Orange Sichuan sauce

Sichuan peppercorns, which aren’t pepper at all but more closely related to citrus, have a distinctive numbing quality on the palate and are used in dishes from China’s Sichuan (sometimes spelled Szechuan) province, such as mapo tofu and dandan noodles. In Japan it’s called sansho pepper and is used in a variety of spice mixes including shichimi togarashi, and its leaves are called kinome and used as an herb.

That might make it all seem kind of obscure for a mainstream American audience, but Wingstop doesn’t think so. The Dallas-based chain has put it in this sweet-spicy sauce along with orange and soy sauce and is offering it as a limited-time option with its wings.

The Merry Berry ’Rita

Tequila is unquestionably the hottest spirit right now, and Margaritas remain the nation’s most popular cocktail, so popular that Chili’s Grill & Bar decided to go a bit extreme with its $5 Cocktail of the Month for December, which is a sweet-and-sour cocktail of Lunazul tequila, Cointreau orange liqueur, blackberry syrup, strawberry purée, sour mix and, in a twist that’s normal for December but unusual for a Margarita, a candy cane garnish, $5

French Onion Agnolotti

At Church and Union in Nashville, chef Adam Hodgson makes a traditional French onion soup and then cooks it down to a glaze and sets it with gelatin. He pipes that into agnolotti dough, which he shapes and then simmers and serves over Gruyère cheese fondue made by emulsifying the cheese and milk using the emulsifying salts sodium citrate and sodium hexametaphosphate.

The dish is garnished with fried onions, leeks and garlic as well as chervil. If eaten correctly, the pasta bursts and gives guests an onion soup explosion in their mouths.

Believe it or not, this is not the first time that French onion soup has been encapsulated in pasta. French onion soup dumplings have long been a signature item at ChoLon in Denver, but this version brings an Italian spin and serves it in a gooey, cheesy sauce

Buffalo Tartare

This item is not made of buffalo meat. Rather it is named after the spicy wings of Buffalo, N.Y., which are the inspiration for the flavorings of this dish at the Parlour Room, which opened in Midtown Manhattan in late November. Executive chef Justin Ottervanger and chef de cuisine Daniel Sokolov developed this dish of diced beef tenderloin combined with a Buffalo-style hot sauce, Point Reyes blue cheese and thinly cut celery and pickles. It’s served with fried chicken skin.

Wagyu Brisket Taco on Frybread

Tortillas are great for many things, but they’re not super absorbent, which is a shame when you want to get the most out of rich braised wagyu beef.

Kachina Cantina in Denver provides a solution for that by giving guests have a choice of having their tacos serve on frybread, which serves the dual purpose of soaking up juices and celebrating the culinary heritage of the Four Corners region. For this particular taco, executive chef Cesar Tamariz and his team brine Colorado wagyu brisket in a mix of dry chiles and other spices for 24 hours. Then it’s rubbed in a dry mix of chiles, bay leaf, fennel, star anise, garlic, onion and brown sugar, wrapped in foil and slowly cooked for another 24 hours. It’s served on frybread with watermelon radish slaw and a squeeze of lime.