Source: Restaurant Hospitality
Restaurant tabletop trends—including glassware—arise out of contemporary food and drink trends. Restaurant Hospitality recently asked tableware expert Amy Stavis for her insight into what’s currently hot—or should we say what’s cool?—in glassware. Stavis is publisher/editor of Tableware Today magazine and reports on industry trends and news.
• Clearly the winner. When it comes to glassware, Stavis says color isn’t as popular as it was years ago. “Many factories have phased out their color processes. Clear glass is the most popular theme going—leaps and bounds ahead of anything else. For those that do color, it tends to be all-over color, not a design. In color, red is popular.”
The color in Benihana’s Blue Ocean Punch Bowl, introduced for the summer of 2014, comes from an ingredient mix including blue curacao syrup. The specialty cocktail, presented in a 60-ounce clear glass punchbowl filled with ice, is ideal for serving two or more guests.
• A matter of taste. “A proliferation of glasses designed to enhance the taste of spirits—and beer glasses—are coming on strong,” Stavis says.
For example, drinking jars underscore farm-to-glass ingredients in artisan cocktails, while specialty beer glasses enhance the craft brew experience. There’s room for creativity, too. At Red Robin, the beverage program includes can-crafted cocktails served in reusable beer can drinkware. Among the newest introductions are the Wildbeer-y Can-Crafted Cocktail and the Beer ‘Rita Can-Crafted Cocktail, both of which combine beer and spirits.