Now that spring is blooming across the U.S., menu rollouts are accelerating. We’re seeing more seasonal ingredients in food and drink specials, including berries, cherries, snow peas and arugula. Burritos, burgers and bowls are sporting fresh flavors, and there are a couple of 4/20-themed items and sweets to satisfy the munchies.
Whataburger kicked off April by bringing back its Mushroom Swiss Burger after a three-year hiatus. The burger features two grilled all-beef patties, melted Swiss cheese, creamy au jus sauce and a layer of grilled mushrooms, all stacked on a warm, toasted bun. Online petitions convinced the chain to return the fan favorite through June 2.
Whataburger's Mushroom Swiss Burger. | Photo courtesy of Whataburger.
The Carne Campechano Taco and Bowl arrived on the menu at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop for a limited time. The base is a mix of grilled brisket, chorizo and bacon, layered with grilled onions, candied jalapeños, fried onions, chipotle aioli, avocado, feta and cilantro in the taco. The Carne Campechano Bowl offers the grilled meats served over cilantro lime rice and black beans, topped with pico de gallo, pickled slaw and house-made guacamole.
Munchies Flamin’ Hot Snack Mix has been added to the line of free ingredient add-ons at Moe’s Southwest Grill, but only from April 13-20. Guests can customize any burrito, bowl or stack with the fiery, crunchy mix of Sunchips, Doritos, Cheetos and other popular snacks. It’s the fast casual’s way of celebrating cannabis culture with craveable munchies.
The T.H.C. Box is Jimmy John’s nod to 4/20. T.H.C. stands for Toasted Hot Combo box, a limited-time meal that includes a choice of one of the chain’s new crispy, gooey Toasted Sandwiches such as Chicken Bacon Ranch, Roast Beef & Cheddar and Ultimate Italian. These are paired with any flavor of Jimmy Chips, a favorite sweet treat, and a crispy pickle spear. The deal launched Monday and runs as long as supplies last.
IHOP introduced a host of new items, including the bimonthly Pancake of the Moment, which replaces last year’s Pancake of the Month. First up is New York Cheesecake Pancakes, with the next debut scheduled for June. But in the meantime, Bananas Foster Pancakes, Crepes and French Toast have been added to the core menu, along with two beverages: Watermelonade Blast, a lemonade garnished with a Watermelon Bomb Pop, and Pineapple Splasher, a blend of lemonade, lemon-lime soda and pineapple syrup topped with fresh pineapple and strawberries. The chain also revamped its Kids Menu, adding Junior Protein Pancakes with Fruit, a Junior Breakfast Quesadilla and Kid-Sized Cinnamon Dippers Dessert.
Sauces continue to flow out of the pipeline, with two new dipping choices launching at Sonic this month. Jalapeño Ranch blends classic ranch with green jalapeños for a spicy, herby and creamy flavor profile, while Asian-Style Sweet Chili balances heat and sweetness in a mix of soy sauce, sesame, garlic and ginger. Sonic also revamped its existing Ranch, Honey Mustard and BBQ sauces to make them bolder in flavor.
Wing Snob also makes sauce news with the release of a new flavor: Hot Honey BBQ. The spicy blend of hot honey and classic barbecue sauce can be paired with traditional or boneless wings, chicken sandwiches and crispy tenders, or drizzled as a “Snob Shot” over the chain’s signature mac and cheese.
Jamaican Easter Bun from Golden Krust. | Photo courtesy of Golden Krust.
The Jamaican Easter Bun is now back at fast-casual Golden Krust, leading up to the big Spring holiday. Based on a recipe from the chain’s founding Jamaican family, the Hawthornes, the soft, rich, molasses-sweetened Easter Bun is laced with fruits and raisins and is a best seller throughout the Lenten period. The baked item is said to be an evolution of the hot cross bun, brought by the English to Jamaica in the 1600s, but now infused with island flavors like allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger.
Bowls are making the most of seasonal produce at several concepts, including Bellagreen. The health-focused chain introduced six LTOs. The lineup includes a Butternut Squash and Edamame Bowl with red onion, bell pepper, wild rice and green onions, served with house-made citrus vinaigrette, a Crunchy Quinoa & Edamame Salad, and Creamy White Bean & Kale Soup. Out of the bowl category are a Crispy Falafel Wrap with cabbage and carrot slaw, cucumber, pico de gallo, and tzatziki sauce wrapped in a chipotle tortilla, a plate of Crispy Falafel Cakes, and a Lemon Crumble Bar with oatmeal crust. All are all naturally gluten-free and will run through May, which is Celiac Awareness Month.
Honeygrow's Serrano Chili Stir-Fry. | Photo courtesy of Honeygrow.
The Serrano Chili Stir-Fry makes its bowl debut at Honeygrow. It’s composed of egg white noodles tossed with roasted shrimp, bell peppers, red onions, snow peas and broccoli, all coated in a fiery serrano chili sauce and topped with crispy onions for extra crunch. The fast casual also returns its Key Lime honeybar, a customizable offering featuring Key Lime cheesecake filling, strawberries, blueberries and graham cracker crumble to build-your-own treat.
Poke bowl concept Pokeworks is adding a new menu category of warm plates with the introduction of Hawaiian Hot Plates. The three variations—Charred Teriyaki Salmon, Huli Huli Chicken and Dynamite Spicy Shrimp—are based on the plate lunch tradition in Hawaii. All are served over white rice and accompanied by Pokeworks’ signature Furikake Mac Salad and Classic Greens for a complete meal.
Grits and Chicken and Waffles lead off the menu additions at Big Biscuit. Bowls of grits include Loaded Country Grits topped with onions, green peppers and cheddar; City Grits with bacon, onions and tomatoes; and Cowboy Grits covered with chorizo, jalapeños, onions and tomatoes. On the waffles side, there are Strawberry Shortcake Chicken & Waffles, Nashville Hot Chicken & Waffles and Maple Bacon Chicken & Waffles. To wash it all down, Big Biscuit has cherry-flavored lemonades and dirty sodas, as well as a Cranberry Sunrise with orange and cranberry flavors.
The Pringlicious Cookie has arrived at Chip City Cookies, a partnership between Kellanova and the cookie chain. The sweet-salty treat is a mashup of a sugar cookie mixed with milk chocolate chips and caramel, drizzled with dark chocolate ganache and salted caramel sauce and sprinkled with crushed Pringles Original potato chips and sea salt. It’s a very limited-time offer tied into April Fool’s Day week.
Arctic Cherry Dunkin' Energy and Cotton Candy Donut. | Photo courtesy of Dunkin"
Dunkin’ goes all in on cherry and berry flavors with its latest releases. Arctic Cherry Dunkin’ Energy balances sweet and tart cherry notes with flavors of blueberry and grapefruit in a sparkling iced drink with a kick of caffeine. There’s also a Spring robin’s-egg blue Munchkins bucket filled with Blueberry Sprinkle Munchkins studded with blueberry-flavored bits and adorned with blue sprinkles, as well as a new Cotton Candy Specialty Donut filled with cotton candy-flavored buttercream, then topped with strawberry-flavored icing and blue sprinkles.
Over at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, the Dry Iced Americano is the newest beverage. It’s a fresh take on classic Americano coffee, made with shots of signature espresso mixed with proprietary flavors and served over pebble ice (without the water). It’s topped with half-and-half and a caramel drizzle and comes in vanilla, brown sugar and horchata flavors as well as the original. The LA-based chain is also bringing back its classic Horchata, a blend of rice, cinnamon, vanilla and milk infused with fresh espresso.
Strawberries are in the spotlight at Bojangles, where an all-new Strawberry Cobbler is now on the menu for a limited time. The base is the restaurants’ signature scratch-made buttermilk biscuit, layered with warm strawberry topping and drizzled with sweet icing. It’s the latest addition to Bojangles’ year-long promotion showcasing seasonal cobblers.
Honey-Butter Biscuit Chicken-Flavored Ice Cream. | Photo courtesy of Church's Texas Chicken.
And Church’s Texas Chicken is going the dessert route, turning its well-loved honey butter biscuits and fried chicken into an ice cream. Honey-Butter Biscuit Chicken-Flavored Ice Cream combines creamy vanilla ice cream with swirls of honey-butter biscuits and crispy fried chicken crumbles. The sweet-savory ice cream is billed as the perfect dessert after a fried chicken meal.
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