Visions of Sugarplums Warm Seasonal Menus; Mintel Menu Insights Tracks Nostalgic Holiday Restaurant Trends.CHICAGO -- Visions of sugarplums, chocolate and cranberries are dancing through national restaurant menus, and Mintel Menu Insights has identified some of the more innovative items on the seasonal radar. Menu Insights is a menu-tracking system that identifies key industry trends nationwide. "Restaurants know that customers see the holidays as an opportunity to drop their nutritional guards," said Maria Caranfa, analyst with Mintel Menu Insights. "People are wrapped in the excitement of the season, and are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. nostalgic and innovative seasonal offerings. Restaurant items with a bit of seasonal flair are strong draws for consumers." Sugarplums are a hot item on fine dining menus across the country, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Menu Insights. Farallon (San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , Calif.) hosts a Sugarplum Crisp, an almond streusel streu·sel n. A crumblike topping for coffee cakes and rich breads, consisting of flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon, and sometimes chopped nutmeats. prepared with Armagnac prunes and vanilla ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1968), better known as Vanilla Ice, is a Grammy Award nominated, American Music Award winning American rapper and actor known mostly for the 1990 single "Ice Ice Baby. cream. Upscale restaurant 40 Sardines (Overland Park Overland Park, city (1990 pop. 111,790), Johnson co., NE Kans., a residential suburb of Kansas City; inc. 1960. There is printing and publishing, and the manufacture of apparel, aircraft parts, cement, prepared foods, salt, chemicals, marine accessories, and signs. , Kan.) serves Baked Apple Tart, with sugarplum filling and calvados Calvados (kälvädôs`), department (1990 pop. 621,300), in Normandy, N France, on the English Channel. Caen is the capital. cream. Chocolate is always a seasonal favorite (retail sales of chocolate exceeded $300 million last year, according to Mintel's 2005 Seasonal Chocolate Confectionery.) Mid-scale restaurant chains such as Baker's Square and Marie Calendar's have created their own signature chocolate treats for the holidays. Baker's Square has Holiday Silk Pie, a decorative version of their popular French silk; and White Chocolate Cherry Dream, a cookie-crusted pie layered with white chocolate silk, red cherries, whipped cream and sweet chocolate curls. Marie Calendar's holiday menu includes a Triple Chocolate Cheesecake with semi-sweet chocolate chunks, baked in a dark chocolate crust and topped with whipped cream. One of the top holiday fruits, cranberries, are providing classic yet innovative accents to menus across the spectrum. Quick-service restaurant Salad Works (Conshohocken, Pa.) adds cranberries to its Bleu Pear Turkey Sandwich, with blue cheese, oven-browned turkey and pears. The casual Ram Restaurant and Brewery (Tacoma, Wash.) serves a Cranberry Maple Glazed Pacific King Salmon, with nutmeg pumpkin aioli ai·o·li n. A rich sauce of crushed garlic, egg yolks, lemon juice, and olive oil. [Provençal : ai, garlic (from Latin allium) + oli, oil (from Latin oleum , garlic broccolini and Bartlett pears. "Restaurants are getting increasingly creative with their push to attract nostalgic consumers," said Caranfa. "The holiday period is a wonderful time to introduce new menu offerings. Restaurants that embrace the season in an innovative, yet nostalgic, way will see more of a return in their registers. The challenge is in setting apart their menus from the competition." About Mintel Mintel is a worldwide leader of competitive media, product and consumer intelligence. For more than 30 years, Mintel has provided key insight into leading global trends. With offices in Chicago, London, Belfast and Sydney, Mintel's innovative product line provides unique data that has a direct impact on client success. For more information on Mintel, please visit their Web site at www.mintel.com . |
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