Innovation sparks side-dish revivalInnovation sparks side-dish revival

Nancy
Kruse

The burst of culinary creativity that fueled menu research and development over the past decade somehow skipped right over the side of the plate, leaving predictable preparations of potatoes, rice and slaw sitting in the shadow of exciting new entrées.

Happily for diners, however, the tide has turned, and chefs in all segments of the industry are leading a side-dish revival.

Nice rice. A culinary chameleon that readily can adapt to a range of flavor treatments and ethnic applications, rice has been breaking out of the commodity category. Mimi’s Cafe is adding value with both brown rice, which includes the nutritious bran, and jasmine rice, an aromatic type indigenous to Thailand. The cilantro-lime rice is a good match for the signature burritos at Qdoba, and citrus rice works well with the Mexican-inflected specialties at Burrito Beach, a small Chicago-based chain. Cajun rice goes hand-in-glove with the entrées at Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, while the curried rice with mango chutney is a nifty summer side at the Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes chains. The Rock Bottom concepts offer a pair of rices — red ale and lemon — as complements to a very broad menu.

Zippy slaw. Coleslaw hadn’t progressed much beyond its humble shredded-cabbage origin until fairly recently, when it, too, became the recipient of a little culinary TLC. Houlihan’s perks up its slaw with peanut and ginger, and T.G.I. Friday’s uses ginger and lime. Maximus Minimus, an outsized food truck operating in Seattle with a minimalist, pork-centric menu, serves up Maximus Slaw with radishes, cilantro and chipotle, as well as Minimus Slaw with honey mustard, cranberries, sweet onions and mint. Famous Dave’s is tapping into the sweet-heat trend with creamy coleslaw spiked with pineapple and horseradish. California-based Lazy Dog Cafe takes an all-American approach with creamy apple-cider coleslaw, but Fatz, which is headquartered in Taylors, S.C., pays homage to its Southern roots with a sweet Vidalia onion version.

True grits. On the subject of Southern comfort, hominy grits, staples in Southern kitchens, largely have been missing in action in the mass market. Some years back they were rediscovered by independents and fine-dining chefs, but they’ve only recently begun to appear at chains. Denny’s has featured Southern shrimp over creamy grits, and The Cheesecake Factory’s latest menu boasts sweet-corn and white-Cheddar grits with sautéed shrimp and spicy tasso sauce. Nine-unit Marlow’s Tavern in Atlanta offers two variations: jalapeño-corn grits and white-Cheddar grit cakes. In June, Slater’s 50/50, a better-burger specialist in Southern California, promoted a pulled pork sandwich served over blue-cheese grits.

Interesting veggies. Slowly but surely, frozen mixed vegetables have been supplanted by fresher options. Shari’s Restaurant & Pies, located in the Pacific Northwest, touts vegetables from the local Willamette Valley. Fresh Choice goes further, emphasizing organically grown items like roasted leeks, fennel and butternut squash. Legumes are appearing in various treatments, as with the braised white beans at Zoës Kitchen and the Tuscan white-bean salad at Houlihan’s. Three-bean salad is on the menu at trendy No. 7 Sub, a sandwich specialist in New York, and ’Wichcraft, a local Big Apple competitor, answers with marinated chickpeas.

Arguably no vegetable has been hotter than the sweet potato. Its presence on menus surged with the introduction of sweet-potato fries by fast-casual burger competitors, and they lately have entered the quick-service realm at both Carl’s Jr. and Burger King. Their popularity hasn’t dislodged conventional French fries, but it has prompted some operators to step up their games. Eat’n Park introduced Fuego Fries, fried jalapeños tossed with seasoned fries and served with a cooling side of ranch dressing. Yumbii, an Atlanta food truck that features an Asian-Mexican menu, offers tasty sesame fries with chipotle ketchup. And while The Counter, another of the better-burger purveyors, ups the ante with Parmesan French fries with parsley, rosemary and garlic aïoli, the last word must go to truffle fries. Dubbed by some reviewers as the new sweet-potato fries, they first appeared in fine dining and filtered down to polished-casual chains like The Capital Grille and burger brands like Smashburger. Pride of place, however, goes to Mike’s Wine Dive in Wichita, Kan., which has featured sweet-potato truffle fries, a side-dish marriage truly made in heaven.

Nancy Kruse, president of the Kruse Company, is a menu trends analyst based in Atlanta. E-mail her at [email protected].

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