Like February’s Super Bowl, this month’s NCAA Basketball Championships, popularly known as “March Madness,” have become an important marketing opportunity for the restaurant business. Whether promoting dine-in, carry out or delivery, a number of restaurants have cranked up their menu development machinery to turn out meals that are custom-designed for fans of the round ball extravaganza.
As one example in celebration of “March Madness,” participating Applebee’s restaurants are, from March 18 to 21, offering a 50-cent deal on Boneless Wings for off-premises orders.
Applebee’s management was quick to point out to franchisees that the promotion was not designed to be a loss leader but instead a traffic-building strategy. More than 21% of Applebee’s business is currently off premises, that amount more or less evenly divided between delivery and takeout.
Also eager to capitalize on “March Madness,” Buffalo Wild Wings has introduced two new sandwiches to its permanent menu.
The Beer Cheese Cheesesteak Sandwich features shaved sirloin steak, beer cheese, American cheese, grilled onions and scallions all piled onto a toasted sub roll, while the new Chicken Parm Melt is built from a breaded and fried chicken breast stacked with mozzarella sticks and finished with a Parmesan garlic sauce, pepper Jack and Parmesan cheeses, marinara sauce, and Italian seasoning.
“B2W” is also featuring two limited-time-only sauce options, a Buffalo blue sauce that brings together blue cheese and Buffalo wing sauce and a BBQ Ranch sauce, a blending of two conventional sauce favorites.
The product development team at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Brews has released its own “March Madness” special as well, introducing a “too-much-is-never-enough” burger.
The Buzzer Beater Bacon Cheeseburger, which will be available through April 7, stacks up three beef patties, four strips of bacon, four slices of American cheese and a generous squirt of Red Robin’s proprietary “Red’s Secret Sauce.”
Like all the brand’s burgers, the Buzzer Beater comes with steak fries.
There are Red Robin locations at Holyoke Crossing, on Hazard Avenue in Enfield and in the Buckland Hills shopping district in Manchester.
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Side Dishes:
“Get Lost in Ludlow,” a marketing campaign sponsored by the Town of Ludlow, has organized a Ludlow Restaurant Week for later this month.
The promotion, which will run from March 24 to March 30, currently involves six establishments in Ludlow - Randall’s Farm, Primavera Cafe, Vanished Valley Brewing Company, the Casa Pizzeria, Iron Duke Brewing’s tap room and Villa Rose, which is observing the restaurant week by offering a 50% off deal on all appetizers.
For more information on Ludlow Restaurant Week go to the campaign’s website, getlostinludlow.com.
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This month’s “Legacy is in Bloom” menu at participating Friendly’s restaurants heralds the return of four popular menu items. These include Friendly’s Ultimate Cheeseburger, its Shrimp Platter, the Strawberry & Walnut Salad and Friendly’s “Famous” Fried Ravioli.
The chain has also made two new introductions to its menu, a Beef Tips & Mash dinner and Bursting Boba Lemonade.
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The White Lion Brewing Company taproom in downtown Springfield’s Tower Square is debuting four new lunch menu items this week.
They include a prime beef Smash Burger Patty Melt, “Philly’s Finest” Cheesesteak, deep-fried Mac and Cheese Bites served with a marinara dipping sauce and a Black Bean Burger topped with guacamole, pico de gallo, and pickled red onion.
Chef Andrew Brow plans to inaugurate the new menu items with a “Taste of White Lion” event on Tuesday, March 18, which is to be held in White Lion’s Thunder Boom Room.
White Lion Brewing Company answers at 413-455-0820.
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As part of a strategy to enhance the dessert choices in its restaurants, the Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy’s Company has revealed plans to expand its Frosty frozen dairy dessert line to include two new product categories.
The first, Frosty Swirls, will feature the two traditional Frosty flavors, vanilla and chocolate, swirled with a choice of sweet sauces such as caramel or chocolate.
A second category, Frosty Fusions, will further enhance the sauces with mix-ins in an effort to create what the brand calls a “one-of-a-kind flavor experience.” The Girl Scout Cookie Frosty dessert the chain is currently serving is a prototype of these “Fusions” offerings.
The new Frosty program is reportedly slated for a full introduction in mid-May, just in time for summer ice cream weather.
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The East Village Tavern in East Longmeadow has tweaked their regular Sunday morning lineup to create a St. Patrick’s brunch menu for Sunday, March 23.
Featured items include Irish Nachos, Irish Flapjacks served with whipped cream, a Corned Beef Sandwich and a traditional Reuben Sandwich.
The Tavern’s brunch menu also includes a classic breakfast plate, tater tot nachos, breakfast tacos and several popular between-bread constructs.
Sunday brunch is served weekly from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; the East Village Tavern answers at 413-525-7777.
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Chick-fil-A has brought back one of its favorite sandwich specialties on a limited-time-only basis. The Smokehouse BBQ Bacon Sandwich is garnished with sugared and peppered bacon, Colby Jack cheese, green leaf lettuce, and a special smoky barbecue sauce. It comes in three variations - classic or spicy deep-fried breast filet or a grilled breast option.
The sandwich, along with several short-term beverage creations, will be available starting March 17.
There are Chick-fil-A locations on Boston Road in Springfield and across from Five Mile Pond and on Hazard Avenue in Enfield.
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Figaro Ristorante in Enfield is offering Lenten Season Specials each Friday evening through April 18.
Available 4 p.m. through 9:30 p.m., the specials include Fish ‘n Chips, Fried Whole Belly Clams, Baked Sea Scallops, Cioppino (a San Francisco-style seafood stew) and a Broiled Seafood platter.
For more details, contact the restaurant at 860-745-2414.
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Denny’s Restaurant are now supplementing their menus with several limited-time-only morning food creations. One is a Salted Caramel Banana Waffle Slam garnished with banana slices, salted caramel, and powdered sugar. The Waffle Slam also includes two eggs, two strips of applewood-smoked bacon and two sausage links.
The second offering is a Salted Caramel Banana Pancake Slam that’s topped with vanilla cream and banana slices before being partnered with the “Slam” components described above.
Denny’s is serving a Fried Fish Platter during Lent; the entree features fried Alaskan pollock with two sides and dinner bread.
There’s a Denny’s location on Northampton Street in Holyoke and on Boston Road in Springfield.
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Participating Bruegger’s Bagel locations have introduced a new breakfast sandwich in the form of a Double-Stack.
The Double-Stack, which joins Brugger’s lineup of breakfast sandwiches including the Vermonter and the Sriracha Honey Sunrise, features “do-it-again” layerings of egg, cheese, and bacon all served on a cheesy hash brown bagel; a smear of chipotle mayonnaise lends the sandwich a subtle kick.
Bruegger’s also offers an assortment of “classic” breakfast sandwiches.
There are Bruegger’s location in Amherst (on North Pleasant Street) and Brattleboro, VT (on Canal Street).
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Taking advantage of the sweet-spicy flavor trend, Chipotle Mexican Grill locations are currently featuring, on a limited-time-only basis, a Honey Chicken protein option. The diced chicken product is seasoned with a blend of “Mexican” spices, then marinated in a blend of seared chipotle peppers and honey before being griddled.
In its recent “What’s Hot 2025 Culinary Forecast,” the National Restaurant Association identified hot honey as its pick for the top trending flavor of the year.
Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community College’s hospitality and culinary arts program and has nearly 50 years of restaurant and educational experience. Robert can be reached online at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com.