Starbucks leans into strawberry and mango. | Photos courtesy of the brands.
New food and drink items are popping with flavor and color this week. We’re tracking citrusy sauces; beverages and smoothies in mango, cherry and berry; the return of lavender; and even more cheese. Chilies are turning up the heat on some menus and matcha continues to make waves. Check out all the trends in the latest Taste Tracker.
Mango and strawberry are brightening three new refreshers at Starbucks. The drinks are crafted with a blend of mango and strawberry flavors with real pieces of strawberry, and customers can order them as is or choose to add extra caffeine and B-vitamins for an Energy Refresher. Mango also highlights the new Iced Mango Cream Matcha, Iced Mango Cream Chai and mango cold foam. Plus, ube expands to add a purple hue to a limited-time Iced Ube Coconut Cream Shaken Espresso.
Wingstop kicks off April with a new Citrus Mojo dry rub. The thick, sweet dry rub has a base of garlic, cumin and oregano, that’s then layered with citrus notes and finished with hints of mustard, pickle juice and fresh cilantro. The flavor launches Tuesday and is available nationwide for a limited time across all Wingstop locations.
Wingstop’s new rub for wings.
The best-selling O-M-Cheese Burger at Applebee’s is getting even cheesier. The pool of cheese that surrounds the burger in a sizzling skillet has been amped up with more queso and melted cheddar. Fans can order it up for $11.99 or for a limited time, pair the burger with Fiesta Lime Chicken and an appetizer or two side salads as part of the casual-dining chain’s 2 for $25 menu. Applebee’s is also introducing five new menu items, including Loaded Potato Waves, a Sesame Salmon Bowl, Lemon Parmesan Chicken, California Grilled Chicken Salad and Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad—a mix of appetizers, lighter salads and a healthy bowl.
A new Southwest-inspired slider joined the menu at White Castle on Monday. The Chicken Fajita Slider features crispy white meat chicken topped with grilled onions and peppers, jalapeño cheese and green chili aioli. It runs for a limited time alongside a new side: Jalapeño Cravioli. These are made from diced jalapeño peppers and cream cheese stuffed in a crispy, seasoned cornmeal breading.
Chicken Fajita Sliders at White Castle.
On National Acai Day Monday, Tropical Smoothie Café offered $6 acai bowls to Tropics Rewards members, including its new Tropiboba Bowl collection. That lineup includes the Mango Tropiboba Bowl, Berry Tropiboba Bowl and Acai Bowl with Nutella, all with acai bases combined with popping boba for extra texture.
Small plates, entrees, seasonal cocktails and sweets refresh the menu at Lazy Dog Restaurants. Asian accents flavor the small plates, which include Korean Fried Chicken Bao Buns and Chili Garlic Cucumbers marinated in chili garlic crunch, rice wine vinegar, bell peppers and sesame seeds; both are $5 during happy hour. Roasted chicken shawarma stars in two entrees: a Chicken Shawarma Salad Wrap with, mixed greens, tomato, red onion, cucumber, hummus, feta cheese, roasted red pepper, garbanzo beans and garlic tahini dressing rolled in lavash, and Chicken Shawarma Salad with the same ingredients minus the lavash; both come with tzatziki on the side. Rounding out the entrees are a Deviled Egg Salad Sandwich with bacon candy and spring onion aioli and Burrata Cheese + Spring Greens Rigatoni. Seasonal cocktails include a Watermelon Margarita, Yuzu Skinny Margarita and a POG Sloshie blended with passion fruit, orange and guava purées, agave sweet & sour and triple sec. Yuzu Lime Cheesecake joins the dessert menu and kids have a new choice on their menu: the customizable Kid’s Grilled Chicken Bowl, served with rice and edamame and teriyaki on the side, with the option to upgrade to steak or salmon.
Pimento cheese arrives at Shake Shack.
Shake Shack is also going the cheesy route with its limited-time Clubhouse Pimento Cheese menu. The fast casual reimagined traditional pimento cheese by swapping mayo and red peppers for its signature ShackSauce and adding chopped cherry peppers, creating a creamy spread with kick. The lineup includes the Clubhouse Pimento Cheese Burger and Clubhouse Pimento Cheese Chicken Sandwich, along with a side of pimento cheese available in the restaurants for an exclusive menu hack. Through Sunday, guests can score a BOGO deal; buy one Clubhouse Pimento Cheese Burger or Clubhouse Pimento Cheese Chicken Sandwich and get one free with the code PIMENTO when ordering via the Shack app, website or in-store.
Customers at Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken can now get their fried chicken in a wrap. The Famous Fried Chicken Wrap features a hand-breaded chicken strip with lettuce, cheese and Famous Sauce wrapped in a soft tortilla for a portable option to traditional fried chicken. The launch also introduces Lee’s Famous Sauce to the permanent menu.
Del Taco’s nostalgic Big Fat Tacos.
Big Fat Tacos are back at Del Taco, part of the fast-food chain’s ‘90s promotion. Each Big Fat Taco is served on a buttery toasted flatbread and layered with grated cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes. Five varieties are available: Seasoned Beef with Salsa Casera; Grilled Chicken with Creamy Chipotle Sauce; Carne Asada Steak with Del’s Secret Sauce; Egg & Cheese and Bacon; and Egg and Cheese. Adding to the nostalgia, Del Taco is introducing Del Flipz, a retro-inspired collectible modeled after a popular ‘90s craze featuring printed milk bottle caps.
Purple is trending at Peet’s Coffee, where ube and lavender are flavoring spring beverages. There’s a collection of Ube “Dream” Drinks showcasing the Iced Ube Matcha Latte with Cream Top. It’s layered with green matcha over ube syrup and milk, then finished with ube foam with coconut-vanilla notes. Lavender is in the spotlight with the
Lavender and ube flavor drinks at Peet’s.
Lavender Vanilla Latte and Lavender Vanilla Matcha Latte, both blending lavender and vanilla flavors with espresso or ceremonial-grade matcha; available hot or iced. Seasonal debuts include the Matcha Pineapple Burst, a vitamin C-packed refresher, the return of the Almond Croissant, and the new savory Elote Taco with roasted corn, eggs, bacon, and a smoky-sweet flavor. And coffee-filled Popping Pearls are back to add to iced drinks.
Matcha also makes news at Ziggi’s Coffee. Rolling out Tuesday are a hot or iced Cherry Almond Oat Milk Matcha Latte, Mango Matcha Lemonade and Iced Strawberry Matcha with Vanilla Cold Foam layered with milk and strawberry puree, then topped with vanilla cold foam and real strawberry pieces. For coffee fans, there’s a new Honey Cinnamon Shaken Espresso, shaken with vanilla and cinnamon, then finished with milk and a drizzle of honey.
Smoothies, lemonades and lattes at Frutta Bowls are going with a matcha theme too. Three new items are on offer, starting with the Matcha Cloud Smoothie, a creamy tropical blend of coconut milk, banana, coconut sorbet and matcha, finished with the brand’s Cocowhip for a cloud-like touch. Matcha Lemonade is a mix of lemonade with matcha while Frosted Lavender Lemonade blends coconut milk and coconut sorbet with lavender and lemonade. Rounding out the lineup is Iced Lavender Matcha Latte, a combo of coconut milk with matcha and lavender and finished with Cocowhip.
Candy-inspired flavors are highlighted in cold brews at Philz Coffee. There’s a Salted Butterscotch Cold Brew made with Silken Splendor coffee plus butterscotch, oat milk, and sea salt to evoke the taste of brown sugar candy, along with Caramel Coconut Cold Brew made with the same coffee with the addition of creamy coconut, salted caramel and oat milk. Both are also available hot. On the food side in Northern California locations are a Citrus Kouign Amann, Cherry Almond Coffee Cake and Twice-Baked Piña Colada Croissant.
Juice It Up packs in protein.
Protein-rich Greek yogurt is a new ingredient at Juice It Up in three new smoothies: Berry, Strawberry Banana and Pineapple Mango. Additionally, the brand is celebrating 25 years of acai with the launch of the limited-time Paçoca Açai Bowl, available through April. Inspired by traditional Brazilian flavors, the bowl layers coconut and acai bases topped with granola, bananas, coconut flakes and crumbles of paçoca, a sweet-and-salty peanut treat.
Paloma Iced Tea is the latest LTO at HTeaO. In a nod to the grapefruit-based Paloma cocktail, the drink infuses iced yerba mate tea with natural grapefruit flavor, gingerroot, spearmint leaf and a touch of citric acid for a balanced, slightly tart finish. It launched April 3 and will be available as a seasonal special.
Pizza crust—not toppings—is the platform for innovation at Hungry Howie’s. The chain debuted a Pineapple Jalapeño Flavored Crust on its core Flavored Crust platform, baking a sweet pineapple glaze and jalapeño heat directly into the dough. The move taps into the sweet-heat flavor trend and puts pineapple—a polarizing pizza topping—into a more subtle position in the crust.
Salted Butter Frozen Yogurt is available for a limited time at 16 Handles locations. The flavor is a riff on the viral butter-dipped ice cream trend, and follows the brand’s foray into unexpected flavors, such as French Fry, Butter Beer and Strawberry Kefir.
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