Mediterranean Foods
What exactly is Mediterranean food?
It is the traditional foods that have been served around the Mediterranean Sea. History reports that the region was dominated by the Greeks and the Romans. Most of our articles focus on the Roman, or Italian foods, this time we thought we would present information about the Greek foods that the region has made popular worldwide.
Mediterranean food is perceived to be healthy, sophisticated and highly flavorful. It includes flat breads, lightly spiced meats, entrees, cheeses and sauces with a zing.
Expanding your menu selections to include these items with give your customers more choices and therefore bring them back more often. All of these items are available fully prepared. You just heat up and serve so you don’t need to have additional equipment or skilled labor. Here are the most popular:
Gyros– The classic Greek sandwich. It is a blend of cooked beef and lamb formed into a cone and sliced into long thin slices. It is served in pita bread with a sour cream based sauce called Tzatziki and garnished with lettuce, tomato and onions.
Spanakopita– This “Med” favorite blends spinach and feta cheese in a flaky fillo dough. They typically cost $0.37 each and can be sold as an appetizer, 3 for $3.75, a 30% food cost.
Shish-Ka-Bob – These lightly seasoned and skewered items are served with grilled vegetables inside a pita fold. Portion costs average about $1.15 each.
Mousaka– This entrée is made with layers of eggplant, potatoes and ground beef. It is covered in a rich white sauce called Bechamel. Simply cut a piece out of the steam pan and microwave or heat. Portions – $1.
Pita – These popular flat breads are everywhere. Sandwiches can be made with either pita pockets, a thin crust that opens in the middle, or pita folds, a thicker bread that wraps around the filling.
Pitas will upscale your sandwich and allow you to charge more:
Expanding your menu to include more Greek and Mediterranean items will increase your profitability and your customer count. This is an easy direction for your menu to grow.
Adding something special to specialty foods for more than 50 years.