Menu launches haven’t slowed down coming off the July 4 holiday weekend. Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality spotted many new items this week.
The beverage category continues to see a lot of action. Bret pointed out Starbucks’ release of a super limited-time Fireworks Frappuccino, a blend of their berry refresher with coconut milk and raspberry pearls topped with strawberry puree and sweet cream cold foam. And Buffalo Wild Wings launched a Mountain Dew Radler combining the branded soft drink and Goose Island beer. There are also new mocktails from Dutch Bros, a prickly pear refresher at Whataburger and a margarita menu upgrade at Condado Tacos.
Pat visited The Mermaid Inn over the weekend, a New York City seafood restaurant with a few locations. Their happy hour is an exceptional value—it’s offered every day, including Saturday and Sunday, and includes very reasonably priced food items like shrimp sliders, mini fish tacos, and oysters. Cocktails, wine and mocktails start at $10.
That led Bret to mention the $40 pasta entrée he had recently at Ai Fiori, an Italian restaurant in Manhattan. He said it was wonderful, but the hosts agreed pasta prices are getting out of hand. Happy hours are making more sense as dinner prices continue their upswing.
Flavor is certainly not taking a summer vacation at chain restaurants. Bret shared that McDonald’s introduced a spicy Egg McMuffin and Pat talked with Culver’s, which just updated its chicken sandwich and launched a spicy version. And she reported that at the Summer Fancy Food Show, peppers from near and far flavored the growing assortment of hot sauces.
Baby back ribs are a popular entree at Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que. | Photo courtesy of Lucille's.
From sauces to barbecue, our guest this week is Haim Asher, VP of culinary at Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, a California-based restaurant with 19 locations. Lucille’s has a smoker in each location, where menu favorites like ribs and brisket cook low and slow. But the menu also offers other Southern specialties, including deviled eggs, the best-selling appetizer. Listen as Chef Asher describes how Lucille’s is keeping up with barbecue’s evolution in the U.S. while honoring its legacy.
Menu Talk is a collaboration between Restaurant Business Senior Menu Editor Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. You can subscribe to it wherever you listen to podcasts.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.