Spicy New Addition
July 11, 2007
The
restaurant menu has become a melting pot of cuisines from around the world. One
cuisine making a move toward mainstream in the foodservice arena is Indian.
According to Mintel Menu Insights, Indian cuisine experienced an 86% increase
on the restaurant menu over the past two years and is projected to
increase.
Many authentic Indian dishes and flavors are appearing on restaurant menus.
Popular authentic Indian flavors on the menu include red, yellow and green
curry, mango, cumin, coconut, coriander and pomegranate. Red Maple serves its
classic Indian Samosa filled with green curry-spiced chicken, peas and sweet
potato with mint-dill yogurt sauce.
Indian cuisine is also being embraced by the casual dining market. In the past
year, several casual dining restaurant chains, such as California Pizza
Kitchen, have added Indian flavors and dishes to their menus. California Pizza
Kitchen combines spicy curry with cooling mango in its Mango Tandoori Pizza
made with grilled Tandoori chicken, mango, mild onions, red peppers and
mozzarella cheese on a spicy golden curry sauce topped with fresh cilantro and
a sweet mango chili sauce. Legal Sea Foods serves an authentic south Indian
soup called Rasam made with shrimp, scallops and scrod in a hot and sour tomato
broth served with jasmine rice.
The Green Machine
Green
tea continues to be one of the “it” ingredients. Consumers can energize with a
green tea soda in the morning, brush their teeth with green tea toothpaste in
the afternoon and nourish the skin with green tea moisturizer in the evening.
It is even possible to enjoy a green tea beverage in several favorite
restaurants. Green tea experienced the most growth of all teas last year, finds
Mintel Menu Insights. The popularity of green tea stems from its potential
health benefits, ranging from cancer prevention to weight loss.
Green tea’s popularity is also attributed to its delicate flavor, which serves
as a perfect backdrop for an array of fruit flavors. A review of Mintel Menu
Insights shows green tea is being paired with honeydew, pineapple, blackberry,
pomegranate, papaya and kiwi flavors. Starbucks created a unique Blackberry
Green Tea Blended Crème, and Cheebo mixes fresh Sencha Green Tea with sweet
pineapple, papaya and tropical flowers. Jamba Juice blended its own Tahiti
Green Tea Smoothie with a combination of green tea, mangos, lemonade, orange
juice, orange sherbet, non-fat frozen yogurt and ice for a refreshing
pick-me-up.
Say Cheese!
Cheese
remains one of the most popular ingredients on the menu. Cheese is the fifth
most popular ingredient on menus, says Mintel Menu Insights, and can be found
in over 19,000 menu items. Cheese ingredients also continue to show steady
growth. From sandwiches to gelato, the number of menu items featuring a cheese
ingredient grew 13% from 1Q 2005 to 4Q 2006.
As the popularity of cheese continues to grow, more room is made on the menu
for unique and specialty cheese varieties. Iberian is the cuisine to watch in
the cheese category. Cheeses from Spain and Portugal are making a strong
showing on menus, and Manchego could be the next “big cheese” on mainstream
menus. Along with Manchego, also look out for Cabrales bleu, Bleu de Basque, Idiazabal
and Tetilla cheese to make more appearances on U.S. restaurant menus. Cheebo
serves Manchego with its Pressed Slow-Roasted Pork Sandwich. Oyster’s puts a
Spanish twist on its Grilled Red Pear Salad by adding Spanish sherry
vinaigrette, Cabrales bleu cheese and Marcona almonds.
Happy Hour with a Boost
What
would cocktail menus be without the martini? The beverage has allowed coffee
and tea to move onto the cocktail menu with ease. The espresso martini is the
third most-popular martini flavor on the menu, according to a Mintel search.
Coffee is also incorporated into other forms of the cocktail, including
Tiramisu martinis. These pack both high flavor and a jolt of caffeine.
Houlihan’s shakes its Espresso Martini with Stoli® Vanil vodka, Kahlua,
espresso, cream and chocolate shavings. The Rattlesnake Club uses coffee to
create its Diablo martini, infused with orange, cinnamon, clove, coffee beans,
coffee and whipped cream.
Tea is one of the most popular new non-alcoholic ingredients being embraced by
mixologists. Mintel Menu Insights finds popular teas used in martinis include
sweet tea, green tea, chai tea and chamomile tea. Tea adds a refreshing, clean
sensation to martinis, while providing a small dose of antioxidants. The
Rattlesnake Club created a T-Martini infused with mint, chamomile tea and
hibiscus. Rialto Restaurant blends Chai liquor and Absolut vanilla with a
splash of white Crème de Cacao to create a Vanilla Chai Mar-Tea-ni. Front Page
News gives a Southern classic a contemporary spin by combining sweet tea,
Smirnoff orange and fresh lemon juice with a sugar rim for its Sweet Tea
Martini.
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