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Ted’s Montana Grill tests brunch menuTed’s Montana Grill tests brunch menu

Casual-dining chain considering systemwide rollout of new daypart, menu

Bret Thorn, Senior Food Editor

June 17, 2014

3 Min Read
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Ted’s Montana Grill is currently testing brunch at its New York City location.

Beginning last month, the Midtown Manhattan location of the 45-unit chain started offering the menu on Saturday starting at 11 a.m. and Sunday starting at noon to tap into Gotham’s penchant for the weekend meal.

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"Brunch is big in the Big Apple, and we’re excited to test our brunch menu there,” Ted’s chief executive George McKerrow said in e-mail. “We hope to attract new patrons in New York who may be unfamiliar with Ted's, plus our restaurant is located close to several large hotels, so this is another option for tourists and other visitors.

McKerrow said the chain is considering rolling out the brunch menu systemwide.

“After we see how New York fares, we plan to test the menu this fall in Atlanta and Alexandria, Va.,” he said. “Then, based on New York and these other two markets, we hope to expand further in the near future."

So far, the new menu has been well received, according to McKerrow. He noted that the Bison Short Rib Hash has proven to be the favorite item among diners. The dish comes with breakfast potatoes, roasted corn and avocado, and fried eggs. It’s $20.

Other menu items include:

Salmon Frittata: spinach and gruyère frittata topped with cedar plank salmon, roasted asparagus, diced tomatoes and horseradish sauce, $19

Chicken & Waffle: buttermilk fried chicken, malted waffle and maple syrup, $19

Chantilly Waffle: malted waffle, maple syrup, whipped cream and berries, $12

two eggs, roasted tomatoes, ham or bacon, breakfast potatoes and toast, $15

Montana Breakfast Burger: beef ($17) or bison ($18) patty with American cheese, grilled ham, spicy tomato jam and a fried egg, served with breakfast potatoes

Steak and Eggs: Grilled beef ($27) or bison ($32) strip steak, eggs, roasted tomatoes, breakfast potatoes and toast

Crab Cake Benedict: crab cakes with wilted spinach, poached eggs and chipotle hollandaise sauce with breakfast potatoes: $22

A $9 yogurt parfait is also on the menu, along with $5 sides, including fruit, bacon, ham, roasted asparagus, breakfast potatoes and roasted potatoes. Apart from coffee, tea, espresso drinks, milk and orange juice, Ted’s is also offering three cocktails: Mimosas at $4 each or $20 for a liter, a Bloody Mary for $10, and a Bellini for $11.

Ted’s Montana Grill is the latest chain in the struggling casual-dining segment to experiment with the brunch daypart. In April, sister chains Brio Tuscan Grill and Bravo! Cucina Italiana started offering assorted omelettes and eggs Benedict variations at midday on the weekends, along with roasted turkey and sweet potato hash, and French toast.

That same month, On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina started opening at 10 a.m. on weekends instead of 11 a.m. to sell items such as huevos rancheros, breakfast chile rellenos, chilaquiles, and breakfast tacos and burritos.

Contact Bret Thorn: [email protected]
Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary

About the Author

Bret Thorn

Senior Food Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Senior Food & Beverage Editor

Bret Thorn is senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality.

Hi is responsible for spotting and reporting on F&B trends across the country for both publications. 

He is the co-host of a podcast, Menu Talk with Pat and Bret, which features interviews with chefs, food & beverage authorities, and other experts in foodservice operations.

From 2005 to 2008 he also wrote the Kitchen Dish column for The New York Sun, covering restaurant openings and chefs’ career moves in New York City.

He joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999 after spending about five years in Thailand, where he wrote articles about business, banking and finance as well as restaurant reviews and food columns for Manager magazine and Asia Times newspaper. He joined Restaurant Hospitality’s staff in 2016 while retaining his position at NRN. 

A magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., with a bachelor’s degree in history, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Thorn also studied traditional French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. He spent his junior year of college in China, studying Chinese language, history and culture for a semester each at Nanjing University and Beijing University. While in Beijing, he also worked for ABC News during the protests and ultimate crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Thorn’s monthly column in Nation’s Restaurant News won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for best staff-written editorial or opinion column.

He served as president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, or IFEC, in 2005.

Thorn wrote the entry on comfort food in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2nd edition, published in 2012. He also wrote a history of plated desserts for the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, published in 2015.

He was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.

A Colorado native originally from Denver, Thorn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Bret Thorn’s areas of expertise include food and beverage trends in restaurants, French cuisine, the cuisines of Asia in general and Thailand in particular, restaurant operations and service trends. 

Bret Thorn’s Experience: 

Nation’s Restaurant News, food & beverage editor, 1999-Present
New York Sun, columnist, 2005-2008 
Asia Times, sub editor, 1995-1997
Manager magazine, senior editor and restaurant critic, 1992-1997
ABC News, runner, May-July, 1989

Education:
Tufts University, BA in history, 1990
Peking University, studied Chinese language, spring, 1989
Nanjing University, studied Chinese language and culture, fall, 1988 
Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine, Cértificat Elémentaire, 1986

Email: [email protected]

Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-thorn-468b663/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bret.thorn.52
Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
Instagram: @foodwriterdiary

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