Flavors are exploding across menus this week, with both global and seasonal influences driving innovation. Mashups featuring pandan, birria, bulgogi and plum gochu are happening in food and drink, while mint, cherry and lime are quenching thirsts. Although bowls are still big, sandwiches seem to be having a moment. Here are the top trends we spotted this week.
Global mashups
Korean cuisine continues to impact chain menus. Bulgogi gets tucked into a taco at Velvet Taco, with a combo of bulgogi-spiced ground beef, Napa slaw, kimchi, Sriracha aïoli, scallions and sesame marinated cucumbers. Paris Baguette is putting shredded Korean beef into four items: Grilled cheese, a wrap, a pizzetta and a salad, along with ingredients such as red onion, tomato, carrots, cucumber and mint. And plum gochu is highlighted in Korean Plum Gochu Fresh Mint Lemonade. It has a base of mint lemonade that’s swirled with Korean plum and chile.
Over at Kolache Factory, Mexican birria is paired with a Czech-inspired kolache in its new Birria Kolache, the April Flavor of the Month. The LTO was inspired by a submission from last year’s consumer-driven Create a Kolache Contest and features slow-braised birria beef, topped with diced onions and cilantro, finished with a squeeze of lime, and served with consommé for dipping.
Birria at the Kolache Factory.
Pandan, a fragrant leaf use widely in Southeast Asian cuisine, is accenting café beverage menus. Black Sheep Coffee taps pandan in three spring drinks: Pandan Matcha Latte, Pandan Matcha Lemonade and Pandan Lemonade. In another spring debut, Matcha Latte, Matcha Lemonade and Lemonade are also available in a Cherry Blossom version with cherry blossom syrup and cherry puree. Japanese-inspired cherry blossom is trending at Ziggi’s Coffee too, in a new Cherry Almond Oat Milk Matcha Latte.
Sandwiches edge out bowls this week
Panera turns its salads into sandwiches by stuffing them into bread. Guests can choose to stuff any salad on the menu or try one of the new creations. There’s the Steakhouse Salad Stuffer with romaine lettuce and arugula tossed in Farmhouse Ranch dressing with marinated sliced steak, smoked bacon, Gorgonzola cheese, pickled red onions, grape tomato and crispy frizzled onions in an Italian Stuffer, and the Santa Fe Salad Stuffer with romaine in ranch dressing with grilled chicken, taco seasoning, roasted corn, feta, sweet peppers, pickled red onion, cilantro and blue corn tortilla strips in an Italian Stuffer.
The Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwich is joining the burger lineup at Burgerville; ham, American cheese and Burgerville Spread are layered on a roll. Guests can add a side of Rosemary Shoestring Fries tossed in rosemary-and-garlic-infused oil and rosemary salt, along with a selection of strawberry treats: a shake, shortcake, sundae and lemonade.
Smashburger's new burger builds.
Pastrami is the sandwich star at Wienerschnitzel. The deli meat appears five ways: in Pastrami on Rye, Pastrami on Brioche, a Pastrami Dog and Pastrami Burger. Dogs and burgers are platforms for innovation at Smashburger as well. Four new items start with the signature smashburger and build from there, including the Avocado Bacon Ranch Stack with American cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and ranch dressing; Green Goddess Bacon Stack with American cheese, bacon, arugula, tomato, avocado and green goddess dressing; Egg Truffle Mushroom Smash with Swiss cheese, grilled mushrooms, fried egg, arugula and truffle mayonnaise; and Jalapeño Crema Smash with pepperjack cheese, grilled jalapeño peppers and Mexican crema. The Mexicali Big Dog wraps up the lineup—an Angus beef hot dog with cheddar cheese sauce, grilled jalapeños, chopped bacon, crispy fried onions, avocado and Mexican crema on a butter-toasted roll.
Protein in the spotlight
Sandwiches’ ascent doesn’t mean bowls are fading on menus—especially when it comes to a protein focus. Luke’s Lobster introduced a Shrimp & Grains Protein Bowl (33 grams of protein and more than 10 grams of fiber) at its Santa Monica and San Francisco locations. A full bowl features tail-on shrimp, edamame, ancient grain blend (brown rice, green lentils, pearl millet, quinoa and flax seed), cucumber, shaved carrots, roasted red peppers, arugula, mandarin, Bachan sauce, lime juice, almonds and rice crisps.
Shrimp stars in a protein bowl at Luke's Lobster.
And Naya, known for its build-your-own Mediterranean-style bowls, is debuting four curated Chefs Creations. The Classic Braised Beef Bowl is filled with braised beef shawarma, vermicelli rice, lettuce, pickled turnips, cabbage slaw, sumac onions, hummus and lemon tahini, while the Classic Chicken Bowl has chicken shawarma, vermicelli rice, lettuce, pickled cucumbers, tomato, toum and lemon tahini. There’s also a Greek Salad, and on the non-bowl end, a Falafel and Tahani Roll made with falafel, hummus, cabbage slaw, pickled turnips, tomatoes, cucumbers and double lemon tahini in a wrap.
Quick bites
The Kentucky Derby is the first Saturday in May and Graeter’s Ice Cream is ready with a limited-edition flavor: Backstretch Bourbon Cherry. This official licensed ice cream of the Kentucky Derby is a bourbon-kissed flavor blended with black cherries and pralines…Eddie Merlot’s is leaning into value with a revamped happy hour offer of $5 off cocktails and mocktails. New options include a Rose Garden Martini, Seafood Tower Bloody Mary, Burnt Orange Manhattan and zero-proof Midnight Cherry Spritz and Lavender Lemonade…Buffalo Wild Wings has a deal, too—Bottomless Apps starting at $9.99. The list includes Mozzarella Sticks, Fried Pickles, Hatch Queso, Chips & Salsa and Large Onion Rings.
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