Forget the free bread and drink refills

So when wholesale beef and fish prices shot up by 20 percent this year, chefs at the downtown Minneapolis restaurant got creative. They curbed helpings of more expensive fish, like sea bass and swordfish, and replaced them with more bountiful portions of cheaper fare, such as wasabi mashed potatoes and jumbo shrimp.

And now, to keep up with inflation, Ike's this fall will do away with prices of some featured fish and steak dishes on its menu and allow them to fluctuate daily. "We change the menu three times a year, but that's no longer enough," said owner Chip Isaacson.

Restaurateurs like Isaacson are being squeezed from all sides. Costs for basic food items, from beef to poultry to eggs, have soared. Meanwhile their ability to raise prices without turning away customers has eroded as tightfisted consumers cut back on eating out.

Last week, the parent company of Bennigan's and Steak & Ale restaurants filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation and shut its doors. Many others are struggling and some experts predict an industry shakeout.

Rising food costs, however, are not the sole cause behind the current slowdown, say analysts. The real problem, they argue, is that many large chains overbuilt at a time when Americans were starting to pull back on restaurant spending.

Now, unable to raise prices to match rising wholesale food costs, so-called "menu makeovers" have become increasingly common. Restaurant chains are swapping expensive dishes with humbler food items and cutting back on gigantic portion sizes. Free refills of soda and bread are less common, as are those "Happy Hour" specials.