Just deserts: Even if you think you have a great idea, it’s nice when top people in your field agree, according to restaurateur Keith Pascal of Highland Park. Pascal is a senior partner in Stir Crazy Enterprises, a rapidly growing chain of contemporary-styled, choose-your-own-ingredients Asian restaurants. It was among eight chains in the country to receive the 1998 Hot Concepts award by Nation’s Restaurant News.
A Harvard MBA who had worked at McDonald’s and Einstein’s Bagels, Pascal thought he knew a good thing when approached about the concept by Chicagoan Gary Leff more than three years ago.
“I thought it was an exciting new idea because not many people were doing fresh, healthful Asian food in a large contemporary setting back then. It was either Sunday night carryout or small, mom-pop places,” Pascal said.
“We were thrilled,” he said of the honor. “Only a pretty select group of restaurants around the country are given the award. For us, it’s a kind of validation that what we were doing was hot.”