SheeFood

On Point with Apples

Glancing at fall limited-time menus, whether they feature beverages, salads, entrees or desserts, you’ll likely find apples in a starring role. This LTO choice is not only seasonally appropriate but also economically savvy, as apples are freshest, most abundant and least expensive this time of year.

But the mere word apple in the seasonal special description (and even the dish name) is as about as exciting as lettuce salad. Eyes pass right over that in search of something that sounds appetizing. But beyond boring the guest, if you use the generic term in the description, you can only charge a generic price. Aim to appeal to guests looking for quality and specificity in their food choices, and charge appropriately for that.

Caribou Coffee’s list of fall beverages features six new Honeycrisp Apple swigs combining Honeycrisp apple puree with the likes of caramel, espresso, coffee, nitro cold brew coffee and steamed milk/oat milk. Each uses Honeycrisp apple in the name. Those beverages simply would not sparkle if the coffee chain elected to simplify with generic apple.

You can also invoke the apple variety in syrups used in fall beverages like Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii does with its Caramel Apple Mana, which is an iced energy drink with caramel and Granny Smith apple syrups.

In the menu description for its Roasted Apple and Butternut Squash Salad, Brazilian steakhouse chain Fogo de Chão specifies its varietal: Roasted butternut squash and Fuji apples drizzled with honey and topped with lime zest.

By now, Fuji apples have earned a glowing reputation for their sweetness, crisp texture and long shelf life, which makes them durable and versatile across the menu. Nekter Juice Bar’s fall LTO (coinciding with the reality TV show The Golden Bachelorette) features Spiced Golden Apple Smoothie and Spiced Golden Apple Bowl. The smoothie blends cashew milk with Fuji apples, pumpkin spice, vanilla protein, a turmeric-cashew drizzle and agave syrup.

Homing in on a specific apple variety to feature is about more than the supply source, seasonality and pricing. From an R&D perspective, it’s very much about flavor, of course. But it’s equally about marketing. Perhaps there’s no other commodity that has invested as much into launching and naming varieties as the apple industry—especially Washington, New York and Michigan—the top apple-growing states.

Consider using some of the other “it” apples like Jazz, Cosmic Crisp, SnapDragon and Rave to add excitement to your menu and storytelling opportunities for your web presence, social media or table-side service. Apple commodity boards can be a valuable resource in this area.

Whether it’s a Honeycrisp latte or a Fuji apple salad, specifying the variety is about creating value that customers are willing to pay for. After all, a well-named apple makes for a more memorable dish and a more profitable one.

Jody Shee

Score Big with Touchdown Treats

When it comes to packing a restaurant to build profits, game-day limited time offers (LTOs) are a secret playbook. If your spot has a TV, you’re already in the game. Chicken wings, sliders and nacho platters are just the beginning of the endless possibilities. A well-crafted selection of shareables can actually turn any segment into the top sports-party pick for fans gathering to cheer, chow down and enjoy the game—whether they’re stopping by, driving through or getting it delivered.

What’s unique about game-day specials is that they don’t have to involve a meal. Game-day LTOs fit the snacking occasion that operators are taking a good look at. Appetizers, small plates or platters work perfectly.

With a plethora of TV screens, Dave & Buster’s is well suited to draw game-day crowds, so on its new and improved menu, it has added a four-to-six serving Game Day Grub Sampler Board. It includes pretzel dogs, smashed burger sliders and bone-in wings along with celery sticks and dips.

No TV? No problem. Last winter Taco Bell got in on the action with the Ultimate Game Day Box that included eight wings, four tacos and one traditional Mexican Pizza for a two-week LTO. In case you’re wondering how Taco Bell and chicken wings go together, part of the chain’s strategy going through 2024 is to add more chicken to the menu. (Thus, it has launched a Cantina Chicken Menu.)

The two keys to success, as you might guess, are in what you name your special, and that whatever it includes had better be to die for. For nearly a month last winter, Mod Pizza (recently acquired by Elite Restaurant Group) ran a “Tailgate Trio” LTO of three pizzas inspired by popular game-day appetizers. There was the Buffalo Chicken Pizza; Bacon Jalapeno Popper Pizza; and Spinach Artichoke Dip Pizza. The fast casual pizza chain stated “The Tailgate Trio are some of the most craveable pizzas we’ve ever developed and feature all the comforts and bold flavors of a football party or tailgate.”

If you partner with another brand for a game-day promotion, you can double the marketing potential. Starting on Aug. 23 for a limited time, Krispy Kreme tied in with Dr. Pepper for what they call a Krispy Kreme x Dr Pepper Kickoff Collection. For the occasion, Krispy Kreme developed a new doughnut “that delivers the refreshing experience of the iconic 23 original flavors of Dr Pepper.” So that one is a glazed doughnut piped with Dr Pepper flavored frosting covered in sprinkles and topped with a white chocolate Dr Pepper logo. The other two doughnuts in the collection feature football décor. One is a glazed doughnut dipped in green icing (think football field) and topped with sprinkles and a yellow buttercream flavored goal post. The third doughnut is an unglazed doughnut filled with white “kreme” and dipped in chocolate icing and decorated like a football. That probably takes the cake for the best over the goal post effort.

Without a doubt, game-day or tailgate specials can make an energetic profitable impact on an operator’s bottom line. Don’t let everyone else be in charge of the fun.

Jody

Crunch it and Run it

Crunch time isn’t just for deadlines—it’s the crispy culinary equivalent of a headline. Elsewise we wouldn’t still be witnessing crispy chicken sandwich rivalries. Operators have a dish-development thought process to reckon with. Does the crackling of crispy lead the charge, or do the on-hand ingredients, equipment and preparations call the LTO shots? If you choose to dive into crunch, what are the secrets behind crafting these dishes that aren’t just eaten, but heard—loud and clear.

First, assume that texture is as important as flavor. So, if you have a “cushiony” signature or comfort dish that you dare not take off the menu, then consider tweaking the dish to crispy. Take mac and cheese. Some have formed it into a patty or ball that withstands a panko coating for frying purposes to get that coveted texture. Tampa-Florida based Glory Days Grill has done that with its Mac ‘N Cheese Bites on the hand-held section of the menu. But also consider a way to get crispy in the menu title by combining ingredients, like Crispy Chicken Mac & Cheese.

Ubiquitous burgers get a crunchy upgrade by merely opening a bag of chips. Bobby Flay, who expertly aims to please, has registered the name Crunchburger made iconic with mere potato chips on top. He also has the Bacon Crunchburger at Bobby’s Burger Palace. Meanwhile, Farmer Boys turned to crispy onion straws to top its BBQ Crunch Cheeseburger Box LTO this summer. Perkins recently permanently added a Bacon Avocado Crunch Double Burger to the menu that tops a patty with bacon and potato tots.

Sometimes, you don’t need to change a dish at all to boost its crispy value. How about Red Lobster’s Wild-Caught Crunch-Fried Flounder Sandwich, also served fish and chips style? Then there’s Reno, Nevada, Pizza Guys’ Crunchy Club Pizza. The only crunchy thing going for this pizza is the thin crust. There’s an epiphany. Any thin-crust pizza could carry the crunchy descriptor.

Here’s a novel idea. Crazy Bowls & Wraps tested what it called Breakfast Crunch. Now imagine this: scrambled eggs, choice of protein, choice of salsa, a flour tortilla, cheddar cheese, bean puree and then a tostada shell. I saw a Facebook photo of this, and it wasn’t apparent to me how they incorporated the tostada shell. I imagined it would be used on bottom, making the finished product a flat affair. But it wasn’t. They may have broken the shell in two and placed both halves in the middle to get a double crunch effect. Have yourself a look here and see what you think.

But on the topic of breakfast, I’d like to give a shout out to The Original Pancake House for the Crispy-Crunchy French Toast on the menu since 2010. The Portland, Oregon-based breakfast eatery dips its French toast in corn flakes and grills it. It’s served topped with sliced bananas, whipped cream and dusted with powdered sugar. Dipping items in any number of cereals opens a whole new realm of crunchy possibilities that wouldn’t even have to be breakfast centric. Those mac & cheese bites we looked at earlier could be coated in crushed Chex or cornflakes. So could fish filets or chicken tenders.

So, while you get your creative juices flowing, consider a crunchy theme, either in the making or renaming of what already qualifies. Give your guests the expectation of a memorable, multisensory experience.

Jody Shee

Pretzels Pop with Opportunity

Pretzels are sure having their moment, aren’t they? I’m seeing them pop up on menus in various forms and fashions to fill what I think are two roles: nostalgic comfort food and easy snack sales. But they require some refreshing from the crunchy sticks and looped knots I grew up with. I remember one pretzel moment from more than 55 years ago. My siblings and I sat around the kitchen table nibbling on pretzels and bologna sandwiches when my mother asked us a deep question. “What are you kids living for?” I was probably all of 10 years old. I panicked, having never given life’s purpose a single thought. Fortunately, she came up with her personal answer to that question, and I eagerly claimed it as my obvious purpose. Crunch. That, my friends, is nostalgia!

In the snacking department, you can surely look to the grab-and-go fresh food section of c-stores for ideas. Kwik Trip offers soft Garlic Parmesan Pretzel Sticks. Sheetz sells soft Pretzel Nuggets with Honey Mustard. Here’s a creative one. Gas patrons at Cumberland Farms c-stores can run in and grab soft shell Pizza Stuffed Pretzels.

Of course, anyone who frequents Auntie Anne’s wouldn’t think that is so unique. The pretzel chain that operates in such snack-magnets as malls, airports, military bases and universities most recently added Pepperoni Pretzel Nuggets to the lineup, which is bite-size pizza with pretzel dough—each topped with a pepperoni slice and a three-cheese blend.

For its part, Subway got smart, and rather than reinvent the pretzel for its new Sidekicks menu, it partnered with Auntie Anne’s and includes the pretzel chain’s Footlong Pretzels on its snack menu.

But snacking isn’t the only opportunity to cash in on pretzel popularity. Chick-fil-A is testing a Pretzel Cheddar Club Sandwich for a limited time at a few restaurants in Raleigh, North Carolina. Meanwhile, Culvers has brought back its Pretzel Haus Pub Burger through August, which is a beef patty, pickled onions, bacon, cheddar cheese and cheese sauce on a pretzel bun. Occasionally, Little Caesars brings in its Pretzel Crust Pizza LTO.

If this puts you in the mood to find ways to incorporate positive nostalgia into an LTO, then you can let your corporate test kitchen pretzel imagination run wild.

For breakfast it can be as simple as chopping pretzels into pieces and concocting a Pretzel and Cheese Omelet. It adds crunch, a great name and a nice flavor contrast. You could easily do Pretzel Pancakes by chopping up soft pretzels into small bits and folding them into pancake batter for an interesting texture and a salty kick. What kind of sauce or syrup would go with that? For those using pretzel buns for burgers or sandwiches, how about cross utilizing those buns and making Pretzel French Toast. Soak pretzel buns in an egg and milk mixture, then fry and serve with maple syrup and a sprinkle of powdered sugar for a sweet and salty breakfast LTO.

For the dessert menu, I’ve long advocated for chocolate anything. If you could only have one item on the dessert menu, let it be chocolate. I’m talking Chocolate Pretzel Lava Cake. Work up a pretzel-infused crust for that thing. Of course, finish it with a salted caramel drizzle.

Could you picture doing a Chocolate Pretzel Mousse Tower in which each layer (between crispy pretzel wafers) features a different type of chocolate—dark, milk and white?

You can play to pretzel comfort and nostalgia across the menu. Make that your purpose for a limited time.

Jody

Hybrid Creations Energize the Menu

I’ve noticed a few super creative menu-mashup LTOs lately. It’s time to revisit this engaging in-your-face seasonal spectacular. Anything that draws a doubletake is also a good social media buzz generator.

My favorite recent mashup is from Smokey Bones. It’s a House-Smoked Brisket Sundae served in stemware. Say what?! They describe it as Texas-style smoked brisket over mashed potatoes and roasted corn and garnished with red wine sauce, fried onion tanglers and scallions. While the chain is at it, it also has a BBQ Pork Sundae, which is mac & cheese layered with pulled pork, jalapeno cheddar sausage and bacon coleslaw topped with scallions and Carolina BBQ sauce. When you invoke a dessert theme on an entrée, you could wind up with a swing and a miss. So it must be craveable. This looks to be. On the other hand, it could be something that brings guests in the door where you could upsell them.

I also see two examples that turn breakfast carbs into sandwiches. IHOP has a Magnificent French Toast Sandwich, which is folded egg, sausage patty, hash browns, American cheese and chipotle mayo on French toast. Meanwhile, Walk-On’s Sports Bisteaux offers a Beignet Cheeseburger Slider.

Beverages are surely a low entry point for a mashup. Dutch Bros is running a Churro Freeze LTO, which is coffee blended with ice and caramel and garnished with a cinnamon sugar soft top (sweetened aerated milk) and churro bits.

If breakfast is one of your slow times, these LTO breakfast-dessert hookups might be what you need to drive traffic and sales.

1. Cinnamon Roll Pancakes: Combine the comfort of pancakes with the flavors of a cinnamon roll. Prepare pancake batter and swirl in a mixture of cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter before cooking. Top with a creamy cream cheese glaze instead of traditional syrup.
2. Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast: Elevate French toast by stuffing thick slices of bread with a sweet cheesecake filling. Dip in egg mixture, cook until golden and serve with a berry compote.
3. Apple Pie Oatmeal: Mix the nostalgic taste of apple pie with the wholesomeness of oatmeal. Cook steel-cut oats with diced apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg, topping with a crumble of oats, butter, and brown sugar baked until crispy.
4. Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding: Use buttery croissants as the base for a luxurious bread pudding, incorporating dark chocolate chunks and a vanilla custard. Bake until the chocolate melts into gooey pockets and serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream.
5. Tiramisu Crepes: Fill delicate crepes with a mascarpone espresso mixture, mimicking the classic flavors of tiramisu. Dust with cocoa powder and serve with a drizzle of coffee-infused syrup for an indulgent breakfast treat.

If you’re trying to find late morning or afternoon snacking mashup LTO ideas, consider these two:

1. Sweet Potato Donut Holes: Fry sweet potato donut holes until golden and toss them in a cinnamon-sugar mix. Serve with a side of whipped cream or a small scoop of vanilla ice cream for dipping. The combination of the earthy sweet potatoes with the sugary coating offers a delightful snack that’s not too heavy.
2. Matcha Popcorn Balls: Create eye catching popcorn balls bound with a matcha-infused marshmallow mixture. This not only adds a vibrant green color but also a subtle tea flavor that complements the sweetness of the marshmallow.

Mashup LTOs can energize your menu, draw customer interest and showcase your operation’s on-trend creative flair.

Jody

Keep the “C” in Color

Today’s menu inspiration is brought to you by “C” for “Color.” It’s what I’ve noticed most about recent innovative limited time offers and new menu items in general. Using color, you can hit on all the culinary trends your operation and your guests crave. I’ll show you.

Cyclical considerations. There’s nothing like the revolving seasons to display the colors that strike that “gotta have it now” urge. Spring exudes light pastels like pink, sky blue, mint green, yellow and lavender alongside bolder colors like marigold orange. In fact, in April, Marigold Dreamsicle was the flavor of the month at Baskin-Robbins. That was a mix of vanilla bean ice cream and marigold ice cream made with real marigold blossoms, along with an orange swirl.

Crafted from nature: As in Baskin-Robbins’ example, nowadays, if you’re going to make a bold colorful statement, you likely won’t be using food coloring. That’s so “last century.” The main color is going to have to come from nature, from whence comes our food. If you’re making white coconut cupcakes and you want red/pink frosting, turn to pomegranate juice. Not only does the color pop, you’ve added an interesting call-out second flavor to name the cupcake. For lemon yellow cupcakes—make a color-complimenting purple/blue frosting with pureed blueberries blended with cream cheese. Challenge yourself by eliminating food coloring from the kitchen.

Cultural moorings: How about global cuisines with color? In that case, seasonality takes a back seat to the ingredients common around the globe. I can think of no better example than ube, the purple yam that is native to the Philippines and thus is common in Filipino cuisine. Fast food Filipino chain Jollibee is in the middle of an extended Ube Pie LTO, which is a flaky hand pie filled with the vibrant purple filling. The mashed purple yam certainly works in fusion applications. I recently ordered an Ube Cannoli dessert of three purple puree filled cannoli’s at Tidepools restaurant at the Grand Hyatt in Poipu, Kauai.

Dragon fruit is the current darling of color showing up in pink/red beverages to exude the tropics. In a trio of three Aqua Frescas at a California test location, Taco Bell included dragon fruit berry, a green tea-based drink with pieces of dragon fruit for color and flavoring. On a more widespread basis, the chain ran a Dragon Fruit Freeze LTO—a slush drink with dragon berry fruit flavor and color.

Clean consumption: For the health and sustainable conscious, colorful plant-based edibles provide guilt-free pleasures. Consider a Golden Turmeric Smoothie. Give it a sunny yellow hue with turmeric, banana and mango. It’s a healthy offering with a springy color. Or perhaps offer bright orange fresh-pressed carrot ginger juice with sweet carrots and spicy ginger, ideal for a morning or midday energizer.

Creative choreography: Color, and especially spring colors, are sexy and photogenic. Your social media-engaged guests become your brand ambassadors. Who could resist snapping a selfie holding an edible flower gelato—a mix of vanilla gelato with swirls of colorful edible flower petals like calendula (orange), cornflower (blue) and rose (pink)? Or, if that sounds too difficult to source, you might do like Dave & Buster’s and crack open a box of Froot Loops. The chain recently added Cereal Cake: Cereal-flavored cake topped with marshmallow cream icing and cotton candy, surrounded by sweet vanilla cream sauce and Jumbo Froot Loops cereal. Hopefully guests can refrain from diving into it until they’ve taken and posted a proper photo of it!

No matter if you aim for seasonal, natural, indulgent, global or artistic LTO fare, do it in living color to grab maximum attention.

Jody Shee

Boba, Baby!

If you’re looking for a beverage LTO opportunity or an interesting platform to expand your reach, you’ll want to take a serious look at bubbles. As in boba beverages. I can think of 10 good reasons why tapioca pearls have legs and why now is the time to look into them.

First: You can use bubble tea to draw more of the coveted Gen Z (ages 14-27). Some 23% of Gen Z have purchased bubble tea from a foodservice location in the past three months, according to the survey conducted for Mintel’s Foodservice Coffee and Tea, US—2023 report. That is significantly higher than the other generations.

Second: While boba tea is still emerging, it will soon become ubiquitous across all demographics considering that you can now find endcaps of boba tea kits at Costco!

Third: Bubble tea is absolutely viewed as a snack. According to Mintel’s consumer survey, 74% of those who drink bubble tea say they typically consume it in the afternoon, which is its highest timeframe and operators’ most-coveted daypart expansion.

Fourth: Bubble tea is experiential. Other adjectives could include fun, playful and unique. This could be the reason why it appeals to the younger generation. Mintel’s report highlights that almost 40% of Gen Z consumers would be motivated to order coffee/tea from foodservice establishments if they offer unique drinks on the menu.

Fifth: The fun, playful and aesthetically pleasing quality of boba drinks places them in the center of customer social media posts, which turns everyone into an influencer for your brand.

Sixth: Boba tea can help you check the “global cuisine” box. It was founded in Taiwan during the 1980s and is popular among Asians, which is notably obvious when you visit a bubble tea-centric operation in a college town.

Seventh: Tapioca boba/bubbles are adaptable. Though milk tea is the original host for the chewy pearls, tea is not mandatory. In February 2024, Del Taco ran an interesting series of three LTO beverages called Poppers. The Strawberry Lemonade Poppers mixed the boba pearls with strawberries and Minute Maid Zero Sugar Lemonade over ice. Another version mixed boba pearls and real strawberries with Sprite over ice. And interestingly, the third one combined boba pearls with real strawberries layered in a vanilla shake.

Eighth: Any foodservice concept’s menu can benefit from an infusion of bubbles. I mentioned Del Taco above. Last summer, Jack in the Box tested a trio of boba-enhanced beverages: milk tea, iced coffee and a vanilla shake. I’m waiting for a big convenience store chain to lay claim to boba beverages. I did notice that Quik Trip in India has a line of four bubble beverages.

Ninth: Bubble beverages are a perfect expansion option for the fast casual segment with its playbook of customized, “pick your own ingredients” offerings.

Tenth: Bubble chains are emerging. They are their own concept, and the more that pop up, the bigger splash they will make in their markets. To name a few, there’s Gong Cha, Uncle Sharkii Poke Bar (bubble tea is as much a part of the concept as Hawaiian poke) and Krak Boba. But there are more, and plenty of independents.

It just seems like a no-brainer to make the beverage menu the place to launch some interesting LTOs. Boba covers a lot of bases and could be an easy way to add some spark while boosting the bottom line.

Jody Shee

Getting a "Load" on Pizza

When I was a teenager, I hated pizza. That was back in the 1970s when the pizza pie pretty much came in only two versions: pepperoni and supreme that was heavy on the green peppers. I’m not fond of either, so I was the pizza veto in our family when eating out. Even today, if an operator is only going to menu two pizzas, they are going to be pepperoni and supreme. OK, maybe cheese to please the youngsters.

I don’t know what year or decade it was when pizza dough became a blank canvas for absolutely anything. Now you can gauge current food trends by looking at Pizza Hut’s LTOS. Every R&D chef is looking for ways to incorporate plant-based proteins, gluten-free options, hot honey, global flavors, comfort food, birria, Nashville hot and whatever other trends you’re reading about in your trade publications.

In January, Pizza Hut pepped up pepperoni pizza by incorporating hot honey and renaming it Hot Honey Pizza. It’s topped with marinara sauce, cheese, classic pepperoni and crispy cupped pepperoni, and a sweet sauce made with red habanero peppers and honey. Oh, and how about Pizza Hut’s spicy Pickle Pizza LTO last year? Pickles have had their moment. The chain combined pickles with Nashville hot chicken. It was sauced with buttermilk ranch, and topped with cheese, crispy breaded chicken breast seasoned with a kick of Nashville Hot Seasoning, sliced white onions, and then loaded with spicy dill pickles and finished off with a drizzle of buttermilk ranch.

In the cold Q4 of 2023, Hungry Howie’s went with a comfort food theme for an LTO of Mac ‘N Cheese Pizza that included melted mozzarella and panko breadcrumbs for a crunch.

So, we see that pizza crust is a carrier for all the latest trends in the same way every carrier is taking on food-scene shifts. Think sandwiches, wraps, tacos, omelets and now bowls. They are all foundations for the likes of birria, Nashville hot and the rest of the current “it” ingredients.

I would think that the classic baked potato could go all directions as a carrier of dining evolutions, but it really hasn’t for some reason. I have to hand it to Wendy’s for being the lone champion of the baked potato in fast food. It has five topping options, all of which stay reasonably between the standard white lines. Fries and tots, on the other hand, are the sexier potato carriers for trendy toppings. Wings and Rings totally got that with a few notable LTOs last year. Its Loaded Steak & Queso Fries were topped with seasoned thinly sliced steak, queso, cheddar jack cheese, jalapenos, avocado, roasted corn, tomatoes, scallions and chipotle ranch dressing. (Couldn’t you just as easily see that ingredient list atop a pizza or in a wrap or bowl?)

In the dessert category, Wings and Rings ran a S’Mores Funnel Fries LTO that loaded funnel cake fries with gooey melted marshmallows, chocolate and Cinnamon Toast Crunch crumbles. 

Coming full circle with the loaded goods, Domino’s Pizza entered the field of loaded potatoes for the first time last year with loaded tots. The three variations simply borrow the ingredients from a few pizzas, so other than the tots, no new ingredients were required. (Philly Cheese Steak Loaded Tots; Cheddar Bacon Loaded Tots; and Melty 3-Cheese Loaded Tots.)

What will become the next blank canvas for trendy ingredient toppings? Watch Papa Murphy’s. It recently added Monkey Bread to the menu. So far it comes in only two flavors: savory garlic and sweet cinnamon. But I see loads of opportunity, how about you?

Jody