Author: Flavor & The Menu Staff

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff Guacamole is one of those versatile menu items that appeals to a broad base of diners. Chefs today are capitalizing on its popularity and giving it creative, craveable touches. At a recent Avocados from Mexico (AFM) tour and culinary immersion highlighting the year-round growing season in Mexico, Chef Iliana de la Vega of El Naranjo restaurant in Austin, Texas, developed a guacamole that Mark Garcia, AFM’s Director of Foodservice Marketing, calls out as a favorite, representing a model for innovation. “This was a rough-chopped guacamole, which adds differentiation and texture,” he says....

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff Salt & Straw can best be described as an ice-cream think tank, known for its funky-yet-genius flavor combinations. But the Palm Sugar Ice Cream with Fish Sauce Caramel stands out for Tyler Malek, head ice-cream maker, as the “best execution I’ve ever had when it comes to that holy trinity of salty-sweet-bitter.” It all started with the fish sauce caramel, which Malek and his team makes by carefully burning molasses, soy sauce, lime juice, coconut cream and fish sauce together. “We spent a long time building the perfect ice cream to feature...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff Bold, herb-based sauces and spices take fish to a new level, boosting flavor while keeping the health halo intact. Pearl’s Wild Hawaiian Red Chile Seared Mahi Mahi starts out with Southwest seasonings before being seared. It’s served on a bed of white rice mixed with a chimichurri sauce, lending a distinct cilantro aroma—but it keeps going. Executive Chef Scott Snow’s charred green chile beurre blanc (lemon beurre blanc and verde sauce consisting of roasted tomatillo, roasted green chiles, cumin, jalapeños, garlic, lime and cilantro) is drizzled over the fish, and a topping...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff “The idea is that everything we do can be articulated as an edible story,” says Executive Chef John O’Leary. “Our teppanyaki-seared yellowfin tuna is an ode to the sea,” he adds, describing the Ahi Tuna appetizer at Naples Yacht Club. With flavor profiles of tamari, shoyu, lime, avocado, harissa, miso and yuzu, it’s a good story. “Flavors are vibrant and fresh. The textures are crisp. The aromas of toasted coriander and nigella dusted on the tuna and seared add a smoky depth to a flavor sensation deeply rooted in Floridian cooking.” “You...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff It’s hard to improve on the classic scallop wrapped in bacon, but Chef Thomas Chapman has done it. At The Overlook restaurant at Crow’s Nest, nestled in the heart of the Alaska Range, Chapman menus seafood pulled from Pacific waters off Alaska. For his dish of Seared Scallops with Crispy Kurobuta Pork Belly, he pan-sears Weathervane scallops, prized for their sweetness, until caramelized, and pairs them with slow-roasted, crispy pork belly, served on quinoa pilaf and finished with a green-apple gastrique. “You have a sweet, tender scallop and a salty, crispy bite...