Some Restaurants Have Secret Menus

[Hum]

Secret menus aren't so secret anymore.

It's become more widely known that some restaurant chains have secret menu items. These are food and drink items any customer can order, provided the customer knows to ask for it.

"In-N-Out Burger has been doing it for at least 20 years," says Jonathan Marek, senior vice president of Applied Predictive Technologies, a business analytics software company based in Arlington, Va., that works with some of the largest restaurant chains in the world, including Panera Bread, Subway and Wendy's.

Marek says secret menu items have gained prominence particularly in the past five years, explaining: "Many of these food blogs have pushed this trend quite a bit, where you've now got people going through the drive-thrus and thinking of creative ways to put different sandwiches together."

Virtually every restaurant you can imagine has a secret menu, says Marek, although these items are often devised by innovative and loyal customers. Many times, these menu items are made simply because franchise owners and managers want to keep customers happy. For instance, some people insist you can order a McDonald's Monster Mac burger, which has eight patties, and Burger King apparently has an unofficial one aptly named Suicide Burger, consisting of four beef patties, four slices of cheese, bacon and special sauce.

Meanwhile, Chipotle Mexican Grill has gained press lately for its Quesarito, because of a Fast Company writer who ordered, ate it and then wrote about the experience. It isn't on the menu, but if you ask for it, you can reportedly get a 1,500-plus calorie burrito wrapped in a quesadilla for about $10.

And according to TheDailyMeal.com, Starbucks has at least 11 drinks on a secret menu, including the Cap'n Crunch Berries Frappuccino, which is a Strawberries & Creme Frappuccino with hazelnut syrup (fans of the drink say it tastes a lot like the cereal). The website StarbucksSecretMenu.net indicates that Starbucks offers even more drinks than a customer in the know can ask for.

But by far, the restaurant most famous for its secret menu is In-N-Out Burger, a chain of burger joints in the western U.S. The company has posted its secret menu online, but not all of it, since its website says, "Here are some of the most popular items on our not-so-secret menu."

Its hidden menu items include Protein Style, which is any burger wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun.

Some restaurants are even devising new menu items and then purposefully keeping them off the menu.

Having a hidden menu also alleviates a lot of the pressure that comes with rolling out a new item, says Davis, who adds that because these power foods are niche items that appeal to people interested in the Paleolithic diet, the restaurant can market accordingly to reach these consumers. He says he can envision future hidden menus aimed at people trying to watch their sodium or who are managing cholesterol.

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[+Warwagon MVC]

The first rule about the secret menu's is you don't talk about the secret menu's!

[Hum]

Don't ask for the secret sauce.

[Growled Member]

That's no fair. How do I know what to order if I don't know the menu.

[CrossCheck]

An in-n-out dbl-dbl animal style is the shiznit

[remixedcat]

My sis asks for burgers to be served on rice instead of Bread cuz she can't have gluten.

At least places like applebees cheddars and some steakhouses will let you

[Richteralan]

Slow news day?

[HawkMan]

I'm sure most burger chains, if not all, today have gluten free bread options if you ask for gluten free. just like you can as for anything else to be removed from the burger. ask for no pickles and you always get a fresh burger and not a hot plate one. though at least BK has a lot shorter hot plate times than McD's, and usually don't make extra burgers to keep on the hot plate anyway outside of rush hours.

[remixedcat]

well in my area burger joints give you a tough time or might do something icky if you ask for wierd stuff or they will laugh at you or be a pain. Hell... ask for extra cheese and they get like that....

[HawkMan]

errr. when you go to a burger place you order a burger, you ask for no pickles, they lick th ebutton for the burger, and click the button for no pickles, and the guy who makes the burgers further back slaps a new burger on the pan like he always does and makes it as normal just without the pickles.

what kinda freaky russian mob joints do you go to,

[redvamp128]

[Magoo]

http://www.refinedguy.com/2012/10/03/mcdonalds-secret-menu-items/

[Growled Member]

That sucker has heart attack written all over it.

[User6060]

mcgangbang mmm

[rfirth]

errr. when you go to a burger place you order a burger, you ask for no pickles, they lick th ebutton for the burger...

what kinda freaky russian mob joints do you go to,

Places where they don't lick anything.

[redvamp128]

That sucker has heart attack written all over it.

You won't believe the name of that one it is kind of XXX rated..... the Mc -G.B. I think you can figure it out... because it is a burger ontop of fish ontop a chicken.

I heard a rumor of that one a few years before this story came out.

[remixedcat]

errr. when you go to a burger place you order a burger, you ask for no pickles, they lick th ebutton for the burger, and click the button for no pickles, and the guy who makes the burgers further back slaps a new burger on the pan like he always does and makes it as normal just without the pickles.

what kinda freaky russian mob joints do you go to,

I live in the mid-oh-valley.... need I say more.

[DocM]

I'll see you on McGangB**g and raise you one Absolutely Ridiculous Burger from Mallie's in Southgate Michigan -

[Torolol]

well, burgers is more customizeable than hotdogs ...