The Velvet Hammer

That would be Julia Stewart, the much-profiled CEO of Glendale-based DineEquity, which used to be known as IHOP - and which recently acquired Applebee's for $2.1 billion. Stewart gets on the front page of the NYT food section, where she talks about overhauling the Applebee's menu (it’s indistinguishable from the other “apostrophe-s” restaurants like Chili’s or T.G.I. Friday’s). Of course, this is a terrible time to be running a restaurant chain that caters to a middle-class clientele. Who wants to spend money eating out when your house is losing value and gas and food prices are still off the charts? A few weeks back DineEquity reported a second-quarter loss of $23.7 million, the result of selling off 181 Applebee's restaurants in a weak real estate climate. But don't discount Stewart: She turned around IHOP (improving the orange juice and coffee went a long way).

At Applebee’s, she has to tread as carefully. Tweaking the sweet, artificial hickory taste of the riblets is one thing, but losing the mozzarella stick? Dream on. “Don’t get me started on the mozzarella stick,” she said. “Can we get rid of them entirely? Probably not. All I know is we can do better in appetizers. Maybe it’s a panko breaded calamari. Maybe a baked wing.” The trick is to give food that little twist. “Everybody has a quesadilla, but no one has a bruschetta quesadilla,” she said. That idea is still under development, but Applebee’s does have a quesadilla burger.

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When pushed for other possible shake-ups in the Applebee’s repertory, the Velvet Hammer leans in and offers this: “Think about bread baked fresh in the restaurant,” she said. Does she mean artisan breads? “Do you really think my Applebee’s menu is going to say artisan bread?” she asked. “No. But the bread will be better.”