DINE AROUND BREWERIES COCKTAIL INSPIRATION LAOTIAN FOOD D i s c o v e r drinks like BEVERAGES Crawford and S o n s ’ BBQ I m m o r t a l R e b e l w i t h + MORE mezcal, Lyle’s Golden peach s y r u p , TRENDS Scarborough FROM THE b i t t e r s . TRIANGLE + Q & A SEPTEMBER 2018 | ISSUE 59 | CHEF JAKE WOOD YOUR MONTHLY 18 SEABOARD FOODSERVICE IMMERSION DA 50% OF CONSUMERS ARE INTERESTED IN TRYING THE CLASSIC SOUTHERN “MEAT AND THREE” (SEE PAGE 7 FOR MORE INFO) DATASSENTIAL RESEARCH DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: RALEIGH-DURHAM 2 DA THE MENU ADOPTION CYCLE Datassential’s Menu Adoption Cycle (MAC) is a framework for understanding, predicting, and leveraging food trends. A trend’s life cycle is defined by where that trend shows up, starting at fine dining restaurants and then eventually finding its way to mainstream supermarket shelves and beyond. RETAIL FOODSERVICE Ethnic Independents Ethnic Markets Fine Dining MAC STAGE I INCEPTION Trends start here. Inception-stage trends exemplify Ethnic Aisle MAC STAGE originality in flavor, A ADOPTION preparation, and Adoption-stage trends presentation. grow their base via Gastropubs lower price points and Farmers’ simpler prep methods. Markets Chef Casuals Still differentiated, Food Trucks these trends often Specialty Grocers feature premium Gourmet Food Stores Upper Casual and/or generally authentic ingredients. Casual Independents Fast Casual Traditional Grocery Lodging Mass Merchandisers Casual Chains Colleges MAC STAGE Quick Service Restaurants PROLIFERATION Club Stores P Grocery Deli Proliferation-stage trends are adjusted for mainstream appeal. Often combined with popular applications Convenience Stores (on a burger, pasta, Drug Stores Corporate Cafeterias MAC STAGE etc.), these trends UBIQUITY have become familiar U Ubiquity-stage trends to many. Family Restaurants have reached Dollar Stores Healthcare maturity, and can be found across all K-12 Schools sectors of the food industry. DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: RALEIGH-DURHAM 3 DA TERMS TO KNOW Datassential’s MenuTrends data is reported using two key measures: PENETRATION and INCIDENCE. PENETRATION % of RESTAURANTS that serve that food, flavor, or ingredient. This is a measure of adoption. Increases in penetration indicate that more restaurants are adding the item to their menu. Penetration is the most important statistic and the best indicator of trend movement. INCIDENCE % of MENU ITEMS that feature that food, flavor, or ingredient. This is a measure of versatility. A restaurant adding yet another chicken dish to its menu will result in an increase in incidence. Incidence is a supporting statistic, to be used as a complement to penetration. EXAMPLE CHICKEN Chicken is found on 95% of all restaurant 95% 10% menus, and is featured in 10% of those dishes. PENETRATION INCIDENCE 4 DA Roasted beets, citrus, grilled avocado, and goat cheese panna cotta at Chef Ashley Christensen’s Death & Taxes. See more on page 23. “There’s no question that North Carolina’s capital city is having a major food moment,” says Food & Wine. The state’s capital, Raleigh, which is often sandwiched together with Durham because of the two’s communal airport, Raleigh-Durham International, has “a shining personality of its own,” with a growing culinary scene that’s going way beyond Southern food classics like shrimp and grits and biscuits. And while Raleigh and Durham do have their own unique chefs, foods, flavors, and personalities, we’re covering them both in this issue of Dine Around: Raleigh-Durham. Because Durham, too, has been having a moment. Southern Living called it “The South’s Tastiest Town,” where a passionate mix of baristas, brewers, and chefs have “quietly transformed” it into one of the hottest dining destinations. The accolades for all the cities in North Carolina’s Research Triangle, the area so named because of the convergence of three top research universities (Duke University in Durham, North Carolina State in Raleigh, and University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill), have piled on in recent years. National media outlets have latched onto the area, too, with Bon Appetit profiling Durham and Chapel Hill’s dining scene in “America’s Foodiest Small Town.” Datassential is diving into these food scenes in this issue, highlighting the chefs that are building mini empires in their respective Triangle towns. There’s Scott Howell, a pioneering Durham chef who closed his beloved fine dining restaurant Nana after over 25 years, but continues to run fast casual concepts Nanataco and Nanasteak; Ashley Christensen, the Raleigh chef who went in the opposite direction, opening fine dining restaurant Death & Taxes after building a portfolio of more casual concepts; and M Sushi’s chef Mike Lee who’s going on a restaurant-opening spree in Durham. Right next door to the sushi joint is M Kokko, a fried chicken restaurant, and it doesn’t stop there as his vision includes creating a total of seven restaurants, all within walking distance of each other. The Raleigh-Durham dining scene is heating up, which consumers love or like). Find mashup concepts like means there’s plenty of trend inspiration to go around. Mateo Tapas, which infuses classic Spanish tapas with a Go beyond mainstream metropolitan cities like New taste of the South (country ham dates, anyone?) or one York or Chicago and discover a dining scene that, while of the ultimate mashup operators, Bhavana Brewery, a bustling for many TrendSpotters like Datassential, is still dim sum restaurant that wears a number of other hats. flying relatively under the radar. In this issue, discover Also get the scoop on how to go beyond basic how chefs are bringing new spins to tried-and-true beverages and see how one brewery is bringing consumer favorites, like Southern cuisine (which, together brews, BBQ, and grilling. according to Datassential FLAVOR, a whopping 70% of DA MORE TRENDSPOTTING AROUND There’s more to the Research Triangle than Raleigh and Durham – don’t forget about Chapel Hill and nearby Cary. The latter is home to Heron’s, one of only 64 Forbes Five Star restaurants in the world. SPOTLIGHT ON The signature restaurant of The Umstead Hotel and HONEYSUCKLE TEA HOUSE Spa features tasting menus full of surprising Located in Chapel Hill, Honeysuckle Tea House is every presentations and dishes, like the Hummingbird kid’s dream tree house come to life. Often referred to dessert course shown as a tree house in the sky, Honeysuckle is located on 17 above or oysters delivered acres of farmland just west of the city and tucked away to the table with billowing enough for a tea retreat. The house showcases the smoke. On the other end of trend of sustainability and being environmentally the spectrum , find classic friendly as its built on old shipping containers and other joints like Goodberry’s, (top repurposed materials. More than just an oasis for tea left) a frozen custard chain fans, Honeysuckle’s open-air structure allows for with nine locations in the customers to lounge around in the hammock or Triangle. For quintessential breakfast favorites in mandala garden, explore herb gardens, or visit a Chapel Hill, there’s Crook’s playground suitable for kids of all ages. Corner, known as a temple of Southern cuisine offering dishes like New Bern Whiskey Pound Cake (middle left) for brunch. One of Honeysuckle’s And speaking of brunch, in Cary, there’s La Farm warming, immune- Bakery (bottom left), an supporting tea blends authentic French bakery featuring linden leaf, featuring everything from elder flower, ginger rustic apple tartlettes to root, and thyme leaf. buche de noel. ESSENTIAL DATA DA WHAT DO CONSUMERS THINK ABOUT FOODS & CONCEPTS FROM RALEIGH-DURHAM? EASTERN NORTH MEAT AND THREE CAROLINA BBQ LEXINGTON STYLE Features whole hog NORTH CAROLINA BBQ A restaurant or entrée style smoked over hardwood Wood-smoked pork where customers choose from a coals, sliced or shoulder served with a selection of foods to create a chopped, and dressed red sauce of ketchup, plate of one meat (fried chicken, with a vinegar and vinegar, and pepper. ham, pot roast are common) and pepper sauce. three sides (greens, cornbread). INTERESTED INTERESTED INTERESTED 50% 50% 50% INTERESTED INTERESTED INTERESTED 42% 37% 33% CAROLINA-STYLE CHESS PIE CHEERWINE HOT DOGS An old-fashioned A cherry-flavored soft Hot dogs topped Southern pie made drink originating in with chili, coleslaw, with eggs, sugar, North Carolina. and onions. butter, and flour. n=1,514 DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: RALEIGH-DURHAM DA PLANNING AN IMMERSION TOUR? DON’T MISS THESE RESEARCH TRENDMAPPER TRIANGLE DESTINATIONS. 4 5 2 1 3 1 FAYETTEVILLE STREET 3 WAREHOUSE DISTICT 5 CHAPEL HILL Once a pedestrian mall closed to Located in downtown Raleigh, the The third part of North auto traffic, Fayetteville Street was Warehouse District features the city’s Carolina’s Research Triangle restored to a drivable thoroughfare former warehouses now converted area is Chapel Hill, home to the in 2006 and remains one of the into trendy restaurants, bars, and art University of North Carolina. central areas in downtown Raleigh. galleries. Like Warehouse Districts Located within part of Durham Known for theater venues and City across the country, Raleigh’s is County, Chapel Hill is known as Plaza, Fayetteville Street’s premier known for attracting young a college town, complete with outdoor event and festival location, professionals and hipsters, and is popular student hangouts like the area is constantly bustling. In the home to mainstay restaurants like Pit He’s Not Here and Pantana Spring, City Plaza hosts the Raleigh BBQ and events like The Saturday Bob’s, but Chapel Hill is more Downtown Farmers’ Market. Market at art gallery Rebus Works. than “just a college town.” Also find a number of breweries as well as Baxter Bar 4 2 CAPITAL DISTRICT DURHAM & Arcade (for more on classic Known as the heart of downtown The other city in what’s often eatertainment venues like Raleigh, the Capital District stays known as Raleigh-Durham and the barcades, check out Creative bustling during the day and second part of the Research Concepts: Eatertainment) and night, when young professionals Triangle, Durham is home to Duke The Crunkleton, an acclaimed flood the streets for a number of University.