Jonathan R Smith 2020 Bayard Black
Four days, three halls…there was so much ground to cover at the 2023 National Restaurant Show in Chicago in late May. We found myriad products great for Mexican/Latin restaurants…here are a dozen or so that caught our attention. Watch for more in upcoming e-newsletters and print issues of el Restaurante!
BAR
Margarita Man Frozen Cocktails. Boost profit margins with frozen margaritas and daiquiris made with Margarita Man mixes. Margarita machines, a network of frozen margarita machine rentals, and wholesale pricing available. Margaritaman.com
La Helada Cocktail Enhancers. Create authentic Hispanic cocktails with rim dips in tamarind flavored paste, mango flavored paste, and chile flavored seasoning powder; all-in-one cups that come with seasoning and chamoy packets for Micheladas; and Banderillas, powdered chile-coated fruit candy straws. laheladamichelada.com
Per Se Alcohol Free Craft Cocktails. Tap into the sober curious movement with these all natural canned cocktails. Paloma, Mojito, and Hibiscus Margarita cocktails available. Wholesale orders available; for information about distribution partners or to order direct, email hello@persedrinks.com. persedrinks.com
FOOD
Dyma Brands Vegan and Sugar-Free Condiments and Dressings. Many of your customers have embraced vegan, plant-based, and sugar-free dining. Now you can offer what they’re looking for with Dyma Brands new Flavor Fresh Gourmet vegan and sugar-free products in single-serve pouches and cups unique to the foodservice space. Dymabrands.com
505 Southwestern Green Chile Sauces and Salsas. The company offers more than 20 varieties of premium sauces and salsas made with green chile from the Hatch Valley in New Mexico. Convenient single-serve cups now available. 505southwestern.com
Young Guns Frozen Hatch Green Chile. This diced green chile from New Mexico’s Hatch Valley comes in two varieties: flame roasted frozen and steamed frozen — both available in mild, medium, hot and X-hot. YGHatchChile.com
MIC Food Tropical IQF Tropical Fruits and Vegetables. Plantains in a variety of styles including rounds, ripe slices, whole baked rips, strips, cups and mash, plus Yuca fried, yuca cheese bites, and raw peeled yuca are just some of the all-natural products from MIC Food. micfood.com
MegaMex Wholly Avocado. This company has a large line of products ideal for Mexican restaurant kitchens; one of the best is their Wholly Avocado line, pitted and hand-scooped 100 percent avocado, nothing else. It's an ideal solution for year-round quality avocado. https://www.megamexfoodservice.com/brand/wholly-avocado/
Sampco Fully Cooked Beef Products. Consistent quality and simple, convenient prep that saves time and labor — Sampco’s fully cooked shelf-stable barbacoa, shredded beef and cubed beef and fully cooked frozen lengua, ground beef and seasoned beef steak fajitas offer it all. sampcoinc.com
V&V Supremo Chorizo. Chorizo is an essential for so many Mexican dishes, and V&V makes the best. https://www.vvsupremo.com/foodservice/
Neil Jones Food Co. San Benito Tomatoes. Great canned tomatoes are so useful in Mexican restaurant kitchens, and Neil Jones Food Co. grows their own, so you know they're top quality. https://neiljonesfoodcompany.com/
NON-FOOD
Better Earth Taco Clamshells. A convenient, eco-friendly solution for on-the-go tacos! Freezer-safe, soak-proof clamshells made of unbleached bamboo fiber are 100% compostable — no PFAs, wax, or plastic linings. becompostable.com
Tortilla Masters. This company's machine makes it simple to craft corn tortillas in-house. You'll love the speed and efficiency, and your customers will love the taste! https://www.tortillamachine.com/
Sammic Immersion Blenders. A great solution to blending salsas, moles and other Mexican essentials. These blenders get the job done quickly and effectively. https://www.sammic.us/catalog/dynamic-preparation/commercial-hand-blender
Dynamic DynaCube. This manual dicer is great for chopping all of the vegetables you’ll need for house-made salsa and more! Watch the demo video at dynamicmixers.ca/product/cl00x/
Optimal Automatics Vertical Broiler. This company's machines set the standard for high quality trompo roasting. And they last forever! https://www.autodoner.com/
J&J Innovations Automated Cooking & Cutting Broiler. This fully automated vertical broiler cooks and cuts to specification and allows kitchens to produce a more consistent product — saves on labor, too . Great for tacos and other Mexican restaurant applications. jjinnovate.com
KwickPOS All-In-One Restaurant Platform. This cloud-based solution -- which can be set for Spanish language -- includes the hardware, tools and applications you’ll need to generate additional income, gain loyal customers, manage your restaurant remotely, and lower operating costs. Kwickpos.com
Cowboy's Mop Washer. This is a great improvement to basic mop washer systems. It circulates fresh water to rinse away debris and keep your mops fresh. https://mopwasher.com/
Robot Coupe CL 50 Ultra Tex Mex Food Processor. A super convenient piece of equipment for creating pico de gallo; it holds 10 tomatoes at a time! https://www.robot-coupe.com/usa/en_US/p/vegetable-preparation-machines-cl-50-ultra-tex-mex/18459