Author: Flavor & The Menu Staff

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff With the goal of showcasing culinary expertise in the burger category and inspiration from its well-known beverage program, Hard Rock Cafe deftly tapped into the better burger and craft beer trend with last year’s launch of four burger and beer pairings. Each limited-edition burger was created with a specific beer in mind—even taking the trend to the next level by infusing beer into the burger recipes. Darryl Mickler, Senior Director of R&D for Hard Rock International, describes his favorite from the program: the Goose Island Tropical Bacon Burger. It features a Certified...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff Busting the myth that coleslaw is boring, Consulting Chef Kim Zupfer developed two different slaws that take familiar ingredients and kick them up a couple notches for Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp.’s Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation concepts. The Sriracha Ranch Slaw was designed as a flavor-forward update to regular slaw. It capitalizes on the spicy trend, combining crisp, green cabbage and fresh bok choy with fresh cilantro, corn, carrots, red bell peppers and sunflower seeds—plus Sriracha and a hint of garlic in the ranch dressing. “This salad is surprising in that the ingredients...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff A top seller on the bar menu, Tropical Nachos capture the beachside feel of Baleen Restaurant while delivering a globally influenced flavor combination in a shareable format. Wonton chips are topped with mojo pork carnitas, grilled pineapple salsa, pickled jalapeño, three-queso sauce, scallions and crumbled Cotija. “This dish came from an idea to use Latin- and island-inspired ingredients to recreate that sharing experience so often accompanying traditional nachos,” says Martin Diehr, Director of Food and Beverage for LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, which is part of Noble House Hotels & Resorts. “Wontons...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff To tap into Millennials and other target consumers, upscale craft-beer bar The Brass Tap took a gamble on the growing popularity of the banh mi, exploring the bright, bold flavors and contrasting textures of this Vietnamese street food, looking to increase its veg-centric choices and open up its range of menu items. “We started off with an authentic vegetable banh mi baguette ‘street food’ sandwich,” says David Groll, Director of Menu Development/Corporate Executive Chef. The sandwich build fills a French baguette with mayonnaise, red and yellow sweet bell peppers, cilantro, radish, cucumbers,...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff With the toast trend continuing its roll on menus nationwide, this Moroccan Scrambled Egg Tartine offers a flavor-forward rendition. Developed by Chef Scott Samuel during his tenure at The Culinary Institute of America, it comes together in a series of layers, starting with toasted whole-grain bread topped with soft scrambled eggs. Next comes the marinated, grilled eggplant, then Moroccan-spiced ground lamb. It’s finished with micro arugula. “The beauty of the open-faced tartine is that it lends itself to so many interpretations and flavor combinations,” says Steve Solomon, menu strategist for the American...