Fall features at Grille 26 include returning favorites, new dishes
Oct. 30, 2024
This paid piece is sponsored by Vanguard Hospitality.
It’s the season of comfort food, freshly harvested produce and popular guest favorites on the newest feature menu at Grille 26.
You’ll find eight dishes as autumn features — a combination of returning popular entrees and new chef creations.
To start, sample the latest appetizer on the menu: crispy rice sushi bites.
They’re a blend of crispy rice, smoked salmon, citrus soy sauce, furikake seasoning and cucumber.
“It’s sushi-grade rice cooked down and cut into squares with bits of smoked salmon, served with a spicy Japanese mayo that’s really good,” said Ken Bashore, CEO of Vanguard Hospitality.
“The rice is a chewier texture because we cook it first and then fry it and use the furikake on top for a great flavor. It’s something good to share and something completely different.”
Bashore also recommends the eggplant parmesan, featuring locally grown eggplant from Cherry Rock Farms near Brandon.
“We bought the eggplant as late into the season as we could and started this feature a little early because the eggplant was available,” Bashore said. “It’s delicious. It’s really good, so stop in and try it soon.”
Another popular new dish is the hot sausage hoagie, made with grilled sausage from Lindy Land & Livestock near Alcester and served with sauteed peppers and onions, provolone and marinara.
“It’s a really good sandwich, and the guys especially are loving it,” Bashore said.
And keeping with the comfort food theme, a classic grilled cheese with tomato soup is on the fall features menu. It’s cheddar and Swiss on Breadsmith sourdough served with a bowl of tomato soup or the soup du jour.
“We’ve been selling a lot of that dish,” Bashore said. “I think the timing to introduce it was good because it’s definitely grilled cheese and tomato soup time of year.”
But even that can’t catch a timeless customer favorite: Butternut squash risotto is back, combining grilled chicken, butternut squash puree, roasted butternut squash, Parmesan and truffle oil.
“I think the second night it was back on the menu we sold 50 orders of it,” Bashore said. “So it’s continued to be very popular.”
Other returning popular dishes on the feature menu include the local steak frites, served with Parmesan truffle fries and tangy chimichurri, and two dishes featuring lamb from Prairie Coteau Farm near Astoria. The Greek salad and the lamb burger both feature locally sourced lamb that guests are loving.
“These dishes were really popular when they were featured initially, and guests have been learning more about the the lamb and Prairie Coteau, which has been fun,” Bashore said. “We’ve sold a ton of lamb burgers, and as long as the vegetables are coming in ripe, we’ll continue to offer the great Greek salad.”
Family-style meals to go
Need a quick dinner or a meal for a group? Grille 26 meals to go have been a popular choice this fall.
“We’ve been selling a lot of the family mac-and-cheese, the Creole penne and the honey almond chicken penne,” Bashore said. “If you’re feeding a bunch of kids at an event, maybe a team dinner, or the grandparents are inviting the kids over, it’s a great choice.”
You can even add appetizers, salads and desserts.
“The family breadsticks are a huge hit,” Bashore said. “And as we get closer to the holidays, these to-go meals are a great choice when you’re getting ready to entertain and don’t have time to cook or even go out.”
