Larger numbers of burger, chicken and other quick-service operations in the fast-food mainstream are adding south of the border spice to their menus.
Chipotle and poblano peppers, spicy beans, cilantro and all kinds of salsa are becoming commonplace at most of the major burger chains and at submarine-sandwich and bakery-cafe concepts. Even the Kentucky origins of the KFC brand are being back-burnered at nearly 300 of that chain’s Southern California outlets to feature a new Grilled Mexi Bowl item containing Mexican-style rice, jalapeño pinto beans and pico de gallo relish.
From Dairy Queen to Quiznos Sub, such ingredients are appearing in everything from breakfast burritos to spicy salad dressings to burger and chicken sandwich condiments.
At least 52 percent of quick-service chains offer Mexican-style menu items, according to Nation’s Restaurant News research presented at the 2006 Culinary R & D conference. Nearly 60 percent of restaurants of all types plan to increase the number of Mexican items they offer, that study found.
“Now Mexican food is what Italian food was to my generation,” said Dan Coudreaut, McDonald’s director of culinary innovation.
An item like McDonald’s new Southwest Salad would not have been on the menu 10 years ago, Coudreaut said.
The growth of the Latino population and the year-round availability of authentic ingredients from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America are making the offering of such dishes both more essential and practical. And cravings for spicier foods are evident across all demographic groups nationwide
Though a regional chain like Southern California-based Carl’s Jr. has for many years featured Latin flavors, breakfast burritos and full slates of Mexican-style offerings from co-brand concept Green Burrito, those kinds of menu extensions are being done from coast to coast now, including at another CKE Restaurants-owned chain, Hardee’s. It has begun adapting a Red Burrito brand and menu to its Midwestern and Southeastern system of some 2,000 Hardee’s outlets.
While McDonald’s has had burritos on its menu for about seven years, the test kitchen keeps evolving them to achieve greater authenticity, Coudreaut said. He has high hopes for a breakfast burrito now being tested that meets McDonald’s portability requirements.
Other Mexican-flavored items are likely to be introduced from time to time “when they make sense,” he said. The Southwest Salad, an addition to McDonald’s premium salad line, sells for $4.75.
Rita Negrete, senior editor of Chicago-based Technomic Information Services, credits the explosive growth of chains like Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba Mexican Grill, preceded by the much larger Taco Bell, with acquainting the general population with Mexican foods. For children, 98.6 percent of school lunch programs surveyed by the School Nutrition Association last year included Mexican foods like tacos and burritos.
“Adding Mexican flavors is an easy and low-cost way for limited-service restaurants to introduce new items without changing their systems,” Negrete said.
“People are looking for bolder tastes to tantalize their palates,” said Bob Sandelman, head of restaurant research firm Sandelman & Associates of San Clemente, Calif. He expects to see Mexican, as well as Thai and other spicy ethnic influences, continue to grow as the U.S. population ages and taste buds start to fade.
Ed Gleich, Arby’s senior vice president of national marketing, said: “People from all demographics like bolder flavors; there is no difference in different parts of the United States. We intend to deliver on spice and are not trying for middle-of-the-road.” Arby’s currently has a Southwest Chicken Wrap and a Santa Fe Salad.
Dairy Queen, though not known for spicy foods, touted the heat of its FlameThrower Chicken Sandwich and FlameThrower GrillBurger with advertising depicting flames igniting in diners’ mouths. The sandwich features slices of jalapeño bacon, Tabasco-flavored mayonnaise and pepper Jack cheese.
When Dairy Queen first introduced that burger three years ago, it was “one of the few with an extreme flavor profile out there,” said spokesman Dean Peters. Originally aimed at men, the spicy flavor also proved palatable to women, he said.
Carpinteria, Calif.-based CKE is expanding its co-branding strategies with Red Burrito and Hardee’s, as it has with Green Burrito with Carl’s Jr. The dual-brand units are doing as well in places like Oklahoma; Portland, Ore.; and Salt Lake City as they do in Southern California and the Southwest, said CKE’s executive vice president of marketing, Brad Haley.
“A few years ago, we wouldn’t have considered fresh salsa on a breakfast burrito,” Haley said. “Now, we think it’s a point of difference for us.”
San Diego-based Jack in the Box also continues to introduce Mexican-accented items, like the Meaty Breakfast Burrito, available all day for $1.99, and its Chipotle Chicken Ciabatta sandwich, $4.39. Like many chains, Jack in the Box worked with a vendor to develop the sandwich’s chipotle sauce, which enabled a speedier rollout, said director of new product development Margaret Barretto.
In another sign of the mainstreaming of Latin flavors, the fast-casual Corner Bakery Cafe chain is offering three Southwest-theme items: a roast beef sandwich on poblano cheese bread with cilantro-lime mayonnaise, a Santa Fe Ranch salad and a Zesty Chicken Tortilla soup.
“While these items aren’t the biggest sellers in their categories, they help round out our menu by offering a different flavor profile to complement our other sandwich and salad selections,” said Ric Scicchitano, Corner Bakery’s food and beverage vice president.
The nearly 5,000-unit Quiznos Sub rolled out its Raspberry Chipotle Chicken Salad with bacon, Cheddar, tomatoes, red onion and raspberry-chipotle dressing. The salad appeals to consumers who “are looking for something unique, sophisticated and adventurous,” said Steve Provost, chief marketing officer. “Americans won’t settle for boring food.”
Quiznos plans to unveil a Baja-style chicken sandwich in June that will include bacon, Cheddar, red onion, chipotle sauce, mayonnaise and cilantro, he said.