June 2012

Prepared by:

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Introduction

From the 15 individual menu trends identified in this report, three overarching trends stand out:

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Methodology

Technomic examined 50 menus from leading independent restaurants across the U.S. to determine common food, beverage and concept trends. Restaurants ranged from limited-service burger joints to fine-dining steakhouses. The leading 15 trends are detailed in this presentation.

Information for this presentation was collected from restaurant websites, trade publications and The Deluxe Food Lover’s Companion food dictionary. Concept and menu pictures were obtained from restaurant websites, Facebook, review sites and blogs.

Emerging Food and Beverage Trends

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A.M. and P.M. Favorites Collide

Sandwiches, burgers and pizzas are all traditional lunch and dinner entrées being transformed into unique dishes by adding common breakfast ingredients. Waffles and pancakes are replacing burger buns and sandwich breads, and pizza toppings may range from crème fraîche to over-easy eggs.

Bruxië’s Classic Reuben Bruxië

This “sandwich” features hot pastrami with Gruyère cheese, citrus slaw, spicy pickles and spicy brown mustard wrapped in a waffle. The waffle replaces traditional bread in this nontraditional take on a classic Reuben sandwich.

Burger, Tap and Shake’s Five Buck Chuck

Char-griddled pork sausage replaces a traditional beef patty in this breakfast-inspired burger. Egg, American cheese and a burger bun round out the burger toppings on this popular morning dish.

Yelp

Yelp

A.M. and P.M. Favorites Collide

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Pulino’s Pancetta Affumicata

This breakfast pizza features eggs, bacon, crème fraîche and caramelized onions. This traditional lunch and dinner preparation puts a twist on this morning entrée.

Yelp

Insight: Transforming traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner items into something unique is a constant battle for chefs and operators. They want to surprise diners, yet still create meals that customers can recognize. By incorporating breakfast ingredients into ordinary lunch and dinner entrées, and visa versa, guests may be surprised by the combination but still comfortable enough to try the dish. For chefs, this could be a playful way to add complexity to a dish.

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Root Vegetables Rise Up

McCrady’s Restaurant’s Rutabaga Bisque

This soup features lobster, house yogurt and kimchee. The rutabaga, which is thought to be a cross between cabbage and turnip, contains small amounts of vitamins A and C. In this bisque, the rutabaga root vegetable is the star.

Root vegetables are edible subterranean plant roots used for cooking. Root vegetables can be consumed raw or prepared braised, grilled, mashed and roasted. Because of their high nutritional value and variety of methods in which they can be prepared, roots are becoming very popular in restaurants. Root vegetables include everything from beets and rutabaga to parsnips and radishes.

Bondir’s Angus Beef Bavette

The Angus beef is paired with triticale, apples, walnuts, Romanesca cauliflower and roasting jus, as well as brown-sugar parsnips with mustard oil. The parsnip root vegetable is a simple side to this dish, adding small amounts of iron and vitamin C. Yelp

Yelp

Root Vegetables Rise Up

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Scarpetta’s Braised Short Ribs of Beef

The braised beef short ribs are served with farro risotto and root vegetables. The combination of a number of different root vegetables adds an earthy tone to the richer flavors from the short ribs and risotto.

Insight: Root vegetables are interesting ingredients for chefs and manufacturers to experiment with because they can be highlighted as the main ingredient in a dish or they can enhance a dish as a side or simple garnish. Because root vegetables can be prepared using a wide range of methods, chefs should attempt to create new and interesting ways to emphasize this ingredient in dishes.

Yelp

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Brussels sprouts are a member of the cabbage family and resemble tiny cabbage heads. Said to have been cultivated in 16th century Belgium, the leafy green vegetables range from 0.5 to 1.5 inches in diameter. Many rows of sprouts are grown on a single long stalk; the most common method of preparing Brussels sprouts for cooking begins with removal of the buds from the stalk. As a cruciferous vegetables, they are high in vitamins A and C and are fair in source of iron. They can be roasted, boiled, steamed or stir-fried.

Brussels Sprouts

Má Pêche’s Brussels Sprouts

This Brussels sprouts side comes with chipotle, anchovy and radish. The vegetable’s taste is amplified with smoke and spice from the chipotle, salt from the anchovy and peppery notes from the radish.

Yelp

Emmer & Rye’s Neah Bay Steelhead

The skin-on fish is menued with Palouse lentils, Brussels sprouts and pumpkin purée. In addition to being the vegetable in the dish, the Brussels sprouts add a note of color to the dish.

Yelp

Brussels Sprouts

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ChoLon Modern Asian Bistro’s Stir-Fried Brussels Sprouts

This small plate features stir-fried Brussels sprouts, ground pork and mint. The Brussels sprouts provide a source of vitamins A and C for consumers. As Brussels sprouts and bacon often go hand-in-hand, this dish is menued with ground pork for a different tone.

Insight: Adding Brussels sprouts to dishes is a good way to market the dish as healthy. Brussels sprouts are high in sulforaphane, which is believed to have potent anti-cancer properties. In addition, Brussels sprouts have a chemical that is said to boost DNA repair in cells and block cancer-cell growth. As many consumers are looking for ways to maintain a healthy long-term diet, promoting dishes with Brussels sprouts may prove popular for health-conscious consumers.

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All Hail KaleLike Brussels sprouts, kale is also a member of the cabbage family. It is said to have been cultivated for over 2,000 years. Kale has a mild, cabbagey flavor and comes in many varieties and colors. Its large frilly leaves are most commonly available in the U.S. in a deep-green color that is tinged with shades of blue or purple. Kale can be prepared in any manner that is also suitable for spinach. The cruciferous vegetable is abundant in vitamins A and C, folic acid, calcium and iron.

Pulino’s Cavolo Nero Pizza

This vegetarian pizza is topped with black kale, butternut squash, walnut pesto and smoked mozzarella. The black kale is a both a visual and a gustatory contrast to the butternut squash.

Yelp

Perennial Virant’s Ham Steak

Featured as a special on Perennial Virant’s weekend brunch menu, the ham steak is menued with kale, grits and poached eggs in a mustard sauce. The menu seasonally features Growing Power Farm sautéed kale and housemade pickles as a brunch side. Yelp

All Hail Kale

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La Grande Orange Café’s Shredded Kale and Quinoa Salad

This appetizer comes with sunflower seeds, flame grapes, preserved lemon and fresh Parmesan. As the main ingredient, kale’s mild cabbagey flavor provides a nice balance to the sweet grapes, sour lemon and nutty Parmesan.

Yelp

Insight: Similar to Brussels sprouts, kale is another superfood that is praised in today’s society for its high vitamin content and nutritional value. Because it has a bitter flavor uncooked, chefs can pair the vegetable with sweeter ingredients like butternut squash to create unexpected flavor combinations. In addition, chefs can braise or sauté kale to reduce its bitterness.

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Botanists believe that Meyer lemon is a cross between a lemon and an orange. The citrus fruit is named after F. N. Meyer, who in 1908 imported it into the U.S. from China where it had been grown for centuries. Meyer lemons have a rounder shape and smoother skin than common commercial lemons. They have a deep-yellow to a yellow-orange color and their aromatic juice is sweeter and less acidic than regular lemons.

Meyer Lemon

Redd’s Carnaroli Risotto

This dish comes with Maine lobster, Meyer lemon confit and truffle oil. While the lobster and truffle oil provide very rich notes to the creamy risotto dish, the Meyer lemon confit contributes a light, citrusy tone. It is a necessary refreshing hint to the heavier entrée.

Perennial Virant’s Pan-Seared Great Lakes Whitefish

This whitefish entrée is featured with braised chickpeas, pickled ramps, Meyer lemons, radishes, Werp Farm arugula and house bacon. While lemon is traditional to fish, the Meyer lemon provides a varied note between a true lemon and orange. Yelp

Yelp

Meyer Lemon

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Spruce’s Meyer Lemon Curd Cake

A traditional lemon curd cake is altered in this dish with the infusion of Meyer lemon, creating notes of both lemon and orange. The orange flavor is further amplified with the Mandarin meringue. The dish is finished off with toasted pistachios for a crunch.

Insight: Since common commercial lemons are so prevalent on menus, chefs can start to incorporate Meyer lemon into dishes to create innovative flavor notes. As a sweeter, less acidic fruit compared to regular lemons, chefs can find ways to surprise guests with the lemon-orange hybrid. Chefs can use Meyer lemon as both a flavor enhancement or ingredient in sides, entrées, desserts and beverages.

Yelp

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Ancient Grains Become Modern FavoritesThere is a growing trend of using ancient grains in a wide array of dishes. Buoyed by increased levels of health awareness and a surge in consumer demand for gluten-free foods, products with ancient grains are quickly finding their way onto restaurant menus. These grains—ranging from spelt, quinoa, farro and millet to triticale, emmer, barley and teff—are said to be packed with whole grains, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.

Emmer & Rye’s Farro Fries

This appetizer is paired with a sage-yogurt dipping sauce. Farro—which has a dense, chewy structure and a rich, nutty flavor—is typically used in pastas, breads and risotto-style dishes. Here, it is formed into sticks to be eaten by hand.

Yelp

Bondir’s Vegetables Mignardises

The vegetables in this dish are glazed and roasted and served with teff polenta and mustard oil. Teff, a mini cereal grain native to northern Africa, has a mild nutty flavor. It is high in protein and carbohydrates and a good source of calcium and iron. Yelp

Ancient Grains Become Modern Favorites

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Yelp

Sorrel Urban Bistro’s Grilled Filet Mignon

The filet is featured with creamy Asiago barley and balsamic reduction. Barley is a hardy cereal grain that dates back to the Stone Age and has appeared throughout history in a wide range of dishes. Here, the grain is used like a couscous or rice accompaniment to the grilled filet.

Insight: The comeback of ancient grains has been seen in a wide variety of independent restaurants, from French cuisine to Thai to traditional American. Chefs can incorporate ancient grains into traditional dishes, like Sorrel Urban Bistro’s grilled filet mignon, or transform traditional dishes into something unrecognizable using ancient grains, like Emmer & Rye’s farro fries. These restaurants show how ancient grains can be prepared and presented differently yet still remain prominent in a dish.

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Squid Ink Adds Color to MenusSquid ink can be extracted from the ink sacs of a squid and used to color preparations like pasta or to flavor dishes such as calamares en su tinta (squid in their ink), a popular Spanish dish. Used in the past by humans as ink for writing, squid ink is generally limited to cooking in modern days. Squid ink is available for purchase in some gourmet markets; it can also be harvested if you buy a whole squid.

Osteria Morini’s Casoncelli

This pasta dish features squid-ink ravioli, shrimp, scallops, passata, calamari and white wine. In addition to calamari meat, the squid’s ink is used to color the casoncelli pasta and to flavor the dish.

Yelp

GT Fish & Oyster’s Squid Ink Gnocchi

This small plate at GT Fish & Oyster features squid ink gnocchi with shrimp in carrot broth. The blue-black ink here is utilized to chromatically counterbalance the orange broth.

Yelp

Squid Ink Adds Color to Menus

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Centro Vinoteca’s Squid Ink Tagliatelle

The pasta dish is accompanied by shrimp, mussels and clams. Featured with three different shellfish, the tagliatelle is interestingly dyed by the ink sack of a squid. Like GT Fish & Oyster’s Squid Ink Gnocchi, the dark ink is offset by the bright color of the broth.

Yelp

Insight: The use of squid ink can be linked to the head-to-tail food trend that is so common in independent restaurants today. Rather than tossing the ink sac after butchering a squid, chefs can use it to flavor and color various elements in a dish to surprise diners. Additionally, restaurants will save money by purchasing a whole squid and harvesting the ink themselves, rather than purchasing squid ink in a gourmet shop.

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Americans Embrace MapleMaple syrup is made from the sap of maple trees. After it is extracted from maple trees, the sap is boiled until much of the water has evaporated and the sap is thick and syrupy. The result of continuing to boil that sap until the liquid has entirely evaporated is maple sugar, which is about twice as sweet as granulated white sugar. Maple honey and maple butter are the products made between the two boiling stages. Maple flavors can be infused into a variety of dishes, though it is generally known to sweeten breakfast items. Canada is known for its superior maple products.

Fatty ‘Cue’s Maple Syrup Grits

This extra on the Brooklyn, NY, brunch menu features country grits and smoked maple syrup. The maple syrup provides a sweet flavor to the cereal grain. The traditional Southern dish is given a Canadian influence with the maple syrup.

SD26’s La Verita

This cocktail is made with Sazerac Rye whiskey, maple syrup, bitters and fresh black pepper. Served on the rocks with a lemon wheel, the alcohol beverage has a syrupy sweetness balanced by a hint of bitters and black pepper.

SlashFood.com

Yelp

Americans Embrace Maple

Empire State South’s Chocolate Mousse

This dessert features chocolate-sesame-yuzu bittersweet chocolate mousse, black-sesame ice cream, yuzu pâte de fruit and maple crispies. Here, the maple crispies provide a different textural tone to the dish. The maple also provides a sweet note to the bittersweet flavors from the chocolate and to the sour notes from the yuzu citrus.

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Yelp

Insight: More and more, Americans are starting to embrace traditional ingredients and dishes of other countries. In our last Independent Insights, we researched how Americans are embracing Sunday suppers, a time-honored British trend, and poutine, a traditional Canadian dish. Canada is known for its superior maple products, and Americans are starting to use this ingredient in a variety of dishes to add a sweet flavor with sappy texture.

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Flavored ButterMade by churning cream until it reaches a semi-solid state, butter consists mainly of milk fat, along with water and milk solids. Butter is the fat that flavors most dishes. As one of the more common ingredients in dishes of all dayparts and mealparts, butter tends to absorb flavors like a sponge. Chefs are enhancing this standard ingredient and condiment by adding various flavors to it.

Girl & the Goat’s Diver Scallops

Scallops come with braised duck, marcona almond butter, green papaya and green almond nuoc cham in this Girl & the Goat dish. The almond-flavored butter gives this dish a rich, nutty taste.

SeasonsOfWine.Wordpress.com

Spruce’s Bay Scallops

This appetizer features bay scallops, parsnip grits, roasted Brussels sprouts and caviar butter. Containing one part caviar ground in a mortar blended with two parts soft butter, the caviar-flavored butter gives the dish a salty bite.

Yelp

Flavored Butter

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Aria’s Ellijay Fuji Apple Tart

This tart dessert comes with almond-ginger brown butter and caramel ice cream. The warm butter, which is melted on top of the tart, is an interesting temperature contrast to the cold ice cream.

Yelp

Insight: Simply flavoring butter can enhance an otherwise common dish. Chefs can infuse the condiment with flavors that pair well with a dish to create interesting new offerings. Incorporating housemade flavored butter into dishes is a simple, inexpensive way for chefs to be imaginative in the kitchen.

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Marshmallow Goes SavoryMarshmallow was once created from the sweetened extract of the roots of the marshmallow plant; it is now commercially made from corn syrup, gelatin, gum arabic, sugar and flavorings. Traditionally used to top hot chocolate and dishes such as sweet potatoes, marshmallow is now being transformed with savory flavorings and is being presented in savory dishes. What was once considered a sweet, dessert-only ingredient is now a savory supplement.

Longman and Eagle’s Beef Tongue

Beef tongue is prepared sous-vide and served with horseradish marshmallow in this dish. The marshmallow is prepared with sugar instead of glucose syrup to make the end-product more natural.

MSN.com

Girl & the Goat’s Chocolate Bouchon

The chocolate bouchon is featured with foie gras marshmallow fluff in this Girl & the Goat dessert. This innovative dessert counteracts multiple sweet enhancements with savory foie gras fluff.

Yelp

Marshmallow Goes Savory

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Adara’s Natura Mia

This starter course comes with nasturtium, golden beets, savory marshmallow and aromatics. While most of the components of this starter are traditional salad items, the savory marshmallow is an intriguing addition to excite diners’ palates at this modernist restaurant known for molecular gastronomy. For the current season, the savory marshmallow is avocado-flavored.

Insight: Chefs should frequently attempt to branch outside of their comfort zone and incorporate unusual flavors into their mealpart of expertise. For instance, a chef who can effortlessly blend a savory flavoring into marshmallow (a typically sweet offering) will find great appreciation from consumers who have never experienced such a juxtaposition on menus. Horseradish- and foie gras-flavored marshmallows are some of the many savory flavors that can be incorporated into the sweet dessert ingredient.

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Goat’s Milk CustardCustard is a pudding-like dessert made with a sweetened mixture of milk and eggs that can either be baked or stirred on a stovetop. Two of the most popular and well-known custards are crème caramel and flan. Custard made with goat’s milk is currently trending in independent restaurants across the country. Goats produce approximately 2% of the world’s total annual milk supply. Compared to cow’s milk, goat’s milk contains less lactose and fat and more calcium and fatty acids.

The Restaurant at Meadowood’s Goat’s Milk Yogurt Custard

The custard canapé comes with shiso and plum blossoms. It is creamy, sour and sweet with some crunch from the plum blossoms.

HotelBlog/TypePad.com/The_Skinny_Critic

Frontera Grill’s Duo de Flanes

The dessert features a duo of caramel custards. One is a cream cheese-cajeta (goat’s milk caramel) and one is a classic Mexican vanilla. Pecan polvorone cookies and a cajeta drizzle complete the dessert.

Goat’s Milk Custard

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Lula Café’s Goat’s Milk Custard

This dessert features Mexican chocolate, smoked almond brittle, lime meringue and brown-butter cake. The tart flavor from the goat’s milk custard is accompanied by the nutty flavor from the almond brittle, the sour flavor from the lime meringue and the bittersweet flavor from the Mexican chocolate.

Insight: Goat’s milk, which is the preferred milk in many other nations around the world, is starting to trend widely across the U.S. Because of its tart flavor, it makes for an interesting custard dessert in restaurants that want to put incongruous flavors together. As the health trend continues to grow, many restaurants might want to promote the health benefits of goat’s milk desserts over traditional cow’s milk desserts.

ReadyMade.com

Flavored Whipped Cream

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Yelp

Coal Burger’s Black and White Gelato Shake

The thick gelato milk shake features a choice between fresh whipped cream or toasted coconut whipped cream. By topping the traditional shake with a nontraditional flavored whipped cream, chefs will create a memorable dessert beverage.

Yelp

Myers + Chang’s Coconut Cream Pie

This dessert comes with a topping of lime whipped cream. The lime-flavored cream gives the traditional pie dessert a citrusy twist that catches diners off guard.

The pressurized whipped cream contained in cans is a mixture of cream, sugar, stabilizers, emulsifiers and gas, such as nitrous oxide. It’s not really “whipped” but (more aptly) expanded by the gas into a puffy form. Many whipped creams bought in stores have no cream in them. However, many restaurants are making their own whipped cream and are infusing nontraditional flavors into the mixture to pair with desserts like pies, cakes and shakes.

Flavored Whipped Cream

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Insight: Whipped cream is one of the most widespread dessert toppings in the U.S. Chefs who add a light touch of flavor to the topping can turn a traditional dessert into something remarkable and unexpected. The action may surprise guests and keep them coming back for more menu innovation.

EatBigApple.com

Fishtail by David Burke’s Cheesecake Lollipops

This dessert is featured with bubble-gum whipped cream. The multi-colored cheesecake lollipops protrude from the base like branches of a tree. They are presented with a side of bubble gum-flavored whipped cream in which to dip the handheld treats.

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Coffee Cocktails Stimulate DinersAlthough alcohol is considered a depressant and coffee a stimulant, the seeming contradiction of coffee cocktails is appearing more and more in restaurants. Coffee liqueurs, coffee bitters and espresso shots are increasingly being combined with a variety of spirits to create a memorable alcohol beverage experience in bars and restaurants.

The Whistler’s Oaxacan Old Fashioned

This alcohol cocktail features reposado tequila, smoky mezcal, an agave nectar sugar cube and Mexican coffee bitters. While the mezcal and tequila are both produced from the sweet, mild agave plant, the Mexican coffee bitters are an interesting adverse element.

TimeOut Chicago

Alla Spina’s Schillaci

This $9 cocktail comes with stout, Averna (an Italian herbal liqueur) and coffee liqueur. While the stout and Averna provide bittersweet notes, the coffee liqueur makes this an after-dinner beverage. Floating coffee beans garnish the drink and continue the coffee theme. Yelp

Coffee Cocktails Stimulate Diners

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Burger, Tap & Shake’s Evil Empire Shake

This “shaketail” is made from Smirnoff vanilla vodka, Red Wing coffee liqueur and vanilla-bean ice cream. The coffee flavor in this milk-shake cocktail is accompanied by vanilla-flavored vodka and vanilla ice cream.

Yelp

Insight: Coffee and espresso flavors can be added to cocktails for a twist on traditional alcohol beverages. More modern takes on classic martinis are finding their way onto restaurant menus, like the Espressotini at Zak’s Place in Hinsdale, IL, and the Double Espresso Martini at Sorrel Urban Bistro in Houston; both feature espresso-flavored vodka. Additionally, coffee is being paired with fruity flavors on cocktail menus for an even more atypical twist. In Boulder, CO, Frasca Food & Wine’s Cioccolatini della Casa features espresso with coconut and passion fruit caramel, along with dark rum and torrone.

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Upscale Floats Drift Onto Menus

A float is a soft drink, such as root beer, with a scoop or two of ice cream floating in it. Traditional floats are getting reformulated and upscaled in independent restaurants with a variety of flavor infusions, interesting flavor and texture pairings and even alcohol.

Vie’s Seville Sour Orange Float

This dessert beverage comes with sour orange marmalade sorbet, vanilla-bean ice cream, vanilla wafers and soda. It is presented in a Mason jar to give it a rustic look.

Yelp

Park Tavern’s Fernet With a Ginger Back Float

This alcohol beverage dessert is made from Fernet ice cream, a shot of Fernet and Fever Tree ginger beer. It is interesting that Fernet, a type of Italian bitter liqueur, is used in both the ice cream and the liquid of the float. Ginger beer gives the float its sweetness and ginger flavor. Sfist.com

Upscale Floats Drift Onto Menus

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Facebook

Sable Kitchen & Bar’s Gingerbread Spice Cake

This cake features layers of cream-cheese frosting and is accompanied by a ginger beer and molasses ice-cream float. The cake and ice-cream float pairing makes for an interesting dessert and beverage combination. While both the cake and beverage are flavored with molasses, ginger and other spices, they produce very different tastes yet balance each other out perfectly.

Insight: Many chefs are reverting back to their favorite childhood dishes and putting a more modern, upscale spin on them. Some restaurants, like Chicago’s Next, are taking the childhood theme to another level by creating an entire menu based on favorite childhood dishes and experiences. By transforming favorite childhood dishes like ice-cream floats into something more contemporary, chefs can have fun with their menus and create memorable experiences for diners.

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Self-Serve Wine DispensersWine dispensers, which were developed in 2002 by Lorenzo Bencistà Falorni, allow people to sample many bottles of wine through tasting by the glass. The dispensers preserve wine for more than three weeks after the bottle has been opened. Some dispensers have touchscreens and graphic displays that provide information on the different wine products.

Trifecta Grill

This restaurant has a bank of seven wine-dispensing machines, each holding four different wines. Patrons put money on a special debit card and can choose a full glass, a half glass or a taste. The most expensive is a Pio Cesare Barolo 2007 from Piedmont, Italy. A full glass costs $29.Facebook

The Forge

At this restaurant and wine bar, guests can buy a wine card and sample up to 80 wines by the glass from an Enomatic wine dispenser. Wines are split up into various eight-bottle sections based on their flavor and body. Sections include Rich and Hearty, Crisp and Ripe, and Fruit and Earth. Yelp

Self-Serve Wine Dispensers

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Yelp

Drago Centro

Wine is also dispensed from an Enomatic wine dispenser at this Los Angeles restaurant. The machine removes air from a partially consumed bottle of wine and replaces it with an inert gas which doesn’t cause oxidation. When a pour is needed, the machine creates a partial vacuum that sucks the wine up through the spigot.

Insight: As consumers increase their desire to have a more knowledgeable and hands-on approach to their food and beverage purchases at restaurants, some operators are installing wine dispensers to satisfy this craving. Allowing consumers to learn about and dispense their own wine gives them a sense of control over their alcohol beverage purchases. Wine dispensers are expensive, however, so restaurants need to decide if the purchase will help boost sales.