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Impossible Nuggets Made from Plants
Burger King is currently testing a chicken nuggets substitute made with an Impossible Foods product in Des Moines, Iowa; Boston and Miami, making it the first major chain to test the chicken analog from that company, although Panda Express has also tested a meatless version of its signature Orange Chicken using a Beyond Meat product. Both plant-based protein companies are looking to expand their availability of those product as prices of actual chicken remain high. Substitutes for other proteins are coming onstream as well, however, including a plant-based lamb called Black Sheep that’s currently on offer at Souvla, a four-unit chain in the San Francisco Bay area.
Brisket
Chipotle Mexican Grill has launched smoked beef brisket for a limited time. It’s charred on the grill, seasoned with roasted jalapeño and chipotle peppers, chopped and finished with a new sauce made with smoked chiles. It’s available in burritos, bowls, salads, tacos and quesadillas. It’s one of several smoked brisket offerings out there at the moment. Big Deal Burger, a virtual brand of Dickie’s Barbecue Restaurants, is selling a line of hamburgers topped with smoked brisket, too.
Canned cocktails
With the labor shortage being a long-term problem, easy-to-serve, ready-to-drink cocktails fill the need for consistent, profitable and low-labor option, so Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom is offering this Mamitas Paloma, a canned beverage of tequila, sparkling water and grapefruit at its Colorado locations through mid-December. They’re selling it for $5.99 or $19.99 for a bucket of four.
Bison
As beef prices remain high and disruptions continue to plague the supply chain, opportunities are emerging for less mainstream meats to find a place on menus. Quiznos turned to supplier High Plains Bison to provide the meat for its Bison Reuben, which also has Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing on toasted rustic rye bread. It sells for around $10-$11, depending on the location.
Bison is leaner than beef, so it enjoys something of a health halo, and its American origins also give it an air of authenticity that many customers appreciate.
The CurderBurger
There are many new cheese items being launched at the moment. There’s Bacon Fondue at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Brews, available for dipping or slathering on a burger. IHOP has introduced a new line of “melts” as permanent additions to the menu, and Piada Italian Street Food and Miller’s Ale House have both launched mac & cheese as a seasonal special.
And Culver’s offered the CurderBurger as an extreme LTO, available only on Oct. 15, which is National Cheese Curd Day. Originally dreamed up as an April Fools’ joke, it’s a deluxe cheeseburger topped with breaded and fried cheese curds.
Rutabaga Fettuccine
“Zoodles,” or zucchini posing as noodles, have become a low-carbohydrate on-trend item for years now, but other vegetables can fill that role, too. Demetrio Zavala, executive corporate culinary director of Captivate Hospitality Group, says that rutabaga has a good chew and sweetness that actual pasta has, so he made it into fettuccine for Solstice restaurant, which has locations in Newtown, Pa., and Irvine, Calif.
He slices the rutabaga into thin sheets and then slices those sheets into noodles. He sautés them in a walnut pesto instead of the more typical brown butter and sage. To keep the dish vegan, he tops it with silky tofu blended with olive oil, salt and lemon instead of Parmesan cheese.
Griddled biscuits with duck confit
Robert Newton, the chef of Fleeting, the new restaurant at the Thompson Savannah hotel in Savannah, Ga., was eating griddled cakes in Hong Kong and wondered how he could give them a Southern twist. The result are these cakes, made from a slightly dry biscuit dough that he rolls out like a pie crust, cuts into 4-inch rings, and makes dumplings stuffed with duck confit. Then he presses them into a pancake shape, griddles them and serves them with chile oil spiked with espresso in a nod to red eye gravy.
