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Nation's Restaurant News
MenuMasters: Plant-based lamb and ‘everything’ knishes
Bret Thorn Nov 10, 2021

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Hero Bread

Subway is combining the ongoing trends of low-carbohydrate breads and celebrity endorsements with this item, developed with tech company Hero Labs Inc., that has one gram of net carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, 12 grams of protein, 26 grams of fiber and 100 calories for a six-inch roll. Professional football legend and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady has endorsed the roll as bread that even he will eat and promoted it to his 10.4 million Instagram followers.

Most of his fans won’t have access to it, however, as it is only being tested in Boise, Idaho; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Des Moines, Iowa; and Savannah, Ga.

Reuben Pizza

Pizza, the much-loved comfort food that is easy to deliver, has been a vehicle for a variety of foods that travel less well. Last year Domino’s introduced taco and cheeseburger pizzas, and for November Dallas-based chain Zalat Pizza is offering this pie: A pizza topped with Thousand Island sauce, corned beef, sauerkraut, mozzarella cheese, Swiss cheese and chives

Million Dollar Breakfast Sandwich

Thick-cut premium bacon, often glazed with maple, honey or other sweeteners, is a growing trend, and breakfast, brunch and lunch chain First Watch continues to capitalize on it with this new item that features its Million Dollar Bacon, which is baked with brown sugar, black pepper and cayenne pepper and then drizzled with maple syrup. It’s accompanied by a Jones Dairy Farm pork sausage patty, over-easy egg, smoked Wisconsin Gouda cheese, arugula and Mike’s Hot Honey, all on a griddled English muffin.

Sister chain’s Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s are testing a similar “candied bacon,” made with caramelized brown sugar and pepper, in Bakersfield, Calif.; Champaign-Springfield, Ill.; and Dothan, Ala.

Panda Cub Meals

Kids meals aren’t new — although in recent years they have been largely ignored — but quick-service Chinese-American chain Panda Express just introduced three of them, and what makes them unique is that they were developed according to the dietary recommendations of the United States Department of Agriculture and have fewer than 600 calories.

Kids have a choice of orange chicken or broccoli beef with white rice or grilled teriyaki chicken with chow mein. All meals also come with a blend of broccoli, kale and cabbage, Tree Top Apple Crisps and a choice of water or juice.

Everything Spice Potato Knish
Dillon Burke

Comfort food with a twist is a longstanding trend, and chef Ed Cotton of Jack & Charlie’s No. 118 in New York City is honoring the city’s Jewish heritage with this item that combines the potato hand pie called a knish with the white-hot trend of “everything” bagel spice — the blend of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried onion and salt that coats an “everything” bagel. Guests who want to pay a $63 premium can get it topped with golden osetra caviar.

Plant-based lamb

Meatless beef analogs have been on the market for a few years now — the first restaurant chain to introduce the plant-based Impossible Burger, New York City-based Bareburger, only did so in 2017 — and that was followed by pork and chicken substitutes, along with some attempts at fish-free seafood. Now a company called Black Sheep Foods, based in San Francisco, has performed chemical analyses of Tunis sheep from New Zealand to determine key compounds that give that breed its distinctive flavor and then incorporated those compounds into its product, made mostly with pea protein. The meatless “lamb” is currently being offered at four-unit Bay-Area Greek chain Souvla. Pictured is the restaurant’s lamb sandwich made with Black Sheep, harissa-spiked yogurt, cucumber, radish, pickled red onion and feta cheese.

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MenuMasters: Trend-setting dishes from across the country
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