May-June 2018 – Best of Flavor

The game is afoot. The fire is lit. The hunt is on. The stakes are raised. Quite simply—the veg-centric movement is rolling along like thunder, and with each creative, craveable dish starring vegetables added to menus, consumer expectations go up.

Savvy menu developers know that making subtle but surprising recipe tweaks can result in stand-out signatures, gently guiding patrons along for a new and memorable flavor experience

In the breakfast and brunch category, today’s dining consumer seems to be particularly receptive to global flavors, along with an openness to an almost-cheeky approach to both flavors and forms.

Chicken moves into stardom when chefs show it some love, developing recipes that are delicious and trend-forward. Here are three dishes that stand out—each bringing a different approach to a very familiar protein.

Three desserts that offer a unique experience while delivering comforting familiarity that seals the deal.

Chefs are featuring pasta in unexpected, flavor-forward ways—and their guests are loving it.

Popular flavor systems can be re-tooled in ways that capture interest and deliver the promise of their original builds. Here are three great examples of creative play around road-tested flavor systems.

Chefs are discovering mole's potential, leveraging its earthy, rich blend of nuts, warm spices, chiles and more

Innovation in the cocktail space continues to thrill the thirsty and the adventurous, wowing with intriguing flavor combinations and head-turning presentations

Ousia offers its Donut Pikilia: Housemade sampler of Halva Mousse with hazelnut chocolate, Mastiha Yogurt Mousse with pistachio glaze, and Spiced Apple

Chefs continue to showcase creative burger development, leveraging the huge opportunity in one of America’s favorite dishes. We bring you three burger builds that demonstrate innovation.

Innovating with wings showcases the constant need to update, tweak and improve—even on proven classics

The egg has ratcheted up its culinary pedigree in recent years. No longer just a morning food, it's now an entrée, a showstopper, a pizza topper, and a starring global ingredient.

We profile four desserts all of which convey the constant tinkering with desserts that results in a “best” flavor build

Egg Shop offers its Pepper Boy: Egg scramble, maple-cured pepper bacon, Gruyère, caramelized onion aïoli, bell peppers, panini roll

Altabira City Tavern offers a Ribeye with poblano potato purée, melted leeks, wilted arugula, sautéed oyster mushrooms, roasted cipollini demi-glace

Roofers Union offers a Chicken BBQ Pizza: Shredded chicken and barbecue sauce topped with pickled ramp bulbs and ramp purée

The General Public offers Shakshuka with crushed tomato, cayenne, toasted cumin, smoked paprika, soft poached eggs and buttered baguette

The Regency Bar & Grill offers a Diavolo Pizza with activated-charcoal crust, spicy pepperoni and ’nduja

Taste Bar offers its Matcha Picchu: Matcha-infused pisco, Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum, allspice dram, coconut simple syrup, lemon

Better Half offers its Silk Handkerchief Pasta: Hand-rolled pasta, garlic-porcini cream, wild mushrooms, tomato marmalade, Cotija, snow pea shoots

Burlock Coast offers a Challah Brioche French Toast Sandwich: Challah with rum milk, rum cream, rum butter, fruit jam and pecans

Reserve Wine & Food offers its Chocolate Mondae: Dark-chocolate ganache, milk-chocolate malt foam, Averna amaro semifreddo, cherry, cocoa nibs

Idaho Potato Commission offers Idaho Potato and French Onion Soup: Baked russet potato, fontina, Asiago croutons, caramelized onions, bison stock, scallion, sour cream

Coolinary Café offers Rabbit Sausage & Noodles with Spanish onion, olives, shiitake, oyster and trumpet mushrooms, jalapeño, broccolini and kale

Buffalo Theory offers Sinigang Fried Chicken with vinegar, fish sauce and tamarind

Chroma Modern Bar + Kitchen offers Thai Sticky Wings topped with peanuts, green onion and crispy spring-roll wrappers

Dianoia’s Eatery offers its Hot Buttered Amaro Cocktail: Amaro, vanilla ice cream, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, shaved nutmeg; served warm

Nico Osteria offers a Lobster Spaghetti Pasta infused with lobster roe, blanched lobster meat, lobster miso sauce, guanciale and spring onion

Farm Spirit offers Tetsukabuto Squash with wild stinging-nettle purée, hazelnut “yogurt,” wild cress

Quiznos offers a Lobster & Seafood Scampi Bake: Garlic-baked lobster and seafood, mozzarella, mushrooms and onions, tomatoes, aïoli, served on artisan bread

Viewhouse offers a Wasabi & Sweet Garlic Chicken Salad: Mixed greens, scallion, celery, carrots, Granny Smith apples, wasabi-aïoli dressing, chicken in chile-soy sauce

Compass Group North America offers a BBQ Carrot Tostada: Crispy corn tostada topped with avocado, barbecue carrots, pineapple-zucchini salsa, garnished with scallions, carrot greens and cilantro

Okeechobee Steakhouse offers a Cowboy Ribeye: slow roasted and served with housemade au jus

Bessou offers Chicken Karaage: Japanese-style fried chicken with Moroccan spices, potato salad, shiso tzatziki

Publican Anker offers Fried Shrimp with pepper jelly, pickled shallot, chive cream cheese, chow-chow, fresh mint, cilantro

True Aussie Beef & Lamb offers Madras Curry Lamb Sliders with yogurt-mint-lime sauce, cucumbers and arugula

Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile offers Braised Short Rib with candied pork belly and Mission fig reduction

Southfork offers a Mushroom Dashi: Oyster and shiitake mushrooms, smoked tofu, shoyu and miso butter

Michael Jordan’s Steak House offers Charred Sea Scallops glazed with white miso paste, yuzu juice, gochujang

Farmer Boys offers a Southwest Chicken Salad with grilled chicken breast, roasted corn, black beans, avocado, tortilla strips, iceberg and green leaf lettuce, chile-ranch dressing

Curry Up Now offers a Tikka Masala Burrito: Chicken or paneer tikka masala, rice, chana and onions wrapped in a tortilla

Potatoes USA offers Campfire Potatoes: Fingerling potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, duck fat, dark soy sauce, applewood smoked sea salt, cane sugar

Riviera 31 offers a Fighter Weapon School aka top gun: Bulleit bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino, lemon juice, passionfruit juice

Naiyara offers Steak and Eggs Sushi: Seared Wagyu Beef Over Rice and Kimchi, Topped With Quail Egg and Ponzu

Culver’s offers a Pretzel Haus Burger: Beef, Bacon, Wisconsin Cheddar, Cheddar-Cheese Sauce, Pickled Onions, Mustard Bistro Sauce, Served On A Pretzel Bun

Bruegger’s Bagels offers its Sweet Heat Turkey Sandwich: Marbled rye with Sriracha-honey cream cheese, roasted turkey, cheddar cheese, bell peppers, Sriracha

Público offers Baked Oysters with corn custard and smoked trout roe

100 Sails Restaurant & Bar offers Korean Fried Cauliflower: Tempura-fried cauliflower with spicy soy glaze, topped with Kewpie mayonnaise, chile threads, sesame seeds, microgreens

National Peanut Board offers a Bittersweet Chocolate Bread Pudding served with whipped cream, peanut-butter mousse and Scotch bonnet peanut brittle

Brunos Italian Kitchen offers a Grilled Mediterranean Sea Bream with roasted seasonal vegetables and fingerling potatoes, green olive-lemon salsa

Redbrick Pizza Kitchen Cafe offers its Pizza-Zzalada: Baked multigrain crust with chia, flax seeds, açai berry and sprouted red-grain flour, topped with salad

Pinstripes offers Gnocchi & Ahi Tuna: Seared ricotta gnocchi in garlic butter and Parmesan, with fresh tuna and Calabrese vinaigrette

Dusek’s Board & Beer offers Chicken-Fried Rabbit with Hoppin’ John risotto, charred okra, chicory greens, pancetta and brown-butter Tabasco

Temple Bar offers Heritage Pork with Lacinato kale, roasted sweet potatoes with miso and black barbecue sauce

Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar offers Cajundillas: Chipotle tortillas with chicken, boudin sausage, andouille sausage, spicy chipotle ranch, Monterey Jack cheese

The Immigrant Restaurant offers Duck Wings with celery leaves in vinaigrette and blue-cheese potato chips

Ted’s Montana Grill offers its Avalon Burger with Gruyère, blue cheese, bacon-caramelized onions, roasted-garlic aïoli, baby arugula on a toasted brioche

K Restaurant offers Crispy Brussels Sprouts with bacon lardons, hot-sauce honey, fresh chives

101 Beer Kitchen offers Green Chili: Roasted pork, puréed tomatillo, roasted poblanos, served over yellow rice with sour cream, charred lime, queso fresco and cilantro

Midici Neapolitan Pizza offers Burrata With Melon and Prosciutto with toasted Neapolitan bread

Tacology offers a Soft-Shell Crab Taco with creamy jalapeño sauce

Little Bird Bistro offers a Tarragon Goat Cheese Gnocchi made with pâte à choux, served with tarragon, Banyuls cream, golden beets, garlic-lemon pistachios, egg-yolk shavings

Pj’s Coffee Of New Orleans offers The King Cake Protein Velvet Ice: Cold-brew coffee concentrate, fat-free milk, whey-protein concentrate, vanilla, cinnamon

Pei Wei offers Spicy General Tso’s Chicken: spiced with Sriracha, chile pods, chile paste and red chile flakes, served with carrots, red peppers and scallion

The Sorghum Checkoff offers Grilled Shrimp Lettuce Cups with a sorghum and grilled-corn salsa and chipotle-lime dressing

Old Vine Café offers a Rabbit Mole: Braised rabbit in a cashew and pasilla chile-based mole sauce, served with queso fresco and cornbread

Jason’s Deli offers an Eggstreme Pastrami Melt: Pimento cheese, jalapeño Jack, cheddar, Muenster, roasted piquillo peppers, pastrami, fried egg, telera roll

Princeton University offers a Kale, Carrot, Sriracha Salad: Shaved tri-color carrots, kale, and Brussels sprouts with Sriracha vinaigrette

The Whistler offers its Golden Fleece: Kikusui Funaguchi sake, preserved Meyer lemon, honey, soda

The Venetian and The Palazzo offers an Asparagus and Avocado Soup with roasted pumpkin seeds and lemon whipped cream

Benny’s Chop House offers a Banana Cream Pie: Banana compound, pastry cream, graham-cracker pie crust, whipped cream, caramel-glazed bananas

The Lakehouse offers Moroccan Spice Roasted Carrots with rich yogurt, chiles, almonds and mint

Blaze Pizza offers its Veg Out with roasted seasonal vegetables, mushrooms, red onion, mozzarella, Gorgonzola, red sauce

The Rez Grill offers King Crab: Grilled Alaskan king crab legs, grainy mustard butter, chimichurri

Square Meal At Hotel Revival offers a Local Mustard Greens Agnolotti with pot liquor and spicy bread crumbs

D’Angelo Grilled Sandwiches offers its Southwestern Chicken, Rice & Grain Bowl: Grilled chicken and onions, charred corn-black bean-pepper salad, bell peppers, pickled jalapeños and cilantro with chipotle sauce and ranch dressing

National Pork Board With Pig Bleecker offers a Smoked & Grilled Pork Chop with peach-habanero jam, firecracker onions, greens, beans and pickled turnip

Planta offers its Young Thai Coconut: with coconut, basil and chia-seed pudding, passionfruit sorbet, coconut chips

Cotton Patch Cafe offers its Chicken Fried Bacon: Breaded bacon with carnitas spices, served with ranch dressing and pepper gravy

Slapfish offers its Clobster Grilled Cheese: Maine lobster, Dungeness crab, aged white cheddar, mozzarella, sourdough bread, with Jersey sauce

Manzo At Eataly Flatiron offers Arrosto D’Agnello: Roasted lamb shank with rosemary, thyme, potatoes, red onion and artichokes

Ida Claire offers Nashville Hot Chicken: Fried chicken, grilled brioche, pimento cheese, pickles, onions and sesame seeds

Salon By Sucré offers a Beet Salad with goat cheese mousse, walnut granola, champagne vinaigrette, bittersweet chocolate

Artichoke Basille’s Pizza offers a Crab Pie: Crab sauce with herbs, mozzarella and surimi crabmeat stuffing atop signature pizza dough, topped with fresh parsley

Chicken Kimbachi offers a Chicken Kimbachi: Kimchi fried rice, gochujang, hibachi chicken, yum yum sauce, sunny-side-up egg, shredded nori

Db Bistro Moderne offers its Beef Rossini: Filet mignon served over pommes lyonnaise, topped with foie gras, truffles and beef jus

Snap Kitchen offers its Naked Salmon: Grilled salmon, grass-fed ghee, baby spinach, kale, broccolini, red peppers, shallots

Nicky’s Coal Fired offers a Roasted Mushroom Sofrito, Egg Yolk & Ricotta Pizza

Gianni’s Steakhouse & Seafood offers a Bavette House-cut Limousin beef with roasted garlic and Béarnaise sauce

Haywire offers a Grilled Bacon-Laced Meatloaf with a smoked tomato and poblano salsa, served with mashed potatoes and green beans

Vivere offers an Agnolottini Di Fagiano: Pillow-shaped pheasant-filled pasta, butter, sage, Parmigiano-Reggiano

Rice & Gold offers a Golden Chicken: Roasted Cornish hen, Persian spices, stuffed shishito peppers, feta-stuffed Medjool dates, white sauce and harissa sauce

Burtons Grill & Bar offers a Salmon Romesco: Bronzed Gulf of Maine salmon, romesco sauce, herbed jasmine rice, julienne vegetables, citrus-fennel slaw

Mŏkbar offers a Mŏkbar Classic: Ramen, braised pork, gochujang pork broth, shiitake mushrooms, spinach, bean sprouts, scallion, nori

Schlotzsky’s offers 'The Original': Smoked ham with Genoa and cotto salami, cheddar, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, black olives, red onion, lettuce, tomato, on Schlotzsky’s sourdough bun

Wendy’s offers a Southwest Chicken Avocado Salad: Greens, avocados, grilled chicken, tomatoes, bacon, pepper Jack, Southwest ranch dressing

Red Cow offers a Barcelona Burger with manchego, jamón serrano, piquillo pepper and smoked pepper aïoli

South offers Chow-Chow with braised beef short ribs, rosemary-roasted potatoes and creamed collard greens

Patent Pending offers 'The Twain': Tequila, Alpine liqueur, gin, pear, Woodruff syrup, almond, Fuji apple and lemon

Smack Shack offers a Smack Shack Original: Chilled lobster salad with cucumber and tarragon on griddled milk bread

USA Rice offers a Super Bowl: Brown rice, red quinoa, miso-tahini dressing, sweet potato, avocado, spiced chickpeas, baby kale, red cabbage, cherry tomatoes

Beelman’s offers Tachos Tater tots topped with meat alternative, salsa, gochujang crema, cashew cheese, pickled jalapeño, chile-spiked pinto beans and cilantro

Maison 208 offers Australian Lamb Chops with Okinawa potatoes, Pinot Noir, hazelnut-spice crust

Red Rabbit offers a San Jorge: Tequila, grapefruit, lemon, Tattersall Grapefruit Crema, St. George Pear Brandy

Komodo offers a Arroz Con Pato: Peking duck, rice, enoki mushroom, green onion, bell pepper, poached egg, shaved black truffle, served in a hot stone pot

California Milk Advisory Board with Alta Calidad offers a Pumpkin Blossom Quesadilla: Espuma over tortilla filled with pumpkin blossom, onion, Chihuahua cheese; garnished with ancho- chile activated-charcoal ash

Portsmith offers a Fried Fish & Waffle with housemade tartar sauce and Dark Matter malt maple syrup

Alto Bajo offers a Hangar Steak with mole rojo—pasilla and ancho chile, ground nuts and sesame seeds, chocolate

Coast Guard House offers a Pan-Roasted Rhode Island Striped Bass with local summer succotash, smoked romesco broth and sweet-corn custard

Gategroup/Delta Air Lines offers a Short Rib and Pickled Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Tánsuŏ offers a Char Siu Black Cod Black cod marinated with char siu sauce, broiled, then topped with XO sauce

Urban Plates offers a Chimichurri Grass-Fed Steak Plate served with hot or chilled sides and char-grilled bread

Urbain 40 offers a Ginger-Teriyaki Char-Crusted Yellowfin Tuna Filet with young carrots, snap peas, lotus root and mushrooms, curry butter emulsion

Birch’s On The Lake Brewhouse & Supperclub offers a Blood Orange Berliner Weiss

Geist offers Burrata With Roasted Spaghetti Squash: Housemade burrata, roasted and charred spaghetti squash, grilled rye sourdough

Avocados From Mexico offers an Avo Reuben with corned beef, Swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing, pumpernickel bread and avocado sauerkraut

Steadfast offers Halibut with brown-butter solids, artichoke purée, artichoke chips, roasted sunchokes, pickled sunchokes, shaved lemon, preserved lemon, cress

701 Restaurant offers a Beet Tartare: Roasted, diced and smoked red beets with yellow beet “yolk” and beet chips

Square Roots Kitchen offers a Comfort Food Bowl: Pulled pork, housemade spicy corn, black beans, cheddar and barbecue sauce over warm quinoa

The Ruin Daily offers a Buffalo Chicken Melt: Parmesan-crusted sourdough, cheddar-Swiss-fontina blend, Buffalo chicken, celery barigoule, ranch sauce

Woods Hill Table offers Calendar Mussels with anadama bread and crunchy ham vinaigrette

Brennan’s Pub offers a Butter Cake with seasonal fruit and vegan honeycomb ice cream

Minigrow offers a The Chicken Jawn: Fresh three-wheat noodles, whole roasted chicken, sweet-and-sour onions, black truffle, miso corn, chives, Parmesan

Rare Steak and Seafood offers a Pork Tasting: Pâté, slow-cooked belly, chicharrón and lardo