This is a special message from McCain Foods.

Appetizers, starters, small plates and snacks are creating some of the biggest news in restaurants today. The idea of stretching the menu with varied, shareable items has evolved from a novelty to a full-fledged trend that is making dining more fun for customers and building business for operators

Creative appetizers offer exciting new flavors for customers to explore without the risk of committing to a full-sized entrée. For operators, they encourage daypart expansion and incremental sales among patrons seeking new ways of eating.

Thus major casual dining chains like Houlihan’s and Yard House are featuring small, inventive specialties in addition to traditional appetizers. For example, Houlihan’s offers Spicy Chicken and Avocado Eggrolls as well as "big small plates" of shareable bites like Seared Rare Tuna Wontons and Chipotle Chicken Nachos. Yard House leads off its menu with snacks like Ahi Poke Bowl and Shrimp Ceviche Spoons and continues with appetizers like assorted sliders, Blue Crab Cakes and Moo Shu Egg Rolls.

They are not the only operators exploring the appeal of appetizers and global flavors. Another one is High Rocks Restaurant and Lounge in Gladstone, Ore. Appetizers like breaded steak bites, shrimp cocktail, sweet and sour meatballs, nachos and chicken drumettes play an important role on the menu of the family-owned restaurant, which is also known for hand-cut steaks and slow-roasted prime rib.

Recently, High Rocks added an innovative new appetizer to the lineup for a 2-1/2-week test, McCain Foods’ new Taste Travelers™ Steak Mini Chimis. Hand-rolled in an egg roll form, they feature seasoned steak, whole black beans, corn hominy and a chimichurri sauce made with lime, garlic and herbs. The ingredients may be familiar to patrons, but the flavors are unique and exciting.

“This was by far the most exciting and the most successful of any other new appetizers I’ve put on,” said owner Jeff Hermens.

Customers not only remarked about the flavor of the chimis, they liked that they were small and easy to eat. In fact, customers kept asking for them well after the end of the test period, Hermens said. He added that he would definitely consider putting them on the permanent menu when they become available.

When Old Timers Restaurant in Millington, Tenn., tested McCain Foods’ new Taste Travelers™ Pork & Queso Triangles, an appetizer made with diced pork, Monterey Jack cheese, whole black beans, mild jalapeno and fire roasted corn inside a corn-masa crust, the item consistently ranked among the best-selling appetizers. In fact, they held their own against traditional favorites such as mozzarella sticks, Buffalo wings and chicken tenders, reported Joey Marcello, executive chef of the establishment, which features home-style cooking and daily Cajun specials.

"Chicken tenders are our biggest seller for appetizers, but the Pork & Queso Triangles were up there in the one, two or three spot every time we sold them," said Marcello. He plated four Pork & Queso Triangles on an oval dish with a house-made hot dipping sauce made with salsa and cheese.

The majority of Old Timers customers who filled out comment cards noted that they would order Pork & Queso Triangles again.

"Most of the feedback was very favorable," said Marcello. "We’d offer them again if they become available. It’s easy to prepare, a good item and we got good feedback. It fit our operation extremely well."

Also giving thumbs-up to a trial of creative new appetizers were the customers and staff of The Bomber Restaurant & Catering, a family-owned operation in Milwaukie, Ore., founded in 1947. In this case, it was McCain Foods’ new Taste Travelers™ Cheese & Italian Sausage Mini Bread Rounds, which combine mozzarella and ricotta cheeses and bites of sweet Italian sausage in basil-herbed bread rounds. They were presented atop green kale on a white oval plate with a dish of house-made marinara sauce for dipping.

According to owner Terry Scott, the new Mini Bread Rounds, like The Bomber’s loaded Chili Fries, appeal especially to groups who like sharing items at the table and individuals looking for lighter alternatives to the restaurant’s notably generous entrée portions.

The waitstaff who sampled the product complimented it, Scott said, and the cooks reported that the preparation and plating were very easy.

"They liked it, they thought it was easy, manageable and a great product," said Scott.

Operators can get a free sample of Taste Travelers™ appetizers and more ideas for exciting menu applications by visiting www.McCainTasteTravelers.com or calling McCain Foods at 1-800-767-7377.