It’s not surprising that mainstream food chains try to update their menus and offer fresh flavors, but what is rather astonishing is how little they can rock the boat without spooking our fellow Americans. In “Wasabi to the People: Big Chains Evolve or Die,” the New York Times explores the delicate balance of finding “new” and “exotic” flavors without alienating devoted customers.
For instance, a Meyer lemon vinaigrette successfully infiltrated Panera Bread’s salad menu, and the Mojito—which had already worked its way into candles and soap—inspired an “Exotic New Flavor” of Wrigley’s Orbit gum. And the Atlanta Bread Company is successfully pushing a Cuban sandwich (something it’d never done before), but not all of its “innovative” new recipes have gotten as warm a reception.
Goat cheese, for instance, failed to impress customers when it landed in a salad last year on the menu at the Atlanta Bread Company chain of bakery restaurants, based in their namesake city. That surprised Chris Campagna, the vice president for marketing, who said his customers like to take risks. Those who tried the salad liked it, he said, but there were not enough orders to keep it on the menu.
For reals? I mean, I might be a New York City food snob myself, but even my suburban mom knows her way around a box of Chavrie. If goat cheese is too out-there for the average food-chain menu, what could be a future food trend? Pomegranate-glazed chicken at Bennigan’s, anyone?
Most Americans have terrible taste. Just look at the massive lines at places like Cheesecake Factory.
Goat’s cheese (including the soft fresh kind English-speakers call chèvre, and other kinds) is very common in Québec now, and not just in “creative” or posh neighbourhoods. Almost all supermarkets stock it.
What about people with allergies? Lots of people can’t digest cow’s milk. One would think goat’s cheese would be popular at least for that reason.
I have never heard of the Cheesecake Factory, though we have outrages of our own such as poutine…
I also wondered about the exoticness of goat cheese when I read the NYT article. Maybe in cities smaller than 20,000 people??
But I seem to recall that the Atlanta Bread Company is heavily concentrated in the South, so it might just be us Northerners who are hip to the Fromage de Chevre thing. Now if Rachel Ray gives it a cute name (EVOO!! Sammie!! Delish!!) …
Coney, sorry, not going to let you slip in a dig on the South.
Read the article: the opening line talks about a wasabi salmon at a chain largely based in PA, Ohio, and WV. (of course if you’re a NY foodie like the OP, I’ve probably set you up nicely with those three mid-Atlantic states).
Regardless, it’s not a southern or regional thing — it’s about the clientele the restaurant attracts, wherever it may be.
I think it’s worth pointing out that the Eat n’ Park wasabi crusted salmon died a sad sad death not because the world isn’t ready for wasabi, but because the kind of people who like wasabi would never in their right minds order salmon at Eat n’ Park.
It’s essentially a chain diner (think denny’s with a wider menu). The average customer who thinks it’s good food woudn’t touch wasabi with a ten foot pole. The average customer that would touch wasabi is just there for breakfast or a grease filled late night snack. Using that as an example of “food the american public is not ready for” is a little misleading.
The average dinner customer at Eat n’ Park is retired and on a fixed income or is a working class family of five (except perhaps in Harrisburgh, where Eat n’ Park has actually been voted on lists of “best restaurants)”.
As the above poster noted, hardly the kind of folks who’d be looking to expand their palates with salmon and wasabi. Eat n’ Park was also trying to market their concept of an espresso bar a few months back. That still exists, but is no longer marketed.
Better they stick to smiley cookies and tuna melts – that’s a niche they can fulfill competently.
But overall yes, the article is not surprising. I co-own an Italian style coffeehouse with a panini menu in one of those three states. I can’t sell speck – people don’t get it. I can sneak goat cheese into a quiche, but not a panini because it’s “too weird”. I can’t even move grilled eggplant – the concept of it in anything other than red sauce seems too exotic. It’s a bit frustrating (I’m originally from the NYC metro area).
Don’t get me started on Mexican food in the MidAtlantic…
One of the crappy chains up here in Canada, East Side Mario’s, is pushing the hell out of a ‘pomegranate salad’ right now. No idea how well it’s going over, but what amuses me is that the salad doesn’t actually contain any pomegranate seeds (perhaps not surprising given that pomegranates aren’t exactly in season in July) but rather has a pomegranate dressing. The actual fruit in the salad is strawberries. Which, to me, makes it a strawberry salad, but pomegranates were trendy last year, so a little pomegranate flavouring in the dressing and presto! Pomegranate Salad.
One more example of how living in suburban California has messed with my head — goat cheese is pedestrian to me, a perfectly good cheese but not “new” or exciting. I use it in zucchini blossoms and then put the whole thing in a quesadilla, which I’m sure would confuse Midwestern housewives.
Five or so years ago we had visitors from flyover country (west Texas), and we said, “Let’s make a light dinner, have a salad, some wine and a few interesting cheeses, a loaf of good bread.” We asked them to pick out a few cheeses and they came back with Colby, Cheddar and Jarlsberg.
Panini Guy, what a pity. I love grilled eggplant…
Jacquilynne, not suprised about “East Side Marios”. An uncle was taken there by cousins in DOWNTOWN TORONTO, prolly because the cousins had a small child in tow. Anyone familiar with Toronto would know there is a wealth of family-friendly restaurants there, including the many Chinese and other Asian ones.
Uncle got fed a “chicken cacciatore” that was basically pasta with red sauce and a few specks of chicken… Odd, as chicken cacciatore is an old classic family-style dish, not anything innovative or challenging to prepare or to appreciate, and has never involved pasta (though sometimes it is served with a pasta side in North America).
Epicurous has a good classic version on its site (from Gourmet or Bon Appetit, forget which)…
Lots of people think goat cheese is too tanky and funky. I like it, at it seems to be in a lot of things here in Chicago, but when I suggest it to friends on the east coast they turn up their noses at it. They much prefer brie.
that was supposed to be tanGy.