With the “plant-based” movement picking up steam, restaurant operators looking to set their menus apart or create meatless (or nearly) signatures are wondering: What’s the next Brussels sprout? What are some techniques for tofu? And can anything topple the reign of quinoa?

Going with the Grain

If it seems like quinoa went from 0 to 60 in about four menu cycles flat, you’re right, but there are many other grains to explore for their hearty flavor, interesting texture and healthy nutritional profile.

• Teff – A tiny grain that has been a staple of traditional Ethiopian cooking for thousands of years, with a mild, nutty flavor and a delicate texture
• Exotic Rices – Including pecan rice, forbidden black rice, red rice and brown basmati rice
• Spelt – This dense, chewy wheat is a primitive relative of common wheat, and can be much easier to digest. Kamut and wheat berries are similar
• Freekeh – Not a separate grain variety, but a method of processing young wheat to produce a nutty, almost smoky-tasting result
• Amaranth – Once a staple of the Aztecs, the seeds can be cooked like a grain to yield a sweet, delicately nutty flavor and slightly sticky texture

 

Check Your Pulse(s)

It’s the Year of the Pulse, proclaims the United Nations’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), celebrating that versatility category of foods that includes beans, lentils, peas, peanuts and other legumes. While the FAO concerns itself with the usefulness of pulses for things emergency food supplies and crop rotation, there are sorts of tasty things to do with them.

• Heirloom beans such as Jacob’s Ladder and Anasazi
• Chickpeas, including fresh
• Edamame (the Japanese name for immature soybeans in the pod),
• Indian dishes like lentil dal
• Global rice-and-bean specialties (West Indian rice and pigeon peas, “Moors and Christians,” which are Spanish-style black beans and rice)

 

Serve Your Fruits and Veggies

It’s never been a better time to love fruits and vegetables, as produce moves to the center-of-the-plate in small plates, appetizers, entrees, shareable sides and refreshing desserts. Vegetables, particularly served in season and even micro-season, are versatile challenges to the kitchen’s creativity, and they’re even migrating to the dessert, while fruits are being used in savory ways to bring juiciness and bright acidity to the right side of the menu.

 

 

• Whole roasted or rotisseried cauliflower, served for the table
• New uses for citrus: grapefruit in salads, zest in vinaigrettes, roasted oranges
• Bitter greens beyond kale: collards, mustard, broccoli raab
• Elevated basics: heirloom carrots, charred onions, green garlic
• Fingerling and varietal potatoes
• Squashes such as red kuri, kabocha, spaghetti squash
• House-dried fruits, fruit leathers
• Pomegranates, acai and other “superfruits”
• Vegetable “charcuterie” (carrot confit, crudite, fennel salad)
• The return of the artichoke
• Fresh figs
• Varietal lettuces: Little Gem, butter lettuce, dandelions
• Cooking techniques like charring, braising, roasting, smoking and searing

 

Plants are the New Meats

Products like veggie burgers, tofu and soy bacon used to be weak imitations of the real thing, but now they’re coming into their own as delicious plant-based proteins in their own right.

• Tofu in more interesting guises: marinated, seared, stir-fried and smoked
• Seitan (wheat gluten) and tempeh (cultured soy)
• Portobello and other mushrooms
• Cauliflower and eggplant “steaks”
• Creative meatless burgers made with mixtures of grains, beans, nuts and lots of flavor
• Cooked, seasoned jackfruit, which can be used like pulled pork

Beverages can be a profit-minded operator’s best friend, attracting and keeping patrons and providing a high-margin source of revenues.

 

According to Synergy’s new beverage expert George Barton, who has spent 35 years in casual dining operations, “The beverage segment is all about how quickly styles change, and it’s easy to fall into a sea of sameness. If you don’t stay current with the trends, you’ll fall behind.

 

“This is especially true with the Millennial generation, who are quick to shift from brand to brand and trend to trend,” adds Barton. “These consumers know what they want and are very demanding when it comes to their purchase behavior away-from-home.”

 

Here, Barton shares some ideas and trend information for keeping pace with what today’s guests want from beverages.

 

1. Social media is key. A well-designed social media program that supports bar sales can attract new customers within 24-36 hours, says Barton. “If you’re not on social media, you’re missing out.
2. Mixologists are the new chefs. Today’s successful beverage programs are keyed to the voice of the bartender or mixologist, and reflecting his or her point of view. “This is Millennial serving Millennial, and a good mixologist will have the ability to generate new ideas and innovations,” explains Barton.
3. Flavor is just as important with beverages as it is for food. “From acai to wasabi, there are 250 or more flavors that can be incorporated into cocktails,” explains Barton. “Today there is unprecedented demand for sweet flavors that resonate well in drinks, driving sales of mojitos, margaritas, and the like.
4. Look to the late-night segment. This is a unique meal period that didn’t exist a generation ago, and it integrates food and beverages in entirely different ways, says Barton. At both Happy Hour and after-hours, the bar has become a meeting place that’s about social interaction, and meeting friends.
5. Don’t forget the food. Chefs and operators are including snacks and bar food in their beverage strategies, and pouring resources and talent into bar menus. “This is blurring the line between the bar with good food, and the restaurant with a great food.” From typical fare like pizza, sliders and wings to more chef-driven items like shrimp and grits, short ribs, and crab cakes, great food strengthens bar sales.
6. Consistently drive change. Beverage programs can’t be an afterthought, insists Barton. “You have to stay fresh and innovate, and either follow or drive change,” he says. “And remember that it’s relatively easy to implement change, but much more difficult to integrate into the culture. It’s all too common for a brand to come up with eight or 10 new items, test them out, purchase new equipment and train staff, but the initiative fails because it couldn’t be integrated into the existing system.
7. Look to growth categories for excitement and sales. Like fashion—and food for that matter—beverages follow the trends. Here are some that are especially important right now:

• Craft beer – With more than 3,500 craft brewers in the U.S., creating unique, customized beers in different styles with different flavor profiles, craft beer is stealing share from mass market domestic brews
• Wine on tap—Once an object of derision, wine on tap is taking on a new posture and better quality, and according to Barton it’s easy to serve, cost-effective and looks good at the bar
• Rum drinks—The popularity of sweet drinks has seen an explosion of interest in tiki drinks, punches, Caribbean- and tropical-themed cocktails and even shareable drinks like Scorpion Bowls
• Brown spirits—Whisky, bourbon, rye and even Cognac are on fire, says Boston, inspiring many dedicated whisky-bar and menu concepts devoted to the spirits, as well as cocktails ranging from traditional Old Fashioneds to on-trend bourbon smashes
• Non-alcoholic specialties—Items like smoothies, slushies, flings and energy drinks can be even more profitable than alcoholic beverages, to say nothing of specialty coffee and tea and related treats like flat whites or chai
• Sangria—This refreshing beverage is well-suited to shareable pitcher service, and offers the flavor or wine with the sweet kick of fruit and fruit juice or a spirited addition like Cointreau. Sangria is light and festive, the perfect “patio drink,” as Barton describes it, and the profitability is hard to match

 

Contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants if you would like information about improving your beverage program.

 

By now, most chefs are hip to umami – you know, the magical sixth flavor commonly referred to as that savory taste we all crave. You can get that depth of flavor in your dishes with umami-rich ingredients like parmesan cheese, tomatoes, soy sauce, mushrooms and beef (you get the idea). In Japanese cuisine, furikake, is a popular condiment generally made of a mix of dried bonito fish, seaweed, sesame flakes, sugar and salt, mainly enjoyed atop of white rice.

Furikake delivers a great umami flavor and most certainly does not have to only be served with rice. You’ll find you can sprinkle this delightful seasoning on so many dishes. Not sure how to use furikake? Here are some ideas to get you started. Try adding furikake to:

• French fries and onion rings
• Inside guacamole
• Salmon and other fish dishes
• Popcorn
• Breadsticks
• Tempura shrimp or chicken
• Omelets
• Soft or fried tofu
• Barbequed meat
• Calamari

A little salty, a little sweet, a lot of yummy! We love this ingredient!

Furikake popcorn photo credit: T.Tseng licence CC by 2.0