The 20th Annual Taste the Trends Tour visited Chicago to explore modern restaurants; tasting food and observing successful business plans. GT Prime is a steakhouse that conserves time and money by serving a dish of unique salts with their steak instead of a variety of sauces. They also allow steaks to be ordered in a variety of size, which allows customers to order to fulfill their appetite, or allows customers to taste a variety of menu items. Brown Bag Seafood Co has created a handheld lobster sandwich using hot dog buns, then stuffing them with lobster and salad, which is perfect for an outdoor event that serves food or for an appetizer at a large party. Wonfun Chinese is capitalizing on serving unique foods such as rabbit and tofu family style. Bad Hunter is a vegetarian restaurant that is using activated charcoal to give the foods they serve a black hue.

Key Takeaways:

• Try artisanal salts on steak. Instead of the usual sauces, GT Prime serves Icelandic sea salt, Australian sea salt, and hibiscus salt with their beef.
• Mix and match! GT Prime offers 4-, 8- and 16-ounce steaks in a variety of cuts, and lets customers pick mixed platters to share.
• For family-style meals, WonFun Chinese specializes in spicy Szechuan cuisine, including chilled rabbit, Szechuan pork wontons, and ma po tofu.

“Chicago restaurants are rife with food, drink and design ideas, as a group of more than 100 foodservice operators discovered during a whirlwind dine-around to kick off the 2017 NRA Show.”

Read more: http://www.foodservicedirector.com/ideas-innovation/emerging-trends/articles/5-takeaways-from-new-chicago-eateries