SheeFood

The Salad Bar of the Future

If you didn’t know that salad bars need a disruption, you’re about to find out. I predict that in 10 years, you won’t see a traditional salad bar. You will see robots disguised as vending machines. I discovered them while researching automated technology for an upcoming article.

Right now Chowbotics in Silicon Valley is leading the salad robot revolution, but others will no doubt enter the space. The first Chowbotics Sally salad robot entered the market a year ago, and already there are more than 50 of them out there. In summary, the refrigerated vending-machine-looking unit holds 22 plastic canisters that the operator fills with salad ingredients, including lettuce, proteins, toppings and dressings. From a built-in touchpad, customers select the ingredients they want or choose from a few pre-programmed salads. The canisters spin and drop the ingredients into a pulp container, and the guest pays with a credit card. With no human in sight, one might wonder if the ingredients will quickly run out, or conversely, if the less popular items will sit in there and rot. But smart technology addresses those problems. When an item is about to run out, operators are notified on their phone or computer. When they load ingredients, they fill in a freshness date. For example, three days for lettuce or two days for chicken. Once the fresh limit is reached, the machine locks out the ingredient so guests can’t get it, and the operator is notified.

I see five reasons how and why this will be a salad disruptor.  

1. Imagine a restaurant, and especially one known to have great salads, contracting with a local hospital, business or university to put one of these robots in its cafeteria with the restaurant logo on the machine. It allows for a satellite location, extending the brand and allowing for extra income. It’s already being done. The Salad Station in Hammond, Louisiana, just placed one in a local hospital.
2. Its small 3-foot by 3-foot footprint allows for a “salad bar” in a location that otherwise couldn’t handle a traditional salad bar. Think stadiums, business cafeterias, grocery stores and convenience stores.
3. Standing next to candy, chip and beverage vending machines, a salad robot, that looks a lot like a vending machine, brings the possibility of not only something healthy and fresh, but a full meal at that. The operator decides what ingredients go in the machine, so it can include proteins.
4. The food safety issues of a standard salad bar are negated. The machine is refrigerated, all the ingredients are encased and there are no utensils subject to dropping to the ground. Those who don’t “do” salad bars for the unattended, open-air nature of the beast would feel comfortable with the robot.
5. The cost of a salad from the machine can be less than the price of a packaged salad mix, and consumers these days could appreciate the lack of plastic packaging, lack of distribution carbon footprint and the use of local ingredients.
6. Bonus: Labor is not replaced with a robot. If there’s a salad robot in a non-traditional location that otherwise would not have a salad bar, it’s not replacing a worker. It’s giving a worker something to do… because somewhere, someone is prepping the ingredients that go into the machine.

Tell me I’m crazy, but I see this as a game changer. Just watch.

Tell me what you think.

Jody

Restaurant Rescue Missions

Remember the days when, for the sake of marketing, restaurants ponied up with promotions in which part of the proceeds for a day or a week went to a charity? For a while, that seemed brilliant. PR companies expertly advised their foodservice clients that they could count on bundles of free publicity because publications like that kind of news—especially if the beneficiaries are women, children or animals.

Then along came Millennials and their answers to survey questions revealing that they would support with their dining dollars operators who support causes they believe in. Better if the restaurant’s core DNA visibly stands for something respectable. Nobility became a proposition championed by then-emerging fast casuals—beginning with “Food With Integrity” (yes, Chipotle).

At first, besides charities, everyone was supporting organic, local farmers, fair trade, low carbon emissions and the like. Then all that became a given and less buzz-worthy.

Today we are watching an all-out do-good revival going on in foodservice. What’s different now is that new fast casuals aren’t the only ones building human and global welfare into their operations. Also, it’s not a function of the marketing department, but a C-level top-down directive that turns giving and doing into a core business proposition. So I’m saying, there’s been an awakening among chain restaurant executives to project meaning beyond feeding customers. Finding a global need and having a part in meeting that need is no longer left to the church. Let the Methodists say Hallelujah.

Saving oceans from plastic is Red Lobster’s new initiative, hot off the press. The chain announced a partnership with Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit that seeks to protect and preserve the world’s oceans. It plans to focus on two things: The Global Ghost Gear Initiative (dealing with lost and abandoned fishing gear) and the Trash Free Seas Alliance. That effort seeks to keep plastic waste from entering oceans.

Just how could Red Lobster help with that? With its buying volume, it will educate suppliers, and don’t be surprised if it makes some kind of packaging requirement of them. It has put everyone on notice that it is taking plastic seriously. Per its press release, “Red Lobster, which was the first large casual dining restaurant company to make a commitment to eliminate plastic straws from its restaurants, will continue to evaluate the use of single use plastics and seek alternatives. Red Lobster will also help educate consumers about the impact single-use plastics can have on the oceans and marine life and encourage eco-friendly choices.”

While plastic is the cross-hairs at Red Lobster, Cracker Barrel’s ongoing cause is military families. While it long has made them promotion beneficiaries, most recently the chain has formed a strategic partnership with Operation Homefront, a nonprofit that helps military families with short-term financial needs, transitional and permanent housing and family support programs. Cracker Barrel is leveraging Operation Homefront’s knowledge of who and where the needs are when it comes to meals.

Those and other causes infused into the DNA of a restaurant are commendable. But please hope with me that in time, as more operators pick the things they would like to champion, they don’t turn to political activism and the hot-button issues that divide our country. After all, aren’t restaurants where we come together and forget the outside world? Let’s preserve that sanctity—please.

Tell me what you think.

Jody

Everyone is Going Coconuts

If there ever was an ingredient having its day in the sun, its coconuts. It’s obvious that flavor- and ingredient-watchers have had a keen eye on the tropical fruit, sending their R&D people to the kitchen with an assignment; start flavoring with coconuts. Because if the fame of coconut water is any indication of what can happen with the rest of the fruit, then get out there in front with it. Thus, the makers of M&Ms recently came out with limited-edition Thai Coconut Peanut M&Ms. In Canada, a company just launched coconut salt. And coconut chips just came on the market from Prairie Naturals under its Prairie Naturals Superfoods brand.

But not so fast with the superfood designation. At the moment, coconuts are where avocados used to be in the “is it healthy?” spectrum. The avocado industry fought for its nutrition integrity and came out beautifully. Coconuts and coconut oil are going through it now with leading dieticians evaluating all the particulars about the fat components and their effects on the body. One thing is for sure, coconut oil manufacturers and menu marketers have pushed pause on promoting the oil as healthy, especially after a lawsuit against Costco for promoting its Kirkland brand of coconut oil as healthy. (Coconut oil contains 12 g of saturated fat per tablespoon compared to 2 grams in vegetable oil.)

While avocados could be argued as the single ingredient to turn something into California cuisine, coconut takes food in tropical and Pacific Rim directions, which are trendy propositions right now. Coconut is supremely versatile with infinite life left to give in desserts as well as salads, entrees and in condiments, sauces and beverages in all day parts.

You’ll see coconut added in interesting ways in chef-driven operations all the way down to fast-food and fast-casual chains.

For breakfast, Peet’s Coffee and Tea recently updated its Simply Oatmeal to include seasonal toppings of toasted coconut, agave quinoa and chia. You’ll find coconut paired with superfoods while it vacillates in and out of that status itself. Starbucks recently came out with a Mango and Coconut Yogurt Bowl, and yes, it also includes chia seeds.

Snap Kitchen recently launched what it calls Cocoyo that it originally described as “So fluffy we can hardly believe it’s healthy. This yogurt made from raw coconut meat is full of healthy fat that totally satisfies. Paleo, vegan, milk free, whole 30 compliant, keto, gluten free.” Since its launch, the healthy fat comment has been dropped.

Upscale coconut renditions include Spago Beverly Hills with its Charred Octopus in a Coconut Bowl and a side dish at Café Boulud—Yogurt Roasted Cauliflower with coconut, cilantro-cashew chutney and tomato masala sauce. It’s a nod to Indian cooking.

Coconut has always had a place on the dessert menu. Its new comfortable home may be on the beverage menu paired with other tropical flavors. Will it defy nutrition scrutiny like it does in a few of the beverages at Nekter Juice Bar? Its Tropical Cooler is made with a puree of spinach, kale, pineapple, banana, coconut butter and coconut water. Its Turmeric Sunrise smoothie combines pineapple, mango, coconut butter and coconut water with a little lime and turmeric “for a light and refreshing smoothie that fights inflammation and boosts your immune system,” per the company menu.

Look for more coconut innovation and a future that won’t fade. The rediscovered fruit has already stood the test of time.

Tell me what you think.

Jody

How to Appeal to the Most Lucrative Foodservice Target Market

We’ve all read too much on foodservice efforts targeting Millennials—adjusting menus, ingredients, sourcing and marketing to attract them. But there is a more profitable demographic worth its own consideration that looks at operations, the menu and marketing through a different lens. I’m going to call this demographic the corporate class. Others might call it business diners, but I’m thinking beyond the fact that business travelers have to eat somewhere. There is amazing income to be had from those who entertain clients, sometimes large groups, where cost is not an issue.

Given the good-food-at-any-cost approach they take to dinner out, you might think that a frequent diners program would not be a go-to marketing strategy. But if done mindfully, it sure could. How can you leverage the rewards program to get executives and sales reps to pick your place above all others to take clients? Points for dollars spent is one traditional way.

That’s just part of the non-cookie-cutter rewards program employed by Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse. Its website explains the program, but not completely. One of the perks is VIP Rewards and Offers. Could that be a veiled reference to its Double Eagle Silver Coins? Oh yes. Each location, at the GM’s discretion, can give a loyal diner a Double Eagle coin (.999 fine silver one troy ounce). That’s worth something alone. But the goal is to collect one from each city where it’s offered (the city is on the coin). The end game is to collect them all, after which the collector is invited to Dallas to receive a gold coin from the owners.

How to get the GM’s attention when you visit is fascinating to me. One of my husband’s business friends takes his stack of silver coins to dinner and spreads them out on the table in front of him, which gets the servers’ attention, and the GM is soon at the table schmoozing. This leads to a fine dance in which another silver coin can be added to the stack.

The steakhouse chain can afford this because in its non-traditional methods, it charges guests $25 to join the rewards program.

But there’s a menu consideration in a strategy that targets corporate diners. It’s the vegetarian factor. And maybe not just any vegetarian. Consider the demographics of your area, and if, for example, there is a large IT presence where a lot of folks from India work, for the sake of the executives, add some vegetarian cuisine that would appeal to Indians (do your research. Paneer cheese ideas anyone?) It is a fact that when executives/sales people entertain clients and there is even one Indian in the group—that changes everything. A steakhouse with no fish or vegetarian options is out, sadly. Negate that costly business veto vote with a few menu items suitable to non-beef eaters and vegetarians.

And finally, catering has to be part of your strategy if you are targeting corporate diners. Be the go-to “order lunch in” place and do your menu research on what would be most appealing. Ever how healthful you make it, include an outrageous to-die-for dessert option. Be the place companies talk about for their corporate lunch meals.

Tell me what you think.

Jody

2019 Food and Foodservice Trends

It’s time to look ahead to 2019 and forecast the hot food trends. My way of distinguishing trend from fad is when the concept hits on several prevailing sensibilities. Here’s what I see ahead:

Local 3.0

Remember when “buy local” was all about the carbon footprint? With-it chefs purchased ingredients only within a 100-mile radius. That morphed into DIY produce. Chefs started rooftop or patio gardens and started buying farms and contracting with local farms. Well, meet the future—balance. Global flavors, ingredients and cuisines are fueling this new tempered local. Authentic ethnic requires ingredients that must be shipped in. Local will abide, but so will global sourcing.

Color: The beet goes on

I’m not the first to point out that Instagram is a taskmaster. For the sake of free photographic publicity, food must be eye candy, and thus colorful. Using natural color, of course. Beets were already booming, but for their vivid color, they have lasting power. Same with turmeric. Its stardom goes beyond its commanding yellow hue. It’s also ethnic and it’s a superfood. Butterfly pea tea powder/extract, anyone? That covers the blue and purple spectrum and is becoming quite popular in the beverage arena, especially as stenciled flowers on foam tops. It hasn’t received its publicity due, and I wonder if 2019 is the year the media starts talking about it.

Oat milk

This plant-based milk (which will likely have the milk regulated out of it) seems to have the best culinary power—more so than coconut milk and almond milk. Where creaminess and/or a health halo matters, oat milk is tops. It will continue its rise through 2019, not only in tea and coffee beverages, but in desserts.

Global citrus

I’m old enough to remember when the grocery store produce department was just one or two cases with no value-added product and only one lettuce, one apple and one orange variety. And no one knew any better. I think when it comes to citrus, we are on the cusp of a variety explosion, thanks to authentic Asian cuisines. Globally focused chefs are driving the introduction of more complex citrus flavors—like yuzu, pomelo and calamansi. Will this trickle down to the grocery store? Yes to those that are globally focused.

UH, NO

Just because I can, I’m going to point out two things that I predict will be a bust.

IHOP Pancake wear. The pancake chain just launched a line of pancake inspired merchandise. The company press release says, “From statement-making clothing to playful accessories—including exclusive holiday sweaters, kids gear and collectible pins—the online store was created so that all-day breakfast fans everywhere could show off their passion for pancakes.” Well, for starters, pancakes are not addictive. Any one of us can and do decide daily we won’t eat pancakes because A) we don’t have the time, ingredients or will to make them ourselves and B) only rarely will we go out and eat them. So, to say people are passionate about pancakes isn’t true to anywhere near the degree they would say they are passionate about Starbucks coffee. Now if Starbucks came out with a line of clothes, that might be something. But right now, that chain is focused on launching delivery. Meanwhile, IHOP is about to be disappointed. No one wants pancake wear.

Eclairs. I read one trend prediction that said, “Filled choux pastry will invade the U.S. market as the next macaron or cupcake.” Why? Because in France, the choux pastry has become increasingly popular. Do I need to point out that here in the U.S., we can’t even pronounce it? Besides, what does a choux pastry (éclair) have that a donut doesn’t? I have to push my buzzer on that trend prediction.

Tell me what you think.

Jody

Operators' Creative Juices Flow for Thanksgiving Promotions

Many of us would agree that of all the holidays, Thanksgiving is the least commercial, making it one of the most palatable annual occasions. I’m impressed with some of the unique Thanksgiving promotions several restaurant chains have come up with this year—pretty creative shticks for sure.

For Taco Bell, it’s not about the food. For what do Thanksgiving and tacos have in common? No, it’s about what to wear on Thanksgiving. They partnered with apparel company Tipsy Elves—the famous ugly sweater company launched via “Shark Tank”—to develop two Taco Bell/Thanksgiving-themed sweaters and leggings. So, if folks aren’t likely to eat tacos on Thanksgiving, they can at least wear a Taco Bell billboard. That, my friends, is thinking!

The next brainy promo belongs to White Castle. The chain unabashedly suggests tearing, chopping and folding a wad of White Castle sliders into the turkey stuffing. Back in 1991, an employee developed such a recipe, and it took off. Now White Castle freely promotes that turkey dressing recipe in hopes that people will flock to the restaurant (or the freezer case of the store where they can buy White Castle sliders) and stock up for that iconic holiday dish. Brilliant!

Just Salad came up with something ponderous. For November, they developed a Healthy Harvest Salad that they dub as “a nutritious take on Thanksgiving dinner” featuring a bowl of romaine and kale topped with roasted turkey, dried cranberries, quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted pumpkin seeds and goat cheese with balsamic vinaigrette. The ponderous part is that they’ve given this a cause-marketing spin. They looked at the calendar for November causes and went with Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. Thus, the chain is donating 10 percent of all proceeds from the sale of the Healthy Harvest Salad to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network “so you can eat well + do good all in one bite.” This, of course, will appeal to Millennials who like their dining dollars to do double duty.

Bob Evans geared up for Thanksgiving by conducting a consumer survey to put statistics to how much time, money and effort goes into Thanksgiving meal preparation. This has allowed them to present themselves as the cheaper/easier alternative. Their survey results indicate Americans spend on average $20-$30 per person. Ah, but customers can buy all the dishes from Bob Evans and take it home “starting at less than $10 per person.” Not only that, but the chain’s survey asked consumers to say how much they hate cleaning up (65% say it's their least favorite part about hosting Thanksgiving), to which Bob Evans says, “come eat here, and you don’t have to clean up at all!” I think the cleverness of all this was conducting research. It makes for a fact-based vs. hype-based press release, which is more likely to be picked up by publications.

Those are the creative Thanksgiving promotions I saw. Tell me what you saw.

Jody

Breakfast Cereal Has Legs

It’s refreshing to see that not all menu innovation is centered around functional food. Some of it is just fun. That was my thought when I read a blurb earlier this month about Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s latest LTO—Froot Loops Mini Donuts. That is, mini donuts in the colors of Froot Loops, so they look like the cereal… in red, blue, green, purple and yellow. I bet they even use artificial coloring!

The company press release offers nostalgia as the thought behind the sugary-cereal-like donuts. It could just as easily have been a matter of indulgence, creative snacking or expanding the breakfast daypart.

Cereal itself is expanding across the menu—a breakfast dish-turned-ingredient—thinking outside the cereal box with still more life to give breakfast and brunch. And I’m not talking about granola, which is almost classified as a superfood. No. I mean all the other stuff lining the cereal aisle.

I noticed on the menu at Scratch Kitchen and Meatery in Honolulu Milk N Cereal Pancakes with a side of milk syrup. The pancake stack was topped with banana and strawberry slices, corn flakes and powdered sugar. A great way to get some crunch in there.

Anything that has to be batter-dipped for breakfast or brunch may as well be dredged in cereal. How about Cap’n Crunch-crusted French toast with a side of cereal milk custard and fresh strawberries. It’s on the menu at Culinary Dropout. On the brunch menu, chicken and waffles get a tweak with Rice Krispie-crusted chicken on a Belgian waffle with maple-bacon syrup as seen on the menu at Chicago’s Heaven on Seven.

Cereal breading goes right on through the menu for lunch and dinner, making for a great menu story and perhaps some social media traction. The Fried Avocado Wrap at Picasso on Paseo in Oklahoma City is possible because the avocado is corn flake crusted. The Chicken Sliders at BurGR are also corn flake crusted. Corn flakes are generic enough to take on the other chicken slider flavors of five spice, Sriracha mayo, pickled scallions and arugula.  

Desserts are where operators can go crazy with cereal. That’s because a successful dessert will be craveable and Instagramable. Even here, the crusted theme works for a dessert that is going to wow the guest as a fried version of its best self. Consider the Rolo’s Fried Ice Cream at Mugshots Grill & Bar, Tupelo, Miss. The vanilla ice cream scoops are rolled in Frosted Flakes, deep fried, drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

Famed food star Guy Fieri just opened his new Chicken Guy restaurant in Walt Disney World Resort with Cinnamon Apple on the dessert menu described as hand-spun vanilla soft-serve, crunchy cinnamon cereal and cinnamon-apple cereal with fresh whipped cream. (He’s using Apple Jacks.)

For a cupcake topping, how about Lucky Charms sprinkled on top of light green vanilla bean buttercream frosting? It’s the Lucky Charms Cupcake at Yummy Cupcakes.

Cereal-topped milkshakes are certainly photogenic, providing a wealth of LTOs for Steak ‘n Shake. The chain has come out with a Cinnamon Crunch Milkshake, Cocoa Krispies Milkshake, Froot Loops Milkshake and Frosted Flakes Milkshake.

Where can cereal go that it hasn’t been before? I was going to say ball park hotdogs. But at Progressive Field, the Cleveland Indians already thought of that and offered hot dogs loaded with mac n' cheese, bacon and Froot Loops.

Tell me what you think.

Jody

How Soon Before We See Loaded Coffee?

Given the now-recognized phenomenon that snacks are meals to a lot of folks, and I’d say that those operating coffee operations are in a sweet spot right now. That’s because today’s coffee is an addiction for some and a snack for others. Maybe an addictive snack.  

I’ve watched what has happened with coffee limited-time offers in the past year, and it is apparent that operators are investing R&D in candy-like coffee. Take McDonald’s McCafé coffee LTOs for instance. In March, it came out with Turtle Macchiato (chocolate, caramel and hazelnut flavors blended with milk and espresso, topped with a chocolate drizzle) and Iced Turtle Coffee (Iced coffee with chocolate, caramel and hazelnut flavors and a touch of cream). Pure snack, and pure sweet coffee, with the turtle moniker so no one misses the candy connection.

In my opinion… what took so long? My first job as a high schooler was at a donut shop. In the back, if the chocolate we used to ice the chocolate donuts was too thick, we poured hot coffee into it and stirred to revive. Coffee and chocolate are so similar that there is no off-putting flavor when combined. Now decades later, coffee operators are onto it in a marketable way (what we did in the back at the donut shop decades ago was our little secret).

More examples, in January, Caribou Coffee offered Cabin Bar Mocha—butterscotch melted into steamed milk and combined with espresso and peanut butter flavor, topped with chocolate whipped cream and chocolate chips. In March, Starbucks reached away from chocolate to other confections with its creative Crystal Ball Frappuccino LTO— “a crème-based Frappuccino infused with peach flavor and turquoise sparkles for a marbling effect. The magic happens when the peach-flavored whipped cream is sprinkled with one of three colored candy gems, each color signifying a different fortune in vivid blue, green, and purple.”

Now that the door has opened to combining candy and coffee, I think that in the spirit of loading, “freak coffee” is next. Freak shakes are already a trending thing. The examples above show we are almost there with coffee. Surely someone is taking note of what Checkers is doing with shakes. The chain features a Loaded Milkshake section. Thinking of their innovation, I expect to see coffee operators partnering with candy companies to come up with the next wave of hot and iced coffee snack/dessert LTOs. I’ll finish with Checkers’ recent loaded shake addition and ask… why can’t coffee do this?

Of its Caramel Cheesecake Crunch Made with Twix® Loaded Milkshake, Checkers declares on its menu: “a dialed-up version of our milkshakes made with vanilla milkshake blended with soft serve, rich caramel sauce, and crushed Twix® candy pieces. It’s then topped with Philadelphia® cheesecake filling and more Twix® candy pieces. Then, it’s all topped off with whipped cream and a cherry. Upgrade your Classic Milkshake to the new Caramel Cheesecake Crunch Made with Twix® Loaded Milkshake only at Checkers & Rally’s!”

Tell me what you think.

Jody

Crisps Add Variety Via Crunch

The best thing to happen to a dish is the incorporation of some crunch. I think Taco Bell’s Crunchwrap is a brilliant, marketable title. To the American palate, crunch is tops. Along the same line, so is crisp. In fact, a menu trend is to recast chips as crisps. Crisps sound a little more elevated, and perhaps fresher. After all, we know potato chips come in plastic bags. Crisps don’t carry the same baggage.

We will start seeing more crisps incorporated into dishes for a few reasons. Many of the seasoned chefs I interview for magazine articles explain their goal for a dish to “bang on all cylinders.” That means a dish must include various flavor components (sweet, salty, acidic, etc.) and various textures. Right now, it seems to be a fine-dining goal, but I believe it is spreading. Thus, adding something crispy to the dish makes for a well-rounded intriguing offering any segment can accomplish.

So, what is being crisped these days? An easy one is wonton crisps, and they aren’t relegated to Chinese dishes. Consider Orlando-based Joe’s American Bar and Grill’s Honey Chicken. It’s topped with mesclun greens, sesame noodles, diced tomato, toasted sesame seeds and wonton crisps—topped with honey Dijon dressing. Interesting combo.

Crispy shallots (an elevated version of crispy onions) are showing up as dish finishes. Root vegetables may not be everyone’s favorite, but crisped? Maybe guests think of them in terms of Veggie Straws in which they don’t even resemble their origins. And so I see taro root crisps atop the Coconut Lobster Bisque at The Dining Room in Little Torch Key, Fla. Crisped beets are an appetizer headliner at Narcissa in New York. Its Rotisserie-Crisped Beets also feature bulgur salad, apples and creamed horseradish.

Some are taking the track of bacon—crisped pork, after all. Nothing is better than that. And so, how about crisped pastrami on Smoked Hash? It’s at The General Muir in Atlanta. Cheese, we know, also makes for great crisping. Parmesan crisps have been around for ages.

But if you notice, most of the crisp action is happening at independent fine-dining restaurants where they have the time and labor power, unlike limited-service restaurants. But that segment is where I think we’ll start seeing more of this crispy texture play.

At the recent annual Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Meeting & Food Expo in Chicago, Ardent Mills introduced whole grain crisps. They are available to the foodservice masses as Ancient & Heirloom Grains; Sustagrain Barley; and Quinoa. I imagine we’ll see these at salad chains and fast casual restaurants, probably as options in their customizable manner. It’s a brilliant line of BFY crisps to match the healthy ethos of many of these eateries.

I think we haven’t seen anything yet when it comes to crisps on the menu.

Tell me what you think.

Jody

Fries Remastered

To American’s, French fries have always belonged with burgers. Then operators woke up to what Canadian’s were successfully doing with them (adding cheese curds and pouring gravy over the top in poutine fashion), and the American loaded fries menu movement emerged.

But the next generation of fries is being fueled by the snacking “daypart” combined with the realization that American’s would die for crunch. The guaranteed method to deliver it is the tried-and-true fried potato. Taco Bell has its new Nacho Fries; Jack in the Box has three new types of loaded fries; and Arby’s made a loaded line extension of its curly fries. But where is it all going from here?

I’m impressed with Burger King’s latest—Chicken Fries. I heard about it and was in Hawaii this week looking at it on the Burger King menu board, ready to order. They didn’t have them yet. The chain promotes them as white chicken meat coated in a light crispy breading and seasoned with spices and herbs. Who would not want to order that? You know, chicken fingers are all that—but with an outdated name and shape. Could Burger King have just reinvented chicken fingers fry-style?

Let’s take this non-potato twist on fries to its next logical place. Keep in mind, we’re going with the crispy snack sensibility. Let’s add to it a better-for-you element, and wouldn’t you come up with crispy fried vegetables? We may not find this on a fast-food menu to start with. I think bar menus might be the place to take trendy vegetables, coat them, then fry for that crispy crunch everyone craves—and match it with a flavorful sauce.

The fried vegetable is hardly novel. Tempura-fried vegetables are standard on Japanese menus. But creative operators take an idea and make it their own—in this case with what they envision for specific vegetables, coatings and dipping sauces.

If the long, skinny, crunchy French fry feeling is important, then fried zucchini or fried pickles sliced lengthwise might be the choice vegetables. And indeed, zucchini is a pretty typical vegetable to coat and crisp.

If the hot vegetable of the moment is important, then sliced, coated and fried Brussels sprouts or beets will get the treatment next. Prospect restaurant in San Francisco serves fried Brussels sprouts with Caesar dressing and a garlic crouton on its bar menu. Chicago’s NoMi Kitchen found a way to fry kale crispy and serve it with preserved lemon.

The batter might be the stand-out for some operators. I would be curious to examine the Smoked Tomato Corn Cake Fries on the small-bites menu at Kachina Southwest Grill in Westminster, Colo. In Mill Creek, Wash., casual dining eatery Blazing Onion serves breaded artichoke hearts and zucchini that it describes as Parmesan-battered and crispy fried served with housemade ranch dressing.

I think among these upscale restaurants, vegetable fritters could go places on the snack menu. I just heard about artichoke fritters made with tarragon, honey and lemon aioli at Marshall’s Landing in Chicago.

I’m positive that with the freshening up of menus, we will see more blending of the indulgence of fries with the healthfulness of vegetables. Will this spread across all restaurant segments? We shall see.

Tell me what you think.

Jody Shee