Clubs get lazy with their casual dining menus and fall back on the tired old standards are doomed to have sleepy F&B revenue lines, too. Here’s how special themes, regional themes, and other spirited alternatives can greatly reduce the need to rely on frilly toothpicks for a “special” touch.
A quesadilla is a good casual meal; a lobster quesadilla is a memorable one. Wrap sandwiches are now standard menu fare—but a Thai-inspired chicken larb wrap can be a signature sandwich.
Whether it’s by incorporating local seasonal ingredients or international accents, chefs around the country are taking a fresh approach to classic casual fare, and in the process elevating the clubhouse from a convenient dining spot to a destination for members and guests alike.
For example, in Brielle, N.J., fish and seafood harvested the previous night become the “catch of the day” in Executive Chef Daniel Palsi’s kitchen at the Manasquan River Golf Club. But preparations don’t have to be fancy. Palsi might feature balsamic vinaigrette-drizzled “towers” of grilled local veggies and just-off-the-boat, still-rare tuna on his lunch menu, in place of the usual tuna salad. And when Jersey’s famous beefsteak tomatoes are ripe and ready, Palsi stacks thick slices of this Garden State favorite with buffalo mozzarella, for a popular tower variation.
Even lobster, the most “fancy” of seafoods, shows up in surprising places on Palsi’s “casual” menu. He might float a few slices on top of a creamy chilled avocado vichyssoise, or upscale a quesadilla by spiking a Mexican spiced cannellini bean and cheddar cheese filling with chunks of the sweet meat.
Chicken the Colonel Never Served
Chef Aaron Walters, Food and Beverage Director at The Glen Club in Glenview, Ill., is another who has made quesadillas a featured casual item. Walters makes his with roasted shrimp and corn. And, like Palsi, Walters also surprises by pairing scallops—another seafood that’s often the centerpiece of elegant entrée dishes—with a down-home hash of fingerling potatoes and roasted corn.
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