Editor’s Note: In The Kruse Report, a new feature on NRN.com, food trend expert Nancy Kruse looks at what’s shaping menus across the country.
It’s understandable if operators feel caught between a culinary rock and a regulatory hard place. On the one hand, they must cater to patrons who want great-tasting, guilt-free foods. On the other, they face menu-labeling laws that may prove burdensome and will have minimal impact on the national obesity epidemic.
Faced with demands that are often conflicting and contentious, many chefs have rediscovered the joys of green vegetables and herbs as a means to enhance the flavor, value and health perception of their dishes without negatively impacting calorie content.
Below are some dishes that use vegetables as important components. More are in the slide show.
Independent Approaches:
• Mac & Cheese with pancetta and spinach at Hearth Pizza Tavern in Atlanta
• Chilean Chacarero Sandwich with green beans and cucumber at La Sombra in Austin, Texas
• Wild Nettle Radiatore pasta with tuna confit at Oenotri in Napa, Calif.
Chain Reactions:
• Egg, Broccoli & Swiss Cheese Breakfast Sandwich at Au Bon Pain
• Iceberg Lettuce Wedge Bites at Morton’s The Steakhouse
• Salad line with a fresh blend of 11 different greens at Wendy’s
Liquid Versions:
• Chu-Cumber with shochu, elderflower and cucumber at Sushi Samba Rio in Chicago
• Blue Steel with rum, Cassis, absinthe, rye and cilantro at The Alembic in San Francisco
• Lemon-Ginger Mojito with Fresh Sugar Cane Juice and Mint Leaves at Bahama Breeze.
RELATED: Admiring the greenery
Nancy Kruse, president of the Kruse Company, is a menu trends analyst based in Atlanta. Pick up the April 4 issue of Nation's Restaurant News to read more from Kruse about creative uses of vegetables.
