Article

Foodservice menus reflect shifting ethnic influences

Ethnic influences are not new, but they continue to shift. A pair of experts gave an overview of new ethnic influences on foodservice menus at the National Restaurant Show.

Image courtesy of Technomic.

June 3, 2019 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

As the nation's demographic mix changes and consumers become exposed to a wider scope of ethnic cuisines, foodservice operators are adjusting their menus accordingly. Attendees at the National Restaurant Show at Chicago's McCormick Place got a full rundown on 2020 menu trends from researchers, Lizzy Freier, Technomic managing editor of menu analysis, and Nancy Kruse, The Kruse Company president.

As the Baby Boomers age, health concerns are driving more food choices, as described in part one of this series on menu changes for 2020. But in addition to health concerns, ethnic influences are impacting menus in a big way, the speakers agreed. Ethnic influences are certainly not new, but they continue to shift. In discussing ethnic influences, Freier and Kruse gave numerous examples from restaurant menus nationwide.

Asian fare continues to be popular, Freier said, with Chinese cuisine maintaining its dominance. Sixty-six percent of consumers like it and consider it exciting, followed by Japanese, 50%, Thai, 43%, Korean, 36%, Indian, 34% and Vietnamese, 28%.

Korean Kimchee has been a big player in the rising add-ons segment, Freier said. Examples include the Sister-in-Law sandwich with dill kimchee from Steingold's of Chicago in Chicago, and BB Street Corn with kimchee remoulade from Ba Bellies in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. Korean options also include Korean Bibima bap bowl with gochujang aioli in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and Koreatown Tacos with gochujang sauce at the Veggie Grill chain.

Japanese spice also remains popular. Spice blends include Togarashi Edamame Beans (red chile, orange peel, sesame and ginger) from the Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar chain, and Tokyo Supergreens Salad with Furikake (dried fish, sesame seeds and seaweed) at the Just Salad chain.

Avocado toast from Japan is another expanding offering, Freier said. Shake Shack offers Katsu Egg Sando; Ferri in New York City has Ibarico Katsu Sando; while Momonoki in Atlanta offers fried chicken katsu.

Middle Eastern fare takes off

Middle Eastern fare offers a lot of items that lend themselves well to LTOs, Freier said. A new generation of Israeli American chefs, including Einat Admony, Alon Shaya and Michael Solomonov, are popularizing the use of chickpeas. Little Bean in Portland, Oregon is offering chickpea ice cream that is dairy-free, nut-free and gluten-free. Sajj Mediterranean is offering chocolate hummus, which consists of chickpeas, tahini, cocoa powder, chocolate hazelnut spread, maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon.

A Lebanese item called toum, which means garlic in Arabic, is a versatile condiment gaining favor, Freier said. Empellon AI Pastor in New York City offers a fried chicken sandwich with toum, labneh, cucumber and dill.

Other Middle Eastern favorites include baked falafel pita with s'chug (consisting of hot pepper, garlic and cilantro) at Zoe's Kitchen; za'atar chicken salad consisting of green herbs, sesame and olive oil at Starbucks and kebob two ways consisting of beef tenderloin, marinated chicken breast, jasmine rice pilaf, tomato cucumber salad and yogurt mint sauce at Zov's in Irvine, California.

"Kebabs are having a whole new lease on life," Freier said, largely because they lend themselves to portion control.

Turkish cuisine has also entered the mix, Freier said, with items like menemen (egg and tomato dish), ezme (tomato based mezze) and urfa (dried chile pepper). Golda in Brooklyn, New York offers eggplant menemen; Balaboosta in New York City features Kasata (with hawaij spice) and Saba in New Orleans offers Origin Story (with Baharat spice).

Moving further westward, Balkan flavors are also gaining momentum, Freier said. Examples include roasted oysters Bourguignon from Oran Mor in Nantucket, Massachusetts and Pide from Balkan Treat Box in Webstore Groves, Missouri.

Kids menus changing

Looking to future trends, Freier said look for an expansion of kids' menus. By 2026, 80% of millennials will be parents.

McAlister's Deli transferred adult menu items to the children's menu with offerings such as chicken broccoli bowl, kid-size spud and green salad with chicken, she said.

Social media, meanwhile, puts a new importance on how well a menu item appears in a photograph.

"Social media is evolving very quickly," Freier said, noting that food videos are becoming more prevalent on social media sites.
 

About Elliot Maras

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Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.