Global flavors and autumn ingredients are trending on menus this week. A new Latin-inspired sauce, a lemony chicken marinade and spicy cheese curds are making news, along with more of those fall favorites like pumpkin and apple. Flavor-forward cocktails also rolled out and operators continue to lean into the dipping craze.
After the recent success of its Adobo Ranch, Chipotle Mexican Grill is launching Red Chimichurri on Tuesday. The chain’s spin on chimichurri, an herbal Latin sauce that’s usually green, is prepared in-house daily with cilantro, roasted garlic, red chili peppers and citrus juice. It’s available for a limited time to drizzle on any entree, but Chipotle’s chef Nevielle Panthaky curated three items to pair with the new sauce: Carne Asada Burrito, Chicken Bowl and Sofritas Bowl.
Culver’s is also exploring a new flavor profile with the introduction of Jalapeño Cheese Curds on Oct. 15, National Cheese Curd Day. The spicy LTO contains bits of jalapeño mixed with cheddar cheese, then fried for a crispy exterior and gooey interior. Plus, the chain’s viral Curderburger is returning to the menu Monday, also available for a limited time. The burger is topped with a disc of fried cheese blended with yellow and white cheddar that’s breaded and fried. The two items are all part of Culver’s Curdtoberfest celebration.
Naya's Roasted Lemon Chicken Salad Bowl
Roasted Lemon Chicken is now a permanent protein option on Naya’s menu after a successful limited-time run. The chicken is marinated in preserved lemon paste produced by a local New York City company, then roasted. The Lebanese-style fast casual originally featured the protein in a Roasted Lemon Chicken Salad Bowl with seasonal greens, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, crumbled feta, sumac onions, Kalamata olives and yogurt cucumber sauce, topped with pomegranate tahini, but the chicken soon captured 17% of all salad protein selections.
The Buffalo Ranch Chicken Strip Sandwich returns to Whataburger’s menu nationwide for a limited time. Stacked with three chicken strips and Monterey Jack cheese, then topped with both Buffalo sauce and buttermilk ranch, the sandwich contrasts a bit of heat with cool ranch and various textures. Also back by popular demand is the chain’s Bacon Wrangler Double—two beef patties, bacon, Monterey Jack and American cheeses, pickles, onion strings and chipotle aioli on a toasted bun.
Spicy Pickle is Golden Chick’s fall flavor pick—a hot twist on the tangy dill pickle trend. Customers can choose the fired-up flavor to enhance wings and tenders. It joins Lemon Pepper through Jan. 4, a seasoning that’s a fan favorite with a groundswell of support for its return.
Sonic's Blasts for Halloween.
Halloween kicked off in September at Sonic Drive-In with the launch of the Trick or Treat Blast. Each Blast mixes vanilla or chocolate soft serve with Heath candies, M&M Minis and Oreo cookie pieces, then tops it off with extra candies for a creamy sweet treat with a touch of crunch. Sonic donates a portion of all shake sales to support public education.
The Hooky Hour is a current themed promotion at Torchy’s Tacos, taking place weekday afternoons from 2-6 p.m. at select locations. On offer are three appetizers priced at $6 each, including the Street Tacos Trio filled with either braised green chile pork, barbacoa or carne asada; Diablo Chicken Bites tossed in spicy sauce and finished with honey, poblano ranch, cotija cheese and pickled jalapeños; and Green Chile Pork Taquitos. To sip, there’s a new Mocktail Collection of $4 Hooky Hour drinks, including The Damn Goodman (strawberry, yuzu, mint and lemon), Watermelon Breeze (watermelon, cranberry juice, lime, basil and ginger) and the Wildberry Ginger Quencher.
French Dip Sandwich at Gott's Roadside
Dipping is front and center at Gott’s Roadside where the French Dip Sandwich will be available starting in November through the end of the year. The item layers house-braised beef, caramelized onions, Gruyere cheese and horseradish cream sauce on a butter-toasted roll, with a side of au jus for dipping. Other LTOs include a Pumpkin Shake, a blend of vanilla ice cream, milk and house-made spiced pumpkin, topped with whipped cream and caramel, and Waffle Fries. Come Dec. 1, the Candy Cane Shake replaces the pumpkin version.
A bar refresh has swept through Red Lobster, with 15 new cocktails, wines and beers making their debut. On the cocktail front, guests can now order a Guava Chili Margarita, “Old Salt’s” Smoked Old Fashioned, the Nauti Peach Long Island and a High Tea with Henny. There are also three LTO drinks: the Caramel Dream, Apple Harvest Punch and Gold Rush crafted with bourbon. New white wines include Seven Daughters Moscato and Riondo Prosecco, and on the red side, Hot to Trot Red Blend and Decoy by Duckhorn Merlot.
TacOberfest is happening at Margaritas Mexican Restaurant, where special taco deals are taking place all month long. Starting with National Taco Day on Oct. 7, Circle of Friends reward members can score free tacos between 3 and 5 p.m. Throughout October, the Taco Gigante Challenge takes place, where participants are presented with a 2-pound taco stuffed with four meats, cheese, salsa, refritos, lettuce and rice, topped with queso, tomatillo and picante sauces. There’s also a Flaming Gigante Challenge for heat-seeking competitors; winners receive a free taco a week for a year. Lastly, there’s a Taco & Cerveza pairing featuring a birria taco plate partnered with a selected beer.
Gigante Tacos at Margaritas
Krystal has partnered with Hidden Valley Ranch to introduce Ranch Blasted Seasoning across its wings, nuggets, fries and tots. The fast-food chain is leveraging a consumer product in an on-trend flavor profile to innovate its core menu, with the thinking that customers are looking for alternatives to heat and spice.
Nutella stars in three new items from Everbowl. All were created to combine indulgence with better-for-you ingredients. There is a Nutella Bowl with a superfood-packed base layered with fresh fruit and topped with the hazelnut-chocolate spread branded as Nutella. The Nutella Smoothie blends the product into an energy-packed beverage and Nutella Toast uses the spread as a toast topping along with several health-focused ingredients.
Everbowl leans into Nutella.
Cereal milk is the inspiration for Dunkin’s newest latte. The Cereal N’ Milk Latte combines espresso with marshmallow-flavored cereal milk in a hot or iced beverage. But the coffee chain is not abandoning pumpkin. The Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte is back, flavored with pumpkin, vanilla and warm fall spices, then finished with whipped cream, caramel and a dusting of cinnamon. Joining the pumpkin lineup is the new Iced Pumpkin Loaf with cream cheese icing, wrapped individually to grab and go. Rounding out the food selections are Maple Sugar Bacon, Chipotle Loaded Hash Browns and the Kreme Delight Donut.
Donuts are also in the spotlight at Perkins American Food Co., to coordinate with National Dessert Day on Oct. 14. Customers can choose from Original Glazed, Wildberry Pie or Apple Fritter donuts, in a buy three-get-one-free on that day. For a more decadent purchase, an Apple Fritter à la mode topped with vanilla ice cream is also part of the deal.
Also riding the dessert wave is Slim Chickens, which is launching the latest addition to its lineup of jar desserts: Cherry Cheesecake. Served in a take-home mason jar, this dessert features layers of New York-style cheesecake, tart cherry pie filling and whipped topping. Cherry Cheesecake is the fall seasonal replacement for summer’s Strawberry Cheesecake.
&pizza's Oreo Dippers
Staying in the dessert section of the menu, &pizza introduced Oreo Dippers. The branded cookies are wrapped in the fast casual’s signature dough, baked and dusted with powdered sugar, then served warm with a side of icing for dipping. Another opportunity for all the dipping enthusiasts to play with their food.
And ending on a sweet pumpkin note, Vicky Bakery, a Cuban concept, is bringing back Pumpkin y Queso through Thanksgiving. The queso in this case is cream cheese, and the lineup includes Pumpkin y Queso Flan Cheesecake, a combo of cheesecake and spiced pumpkin flan, and Pumpkin y Queso Pastelitos, puff pastries filled with spiced pumpkin puree and cream cheese, brushed with house-made syrup infused with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove.
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