Blanc Burgers + Bottles is a trend leader

There is a perception among culinary crowds that food trends start on the coast and move inwards. Sushi, the cupcake craze and sous vide all became trendy in New York and San Francisco before coming to Kansas City.

But Blanc Burgers + Bottles is making waves through the industry by being an early adopter. The influential restaurant trade magazine Fast Casual credits the burger haven with helping to popularize sweet potato fries, which it predicts will be one of the big trends of the upcoming year.

The Kansas City, Mo., fast casual Blanc offers a variety of fried fare such as French fries, Truffle fries, sweet potato fries and onion rings. Surprisingly, of the four side items, sweet potato fries lead with 33 percent of those sales.
 
“They are naturally crunchier than regular fries. You get sweet and salty in the same bite.  They are healthy, not to mention that Blanc is also one of the few places in Kansas City where you can get them,” said Blanc’s owner, Ernesto Peralta.

Some of the other trends the magazine sees becoming big this year and next have also arrived in Kansas City. The magazine predicts that frozen yogurt will take off and while fro-yo chains such as Pinkberry have yet to expand into the Midwest, Leawood recently saw the opening of Mochi-Yo and the Power & Light District has Yummo (1360 Walnut St.). The other big trend is gluten-free options, which Fat City has covered in-depth and which new restaurant Pizza Fusion has made a a main part of its business.

Also, when trends do start on the coast, they seem to make it here more quickly. It took less than a year for speakeasies such as PDT in New York to become popular and then to make their way here.

(Image of a classic burger from Blanc Burgers + Bottles with sweet-potato fries via Pink Fish13)