menus

Burger King, Sonic and Nekter scare up specials for Halloween

By Patricia Cobe on Oct. 19, 2023

Taste Tracker: Black Tap does a spooky shake; Wayback gets ghoulish with burgers; Jack-O-Lanterns glow at Paris Baguette and Papa Murphy’s; and lots more frightening menu news.

Food

Dog Haus, Jimmy John's and Firehouse Subs innovate between the bread

By Patricia Cobe on Oct. 12, 2023

Taste Tracker: Lou Malnati’s and Portillo’s tag team a pizza; drive-thru steaks to go at Aussie Grill; Legal Sea Foods hosts an oyster fest; and Shake Shack tests sundaes.

Emerging Brands

A tale of 2 fast casuals—one Italian and one Indian—and how they grew

By Patricia Cobe on Oct. 11, 2023

Piada Italian Street Food and Choolaah Indian BBQ both personalize the fast-casual model to fit their mission, with authentic food and passion driving growth.

Food

How Firebirds Wood Fired Grill stays ahead of the culinary curve with its polished casual menu

By Patricia Cobe on Oct. 05, 2023

VP of Food & Beverage Steve Sturm is constantly evolving the menu, with several new initiatives coming just this year.

Food

Bowls take the spotlight at KFC, Ruby Slipper, Honeygrow and Freebirds

By Patricia Cobe on Sep. 28, 2023

Taste Tracker: The Melting Pot celebrates Oktoberfest; Auntie Anne’s sweetens pretzel nuggets; IHOP goes all in on waffles; and Zaxby’s does a chicken Philly.

Food

What comes after pumpkin spice? All the other fall flavors

By Patricia Cobe on Sep. 21, 2023

Taste Tracker: A Pop Tart cookie for Crumbl; Hardee’s heats up chicken; Just Salad and Mendocino Farms harvest fall; it’s apple time for Krispy Kreme; and we’re not done with pumpkin quite yet.

Consumer Trends

10 most craveable chicken wings on chain menus

By Patricia Cobe on Sep. 20, 2023

Wing orders tick up during football season, and these restaurants score high when it comes to satisfying consumers’ cravings.

Food

Burgerville, Shake Shack, the Habit and Cowboy Chicken beef it up for fall

By Patricia Cobe on Sep. 14, 2023

Taste Tracker: New spins on bowls at Playa Bowls; Fazoli’s bakes pizza into pasta; mushroom mania hits Blaze; Rubio’s new fish taco won a contest; and more menu news of the week.

Food