“You’ll never get bored when you try something new. There’s really no limit to what you can do.” – Dr. Seuss
Today marks the launch of our Early 2021 menu, a menu we’ve been anxiously awaiting to share with you! I’d love to officially kick off the season by giving you a tour of the menu items, sharing my inspiration and point-of-view about what makes each of them special.
For starters, allow me to introduce the Roasted Mushroom Shawarma Wrap. With this recipe, I set out to transform a vegetable ingredient into a textured meaty component that would stand-in for beef or chicken at the center of the plate. The result is a vegetarian wrap that will take you on a flavorful food journey to the Middle East with its bold flavors, and traditional spices.
The wrap is stuffed with oyster mushrooms, which we roast until they achieve a deep umami taste, and a most delightful meaty texture. To round it out, we also add roasted tomatoes, roasted red onions, hummus, and a drizzle of our spicy housemade zhoug sauce, which is a puree of jalapenos, cilantro, garlic, cumin, and cardamom. Lastly, we add the cooling components; crunchy cucumbers, shredded romaine, and creamy yogurt sauce. Altogether, the dynamic flavors and textures are hearty and satisfying to vegetarians and meat-eaters alike!
- Insider tip! You can make it vegan by removing the garlic yogurt sauce, and take delight in doing both your body and the planet a solid
At Mendo, we love to take popular foods and make them our own by adding a cheffy twist and punching up the flavor. Since fried chicken sandwiches have taken the world by storm over the past few years, we felt it was time to respond to the trend with this next one…Mendo’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich. It’s our healthier, air-fried version of a deep-fried chicken sandwich that packs a big flavor wallop, thanks to the apple & celery root slaw, housemade pickles, and roasted garlic aioli! We’ve been testing this in a few of our stores, and it’s “off the charts” performance tells us we have a heartwarming hit in the making. Come try it out and let us know what you think 😉
This next one, The Impossibly Good Impossible Burger, is an example of our passion for not only inventing new menu items, but also finding ways to upgrade and re-invent existing ones. A few years back, when we first discovered the magic of Impossible Foods, we were one of the first restaurants in the nation to offer their plant-based burger product.
We launched our first iteration, in a classic rendition called “Impossible Burger Queen.” Recently though, I discovered a way to give it even more flavor, texture, and personality. The secret is in the addition of plant-based smoked provolone and roasted mushrooms for ratcheting up the umami factor, a hit of sweetness from caramelized onion jam (in lieu of ketchup), and our addictive new roasted garlic aioli.
Lastly, we have an exciting suite of hearty soups and nourishing deli side salads to complement these new entrees for the remaining colder months ahead!!
- Creamy Potato Leek Soup – A longtime Mendo classic!
- French Lentil & Kale Soup – A longtime Mendo favorite!
- Rainbow Kale & Apple Salad – Kale, apples, and crunchy rainbow carrots marinated in a uniquely aromatic thai basil vinaigrette!
- Chopped Italian with Farro – Features a new & improved dressing with Calabrian chiles!
Thank you for letting me share these new menu items with you. I hope you will join us in our culinary adventures, and help us make 2021 the most delicious year on record!
Sincerely,
Chef Jeremy Bringardner