SALAD SENSATIONS
Restaurants entice customers with unique fruit and vegetable pairings
By Kathleen Furore
A salad between two ceviches. That was the appetizer presentation on the July 22 daily specials menu at New Rebozo restaurant in Oak Park, Ill. The refreshing scoop of jicama, pineapple, oranges, pepinos, cucumbers, lime, honey and a touch of habanero provided a crunchy counterpoint to the ceviches (one sour, one sweet) set on either side.
Shaped into a colorful mound on a three-section platter, that creative blend of ingredients from owner Francisco Lopez (affectionately known as Chef Paco) is just one example of recipes chefs are crafting to grow salad sales.
Menuing more salads, in fact, can be an effective way to boost sales and to draw traffic to your restaurant, according to Chicago-based Technomic, Inc.
“Across the foodservice spectrum, operators are capitalizing on the popularity of salad,” says Technomic’s Left Side of the Menu: Soup & Salad Consumer Trend Report, released in February 2014. “Ongoing emphasis on healthful eating, along with the rise of the fast-casual segment and retail prepared foods—both strong channels for salad—continue to keep these offerings in the limelight.”
Creative Recipes are Key
The USDA’s Food Guide Pyramid recommends that people eat two to four servings of fruit and three to five servings of vegetables every day. As consumers’ knowledge about and desire for healthy food grows, they are turning toward salads for the nutrition they need.
According to Technomic, 76 percent of consumers order salad at least once a week; but competition for their business is strong.
“Restaurants offering soup and salad now face considerable competition from the retail segment; It’s vital for restaurant operators to emphasize uniqueness in order to keep soup and salad lovers coming through the door,” the report notes. As Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic, Inc., explains, today’s consumers expect variety and uniqueness in salad offerings.
“Catering to consumers’ need for variety when dining out—while also striking a balance between craveable, healthy, and innovative yet familiar offerings that justify price points—will be important in driving soup and salad purchases,” Tristano says. “Operators may also have room to ramp up soup and salad orders by promoting their appeal across dayparts and mealparts.”
Salads Take Root at Mexican Restaurants
Creativity abounds within the salad section of many Mexican restaurant menus.
Take Chicago’s Revolución Mexican Steakhouse: there, one signature salad isn’t complete until the romaine is tossed on the grill. The Ensalada Cesar A La Parrilla features grilled romaine, homemade epazote-croutons, caesar dressing, and shredded Chihuahua cheese, Executive Chef Lupe Navejas says.
“There’s definitely a range of reactions upon seeing the char on the romaine lettuce,” Navejas reports. “Most are eager to try the smoky flavor profile, especially up front. Others assume the worst; that the romaine ‘looks like it’s not fresh.’ As always, we are constantly educating our guests not only about the Mexican aspect [of the cuisine ], but, just as important, about how true to the steakhouse identity we strive to be every day.”
Other salads include the Revolución Salad made with mixed greens, roasted corn, red onion, avocado, queso fresco, tortilla strips and guajillo-agave dressing; the Ensalada Villa of mixed greens, tequila-vinaigrette, caramelized walnuts, mango, apple, jicama; the Chilled Iceberg Wedge with beefsteak tomato, chipotle-bleu cheese dressing and seared chorizo; the Spinach Arugula Salad of spinach, roasted red bell pepper, red onion, bacon, hard boiled egg, roasted corn, spicy cashews and chipotle-bleu cheese dressing; the Chopped Salad piled high with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, onions, scallions, hard boiled egg, bacon and avocado in white balsamic vinaigrette; and the Roasted Beet Salad with roasted beets, orange wedges, arugula, cucumber, tomato, red onion and orange-lemon vinaigrette.
“The Ensalada Cesar has been on our menu since opening with great feedback.The Revolución Salad is very popular, as well as the Beet Salad,” Navejas says. “The vibrant colors match the fresh kick on your taste buds that really make the dish memorable.”
At Sol Mexican Cocina in Newport Beach, Calif. and Scottsdale, Ariz., where the focus is on Baja California cuisine, several salads enliven the menu. The Ensalada Sol is a mix of mango, avocado, cucumber, cilantro, pepitas and red onion tossed with tequila vinaigrette; the Shrimp Salad Esquites features chipotle shrimp and grilled corn on arugula with lemon and cotixa cheese; the Beet and Watermelon Salad with Salted Pepita Brittle offers roasted beets, watermelon cubes, queso fresco, red onion and arugula flavored with a lemon-basil vinaigrette and accented with salted pepita brittle; and the Mexx Chopped Salad is a creative combination of Mexican cheese, pico, nopales, almonds, beans and avocado in an avocado-caesar dressing. Customers can add carnitas, carne asada, chipotle shrimp, beer-battered shrimp, or rajas, corn and mushrooms for an extra charge.
Click here for a recipe for Grilled Corn and Mango Salad
SIDEBAR
Salads by the Numbers
The Left Side of the Menu: Soup & Salad Consumer Trend Report, which Technomic, Inc. released in February 2014, revealed some Interesting statistics about consumers’ salad consumption:
*76 percent of consumers order salad at least once a week.
*More than two-fifths of consumers—43 percent— strongly agree that they visit certain restaurants specifically because they enjoy the salad these restaurants offer.
*60 percent of consumers say it is important that salad can be bundled with other items.
*21 percent of consumers say they purchase salad because they want to try new varieties.
Kale, chopped and grainbased salads are trending forward at the restaurant chain level and in the retail space.
*35 percent of consumers say they are more likely to purchase and are willing to pay more for a salad that is a premium product; 31 percent say the same about a “natural” salad; 30 percent would do the same for a salad that is locally sourced; and 30 percent would likely buy and pay more for a salad that is preservative-free.