Fast casuals specializing in bowls and salads naturally pay a lot of attention to vegetables. But at New York City-based Dig, that attention comes from customers as much as it does the kitchen.
The return of Cheesy Cauliflower to the spring menu is a case in point. When the roasted cauliflower dish, a simple combination of garlic, lemon, Parmesan and chili flakes, was removed from the menu rotation, there was overwhelming demand on social media to bring it back. Cheesy Cauliflower accounted for a large uptick in product-specific mentions during its absence, said a company spokesperson.
Fans vocalized their craving for Cheesy Cauliflower on social channels.
“We do a really good job of social listening, and guest feedback is paramount to menu development,” said Chef Dave Schafer, operations manager for the metro-D.C. Dig locations. “They craved the savory umami flavor profile of the cauliflower, and it blends well with other ingredients when guests create their own bowls.”
Social listening also gives Schafer and the culinary team ideas for revamping recipes. Brussels sprouts, which come back every fall in a preparation with sliced apples, were changed up for winter with a spicy chili lime flavor profile, he said.
Seasonal, simple and scratch-made
Streamlined preparation means that Dig is able to offer unique, scratch-made vegetable preparations and satisfy consumer cravings without complicating operations. “We use our ovens to roast everything, so all the fresh vegetables are simply roasted and the recipes are have no more than two or three steps,” said Schafer.
Limited time offers are based on seasonality, whether it’s a small window of availability or a couple of months. “We change the vegetable offerings four times a year, but we’ll also bring in asparagus this spring for a very limited LTO of about a month,” he said.
When developing the spring menu, which launched at the end of March, the team started playing around with some new flavor profiles. “We brought in red bell peppers to use across several recipes, and those became the base for our Romesco sauce,” said Schaefer. The house-made Romesco is a blend of roasted red bell peppers, garlic, olive oil and toasted pepitas.
The sauce adds depth and character to the veggie-centric Green Bean & Romesco Frisee Salad, as well as the Romesco Chicken Plate and Romesco Steak Plate. Dig introduced the dinner plates last fall across its 33 locations, with steak, chicken and salmon as protein options to boost evening traffic.
So far, the Romesco is getting good guest feedback, said Schafer, plus cross-utilizing it in several dishes reduces cost and waste.
Fresh herbs are also scattered across the spring menu. Two additional seasonal items include fragrant couscous with spring herbs, garlic and lemon, and Herb Rice, cooked in a blend of cilantro, parsley and garlic.
Fresh herbs star in several dishes on Dig's spring menu.
One of Dig’s differentiators is the opportunity the chain offers to have a home-cooked meal at a fast-casual price point, said Schafer.
Dig’s CMO Jessica Serrano sums it up: “With our new spring entrees and sides, we’re inviting our customers to tap out of the daily grind of meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking, and instead tap Dig in for chef-prepared, seasonal dishes that save time without sacrificing quality.”