rolling new food laboratory inventions for american chain restaurants thread

^^

Poop Cafe coming to Toronto.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/poop-dessert-cafe-bar-restaurant-toronto-canada-lien-nguyen-a7151861.html

That Big Mac in one bite video is pretty impressice considering the dude looks like he has a disproportionately small head

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/08/mcrib-lto-fast-food/494585/

In addition to being a cult favorite, the McRib is the best-known iteration of what the world of quick-service food calls limited-time offers, or LTOs. LTOs are those occasionally wacky, promotional inventions that appear on the menus of fast-food chains and drift off in the wind like sodium-dusted dandelion fluff, often never to be seen again. From Sonic’s Ragin’ Cajun Burgers and Wendy’s Ghost Pepper Fries to McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes and Burger King’s Bacon Sundaes, the creation of LTOs is part art and part science. In general their aim is to stoke excitement for a brand and entice customers to make an extra visit without resorting to discounts or cannibalizing their ordinary regimens. “For us, our bestsellers are not our LTOs,” Ben Miller, who heads up “social insights” at Taco Bell, told me at the company’s Irvine, California, headquarters earlier this year. “It’s the taco, the burrito, and the bean burrito.”

Of course, if lightning strikes as it did with the Doritos Locos Taco—which sold 100 million units in its first 10 weeks back in 2012—an LTO can graduate from flavor of the week to main squeeze. Still, that’s hardly the norm. LTOs aren’t necessarily meant as a testing ground for full-time menu items; they’re meant to grab attention. “It’s getting people in the door. It’s not just about the share of stomach anymore—there’s so much more now. It’s about share of attention almost—you have to be relevant in some many different ways, or else,” Miller added.

holy fuck, do people really say stomach share

they do now, apparently

"stomach share" About 88,500 results (0.55 seconds)

I do like "sodium-dusted dandelion fluff", though.

http://www.cleveland19.com/story/32710494/burger-king-to-unveil-whopperito?sf32844219=1

does not exactly seem lab-caliber

"We have no idea what we're doing anymore. Hot dogs, burritos, weird, submarine sandwiched shaped burgers slathered in sugary barbecue sauce and topped with stale onion rings..."

Just put some monkeys in a room with the ingredients (a la 'the chimps tea party') and see what they come up with.

this article is great: http://www.eater.com/2016/7/13/12160720/fancy-food-show-summer-2016

my favorite takeaways: the concept of "dessert hummus," and this paragraph:

The charitable branding of Doctor Pickle, on the other hand, remains beyond my understanding. CEO Harold Pitts is too muscular for his white coat; with his gelled grey hair, he looks like a late-career porn star doing a hospital scene. "Hey little boy," he calls to me, "Try my pickle!" I ask Pitts about the sign on his display that promises a share of the proceeds for child victims of 9/11. "We got into quite a pickle on 9/11," he says. Later I find out that Pitts was a fireman and first-responder at the towers before he turned to pickling full-time. His "Pickle with a Purpose" endeavor aims to provide everyone who experienced childhood trauma on 9/11 with access to transcendental meditation. The pickles are pretty good.

https://67.media.tumblr.com/e8aabe2619b30b682b709c14ddf0f0bf/tumblr_obt9zfiQSq1rljaeco1_1280.jpg

龜 your account is overdrawn

salome pizza

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Salome_Jean_Benner_c1899.jpg

time to take this thread back on track

https://67.media.tumblr.com/fe738cd82e63afd36611720951ffdbb8/tumblr_obvx3wvvJK1qgh75xo1_1280.jpg

has anyone had a wimpy mega burger?

http://i.imgur.com/UTpvT2H.jpg

who among us has had a mega burger?

http://i.imgur.com/gfYSBqf.jpg

I remember a long road trip with my brother where we put off lots of places to stop to find a wimpy. It was not as good as we remembered. When/where we were kids it was the place for kids parties.

Is that what used to be called the Big Bender Burger?

There is a dedicated Wimpy thread!

i'm excited for panda express's chork

http://i.imgur.com/RWWwZbn.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/rAFmIkf.png

pass

reddit username otm

Texas.

http://i.imgur.com/2hHzeiM.png

name "big tex" forever linked to super depressing chris ware cartoons, for me anyway

coincidentally, those cookie fries are super depressing

I feel like I need to revisit my state fair after a weekend visit just to document the new foods

The walking hot dog, a twist on the walking taco, was well-reviewed by a local chef

is that where they just dump a hot dog in a bag of doritos

Dammit, why didn't I think of that.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/entertainment/dining/2016/08/12/chef-rates-10-crazy-fried-foods-iowa-state-fair/88521116/

kind of want to try the cowboy cone

not sure about the distribution of slaw pork & beans in the cone

agreed

we're all walking hotdogs or walking tacos when u think about it

believe me I do

durian flavored wafer cookies. i mean, they are okay if you like chemically-synthesized durian extract. but the hours of burps are gnarlie brown :(

http://aibuymart.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/600x600/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/1/0/100128.jpg

This is was real:

http://www.kfc.com/extra-crispy-sunscreen/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/08/23/curious-flock-kfcs-fried-chicken-scented-sunscreen/89130838/

https://www.timeout.com/chicago/blog/you-can-now-get-sushi-burritos-that-are-coated-in-cheetos-093016

Will try and report back.

this is an insult to man and god alike

i want one

xp jeff do you have a living will

is the sushi burrito place good?

xp jeff do you have a will to live

I've never actually eaten at a sushi burrito place, so this will be the first time. I mean, it's just a giant maki that's not cut up, right?

that's my impression!

"just" doing so much work there

I had a sushi burrito here: https://eatburedo.com and I didn't think it was that great

their pictures look less appetizing and I trust Chicago more for stupid high calorie ideas

for sure