Author: Flavor & The Menu Staff

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff Diners may be seeking out healthful options on the whole, but put a plateful of sweet-and-savory indulgence in front of them, and they will respond. “During the busiest hour during Sunday brunch service, there was one going out to the dining room about every eight to 10 minutes,” says Robert Okura, The Cheesecake Factory’s VP of Culinary Development/Corporate Executive Chef. In fact, sales of the Fried Chicken & Waffles Benedict are, in some parts of the country, more than double that of any other brunch item. “The guests’ response to this dish...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff Wood-fired, Neapolitan-style pizzas are all the rage, with diners responding to the signature dough and distinct flavor of fire. But as the trend in Italian-meets-American innovation continues, chefs are playing with what goes onto that classic crust. Wanting to go beyond the basic Margherita but stay true to a Neapolitan-style build, Richard Kaplan, Chef/Owner of Weights + Measures, started to play with the sauce, the cheese and the toppings, looking to create a quintessential American pie. “I felt the menu needed something more,” he says. For the base, he landed on a...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff How apt that the Hachi cocktail falls under the “Umami” section of the beverage menu at Kuro, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The top-selling savory cocktail includes an umami-loaded Japanese four-mushroom-infused bourbon paired with mirin and a housemade black-pepper syrup. “This cocktail is a hit because it’s unexpected and pairs ingredients that you don’t normally see on a cocktail menu. It screams creativity,” says Antonia Vance, Kuro’s General Manager. “There is a nice weight to the cocktail from the mushroom-infused bourbon that gives it earthiness and pairs well with...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff Chocolate can lend a complexity to savory dishes, but for Mad Greens, it became the flavor star in a surprising LTO application. “The initial idea was to try and make a salad with an unusual ingredient or two,” says Dan Long, Mad Greens’ Co-founder and Chief Culinary Innovator. “I settled on chocolate because it has a long history of being used in savory dishes, like moles, but is not seen in many common dishes.” The Soleri Salad is a unique blend of baby greens, figs, red grapes, Cotija cheese, slow-roasted chicken, unsweetened...

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff No holding back—that’s the philosophy that made the Pub Burger the “best burger in Pennsylvania,” according to Thrillist. The burger starts with a patty that’s 80/20 chuck and brisket. “It’s fatty and beefy. The flavor starts there,” says Richard DeShantz, Chef/Owner of Meat & Potatoes. “We add to that by getting a great crust on the burger and adding a nice, deeply charred flavor.” Pastrami pork belly is the next layer, seasoned with coriander and black pepper and smoked. Horseradish cheddar adds a bite, while special sauce and pickles bring spice and brininess....