In the competitive world of running successful restaurants, it always pays to stay in the know of what is trending. From certain types of food and drink, to the way menus are being structured and what kind of cutlery and dinnerware is being used, utilizing trends can help a restaurateur become the talk of the New York City dining scene. Our team at HungerPass is dedicated to providing our restaurateurs with suggestions on how to keep their restaurants in the forefront of our diners minds!
‘Khachapuri,’ the Georgian Bread Boat Everyone’s Aching to Try
Georgian cuisine is one of the rising stars of the New York dining scene. Recently reported in Nation’s Restaurant News, one of the hottest items everyone is after is ‘khachapuri,’ an oven baked Georgian bread shaped like a boat and loaded with melted, bubbling cheese. If that wasn’t enough, this dish is then topped with a runny, golden egg yolk and melted butter. This staple of Georgian cuisine has crossed over into the mainstream and everyone is wanting a piece of this cheese-filled bread boat. For restauranteurs, even if making actual ‘khachapuri’ isn’t in the cards, there is a lot of potential with the combination of bread, butter, cheese and egg. The sky’s the limit when it comes to what can end up on a restaurant’s menu.
Want to try it for yourself? This delicious Khachapuri is from our participating restaurant Oda House!
The More Unique The Plates and Glasses, the Better
It’s not just how food tastes that can make a restaurant great—often times diners will want a spectacular visual experience to go along with awesome dining. Gone are the days of standard plates and glasses. Also reported in Nation’s Restaurant News, now it is all about dinnerware that makes a visual statement that stays with the diner long after they leave. From brightly colored hand-painted plates to bowls that look like geometric sculptures that were hewn by hand from the trunk of a tree. Glassware has taken an even more Avant-garde approach with cocktails being served in Light Bulb shaped glasses or wine glasses with a straw built right in, the more odd-shaped and unique the dining ware the more memorable a restaurant can be.
Less is More With Streamlined Menus
Foodanddrinkresources.com recently reported that Instead of menus packed front to back with items, the simple streamlined menu is in. For restaurateurs who feel like such a trend would curtail their desire to showcase a diverse menu, streamlining does not mean that diversity will be sacrificed, merely that it can be honed and focused. For different categories like chicken, beef, seafood, and vegetarian, having only two or three options instead of six or seven is a great way to avoid overwhelming both diners and the chef and his staff. A streamlined menu reduces the amount of inevitable things that can go wrong in the kitchen. Sometimes the best way to make a lasting good impression is to keep things simple.
Mixology of the Non-Alcoholic Variety
It has always been the norm that most restaurants will serve alcoholic drinks from wines to expertly crafted cocktails with their food items. While that staple isn’t going anywhere, observers like vinepair.com have reported that there is also a growing trend of people enjoying their meals with drinks that don’t leave the drinker as buzzed as usual if at all. Restaurants are now crafting non-alcoholic or low-alcoholic beverages like housemade sodas, homemade tonics, smoothies, and milkshakes using unique fruits, syrups, teas, and fermentation techniques. 2019 is the year where bold new flavors rather than the buzz from a drink is the biggest draw for diners. Restaurateurs can task their chefs to just go for it and come up with new and exciting beverages to make memorable experiences.
Breakfast From Around The World
The diners of 2019 are looking to get a taste of the world at large. From Turkish style poached eggs in a garlic infused yogurt with smoky peppery butter drizzled on top, to an Italian frittata with tomato, basil, and everything in between—no cuisine is off limits. As reported by Nation’s Restaurant News, we’ve seen breakfast menus evolve from classic pancakes and waffles to Indian parata bread with both veggie and meat curries and Venezuelan arepas filled with butter and salty cheese. A global breakfast is one of the hottest dining experiences desired so it wouldn’t hurt restaurateurs to expand their breakfast horizons.
Transparency Is Key When it Comes to Food Sourcing
According to FoodandDining.com and bizjournals.com, diners want to be more informed about where their food is coming from. Food transparency means being open and honest with diners when they ask about where their meat and vegetables come from. With allergy concerns on the rise, the list of ingredients in the dishes they order is of the utmost importance. Practicing food transparency is all about promoting a safer and healthier dining experience and it doesn’t hurt that it also makes a good impression on diners. Food transparency is a step in the right direction of building trust between a restaurant and its diners, and the smart restaurateur wouldn’t see the harm in being a bit of an open book to their diners.
