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Poll: No Red Carpet Treatment for Hollywood Celebs When American Adults Think Backyard Barbeque

Posted on: Thursday, 20 April 2006, 12:00 CDT

ORLANDO, Fla., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- American adults don't much care to invite top Hollywood couples to their backyard barbeques.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050308/FLTU008LOGO )

But, public officials and music stars are a different matter, according to a nationwide survey conducted by Harris Interactive(R) and released today by Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill.

When asked to choose from five couples, Hollywood tabloid favorites Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (12%) and Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher (10%) received less than half the votes of Bill and Hillary Clinton (29%), George and Laura Bush (25%) and music superstars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw (also 25%).

The survey was commissioned by the 126-restaurant company Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill for National Barbeque Month, which occurs each year in May. Smokey Bones is the leading casual dining restaurant company serving flame- grilled and slow-smoked meals.

"Personally, we would be pleased to share a juicy Flat Iron steak, some of Smokey Bones' signature burgers and a grilled Oregon Pear and Spinach salad with the Clintons and the Bushes," said JJ Buettgen, president of Smokey Bones. "Faith Hill and Tim McGraw are welcome to come by and play a few favorites, too. Grilling on the barbeque is part of the American experience. Listening to music and talking politics by the grill fits right in."

Other survey results:

* Most U.S. adults eat barbequed or grilled food (98%), and the vast majority (94%) agree that an outdoor barbeque is a great way for getting together with friends and family.

* But, 3 percent of U.S. adults admitted that they have used a fire extinguisher when barbequing. (Which is one more reason they might want to eat at Smokey Bones instead.)

* Three-quarters (75%) of U.S. adults are eating as much or more barbequed or grilled food than they were three years ago.

* Nearly nine in 10 U.S. adults own a barbeque grill (88%), and among those who do, beef (82%) and chicken (80%) are the top two foods they enjoy cooking most, over pork (47%), vegetables (36%), seafood (31%) and fruit (4%).

* Men and women are almost equally likely to own a grill (90% men vs. 86% women), yet men are more likely than women to enjoy barbequing or grilling more than other methods of cooking (72% men vs. 62% women).

Harris Interactive(R) fielded the online survey on behalf of Smokey Bones Barbeque and Grill between March 31 and April 4, 2006 among a nationwide sample of 2,364 U.S. adults 18 years of age or older. The data were weighted to be representative of the total U.S. adult population on the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income, race/ethnicity and propensity to be online. Although this online sample is not a probability sample, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results for the overall sample of adults have a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Smokey Bones operates restaurants in the Eastern and Midwestern United States. Reflecting the nation's barbeque and grilling preferences, Smokey Bones recently added a Flat Iron steak, two signature burgers and two chicken dishes to its menu and will introduce another three chicken entrees this summer.

The restaurant's menu already features flame-grilled sandwiches and steaks, including half-pound Angus and Buffalo burgers, herbed-grilled Mahi- Mahi sandwiches, Portobello Chicken, and unique salads, such as a grilled Oregon Pear and Spinach Salad. Slow-smoked specialties include fall-off-the- bone Baby-back and St. Louis-style ribs and hand-pulled pork.

Smokey Bones features a rustic mountain lodge dining environment. The building uses tall timbers, stacked stone, fireplaces and images you would see in the mountains. The atmosphere is enhanced with television screens throughout the building showing guests' favorite television programs. Each table has an audio box so guests may listen to the television program they choose -- or mute the sound altogether.

Entree prices range from $6 to $19. The restaurant also has a party pack menu that feeds groups of 10 to more than 2,500 people.

Smokey Bones is owned and operated by Darden Restaurants, Inc. , the world's largest casual dining restaurant company. Darden also owns Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze restaurants. For more information, please visit http://www.smokeybones.com/ .

Harris Interactive Inc. ( http://www.harrisinteractive.com/ ), based in Rochester, New York, is the 13th largest and the fastest-growing market research firm in the world, most widely known for The Harris Poll(R) and for its pioneering leadership in the online market research industry.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050308/FLTU008LOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill

CONTACT: Joe Chabus, Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill, +1-407-245-4563, orjchabus@smokeybones.com; or Savannah Whaley, +1-954-776-1999, ext. 225, orswhaley@piersongrant.com, for Smokey Bones

Web site: http://www.smokeybones.com/http://www.harrisinteractive.com/

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/105228.html

Source: PRNewswire

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