Spring is still in full bloom, but restaurant chains are already getting a jump on summer flavors and ingredients. Berries, barbecue, frozen treats and icy drinks are starting to come on menus, teasing customers into warmer, more carefree days ahead.
It’s never wrong to start with dessert, and Baskin-Robbins’ May flavor-of-the-month is the summery Strawberry Tres Leches. It’s a blend of tres leches ice cream, strawberry pieces, fluffy white cake chunks and strawberry swirls. To sip throughout the summer is the fruity Lava Colada, a mix of piña colada flavors and strawberries. Also on offer are the Perfect Peony Cake and Strawberries ‘n Cream Cake for Mother’s Day celebrations.
Strawberry Tres Leches ice cream. | Photo courtesy of Baskin Robbins.
Strawberry is in the spotlight at Gong Cha, too. The bubble tea chain has partnered with Line Friends, a collection of featured characters created in South Korea. Gong Cha is offering branded collectible mini keychains and tumblers, alongside the debut of its newest topping—mini pearls—available in new fruit-forward drinks. There’s a Mini Pearl Strawberry Milk Tea poured over coconut jelly, layered with mini pearls and topped with diced strawberry pieces, as well as a Mini Pearl Strawberry Smoothie. The same two beverage formats also come with mango pearls instead.
Matcha has arrived on Dutch Bros’ menu, with Lavender Matcha Latte and Raspberry Matcha Latte leading off the lineup. Also new is Mochi Berry, a combo of strawberry, passion fruit and sweet cream, finished with a creamy top and mochi pieces, as well as Dulce de Leche, a sweet blend of caramel and sweet cream enhanced with caramel drizzle and cinnamon sprinks.
Sonic Drive-In launched the Unicorn Dreams Slush, complete with free unicorn horn-shaped color-changing straws in four shades. The pink cotton candy Slush is eye-catching in itself, swirled with blue raspberry flavor bubbles, topped with a cloud of whipped topping and a sprinkle of shimmering pink cotton candy sugar crystals. It sells for $3.99 for 20 ounces, with a choice of four straws: White-to-pink color-changing, green-to-blue color-changing, neon green glow-in-the-dark, and frost blue glitter.
Unicorn Dream Slush. | Photo courtesy of Sonic.
A Tropical Guava Dunkin’ Refresher and hot or iced Pistachio Signature Latte are beverage highlights of Dunkin’s warm-weather menu. The seasonal Refresher provides B vitamins to boost energy and is available with green tea, lemonade or sparkling water. For the first time, guests can also customize the sweetness level. Dunkin’s early summer menu also includes an Iced Strawberry Lemon Loaf for snacking.
Barbecue is back at Shake Shack, one of summer’s quintessential flavors. On the sandwich front, both the Smoky Classic BBQ Burger and Smoky Classic BBQ Chicken are slathered with classic, smoky Shack barbecue sauce, a seasonal signature, with a build that includes applewood-smoked bacon, American cheese, pickles and crispy onions. The Carolina BBQ Burger and Carolina BBQ Chicken are topped with a sweeter Carolina-style barbecue sauce, with layers of pepperjack cheese, bacon and fried pickles. Guests can get an order of Spicy Fries with Ranch on the side. Also new are three limited-time shakes: Oreo Cookie Funnel Cake Shake, Banana Pudding Shake and Campfire S’mores Shake.
Barbecue stars on Shake Shack's menu. | Photo courtesy of Shake Shack.
The Desert Drip Char Meal is making its nationwide debut at Habit Burger & Grill after wowing the crowds at Coachella’s after parties at the April festival. The meal features a flame-grilled beef patty stacked with melted pepperjack cheese, crisp bacon, caramelized onions and spicy aioli, paired with Habit’s Tempura Green Beans and a Dragonfruit Limeade. It’s on the menu for a very limited time, selling for $15.50.
The “Camp Black Rock” Summer Drink Campaign is Black Rock Coffee’s way of welcoming warmer days. Three seasonal specials are available through June 30. There’s the Summer S’mores Mocha crafted with espresso, a rich chocolatey base and a topping of toasted marshmallow cold foam and graham cracker crumbs, along with an energy drink called Candied Peach Fuel with Peach Ring Gummy that has hints of almond, vanilla and peach. Completing the lineup is Blue Melon Fizz Lemonade.
Other chains are still soaking up Spring, including Bob Evans, which is ready for Mother’s Day with an array of new items. Strawberries show up abundantly, starting with the Fresh Strawberry Farmer’s Choice with three buttermilk hotcakes or two slices thick-cut brioche French toast, finished with strawberries, strawberry sauce, powdered sugar and whipped topping and sided by two eggs and breakfast meat. There’s also Fresh Strawberry French Toast, Fresh Strawberry Hotcakes, Summer Berry Salad with grilled chicken and Glazed Blueberry Bread, plus a Mother’s Day Celebration Platter with turkey, ham and lots of sides.
Pizza concepts are also busy this week. Mellow Mushroom rolled out a limited time Taco Nirvana menu featuring a taco-style pizza with zesty enchilada sauce, chicken or beef, mozzarella, green peppers, onions and tomatoes, finished with fresh cilantro and spicy ranch. Also on offer is Loaded Queso with chicken, enchilada sauce, melted mozzarella, diced green peppers and tomatoes, garnished with fresh cilantro and shredded sharp cheddar. A Spiked Mango Margarita completes the theme on the drinks side.
Mellow Mushroom's menu is taco-inspired. | Photo courtesy of Mellow Mushroom.
Over at Mountain Mike’s, a Fiesta Taco Pizza goes in a similar flavor direction. It’s topped with taco-seasoned beef, black olives and onions over a jalapeño-cheese-tomatillo serrano sauce, then sprinkled with fresh diced tomatoes and green onions. Along the same lines are Jalapeño Not-Knots—cheesy garlic knots folded with spicy jalapeños and baked. For dessert, there are Chocolate Mini Churros filled with hazelnut-cocoa cream.
And Lou Malnati’s teamed up with Frank’s RedHot to launch the BuffaLou Chicken Pizza. The traditional Chicago deep-dish pie features a signature sauce combining the branded hot sauce with Lou’s house-made ranch, along with white meat chicken, Wisconsin cheese and choice of other toppings.
Ice cream ends this roundup just as it began, this time starring a limited-time flavor from Bruster’s Real Ice Cream. Gooey Butter Cake, introduced Thursday, draws inspiration from the classic Midwestern dessert, blending homemade vanilla ice cream with indulgent butter cake pieces and ripples of butterscotch and caramel.
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