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Hidden Chain Restaurant Menus that are Definitely Worth Seeking

By Khushbu Shah on April 30, 2013 / No Comments / Categorized Featured, Food Trends, Good Reads, Round Up, Underground Eats

When anyone mentions In-N-Out, the West Coast burger staple, they rarely seem to think of anything that is actually listed on the menu. The “hidden” menu, which is pretty common knowledge due to the extensive coverage, most popularly features the ability to take your burgers and fries to the next level by ordering them animal-style (grilled onions, pickles, cheese, special sauce). Other options include protein-style (lettuce instead of buns) with a variety of other secret nuances.

Hidden menu items seem to exist at most major chains across the United States, not just In-N-Out. Most restaurants deny their existence with the recipes spreading by word of mouth. There are however, a few chains that have hidden menus with corporate backing such as Panera and Arby’s. We think this removes half the fun. If properly described in your order, most places should be able to create the follow items for you, if you so desire. So here they are folks, the real underground eats of the fast food world:

McDonald’s
There’s an entire website dedicated to off-menu items from the golden arches. Hidden menu creations range from belly-busting sandwiches to premium desserts.

Mc 10:35 – This sandwich is a genius combination of the breakfast and daily menu that can only be ordered Monday-Friday at 10:35. Details here.

Chicken and Waffles- A McGriddle sandwich with a layer of fried chicken.

The McChicken – It’s a Big Mac with fried chicken substituted for the beef.

The Land, Sea, and Air Burger – This sandwich consists of a beef patty, chicken patty, and fish patty all in one sandwich slathered with tartar sauce.

The Pie McFlurry – Ask for a freshly baked pie to be crumbled and mixed into your McFlurry of choice.

The McCrepe – A breakfast Hotcake filled with the fruit and yogurt parfait and topped with maple syrup.

Root Beer Float – Order any size root beer and ask for a serving of vanilla soft serve to be added in.

Bacon, Not Stirred: Meat The Latest Cocktail Trend

By Khushbu Shah on April 3, 2013 / No Comments / Categorized Experiments in Food, Featured, Food for Thought, Food Trends, Underground Eats

Alcohol has long been a favorite marinade/glaze/sauce for many delicious meat dishes. Who doesn’t love a plate full of braised brisket with a bourbon-peach glaze or beer-marinated chicken wings? How about a martini glass full? The superstars in the mixology world are beefing up their drink game by championing cocktails for carnivores.

The Bloody Mary bar at swanky Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s offers unlimited access to ingredients such as fresh herbs, veggies, and of course, bacon. E&E Grill House in NYC gives customers libations such as the Baked Potato which is made up of bacon vodka, muddled chives, dill and hot sauce. They also have the Bloody Bull which is garnished with bacon-wrapped olives stuffed with fried blue cheese. A bacon cocktail is actually a signature drink at PDT, one of NYC’s mixology meccas. Their Bacon-Infused Old Fashioned is made with Benton’s bacon-infused bourbon.

But bacon-infused vodka and bacon Bloody Mary garnishes are so 2011. The current meaty cocktail trend extends far beyond bacon. Comme Ca in West Hollywood serves up a chicken wing-inspired cocktail. Order a Wingin’ It and you’ll find yourself drinking down añejo tequila, lime juice, carrot juice, Bloody Mary mix, ginger syrup, a dash of tabasco, and the main star – chicken stock. The drink is then garnished with a celery stock that’s been stuffed with bleu cheese.

Justice Snow’s in Aspen has even managed to sneak bone marrow into its drink selection. The Good Morning Manhattan is made with bone marrow-infused bourbon. At the infamous Sazerac in Seattle you can purchase Duck á l’Orange in sippable form. The drink is made from Grand Marnier that has been infused with duck fat, mixed with vodka, Campari, and Aperol.

Not to be outdone, Riveria in Downtown LA has even managed to make barbecue drinkable. Aptly named Barbacoa (Spanish for barbeque), the cocktail is made with tequila, chipotle, slices of red bell pepper, agave nectar, lime pieces, and a piece of hickory-smoked beef jerky.

Even though meat infused spirits are technically not all that new to the cocktail world with references by writers dating back to the 17th century, we doubt our forefathers were getting their drink on at a full-fledged meat bar. London’s Shaka Zulu introduced their meat bar in 2012 which served everything from Meatequita, a blend of tequila reposada infused with chorizo, vegetable juice, port, and balsamic vinegar, to the Wheeling Salmon which is made of smoked salmon-infused vodka with lemon pepper and ice, served with more smoked salmon for garnish and stuffed red peppers.

If your local watering hole is still only serving up vegetarian-friendly cocktails, here’s how to make PDT’s Bacon-Infused Old Fashioned at home – directions on how to make your own bacon-infused bourbon, included.

7 New Food Obsessions for the Post-Baconmageddon World

By Khushbu Shah on March 19, 2013 / No Comments / Categorized Experiments in Food, Featured, Food for Thought, Food Trends, Underground Eats

There is no denying that bacon is awesome, we could never argue otherwise. Bacon is a favorite companion to perfectly scrambled eggs, makes for a great sandwich filling, and has even found its way into our hearts as dessert. Alas, society has now found itself in the midst of a baconmageddon and literally no food is safe from the addition of bacon. It is EVERYWHERE- to the point of nausea. Bacon toothpaste exists. True story. There’s even a vegan and kosher bacon salt that adds bacon flavor to anything it’s sprinkled upon. Since rumors have been flying around that there will be a shortage of this beloved pork product in the later half of this year, it’s time to figure out what other foods we will put in everything next. Here is our list of the new bacons:

Kale
Kale is literally the bacon of the vegetarian/vegan/health food world. The leafy green seems to be making an appearance everywhere and is no longer relegated to just health food staples like salads and green smoothies. Kale chips have become the new favorite foodie snack and kale has even found its way into cocktails and cake. We kid you not.

Tea
Tea is no longer just a drink. With its incredible range of flavors and origins chefs have been using tea as a layer of flavor in everything from sweet to savory dishes. Many restaurants are now offering tea-smoked meats on the menu, plates are now being served with tea sauce, and tea is even found on the dessert menu – especially in the form of chocolates and cupcakes.

Truffles
The infamous black or white truffle is an essential ingredient to the palates of those with fat wallets. As one of the world’s most expensive ingredients it’s not exactly economical to add these delicious fungi to everything in site- but people do it anyway. There’s a range of truffle products such oils, salts, and butters that add truffly goodness to everything you add it to. Chefs and bloggers also add truffles to everything from pizza, to risotto, to ice cream. Yeah, ice cream.

The 7 Most Delicious Examples of When Food Meets Design

By Khushbu Shah on March 5, 2013 / No Comments / Categorized Experiments in Food, Fantasy eats, Featured, Food Trends, Photos, Uncategorized, Underground Eats

It’s common knowledge that we tend to eat with our eyes first. Aesthetically unpleasing dishes rarely make it off the plate and into our mouths. Lucky for us, bevies of designers/art directors/artists/generally creative people have been fusing their talents with food to produce some insanely cool looking eats. Even luckier for us, everything on the following list is, in fact, edible. You can look at your pretty cake and eat it too.

Pantone x Food
The Pantone color matching system is part of every designer’s essential toolbox. Some creative designers have taking matching to a whole different level. Graphic designer and illustrator David Schwen puts together complementary food pairings such as eggs and bacon, instead of color pairings, in this project he did on Instagram. Emilie Guelpa, a French art director, created a series of Pantone tarts for the food magazine Fricote. She even managed to get them all coded to the exact pantone color.

Chocolate That is Literally Out of This World
The chocolate boutique inside the Righa Royal Hotel in Japan, L’éclat, has created incredibly beautiful chocolate replicas of the planets in our solar system. Venus tastes like lemon cream, Earth tastes like cacao, and just in case you were wondering, Uranus tastes of milk tea. If you purchase the entire set, they will apparently throw the sun in for free.

I Can’t Believe It Is Butter
Toast is definitely a blank canvas for a variety of spreads, but none match the creativity of this. The Japanese artist Shoko Mansunaga uses only edible elements and all natural food colorings to masterfully craft butter spreads into abstract designs on toast. That’s a breakfast definitely worth waking up for.

From Bottle to Billboard: Ad Agencies Aren’t Just Selling Booze, They’re Making It

By Khushbu Shah on February 27, 2013 / No Comments / Categorized Featured, Food for Thought, Food Trends, Underground Eats

Does knowing how to successfully sell a product mean that you are qualified to make it? That is a question many advertising agencies are exploring, especially when it comes to the world of booze. The advertising industry is infamous for their extravagant and memorable alcoholic product campaigns (we know you still remember the Budweiser frogs). Agencies are now adopting a bottle to billboard type process where they are involved in the actual creation of the spirit all the way through the branding and marketing of the product. There are many celebrities who have enjoyed success with this type of venture, i.e Sean “Diddy” Combs with Ciroc and Ludacris with Conjure Cognac, but the names of agencies do not carry as much weight with the public as individuals in the limelight. There is something to be said for innovation, however. None of the following companies are producing products just because they enjoy them, but also because they recognize a gap in the market. Let’s just hope that the quality of the product matches the quality of the advertising campaigns behind them.

Perhaps the most famous of these agency-produced spirits is White Pike Whiskey by Mother New York. The term “white whiskey” denotes the fact that it has not been aged before being bottled, therefore making it closer in relation to moonshine, than whiskey. Unlike moonshine though, White Pike is quite drinkable and mixable. It is made from a mixture of corn, spelt, and wheat and is supposedly easily interchanged with vodka. White Pike is apparently served at every one of Mother New York’s client meetings, but unless you are able to attend one of those meetings, you’ll just have to purchase White Pike for a not-so-hefty $35 a bottle- We’ll cheers to that.

Another moderately successful foray into the bottle to billboard world is by agency Red Tettemer with Tub Gin. They’ve managed to perpetuate the Mad Men stereotype that ad agencies sit around all day drinking martini’s by making their own brand of gin. They paired up with Ska Brewing Company to create a spirit with a decidedly bootlegger vibe that is definitely aimed at a younger, perhaps not as sophisticated, market. While we’re not sure about the decidedly bold juniper flavor, the bottle design itself is quite aesthetically pleasing. For $32, it could soon be sitting on your bar counter.

If you consider yourself even remotely a fan of Entourage, the name of this tequila will ring familiar. Tequila Avion, is essentially a small minor character on the show with the sheer number of times it is referenced. Turns out, it’s a real spirit created by the team at Walton Issacson. It was released into the market in 2010 and can be yours for a cool $43 a bottle.

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