Author: Flavor & The Menu Staff

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....

PHOTO CREDIT: Flavor & The Menu Staff With the goal of showcasing culinary expertise in the burger category and inspiration from its well-known beverage program, Hard Rock Cafe deftly tapped into the better burger and craft beer trend with last year’s launch of four burger and beer pairings. Each limited-edition burger was created with a specific beer in mind—even taking the trend to the next level by infusing beer into the burger recipes. Darryl Mickler, Senior Director of R&D for Hard Rock International, describes his favorite from the program: the Goose Island Tropical Bacon Burger. It features a Certified...