Wine: It’s not just for drinking anymore. Sure, we’re imbibing the fruit of the vine in steadily growing quantities: Per-capita consumption in the United States reached an estimated three gallons in 2007, and demand continues to surge as members of the Millennial generation discover its charms. But corporate chefs, responding to patron awareness and receptivity, have embraced wine, as well as other popular alcoholic beverages, as front-and-center ingredients in a range of innovative menu applications.
Wine is in the sauce. Truth be told, of course, we’ve been cooking with wine for at least as long as we’ve been quaffing it, and it’s been present on chain menus for as long as there have been chains. Back in the day, beef Burgundy was a staple at the venerable Howard Johnson operation, and its culinary progeny are still going strong, like Claim Jumper’s roasted tri tip served with Burgundy-herb demi-glace.
Other chains give the tradition a more contemporary twist. Marie Callender’s takes a varietal approach and tops braised pot roast with a Cabernet-beef reduction, while LongHorn Steakhouse finishes strip steak with a Red Diamond Merlot and herb-shallot butter glaze.
There are ethnic variations as well. A champion of Italian wine, Il Fornaio features Trebbiano sauce on pork chops and chicken breasts, and Pei Wei Asian Diner adds mirin, or rice wine, to Japanese udon noodles.
Salad dressings incorporate wines as well. There’s a Chardonnay-blue cheese version at Ruby’s Diner and Pinot Noirshallot vinaigrette available at Fox and Hound. Sandwich specialist Così’s variation on this theme is a signature shallot-Sherry vinaigrette.
Beer is in there, too. While overall consumption of beer isn’t booming, there is growth in the microbrew category, and chain menus reflect this trend. The tangy Wowza sauce at Uno Chicago Grill is infused with Samuel Adams Boston Lager and lends a punch of flavor to barbecued items and burgers. Rock Bottom Brewery built its reputation on its on-site brewing expertise and boasts more than 100 awards attesting to its success. The award winners get a second life as menu ingredients. The pretzel appetizer is brushed with the house brown ale, which also appears in a demi-glace. Beer bread is a side dish, as is red-ale rice, and malt butter tops the Alaskan halibut entrée. But the hands-down winner is stout. That dark brew is the go-to ingredient in inventive items like tomato sauce, ketchup, hot fudge sauce, onion soup, cheesecake and the new chocolate crème brûlée.
Historically, stout has been added to stews or to batters for deep-fried fish. Along those lines, Bennigan’s is using an Irish-stout glaze in its fish and chips, but it takes it a step further, using the glaze in a half-dozen other menu items from chicken wings to cheeseburgers.
Sauces are also spirited. Bourbon is a time-honored addition to recipes that reflect its Southern roots. It’s used in hams, yams and fruitcakes. It has also become a fixture on steakhouse menus, such as at Bugaboo Creek, where the sauce is served on flat iron steak.
Smoky-sweet bourbon is actually compatible with a range of proteins, and shows up in the bourbon-peppercorn chicken at Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse and the maple-bourbon pork tenderloin at Cheesecake Factory.
Some years ago, T.G.I. Friday’s upped the ante with a Tennessee whiskey-inspired line that included ribs, steak, shrimp and chicken and appetizers. That long-running campaign remains the gold standard for co-branded beverage promotions.
Where to from here? The use of wine, beer and spirits will expand as part of the larger trend toward menu premiumization. Corporate chefs will become more creative and dishes more sophisticated. A great example is the tomato-gin soup on the menu at the three-unit White Chocolate Grill, with locations in Scottsdale, Ariz., Naperville, Ill., and Henderson, Nev. It includes fire-roasted tomatoes, cream, bacon and gin, and it’s a perfect harbinger of things to come.