Menus get ready for chillier days ahead

The weather is turning a bit colder across the country, and restaurant chains are warming up their menus to get ready for winter. There are new sizzling skillets at Applebee’s, cheesesteaks at Arby’s, chili and pasta at Lazy Dog, chicken pot pie at Ninety Nine Restaurants, and plenty of roasted vegetables and hot beverages launching this week. This is just the beginning of the warming trend on menus.

Three skillet meals have been added to Applebee’s menu, each featuring a different protein. The Cheesy Chicken Skillet features grilled chicken breast in Parmesan and white cheddar cream sauce topped with bacon and fried onions, while Chicken & Shrimp Scampi Skillet pairs grilled chicken with sauteed shrimp in a garlic lemon butter sauce. Rounding out the trio is Garlic Sirloin Skillet composed of seasoned and grilled top sirloin steak smothered in garlic butter and parsley. All are served over garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli and prices range from $12.99 to $22.99.

Seven food items and five drinks launched on Lazy Dog’s menu, all available from now through March to keep customers cozy throughout the winter. Spicy Sausage + Burrata Rigatoni combines the tubular pasta with Calabrian chile cream sauce, burrata and Romano cheeses, and mushrooms, drizzled with basil oil and served with garlic bread. The casual-dining concept’s signature TV dinner this season is Three-Cheese Baked Rigatoni, frozen to heat-and-eat at home.

For meat lovers, there’s Wagyu Beef + Bison Chili served with cornbread fries, and Peruvian-inspired Lomo Saltado — pork tenderloin with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and French fries tossed in a soy-cumin sauce — and served over steamed rice with yellow and green chile sauces. A Carolina Reaper Fried Chicken Sandwich, Hot Honey Black + Blue Flatbread, and Panko-Crusted Crab Cakes with caper-chive rémoulade join the savory selections. For dessert, there’s Pumpkin Caramel Cheesecake, and to sip, a Sour Apple Sloshie, Blood Orange Margarita, and Paper Plane, with Mango Matcha Tea Iced Latte and Salted Caramel Cold Brew Iced Latte on the alcohol-free side.

Homestyle Chicken Pot Pie returns to the menu at Ninety Nine Restaurants. Baked to order, it features white meat chicken simmered in gravy with carrots and peas and topped with a flaky crust. Joining it for fall-winter are the Roasted Turkey Dinner with cornbread stuffing and gravy, Russet mashed potatoes, and a honey-glazed biscuit; Braised Beef Macaroni & Cheese with tender beef, caramelized onions, mushrooms, and red wine sauce over creamy, cheesy cavatappi; and Apple Harvest Chicken Salad.

Three warm bowls are on hand as well: the Lentil Power Bowl, Korean BBQ Bowl, and Southwest Bowl.

Six comforting dishes have been added to the menu at Stonefire Grill. To start, there’s Baked Potato Soup, a creamy blend of potato and bacon topped with shredded cheddar and green onions. Potato fans can also enjoy Bacon Cheddar Loaded Mashed Potatoes and Chili Loaded Mashed Potatoes, both of which have a base of the chain’s scratch-made mashed potatoes.

Two pizzas — a Margherita and an Italian Sausage — round out the hot items, with the Harvest Salad, a toss of mixed greens, butternut squash, candied walnuts, feta cheese, dried cranberries, and apple chips in a maple vinaigrette completing the menu launch.

Sandwiches are warming up menus this week, too. Arby’s introduced a Chicken Cheesesteak layered with sous vide-cooked and seared chicken seasoned with garlic, onion, and paprika, then topped with melted American Cooper cheese and caramelized onions on a toasted sesame roll. There’s also a Spicy Chicken Cheesesteak heated up with a spicy glaze.

And Chili’s debuted the Chicken Big Parm Crispy to the permanent menu. The build is composed of a fried chicken breast, fried mozzarella cheese planks, and marinara sauce on a bun; it’s served with fries, white cheddar macaroni and cheese, and marinara sauce and ranch dressing for dipping.

Four fried chicken sandwiches lead the roster at Farmer Boys, all delivering a generous amount of protein. Farmer’s Classic Fried Chicken Sandwich is made with a fried chicken breast, bacon, avocado, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickle slices and mayo on a brioche bun. Variations include Farmer’s Fiery Fried Chicken Sandwich with a spicy sauce, Farmer’s BBQ Ranch Fried Chicken Sandwich with barbecue sauce, ranch dressing, and onion straws, and the new Cracked Fried Chicken Sandwich with an over-easy fried egg, bacon, Swiss, tomato, and mayo topping the fried chicken breast.

For breakfast, the new Hog Heaven Scramble delivers on protein too, made with four eggs, bacon, sausage, country ham, cheddar, grilled onions, bell pepper, and tomatoes served with avocado.

Pastrami is the meat of choice in Potbelly’s new sandwiches. The Pastrami & Swiss is layered with deli mustard and pickles on toasted bread, and the Pastrami Reuben is stacked with sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing, Swiss cheese, and pickles on toasted bread.

Greek Goddess dressing is the latest condiment to join the selection at Cava. It’s a blend of Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and proprietary herbs and spices, and flavors a new bowl and a salad. The Greek Goddess Salmon Bowl is a combo of glazed salmon, saffron rice, arugula, red pepper hummus, traditional hummus, pickled onions, spiced broccoli, sumac-cabbage slaw, and Greek Goddess dressing, while the Greek Goddess Steak Salad features grilled steak over Power Greens (butter lettuce, baby kale, spinach, and other greens), hummus, tzatziki, tomato-cucumber salad, sumac-cabbage slaw, olives, feta cheese, pita crisps, and the dressing.

On the beverage side, the Pomegranate Apple drink is in the lineup for fall.

Vegetarian-leaning bowls and salads launch at Tender Greens.

Bowls and salads are making news at Tender Greens, too — all with a vegetarian direction. The Vegan Tofu Katsu Bowl combines fried Hodo tofu with Japanese barbecue sauce, sushi rice, pickled cucumber, carrots, mizuna, cabbage, and sesame and ginger dressing, while the Longevity Bowl contains roasted fingerling potatoes, Tokyo turnips, and olive oil labneh, served with winter panzanella made with caramelized apples, delicata squash, and golden balsamic vinaigrette. Also rolling out is a California Bowl with roasted butternut squash salsa, cilantro lime brown rice, cabbage slaw, queso fresco, pumpkin seeds, and lime crema, and the Happier Vegan with falafel, harissa sauce, farro, carrot hummus, heirloom cherry tomatoes, pickled cucumbers, onions, roasted peppers, baby lettuces, and sherry vinaigrette.

A Beet & Burrata Salad, Fall/Winter Harvest Salad, and Carrot Hummus Toast complete the menu launch. Non-vegetarians can customize several of the items with grilled salmon, sea bass, or chicken.

Kura Sushi is introducing Seared Sakura Pork Bacon as an add-on to rice, along with two beef dishes: the Sukiyaki Beef Roll with thinly sliced beef, cucumber, and avocado wrapped in rice and seaweed, and the Wagyu Rib Eye Cap Steak topped with green onion and sesame seeds. Returning to the menu is Crispy Chicken Dorayaki**,** a pancake-like dorayaki bun filled with fried chicken, lettuce, pickled carrots, and mayonnaise, and Bluefin Tuna Otoro. The Asian brand is also bringing back the Hokkaido Pumpkin Mochi Sundae with vanilla ice cream and red bean paste, topped with Japanese green tea sauce and green tea powder.

It looks like IHOP is leaning hard into French toast. A month after the return of fan-favorite Stuffed French Toast, the chain launched French Toast Hot Chocolate. The beverage infuses hot chocolate with vanilla and cinnamon French toast flavors, and each mug is topped with whipped cream and cinnamon sugar.

Luckin Coffee collaborated with Butterbear, a storybook character popular in Thailand, on two new drinks. The Iced Butterbear Latte is a mix of espresso, the chain’s signature velvet milk, and caramel and buttery notes for a creamy iced latte. Butterbear Americano is infused with the same caramel and buttery notes, then finished with a splash of velvet milk for a more coffee-forward experience.

Cherry Pie Chai returns to Dutch Bros, along with two pumpkin drinks. For the first, chai and cherry flavor team up, and the beverage is topped with the coffee chain’s signature Soft Top and cinnamon sprinkles. Pumpkin Pie Spice Latte and Pumpkin Pie Spice Mocha both boast pumpkin flavor and a crown of pumpkin Soft Top and cinnamon sprinkles.

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Pat plans and executes menu, food and drink stories for Restaurant Business and hosts the weekly Menu Talk podcast. She provides in-depth coverage of chefs, trends and menu innovation.