Milano's stakes out midscale Italian turf

Nation's Restaurant News, June 14, 1993 by Carolyn Walkup

BURLINGAME, Calif. -- The operators of Milano's Italian Kitchen are banking on their scratch cooking, dramatic plate presentations and moderate pricing to set them apart from competitors in the teeming Italian segment.

The five-unit Milano's is positioned between midpriced Italian dinner houses like The Olive Garden and more upscale chains, such as Sfuzzi and Piccolo Cucina -- which reflects a similar pricing strategy to that of Brinker Internation's 23-unit Romano's Macaroni Grill.

Unlike the suburban-styled Macaroni Grill, however, Milanohs also is targeting urban areas and corporate centers with its more sophisticated menu and ambience.

Nothing on Milano's menu is priced above $10, and checks average about $10 at lunch and $14 at dinner, falling between Sfuzzi, with a $20 dinner check average, and Olive Garden, with a $10 average.

Tony Baldino, vice president of operations for umbrella group JMB Restaurants -- and formerly director of concept development for Magic Pan -- is one of the concept's masterminds, together with chief executive Charles Patel and president Michael Patel.

Their group split off two years ago from Magic Pan International, taking along with it some half-dozen Frogg Lane and Magic Pan restaurants.

Since then the Burlingame-based JMB has opened five Milano's: two in Los Angeles, one in San Francisco, one in Chicago and the company's newest unit in Boston. "We opened four restaurants in bad economic times and have seen success so far," Baldino said.

The current per-unit sales average is $3 million, Patel said. "People are going for the quality, service and price," he said, stressing that diners are fed up with spending $8 for a bowl of soup and $16.95 for seven ravioli in pricy Italian restaurants.

At the Chicago Milano's -- which occupies the ground floor of an office building near O'Hare International Airport -- lunches have been strong since the restaurant opened last January, according to general manager Stuart Mitchell. Although the site lacks street visibility, enough customers are finding it to fill the 250 seats once or twice during both meal periods.

Eye-catching presentations feature oversized plates that have a variety of pastel colors and edges decorated with sprinklings of finely chopped vegetables, herbs and spices or -- in the case of some dessert plates -- fruit purees.

The effect enhances large portions of already colorful contemporary Italian preparations.

And the color doesn't stop at the plates. Tabletops resemble marble, and walls of some dining rooms are lined with shelves of canned, bottled and packaged Italian foodstuffs and wines -- a decorative device also employed by The Italian Oven and East Side Mario's. Oversized jars of preserves set on counters further serve to divide seating areas.

The display kitchen houses a wood-burning oven, which adds still more theater to the scene. Milan native Claudio Brusamolino, executive chef, designed the menu.

Menu highlights include a cup-shaped serving of polenta filled with basil pesto and a ragout of vegetables, black olives and spicy tomato sauce, $5.95; zebra panzottini, striped ravioli filled with ricotta and spinach and served on mixed peppers with a tomato garlic cream sauce, $8.95; and, in a departure from Italian staples, Orientale lime chicken salad with mixed greens, crispy noodles, peanuts and sesame seeds tossed in a mustard vinaigrette, $7.95.

Other menu sections are panini-style sandwiches, $5.50-$6.50; wood-fired pizza, $6.50-$9.75; and a few grilled entrees, $8.95-$9.95, all accompanied by rosemary garlic potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

Desserts are such Italian standards as tiramisu, cannoli cake, hazelnut cake and an assortment of multiflavored gelatos. Prices range from $3.95 to $4.75.

"Exciting food doesn't have to be high-priced," Baldino said. Milano's pricing strategy relies on high volume and the few higher-cost dishes balanced with many lower cost items.

A stack of small plates on each table encourages diners to share. So does a gallon jug of house wine, which servers bring to the table with stemless glasses. A small wine list and stemware also are available.

Baldino said the jug wine idea is based on an Italian family wine-making tradition where someone always brought out homemade wine at family gatherings. "We don't want to be perceived as a stuffy, upscale restaurant," he stressed, adding that sales at $2.50 a glass are good.

The company plans to open nine more stores this year in Philadelphia, downtown Chicago and Southern California, and it already has signed leases for 12 more next year, Patel said.