The power of ube

Menu Talk

Ube, the photogenic purple sweet potato from the Philippines, has been trending gradually in the United States. It got a boost recently when it made it onto the menu of the three Starbucks Reserve Roastery locations in Chicago, New York, and Seattle where it’s added to a coconut cold foam and spooned over an Espresso Martini.

Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, discussed the ube phenomenon, which also came up in Pat’s conversation with the operators of Tous Les Jours, a Korean-based pastry concept that’s growing quickly in the United States. Pat said they see ube and another trending Asian ingredient, matcha, as points of distinction for the brand.

Speaking of trends and Korean food, Bret went to a preview of a collab between fast-casual salad chain Sweetgreen and fine-dining Korean steakhouse Cote. Sweetgreen has collaborated with fine-dining chefs in the past, including Dan Barber of Blue Hill and Nancy Silverton of Mozza, and this new one features Korean sauces and marinades that are used in three limited-time offers: Two salads and a more substantial plate.

The LTOs expand on Sweetgreen’s introduction of steak last year—another trend in fast-casual restaurants. While chicken, always popular, is gaining even further traction at limited-service restaurants, Pat and Bret discussed how steak really shines as LTOs, including these new ones at Sweetgreen and the Steak Stroganoff at Noodles & Company, which was discussed during that chain’s recent earnings call as a reason for the fast casual’s relative success during the first quarter.

Bret also sampled the returning Campfire menu at Cracker Barrel. It’s become a harbinger of summer for the chain, which this year added a shrimp skillet with andouille sausage to the lineup.

Bret also shared an interview with Indian chef Rasika Venkatesa, the former chef de cuisine of Mourad in San Francisco, who is now in New York City operating a series of pop-ups called Mythili, named for her grandmother. Venkatesa discussed her approach to cooking Indian food, and shared how she collected recipes from villagers from throughout the state of Tamil Nadu.