Grilled Sandwiches
Grilled sandwiches are on the move on chain menus. About 17% of all sandwiches have the word "grill" or "melt" in the menu item name. Comparing MenuBook chain restaurant data collected in 2002 with 1997 data, menu incidence of grilled/melt sandwiches is up two percentage points, which translates into a 13% gain.
One out of three chain restaurants (35%) serves a grilled or melt sandwich. Grilled / melt sandwiches refers to sandwiches where the bread is cooked / lightly toasted on a griddle plate or a clamshell grill or in a small frying pan.
Grilled meat and grilled veggie sandwiches in which the meat or veggie is grilled are a slightly different item. They comprise 40% of all grilled/melt sandwiches. The remainder, 60%, goes to sandwiches where the bread or wrap is grilled (or toasted). Philly or cheese steak sandwiches are not classified as grilled or melt sandwiches since the bread is not usually grilled and the meat is griddle fried. Philly or cheese steak sandwiches make up 3% of all sandwiches.
About half the chains (51%) serving a grilled/melt sandwich, list one item on the menu and the balance (49%) list two or more. There are about fifteen major types of grilled / melted cheese sandwiches. (see chart below, left)
Most Popular Grilled Sandwiches
Sandwich Type |
Menu Share % |
| Grilled |
24% |
| Tuna Melt |
12% |
| Reuben |
12% |
| Ham & Grilled Cheese |
10% |
| Chicken Melt |
6% |
| Turkey Melt |
4% |
| Turkey Bacon Melt |
4% |
| Beef & Cheddar Melt |
3% |
| Veggie Melt |
3% |
| Turkey Reuben |
3% |
| Monte Cristo |
2% |
| Reuben Melt |
2% |
| BLT Cheese Melt | 1% |
| Chicken & Avocado Mel | 1% |
| Others | 2% |
| Total: | 100% |
Grilled/ melt sandwiches generally use cheese as a component.
Most Frequently Used Cheeses
Cheese Type |
Menu Share % |
| American | 43% |
| Swiss | 37% |
| Cheddar |
13% |
| Monterey Jack |
7% |
Menu designers at chains seem to prefer the term "melt" (60%) over the term "grill" (40%). The use of the term "melt" is up 10 percentage points when comparing menu trends for 2002 versus 1997.
Grilled vs. Melt
Menu Prices of Grilled / Melt Sandwiches |
Menu Price Trend Since 1997 |
| 2002 Average (median) price of $5.99 | was $4.99---plus 20% |
| $6.99 at Casual Chains | was $6.29---plus 11% |
| $5.99 at Midscale/ Family Chains | was $4.99---plus 20% |
| $4.59 at QSR Chains | was $3.85---plus 19% |
Protein Preferences, Grilled Sandwiches
Protein Type/Cut |
Menu Share % |
| Ham |
17% |
| Bacon |
16% |
| Turkey | 15% |
| Tuna | 13% |
| Corned Beef |
13% |
| Beef Patties |
12% |
| Chicken |
10% |
| Roast Beef, Sliced | 3% |
| Pastrami |
1% |
| Total: | 100% |
Most frequently Used Condiments
Condiment |
Menu Share % |
| Mayonnaise | 36% |
| Thousand Island | 21% |
| Mustard | 24% |
| Ketchup | 10% |
| Russian Dressing |
3% |
| Reuben Dressing |
3% |
| Sour Cream |
3% |
Chains Menuing Grilled Sandwiches
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches: Bob Evans, Cracker Barrel, Sonic Drive-In, Waffle House, Target, K-Mart, Johnny Rockets, IHOP, Champps, Huddle House, Hooters, Roadhouse Grill, Eat 'n Park, Newport Creamery, Outback Steakhouse, Culvers Ice Cream, others.
Chains Menuing Melt Sandwiches
Melt Sandwiches: Copeland's, Hoss's, Lyon's, Vie de France, Hof's Hut, Big Boy, Steak 'n Shake, Elmer's, Wall Street Deli, Tin Alley Grill, Le Peep, Max & Erma’s, J.B.’s, Friendly’s, Denny’s, Coco’s, Chuck E. Cheese, others.
Other MenuMine Trend Articles
Sandwiches Top the New Item list for 2010
Sandwiches are way out ahead, accounting for a 15% share of almost 3700 new items added to chain menus in the first 8 months of 2010. Read More...
Versatility of Mushrooms
The average price of menu items using mushrooms in 2009 is $11.51, up from $10.75 in 2007.
Read More...Prepared Entree Trends in 2009
There is a considerable difference in preparation and average prices between Center of Plate Entrees and Prepared Entrees. COP entrees include a whole cut protein, whether a chicken breast or tender,...
Read More...Newsletter Signup
Sample Newsletter
To view an unbranded sample PDF of our custom newsletters writing service, click the image below.
MenuMine Trend
-
Emerging Sauces MenuMine has identified more than 2000 unique sauces and toppings in addition to another few thousand unique dressings, marinades, glazes, condiments, spreads, seasonings and dips. Needless to say, tomorrow's flavor heroes are now beginning to creep up from the bottom of usage tables, where they may have ascended from 0.3% to 0.9% to 1.2% and now...
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8