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This article is part of the 2012: Year in Review series from Nation's Restaurant News, which recaps notable news from the restaurant industry over the past year. This article can also be found in the Dec. 17 issue of Nation's Restaurant News. Subscribe here.
Familiar favorites
Several chains capitalized on their reputations by introducing new iterations of already successful products.
Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill, which popularized the fish taco in the United States, introduced a sesame soy beer-battered version as well as an avocado corn fish taco, also made with beer-battered pollock, but topped with avocado corn salsa and creamy chipotle sauce.
Popeyes Louisiana Chicken reprised its award-winning Wicked Chicken, but added a creamy garlic, pepper and Parmesan dipping sauce to go with it.
Dunkin’ Donuts added to its line of bakery sandwiches with a ham & cheese; a turkey, Cheddar & bacon; a chicken salad; and a tuna salad.
Jack in the Box, meanwhile, tried a BLT cheeseburger as a limited-time offering in February, while in November Burger King began testing new versions of its signature Whopper line.
That was the last in a slew of new offerings at the No. 2 quick-service burger chain, which earlier in the year announced the biggest menu revamp in its history with three new salads, chicken snack wraps in two flavors, and two fruit smoothies, as well as new frappes and improved chicken crispy strips with fairly radical sauces, such as kung pao and roasted jalapeño barbecue.
That revamp was followed by a reimagined chicken line in September that included a chicken Parmesan sandwich and popcorn chicken. Burger King then introduced two new desserts, a gingerbread cookie sundae and a gingerbread cookie shake.
