But you didn’t hear it from us
By Geoff Williams
Secret menus aren't so secret anymore.
This isn't on par with learning Bigfoot exists or confirming Area 51 houses unidentified flying objects, but in the past few weeks, 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."
What's on the menu? 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." (Note the word "some." We're on to you, In-N-Out Burger.)
Its hidden menu items include Protein Style, which is any burger wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun.
Sometimes, it's on purpose. Some restaurants are even devising new menu items and then purposefully keeping them off the menu.
"We don't really think of our secret menu as secret," says Scott Davis, executive vice president and chief concept officer for Panera Bread. "We think of it as hidden. We want people to talk about it."
Panera Bread's secret, or hidden, menu debuted in January and features six "power foods," which have lean proteins, complex carbohydrates and vegetables, and names like the Power Steak Lettuce Wrap and the Power Chicken Hummus Bowl. These items aren't on the menu in Panera Bread restaurants, but as Davis says, it isn't exactly a secret. Customers who follow the restaurant on social media channels will learn all about them...
