• The Stinking Rose
• The Giant Artichoke
• Castroville, CA
• Rice-to-Riches
• Cereality
• Cap'n Crunch
• A site for cereal eaters
• Quaker Oatmeal
• Lucky Charms

One Menu, One Item

In a world where even choices have choices, it's nice to know there are some places where you can go if you want just one kind of thing.

At the Stinking Rose in San Francisco, all the food is made with garlic - the steak, the gnocchi, even the ice cream. And guess what the preferred ingredient is at The Giant Artichoke in Castroville, CA? Fried artichoke hearts, artichoke soup, artichoke bread . . . the list goes on and on. Then there's an establishment that serves zilch except rice pudding.

But what happens if all you ever feel like eating are Cheerios? Wander into a Cereality shop, and you may never want to leave. As per its name, cereal is the only thing they serve. Why cereal? Because it's a food with many devoted followers.

"Ask five people how they like their cereal, and you'll get five different answers. They might all pledge allegiance to Cap'n Crunch, but it won't end there," says Chicago-based entrepreneur David Roth, the cofounder of the chain. "You'll hear, 'Oh, I like mine dry' or 'I like soggy,' or 'I put fruit in mine.' People have real feelings about this stuff."

For serious cereal eaters who want a more exciting dining experience than they're getting standing spoon-in-hand at their kitchen counter, the Cereality shops - located in Chicago, IL;Tempe, AZ; Philadelphia, PA; and Elverson, PA - are the places to be. The stores have more than 30 kinds of cereals and toppings that range from raisins to nuts to candy. Roth has found that there are people of all ages who will not go a day sans cereal. Some come in and get plain Quaker Oatmeal, while others prefer to mix, say, Lucky Charms and Cocoa Puffs together with chocolate malt balls and peanuts.

So what's the next kind of niche-food restaurant? Perhaps an all-dairy bar where there's nothing but flavored milk on tap. If the Cereality founders have their way, it could happen. They already serve Slurrealities, which are smoothies designed to replicate the sweet milk that you slurp out of the bowl when the last Cocoa Puff is gone.

"People have a real passion for that flavored milk," says Roth. "That kind of passion inspires us."

 

Posted on March 20, 2006