Patricia Cobe

Menus are pushing past traditional meat choices. Chefs are thinking outside the beef-pork-poultry box and putting more goat, rabbit and pigeon or squab in the center of the plate. Kazia Jankowski of the Sterling-Rice Group in Denver predicts that this will be a leading trend in 2014, as foodies increasingly seek alternative proteins, especially from small-scale producers.

It’s never been more competitive in the burger category. Not only are “better burger” concepts proliferating, QSRs and sports grills are upping the ante and casual and fine-dining chefs are serving inspired signatures. So how do you get consumers to choose your burger?

Senior Editor Pat Cobe talks about how restaurants came to the rescue before, during and after a recent move from New York to Chicago, nourishing both body and soul.

Beer snobs tend to shun brews in cans, preferring to chug from a bottle or a mug of draft.

With many concepts—including McDonald’s—offering chicken wings this football season, the 16-unit Brick House Tavern + Tap was looking to add something new that would be equally craveable. So Jim Doak, VP of Menu and Beverage Innovation turned to a different bird.

Some of the most renowned chefs are elevating one of the humblest birds—the chicken—to new heights. We’re not talking fancy sauces, rare spices or hi-tech techniques; instead, these pros are turning to the simplest, most down-home cooking methods—frying and roasting.