Greetings!
Raise your hand if you’re not sure what to do about gluten. As recently as five years ago, we didn’t either. But the growing cadre of customers who are avoiding gluten for reasons of health or diet has become one of the game-changing facts of today’s food and foodservice industry.
Far from being one of a list of things you’ve got to do to stay current, though, catering to the gluten-averse represents a wonderful opportunity for many of us. We’ve had reason to see that firsthand in our work with clients like LYFE Kitchen, a fresh new fast-casual restaurant concept that features great tasting, healthy food with vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and certified biodynamic menu options.
Whether you choose to offer an entire dedicated GF menu, as LYFE does, or to simply denote these choices with an asterisk or make gluten-free versions of your regular selections available, this is a customer need that must be addressed. You can start here, by reading our associate Karen Knoblaugh’s article on modifying menus.
To your success,
Dean Small and Danny Bendas
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The Burger Rules
By Joan Lang
The restaurant world, that is. The iconic patty continues to be a mainstay from drive-thrus to fine-dining, with no signs of falling out of favor anytime soon.
From 5 Napkin to Edzo’s, Smashburger to Home Run Sliders, the variations keep coming. Here are a few sub-trends within the trend to watch.
1. It’s All about the Blend – What cut of beef is best for your burger? More than one. Today’s trendiest patties combine several cuts, such as short rib, sirloin, brisket, chuck and more for the ideal balance of flavor, fat and texture. Many high-profile restaurants in the New York area even tout custom blends made by Pat LaFrieda, butcher to the stars.
2. Meat as a Condiment – Sure there’s the bacon burger, but now burgermeisters are taking the meat garnish right over the top. B Spot, Michael Symon’s beloved eatery in Cleveland, specializes in such “meat-on-meat” menu items as the Yo! (with fried salami, coppa, hot peppers and more), the New Jack City (chorizo, avocado, salsa verde) and the Fat Dough (pastrami, coleslaw, Swiss).
3. East Meets West – East Coasters and Californians may endlessly debate, cult favorites like Shake Shack vs. In-N-Out, but a few brave souls with regional concepts are striking out across country. Los Angeles’ gargantuan hit Umami Burger, for instance, is preparing to establish a beachhead in Manhattan, while DC’s iconic Five Guys continues its westward infill.
4. Cheffy Signatures – Every chef worth his salt, even the ones associated with white tablecloth, has his or her own version of the world’s best burger. To wit, Michael Mina’s ‘Bourbon Steak Burger’ (read: foie gras slider) at Baltimore’s Wit & Wisdom, or the 40-Day Dry-Aged Prime Steak Burker [spelling deliberate] on the lunch menu at David Burke Primehouse, in Chicago.
5. A Burger on Every Menu – It’s not just steakhouses, taverns and family restaurants that serve a burger these days. Le Perigord, a high-flying French restaurant in Manhattan, just introduced a Beef Wellington Burger that de- and re-constructs that Continental classic. The beef is mixed with clarified foie gras fat, sautéed shallots and exotic mushrooms, then nestled into puff pastry and baked. It’s served with truffle au jus and haricots vert, in lieu of the more proletarian, er, French fries.
Photo credit: CC by Jerry Huddleston, “Five Guys Burgers and Fries”
6. Chains on the Move – Ever since the “better burger” fast casuals started bouncing onto the scene in the mid-aughts, hopeful concept developers are angling to become the next Chipotle…. or Five Guys (which has grown from five hometown units to more than 1,000 since 2001). Fat Burger is trading on its Hollywood celebrity-favorite status to expand to 103 locations, while Freakin’ Unbelievable Burgers, from Flint, MI, is getting ambitious about franchising.
7. And on the Road – Meanwhile, the beloved East Coast heritage brand White Castle has announced plans to take to the road with its new CraveMobiles, food trucks that will be available first for special events and then expand into mini-versions of the brick-and-mortar stores. Cleverly, they will serve three versions of their must-have sliders but will also serve as test vehicles, so to speak, for potential new core menu items.
8. Where’s the… Lamb? – A hamburger’s not made with beef alone. In fact, some of the most noteworthy in the new crop of burgers use another protein. April Bloomfield, of New York’s Breslin Bar & Grill, favors a chargrilled lamb burger with feta, cumin mayo and thrice cooked chips. Chicago’s new Butcher & The Burger offers the option of locally raised pork, salmon or grass-fed bison patties, among others. And of course there is no shortage of turkey and veggie burgers for the health-conscious.
9. It’s Burger Time – Burgers are being made into a special occasion at more than one well-known restaurant. At Holeman & Finch, Linton Hopkins’ much-loved “public house” in Atlanta, 9 p.m. signals the availability of just 24 of his handcrafted grass-fed beef double cheeseburgers. And Lucky’s Market, in Boulder, kicks off summer with a Friday night Burger Night with $6 burgers and live entertainment.
10. Still Endless Possibilities – After all this, who could possibly still get fired up about inventing a new hamburger? Josh Capon, for one, the much-lauded “burger god” who talked at length to Food Republic on the subject. From potato roll to bacon jam, there’s always room for something new on the burger front.
Modifying the Gluten-Free Menu
By Karen N. Knoblaugh, MS, RD, Food Allergy Consultants
As more and more people are adopting the gluten-free lifestyle, food producers are having to adapt to this dietary preference to meet consumers’ needs. When Betty Crocker cake mixes, Chex cereals, and Bisquick baking mix come out with gluten-free versions of their tried-and-true products, you know that this “trend” is going to be here for while! As a chef or restaurateur, being able to accommodate these customers is becoming a crucial component for customer satisfaction and safety, as well as for repeat business.
Gluten is found in three grains: wheat, rye, and barley. Oats, which do not naturally contain gluten, are usually harvested and processed on the same equipment as gluten-containing grains, so most oats contain gluten as a byproduct, unless they are specifically noted to be gluten-free. Additionally, gluten can be found in a wide variety of packaged foods and ingredients, such as soy sauce, soups and sauces. Reading ingredient labels is critical to identify gluten-containing components. Very small amounts of gluten can cause big problems for those who are sensitive to it, such as weight loss from malnutrition, iron and calcium deficiencies, and gastrointestinal problems, all of which can take weeks to recover from.
Luckily, there are easy ways to modify many of your recipes to make them gluten free. There is a wide variety of gluten-free flours on the market that you can use to replace wheat flours in your recipes, usually on a one-to-one basis. Soy sauce, which is made with wheat as the fermentation substrate, can easily be replaced by tamari, which is a soy sauce made without wheat. Corn and potato starches and xanthan gum can be good alternatives to wheat in roux, soups and sauce. There are also many gluten-free alternatives to pasta and breads, which used to be off-limits.
It is important to keep these gluten-free foods actually gluten-free, which means that ensuring a clean workspace, uncontaminated mise en place, and clean towels and utensils are critical—just as with any food allergy. Frying gluten-free foods in the same oil that you deep-fry battered foods is not a best practice, as it is possible that a small amount of wheat batter can attach itself to your gluten-free food. Cooking and warming surfaces should also be kept separate for gluten free foods.
As an example, don’t cook pancakes on a griddle, then cook eggs on the same griddle without cleaning it with a wet towel and making sure all crumbs are removed. That customer may be ordering those scrambled eggs because they are supposed to be gluten free. A devoted gluten-free pizza stone can be used for making gluten-free pizzas and flatbreads; just make sure you keep it clean and away from gluten-containing foods. Similarly, don’t warm wheat and gluten-free corn tortillas on the same surface, and keep gluten-containing mise en place in the front row to avoid contaminating other prep ingredients. You get the idea.
Gluten-free dining is here to stay, so learning how you can modify your recipes to provide safe food for your customers is important. Synergy Restaurant Consultants can help you with recipe modifications and making your restaurant more gluten-free friendly.
Next Wave Mexican Restaurants Have Arrived
A year and a half ago in our annual Top Trends coverage, we predicted the rise of a new kind of Mexican restaurant : casual and fun, with a sophisticated beverage program and menu as inventive as it is authentic.
Kinda like ¿Que Pasa? Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar, one of Synergy’s newest projects, an urban cantina set to open later this summer in Rapid City, S.D.
Developed for well-known local restaurateur Bob Fuchs (who also owns the Firehouse Brewing Co. and Wobbly Bobby British Pub), Que Pasa will be all about fresh, authentic Mexican flavors and menu items with a modern twist, designed to appeal to families and groups of friends.
The “never ordinary” menu includes authentic street-food classics like carnitas and enchiladas, alongside new favorites including Sautéed Shrimp and Scallops in Chipotle Cream and The Boss burger topped with crisp-fried jalapenos, smoked brisket and spicy Jack cheese. The tequila bar is set to feature more than 50 different varieties of the flavorful spirit, as well as hand-shaken margaritas, specialty cocktails, and a selection of Mexican beers.
Que Pasa joins a roster of fascinating new Mexican concepts that are changing Americans’ expectations about South of the Border food, including:
• Mezcalina, Chicago: Taking inspiration from Mexican regional cuisine, this stylish, upscale restaurant highlights unusual ingredients and herbs like hoja santa (Mexican pepper leaf), chayote and calabaza (similar to squash and pumpkin, respectively), specialty chilies, hibiscus and Oaxacan cheese. Signature dishes include Camerones Yucateca (annatto-rubbed shrimp with pumpkin-seed green mole sauce), Pulpo Chintextle (chile pasilla octopus with Mexican tea herb infused oil, avocado-leaf seasoned refried black beans, and rice) and the iconic Chile en Nogada (roasted poblano pepper stuffed with pork picadillo, nuts and fruits on an almond cream sauce with pomegranate)
• Antojeria la Popular , New York City: Touting Mexican tapas, this antojeria (street food snacks eatery) courts value-seeking snackers and sharers with a brief menu of ceviches (i.e., Campeche, with shrimp, jicama, cucumber, mango, lime, ginger and chile piquin) and antojitos (corn based snacks such as chicken mole with queso fresco, toasted sesame and crema on a corn tostada). Yes, there are Oaxacan crickets with avocado and crema on a blue corn tostada, as well tequila-based cocteles, Mexican hot chocolate, and a quartet of beer-based Micheladas
• Takito Kitchen , Chicago: Tiny and hip, this “Mexican-inspired” taqueria is as much about the innovative beverage menu (the Ruibarbo features rhubarb juice, yuzu, cinnamon, Lillet Rose and cult El Jimador Reposado tequila) as it is about the tightly edited selection of shared plates and tacos. There are three different salsas served with masa and rice crackers, hearts of palm salad, and tacos served three to an order with fillings such as barbacoa, pork belly and lamb chorizo
• Nopalito, San Francisco: Billing itself as a “sustainable, organic Mexican kitchen,” this two-location spot celebrates traditional Mexican cookery and the California philosophy of local and seasonal ingredients: fish tacos in ancho chile adobo; pozole (a soup-stew of slowly cooked pork shoulder with hominy); seared trout in pumpkin-seed sauce; enchiladas filled with stewed squash and zucchini blossoms. The takeout-intensive lunch menu features tortas (traditional sandwiches) and egg dishes, and both margaritas and sangria are always available by the pitcher.
Thinking about Mexican food for your menu? Synergy is here to help.
Tip of the Month
If you’re going to go gluten-free, go all the way. There are all sorts of hidden “traps” where gluten can hind if you’re not careful, as this article from Supermarket Guru attests.