Tacos, tortas, and quesadillas aren\u2019t just for Mexican restaurants anymore. Today\u2019s Latin cuisine emphasizes fresh ingredients and innovative flavor combinations inspired by regional dishes throughout Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean, leaving plenty of room for your own menu innovations. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be an authentic Mexican restaurant to serve Latin food,\u201d Ludwig says. \u201cIf you\u2019re a family-style, casual restaurant, or sports bar, Latin food offers the opportunity to serve something completely different from the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the relatively low cost and the broad range of applications, Latin delivers exciting flavor, new experiences, and value across menu parts and restaurant segments.<\/p>\n
\u201cLatin continues to increase in popularity and is a proven sales-builder,\u201d says Gordon Food Service Corporate Consulting Chef Gerry Ludwig, CEC. \u201cAmericans find Latin flavor profiles extremely acceptable and there are all sorts of opportunities to take those flavors and dishes and make them your own.\u201d<\/p>\n
These dishes offer a taste of Latin cuisine on your menu, no matter your restaurant style:<\/p>\n
According to research from the California-based research firm Datassential, the word \u201ctaco\u201d appears on 11 percent of the menus of 1,000 independent innovators it tracks. The key concept here is innovation\u2014something from which tacos have benefited greatly.<\/p>\n
\u201cKorean tacos are one of the most exciting new variations we\u2019ve seen from Angelino cuisine, a fusion of Latin and Asian flavors,\u201d Ludwig notes. \u201cWhat makes them so popular is that Asian flavors mesh ideally with Latin bread carriers, particularly the corn tortilla. Kogi kicked it off with their Kogi BBQ Korean Taco trucks, but independents and chains have created their own versions, such as Tacos Dorado\u2014corns tortillas with fresh, flavorful fillings like grilled meat, seafood, and veggies that can be prepped in advance, frozen, and then deep-fried.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prepared with ingredients typically found in a tortilla but served on a bread carrier or bun, tortas can add variety to a sandwich menu and satisfy demand for Latin flavor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt may not seem like a big deal,\u201d Ludwig says, \u201cbut when you take these ingredients and put them in a different carrier than expected, it completely changes the dining experience. Just as mostaccioli and lasagna are different dining experiences even though the basic ingredients are the same, a torta is a different experience than eating a burrito.\u201d<\/p>\n
The classic torta bread carrier is a bolillo\u2014a crusty white-flour bun, but any roll hearty enough to hold all the ingredients without collapsing will do\u2014kaiser rolls, ciabatta buns, sections of baguette or Italian bread. Fillings can include fajita meats, barbacoas, tingas, and flavorful Latin cheeses, a signature condiment, and vegetable toppings\u2014anything goes as long as there\u2019s a Latin flavor element.<\/p>\n
Use unexpected ingredients such as feta cheese and spinach, fresh seafood or lamb to create signature quesadillas, specials, or limited-time offers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are all sorts of opportunities to incorporate Latin flavor into entr\u00e9es,\u201d Ludwig says.<\/p>\n
Fresh ingredients and innovative flavors signal an opportunity for family, casual and sports bar restaurants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":3983,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culinary-ideas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n