SAN DIEGO Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp. plans to introduce a series of international dishes at its Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes buffet chains starting Aug. 1.
Under the new Passport Menu promotion, the twin brands will feature new dishes every two weeks from various international travel destinations.
From Aug. 1 to Aug. 15, for example, the 100 restaurants in the two groups would feature Italian dishes, including a sweet tomato-basil-and-mozzarella tossed salad; spicy sausage-and-pasta soup; cheese-stuffed capelletti soup; bruschetta focaccia; penne arrabbiata hot pasta; and white-bean salad.
From Aug. 17 to Aug. 31 the Passport promotion shifts to Mexican specialties, such as Azteca taco tossed salad; albondigas locas soup; posole with pork soup; Southwest chipotle focaccia; roasted-potato salad with chipotle vinaigrette; and hand-crafted Mexican beans with fresh salsa de lupe.
During the first two weeks in September, the focus shifts to Greece with a classic Greek tossed salad; lemon-chicken orzo soup; Old World Greek focaccia; and whole wheat couscous with pine nuts.
Asia will be featured from Sept. 17-30, with Thai udon noodle and peanut tossed salad; Indian lentil soup; Asian ginger-broth soup; Thai chicken-and-peanut focaccia; Oriental noodle and green bean hot pasta; and a green-tea mousse.
Asimilar approach has been used for years by the Il Fornaio casual-restaurant/bakery chain, which spotlights the regional fare of Italy on a rotating basis.
Garden Fresh’s buffet restaurants operate under the Souplantation brand name in California and as Sweet Tomatoes elsewhere.