Responding to Americans’ enduring love for beef and their willingness to pay for it, several chain restaurants are expanding their offerings of the protein, and asking premium prices for it.
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, a 210-unit sports bar chain, recently tested a number of premium Angus skirt steak items at select locations, and the restaurants where they were offered enjoyed sales bumps of nearly eight percent, a company spokeswoman said. So the chain has introduced five of the new items systemwide.
• Whole Lotta Steak Nachos: Tortilla chips smothered with queso and topped with mixed cheese, lettuce, tomato and half a pound of steak, served with sour cream, salsa and sliced jalapeños, $10.99
• Steak Quesadillas: Grilled flour tortilla stuffed with half a pound of skirt steak, Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses, with sour cream and salsa, $10.99
• The Steak Burrito: Flour tortilla filled with grilled skirt steak, seasoned rice, peppers, onions, Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses, and creamy poblano sauce, served with chips and salsa, $9.99
• Steak Bowl: Seasoned rice topped with grilled skirt steak, onions, peppers, Cheddar jack cheese, chopped tomatoes and creamy poblano sauce, $9.99
• Steak Tacos: Steak, lettuce, Cheddar Jack cheese and creamy poblano sauce. Two tacos are $7.99, three are $10.99.
Hamburgers in particular remain popular in the United States.
Research firm Technomic inc. said last year about 48 percent of consumers said they ate a burger at least once a week, up from 38 percent in 2009.
Take-and-bake pizza chain Papa Murphy’s found a way to respond to that by introducing a bacon cheeseburger pizza across its 1,290-unit system after the item got raves in test.
That specialty item uses a blend of ketchup and mustard instead of regular pizza sauce. It tops it with mozzarella cheese, ground beef, bacon, onions and Roma tomatoes. Next is a layer of dill pickle chips with grated Cheddar cheese sprinkled on it.
“The testing phase of this pizza told us we'd have an instant fan favorite – people love the Bacon Cheeseburger," chief marketing officer Jenifer Anhorn said in a press release.
Watch a commercial for Papa Murphy’s pizza; story continues below
So the limited-time item has been introduced systemwide, and it retails for $10-$12, depending on the market.
Quick service chain Dunkin’ Donuts has added a premium beef item as well: a $3.99 breakfast sandwich.
The Angus Steak & Egg Sandwich is a toasted onion bagel sandwiching Angus beef, an egg and melted American cheese. It is available at participating units among the 7,015 locations operating in the United States.
The Angus Steak & Egg Sandwich is a toasted onion bagel sandwiching Angus beef, an egg and melted American cheese. It is available at participating units among the 7,015 locations operating in the United States.
Casual dining restaurant Applebee’s has extended its New Orleans-themed line with two new beef items: Blackened Steak Penne and a Bourbon Black & Blue Burger.
The penne comes with spinach, garlic, tomatoes, Alfredo sauce, Parmesan cheese and a side of garlic bread, and is fetching a price of $12.99 or higher, depending on the location.
The burger is a 7-ounce patty flavored with the 1,862-unit chain’s blackened seasoning, bourbon caramelized onions and mushrooms, Jack cheese, blue cheese crumbles, applewood smoked bacon and smoky mayonnaise. It starts at $9.49.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].
Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
