Author: Flavor & The Menu Staff

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff With the Chocolate Budino, LYFE Kitchen seems to have grasped the brass ring: creating a signature dessert that nails the feel-good, better-for-you vibe. It continues its reign as a bestseller for the fast-casual concept, which serves up mindful eating in creative flavors and forms. “Once a guest tries our budino, they’re hooked,” says Faye Greenberg, Director of Culinary. This version of the creamy Italian pudding is packed with health positives. Deriving its richness from coconut milk, LYFE Kitchen’s budino boasts semi-sweet chocolate, agave nectar and pure vanilla extract. Adding to the dessert’s...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff Bold and spicy seems to be the order of the day. But some want even more shock and awe. “When creating the menu for Draft Republic, we wanted to do a spicy burger—a really spicy burger,” says Mike Camplin, Executive Chef. “By developing the idea we came up with a bearable, but also unbearable-for-some, burger.” The burger patty is a mix of grass-fed beef and spicy Italian pork sausage, with red chile and cayenne pepper added in for good measure. A sweet-yet-hot housemade habanero jam, pepper-jack cheese and housemade pickled jalapeños add...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff Chef/Owner Thomas Malz hadn’t imagined that the Yeast Donuts he created would serve as Custom Deluxe’s signature. “This dessert was the first dish that felt like our own—not an imitation, but an expression, the one that I feel represents us best—and it’s a flippin’ doughnut,” he says. The dessert starts with warm applesauce made from apples cooked simply with granulated sugar, allspice and nutmeg. While the applesauce is warmed, a fresh yeast doughnut is fried to order. Once both are plated, he dusts a layer of grated maple-rubbed cheddar over top. Then...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff Offering a visual “wow” and creative flavor combinations, the Fluke Kumquat Sashimi introduces a touch of unexpected citrus at the newly opened upscale sushi bar and teppan grill, Roku. The plate is composed of sashimi-style sliced fluke, a mild flavored fish, which is dressed with a simple citrus vinaigrette (kumquat, ponzu, olive oil, salt and pepper) and kumquat jam. It’s sprinkled with a flourish of black lava salt and garnished with cilantro. “This dish is a California-inspired take on Japanese sashimi,” says Chef Tyson Wong. “You can eat it year-round, but it...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff Many of the items on Sharky’s “Get It Naked” menu are riffs on regular menu items, with low-fat, low-calorie tweaks. But its biggest success is a creation combining Mexican with an Asian sensibility. “Think sushi meets burrito,” David Goldstein, COO, says of the Wild Salmon Lite Burrito, which started out as an LTO five years ago and is now a best seller on the “Get It Naked” menu. Starting with a whole-wheat tortilla, the burrito features nori, organic poblano brown rice, mesquite-grilled wild-caught salmon, cucumber, avocado, cabbage and a chile-sesame aïoli. “Roll...