editors of Nation's Restaurant News and our industry peers," said Chef Cinnamon Combs, senior director of research and development at Boston Market. "Our sirloin is an excellent, high-quality and unique cut of meat. Our 21-day-aged Top Sirloin comes from the portion where most high-end steaks are cut and is considered the best flavored sirloin steaks."

Sirloin menu options include 5-oz. or 8-oz. individual entrees served with beef au jus; a thinly sliced Sirloin Dip Carver toasted sandwich with balsamic caramelized onions, mayonnaise, melting Swiss cheese and beef au jus for dipping; sirloin family meals; and hot roasted sirloin that can be added to Boston Market's Caesar and Market Chopped salads.

Prepared for taste and also packing a powerful nutritional profile, Boston Market sirloin serves as a "better for you" choice for guests who want their steak fix but are also mindful of health. Product characteristics include:

Taste -- USDA choice top sirloin meat is aged 21 days and hand carved to optimize tenderness. It is seasoned with a special rub, slow roasted for sensational taste and served with beef au jus.

Nutrition -- An excellent source of protein, zinc, selenium and vitamin B-12, as well as a good source of iron, niacin, riboflavin and vitamin B-6. The 5-oz. portion has 270 calories and 10 grams of fat. The 8-oz. cut has 440 calories and 16 grams of fat. The sirloin meals meet the government labeling guidelines for "lean."

Encouraged by research findings that indicated nine out of 10 Americans eat beef, Boston Market decided to add sirloin to its menu and build on its foundation of roast natural turkey, USDA Choice Meatloaf and Rotisserie Chicken. With sirloin, the company marries its rich heritage of rotisserie cooking and roasted meat with a unique cut of red meat to satisfy increased consumer demand.

The editors of Nation's Restaurant News select MenuMasters Award winners with input from an advisory board consisting of the contest's 2005 winners. In addition to Best Menu/Line Extension, six other category awards will be presented this year, including Menu Revamp, Single Product Rollout, Limited-Time Offer, Independent Operator Menu, Healthful Innovations and Chef/Innovator, awarded to Dan Coudreaut, director of culinary innovation for McDonald's, Boston Market's parent company. Combs will accept the MenuMasters Award at a ceremony on Saturday, May 20, in Chicago.

About Boston Market

Boston Market Corporation, based in Golden, Colo., is a leader in the fast-casual restaurant category. The company has translated its passion for fresh, great-tasting food into two distinctly different concepts. Boston Market restaurants -- 630 locations in 28 states -- are noted for their easy, convenient, chef-inspired meals. The company also partners with leading supermarket chains to bring restaurant-quality, Boston Market-branded meals into the deli department so shoppers can enjoy the one-stop convenience of purchasing ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat meals at the same time they do their grocery shopping. Boston Market Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of McDonald's Corporation. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.bostonmarket.com.