menus

Food trucks fill the streets and parking lots of New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Austin and Portland, Ore. Los Angeles alone counts 9,000 food trucks and carts, including branded vehicles from California Pizza Kitchen and Carl’s Jr. Yet when Ray Villaman, moderator of a trucks panel at the Restaurant Leadership Conference, asked who in the audience has or plans to launch a food truck, only a few hands were raised.

A new study released by Technomic finds burger consumption up considerably since 2009, with nearly half of today’s consumers saying they eat a burger at least once a week compared with 38 percent two years ago. One reason for the increase is the continued prominence of burgers on quick-service value menus.

Golden fried onion rings usually make their appearance siding burgers, piled into shareable appetizers and heaped on the bar to munch with a beer. Although the classic crispy rings remain a crowd-pleaser, these places have put a bit of a spin on preparation and presentation.