Menu Talk

Chef and restaurateur BJ Lieberman discussed his career evolution, from his time at Husk and Little Pearl in Charleston, SC, and Washington, DC, to the launch of his restaurants in Columbus, Ohio. He opened his first Columbus restaurant, Chapman's Eat Market, at a difficult time — August 2020 — but that restaurant was later listed as  one of the most exciting restaurants by the New York Times...

Luckin Coffee is a massive concept based in China that is widely regarded as Starbucks’ chief global rival, although it just recently arrived in the United States.  Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business and co-host of Menu Talk, checked out one of the two New York locations, ordered a pineapple-and-coconut drink, and gave her impressions of the place: The drink was tasty, and the ven...

Menu launches haven’t slowed down coming off the July 4 holiday weekend. Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality spotted many new items this week. The beverage category continues to see a lot of action. Bret pointed out Starbucks’ release of a super limited-time Fireworks Frappucci...

Much of the country suffered from a punishing heat wave last week, including New York City, where Menu Talk co-hosts Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, both live. Earlier in the week, Bret went to Chili’s launch of three new premium frozen Margaritas, made with Patrón tequila...

Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, recorded Menu Talk from Boston, where he checked out some of the city’s restaurants and took a short oyster tasting tour. He stayed at the Lenox Hotel, where Willow & Ivy is the on-premise restaurant. The two editors also talked about the surge in shakes, beverages and desserts inspired by the...

Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, joined the podcast fresh off of a trip to Las Vegas where he attended Starbucks’ Leadership Experience 2025, where 14,000 managers from the coffeehouse chain, as well as its top executives and other leaders, gathered to reinvigorate the brand, which has faced declining sales for the past year, mak...

McDonald’s had been teasing the return of its chicken Snack Wraps on social media, but Popeyes beat them to the punch with the launch of similar wraps of their own.  That was the big menu news this week that was discussed by hosts Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. Bret disda...

Peaches, guava and Persian flavors are trending on menus this week, according to Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, co-hosts of the Menu Talk podcast. Bret observed that peach-themed drinks are making a comeback this summer. Chick-fil-A returned its Peach Milkshake for the 16...

Bret and guest co-host Heather Lalley discuss the latest food and beverage trends and share an interview with Susan Bae, executive pastry chef of Moon Rabbit in Washington, D.C. With the National Restaurant Show in the rearview mirror, Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, welcomed a guest co-host to the podcast, Heather Lalley, manag...

The annual National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago concluded Tuesday, and both editors spent the last four days walking the Show floor, sampling food and drinks from the thousands of exhibitors, recording podcasts and video interviews and attending events. Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, was on stage at the 2025 MenuMast...

Ube, the photogenic purple sweet potato from the Philippines, has been trending gradually in the United States. It got a boost recently when it made it onto the menu of the three Starbucks Reserve Roastery locations in Chicago, New York, and Seattle where it’s added to a coconut cold foam and spooned over an Espresso Martini. Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, sen...

Cinco de Mayo is now in the rearview mirror, and restaurant chains are focusing on new tie-ins. Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, noted the launch of Sonic’s Unicorn Dreams Slush, a bubbly, bright pink drink that comes with a choice of four color-changing straws. It’s perfectly positioned for Instagram, as many new menu items are...

Lots of LTOs and permanent menu items launched recently, as innovation accelerates. Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, started with the big news: Crispy Chicken Strips are now on McDonald’s permanent menu—the mega-chain’s first new menu item since 2022.  Arby’s continues its LTO collaborations with celebs, this time partnering with...

Pat Cobe, senior menu editor at Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, together moderated a menu innovation panel at the Restaurant Leadership Conference last Monday in Phoenix. Participants included operators from Popeyes, Noodle’s & Company, Potbelly, Applebee’s and Velvet Taco, and we heard a lot about...

Hosts Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, had a busy week going to chain restaurants’ promotional events in New York City. Pat had high tea featuring Portillo’s menu items, and Bret went to a preview of the first United States location of Chinese chain Pull-Tab Coffee, whose s...

Pickles are moving from sidekick to main event on restaurant menus, as the Menu Talk co-hosts witnessed recently.  Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, attended Popeyes’ pickle reveal at the chain’s flagship Times Square location in New York City. The restaurant was decked out in green from top to bottom, and Bret got to taste Popeye...

Beverage concepts are proliferating across the country, and for good reason. As Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, reported recently and discussed on this week’s podcast, Gen Z has become a generation of afternoon treat-buyers and they enjoy rewarding themselves with something colorful and refreshing that they can exhibit proudly on social media. Hence the proliferation of bevera...

Spring brings a lot of menu activity, and the most recent launches show a focus on upgraded ingredients and formats. Menu Talk hosts Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, and Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, noted Maggiano’s updates, which include Wagyu meatballs and Chicken Parmesan topped with freshly grated chee...

Menu Talk hosts Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, agree that restaurants are pushing out spring flavors earlier than ever. It’s also the season for menu makeovers at several restaurant chains. After identifying “team mom” as a core customer, Walk-Ons Sports Bistreaux introdu...

Lent is upon us, and that means seafood specials at restaurants across the country, both for Catholics who refrain from eating meat on Fridays during the six-week period, and for those for whom it has become a seasonal lifestyle for other reasons. Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, noticed some relatively unusual fish, such as Alaska cod and flounder, rather than the more typical...

Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, were both invited to a preview of Starbucks’ spring menu. At the tasting, which took place at the Starbucks Reserve location in NYC’s Empire State Building, they sampled a collection of colorful beverages, including a purple Iced Ube Coconut...

Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, recently attended a milestone event for the town of Seguin, Texas: the debut of the first Applebee’s-IHOP cobranded restaurant.  With around 110 items, the menu is about as large of those of Applebee’s and IHOP individually, featuring their greatest hits alongside collaborative mashups, like a Buffalo Chicken Omelet that Pat particularly enjoyed...

Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) just reopened the "The View" restaurant atop the Marriott Marquis Hotel in NYC’s Times Square. Bret had a chance to attend the opening reception, and he remarked that while revolving rooftop restaurants are not generally known for their great food and cocktails, clearly Danny Meyer and his team are not following that route.  Limited-time offers a...

Valentine’s Day is approaching quickly, and another major American midwinter celebration, the Super Bowl, is just past.  Chain restaurants gear up for both of them, each in their own way. Pizza concepts have long offered heart-shaped pies for Valentine’s Day, but doughnut chains are following that lead and offering their core products in heart shapes too.  Pat and Bret discussed how wings are the...

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and many restaurants are offering the usual romantic dinners for two. But this year, even coffee cafes and smoothie bowl concepts are spreading the love with specials themed to the holiday. Pat and Bret chat about the trend, and how restaurants are not just targeting couples anymore. An OpenTable survey found that groups and singles are increasingly dining out o...