Ten years ago nary a fully ripened bell pepper was to be found on a quick-serve or fast-casual menu, much less a roasted red bell pepper. Yet according to menu-database company Food Beat based in Wheaton, Illinois, mentions of roasted red peppers on menus of the top 200 restaurant-chain companies in 2006 increased 65 percent over the previous five years. While 41 percent of mentions are associated with sandwiches, roasted red peppers often figure prominently in the menu descriptions of salads, entrées, and appetizers.
What’s interesting about the roasted-red-pepper phenomenon is not only the speed with which the little devils started appearing on menus, but also the fact that they continue to show up in a range of applications speaking to a variety of cuisine directions, and in all dayparts. Roasted red peppers aren’t new in foodservice, of course, nor are they everywhere, and that’s exactly why they’re hot in places where they show.
Rooted firmly in the familiar, a red bell pepper isn’t foreign to anyone, and roasting it capitalizes on a time-honored cooking method to coax out more flavor. Yet roasted red peppers are exotic enough to titillate while contributing to a menu item’s flavor profile and, maybe, even a company’s bottom line.
As proof, consider the Frescata line of four deli-style sandwiches introduced by Dublin, Ohio–based, Wendy’s International units last spring. The Roasted Turkey with Basil Pesto sports turkey slices topped with pesto spread, romaine, and a hefty helping of roasted red peppers, served on fresh ciabatta that’s baked fresh in-store and presented in a bakery-style brown paper bag with a cellophane window. Wendy’s credited the line for a 3.6 percent sales increase in July among company-owned restaurants open more than a year. Knowing a good thing when it sees one, later in 2006 Wendy’s added a second sandwich featuring roasted red peppers, Frescata Italiana, to the now-five-sandwich line. The new sandwich features Black Forest ham, Genoa salami, Swiss cheese, and romaine with sun-dried-tomato vinaigrette dressing on the same artisan bread.
Beyond that quick-service-restaurant leader, further voyaging yields some tantalizing appearances of roasted red peppers on U.S. menus:
The day starts off with a kick at Burlington, Vermont–based Bruegger’s thanks to its Rio Grande breakfast wrap featuring two scrambled eggs, jalapeño cream cheese, roasted red peppers, and a choice of bacon, ham, or sausage in whole-wheat flatbread. Stick around for lunch, and order the Leonardo da Veggie sandwich with light herb/garlic cream cheese, Muenster, lettuce, tomato, roasted red peppers, and red onion on a choice of bagel, flavored Softwich, stone-hearth bread, or wrap.