South of the Border
Comfort isn’t the only trend driving the spud craze. A number of toppings offered at quick-service restaurants have a decidedly Southwestern edge. Jason’s Deli offers two Tex-Mex inspired spuds: the Pollo Mexicano, topped with marinated chicken breast, homemade pico de gallo, Southwestern spices, sour cream, cheddar, and a natural buttery blend, and the Fiesta, a potato topped with chili or Southwest chicken chili, cheddar, purple onions, and a natural buttery blend. McAlister’s Deli, which has nine Giant Spuds on its menu, features a Spud Ole, covered with chili or vegetarian chili, cheddar, Swiss cheese, sliced jalapeños, and red onions on the side. It also offers the Chicken Fajita Spud, with marinated chicken strips, red onions, bell peppers, sliced jalapeños, tomatoes, light sour cream, and a side of salsa. City Bites has a Mesquite Chicken Spud, topped with mesquite chicken, grilled ham, homemade spicy ranch dressing, melted marble jack cheese, and margarine, on its menu.
Even food suppliers are jumping onto the Southwestern bandwagon. HP Hood’s Heluva Good! line recently released a limited-edition Jalapeño Cheddar dip that makes a great potato topping, says Elizabeth Underhill, marketing manager for the line. Heluva Good!’s Jalapeño Cheddar, along with its Bacon Horseradish, took the two top awards in the Dips category at the World Dairy Expo Championship held in Wisconsin this past August.
“The Jalapeño Cheddar pairs a cool cheddar flavor with a bit of heat,” Underhill says. “Add some shredded cheddar and some crushed tortilla chips and you have a baked potato dish with real Southwestern flair.”
The company also offers a creamy salsa dip that Underhill says is a popular potato topping with consumers.
“Heluva Good! comes up with new flavors they feel best match the marketing need and what consumers are looking for,” Underhill says. The company hopes to use that knowledge to expand its presence on restaurants menus. “Our foodservice division is pretty small, but it’s an area we’ve identified as a great opportunity for us to develop. It’s definitely a focus moving forward,” Underhill says.
Upscale Ap-peel
Some restaurants are giving the baked potato an upscale makeover by offering the types of toppings one might expect to find at a four-star restaurant. Totally Baked, a stuffed baked potato bar and take-out restaurant that opened last spring in the Flatiron district of New York City, specializes in Yukon gold spuds that have been partially scooped out and topped with 18 fresh spins on the traditional spud.
Its Wild Mushroom potato features chanterelle, shitake, oyster, and cremini mushrooms as well as shallots, chives, and shaved Manchego cheese. The Brisket Potato is topped with braised beef brisket, parsley, and a Marsala reduction. The Pulled Pork Potato comes with pulled pernil pork and Mexican slaw. The Smoked Turkey Chowder Potato features roasted corn, carrots, and applewood smoked bacon. The Skirt Steak Potato has grilled rosemary skirt steak, caramelized shallots, and Maytag Blue Cheese. There’s even a $55 Truffle Potato on the menu, topped with truffle compound butter, truffle oil, truffle salt, and fresh truffle shavings.
Truffle oil has become a major trend in baked potato toppings among America’s elite gourmet chefs, according to Susan Rice, who has her own truffle farm in Pinehurst, North Carolina, and supplies product to numerous gourmands including Whole Foods. Her product lines, Black Diamond French Truffles and Susan Rice Truffle Products, include truffles, truffle oil, truffle butter, and truffle salt, all of which can be used to top baked potatoes. “I want to see truffles on the American dinner table, shaved over eggs, potatoes, pasta, and steak,” Rice says. “Truffles can be as American as apple pie!”
For those looking for simpler fare, Chef Jason Apfelbaum, owner of Totally Baked, also features baked Idaho potatoes on his menu, split and served with cold salad toppings. There’s the Seared Ahi Tuna Potato, with sushi-grade tuna, romaine, seaweed salad, sesame seeds, and ginger vinaigrette; the Nova Potato with smoked salmon, pickled red onion, capers, crème fraiche, and mesclun greens; the Chevre Salad, topped with white truffle oil, shaved truffle robiola, spring lettuce mix, and goat cheese; and a number of others inspired by classic salads such as the spinach salad and the Caesar salad.