BLOOMINGTON - Switch from American cheese to provolone. Spread some Dijon mayonnaise on grilled ciabatta bread. Then, call it a Redfire Hambone. That's what you'll get for a ham and cheese sandwich at Redfire Grille in Bloomington.

"It's just phenomenal, compared to your standard," said owner Kevin Hull.

Chains like Red Lobster have deviated from their casual offerings to experiment with more sophisticated fare like Maui luau shrimp and salmon. Local independent restaurants offer specials that place a twist on a classic dish to set themselves apart.

In the ultra-competitive Twin City and Central Illinois dining market, the effort placed on making menus eye-catching is part of the plan to cash in on the $222.7 million Bloomington-Normal residents spent on dining and drinking in 2006, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.

"You have so many options today for what you can eat," said Andrew Ariens, director of communications for the Illinois Restaurant Association in Chicago. "They're constantly trying to reinvent the wheel."

But there's a balancing act between adding new dishes to attract new customers and increase sales while not losing what already brings in regulars, Ariens said.

A restaurant's menu is as important as its location, Ariens said. The challenge is to change it up at just the right pace to prevent diners from getting bored but also not scare them away with too much change, he said.

When deciding on a menu, local owners ask for customer input and check out industry trends at trade shows and on the Internet. They highlight changes with signs or servers who describe the day's specials.

The cost of change varies for every place and every meal, Ariens said.

Molly Bradle, co-owner of Rosie's in downtown Bloomington, purposely uses her menu, which includes such dishes as duck and lamb, to attract customers.

"It makes or breaks you in this town," Bradle said. "If you're an independent, you almost have to be a little different."

Customers have been receptive to Redfire's cuisine faster than Hull expected. For example, the salmon cakes, as opposed to traditional crab cakes, have been the restaurant's most popular appetizer in its first five months of business, he said.

He's already thinking of specials to keep the offerings fresh.

Bradle, who offers weekly specials and changes her menu with the seasons, has seen the effect of giving her customers something new. When she first offered a pear and blue cheese salad, she ran out of some of the ingredients because so many people wanted to try it.

Success also comes down to intriguing the customer with an appealing description, she said.

"I had a lot of people say, 'Ooh, that sounds delicious. I'll try that,'" Bradle said.

Classic with a twist

Some restaurants build a new dish around a classic favorite, like a hamburger or pasta.

Redfire Grille has a burger with jalapenos, barbecue sauce and pepper jack cheese. The grill advertises itself as "An American Grille with Flare."

Bradle knows diners who visit her restaurant love salmon and pasta. She combined both to create farfalle a la vodka, bow tie pasta with grilled salmon, asparagus and vodka sauce.

"You put the two together, and you can't lose," Bradle said.

Meanwhile, Bernardi's II in Pontiac knows the traditional pastas, steaks and seafood work for its business, said owner Tony Bernardi. The Italian restaurant is one of a string of family-owned restaurants, the first of which has been around for almost 75 years. Still, chefs create new dishes and offer monthly specials to keep customers excited, Bernardi said.

And while everything on Redfire's menu is "new" since the restaurant just opened last fall, Hull has already pulled one item off that wasn't popular enough.

The menu no longer includes the roasted chicken - the most mainstream, least expensive meal it had, he said.

Finding what works

But some restaurants don't want to tinker all the time.

Bloomington's Times Past Inn offers monthly specials and changes up the menu once or twice a year, but it never strays far from its roots of traditional American fare.

"We don't do anything fancy. It's worked for us for 20 years, and we're going to continue to do it that way," said owner Art Donaldson.

With so many chain restaurants, people like a place where they can find food like real mashed potatoes, Donaldson said.

In May, though, it will unveil a new menu with a couple successful specials, including lemon and herb tilapia and a tendermelt - a sandwich similar to a patty melt but with pork instead of hamburger, Donaldson said.

"People get bored, and that's one of the reasons we try these new things," Donaldson said.