With snow having fallen so early, it’s clear winter has already begun here in Urbana! With December featuring both the shortest and most valued days of the year, the holiday season reels in.
From music to movies to sports and more, a seemingly forgotten favorite of the holiday spirit is the food!
Being home to dozens of local and franchised food locations, Urbana features a wide variety of blended tastes.
Our local dining locations offer numerous holiday exclusive menus available for a limited time during the Winter season, what seems to be the best?
For most, when holiday menus come to mind, Starbucks tops the list. With shares increasing by 10% just 1 day after the menus release, it’s easy to see why.
Starbucks has temporarily released or re-released over a dozen new food and drink items including: Cran-Merry Refresher, Dark Toffee Bundt, Turkey Sage Danish, Penguin Cookie, Snowman Cake Pop, Sugarplum Cheese Danish, Cranberry Bliss Bar, Gingerbread Chai Latte, Sugar Cookie Latte, Chestnut Praline Latte, Creme Brulee Latte, Peppermint Mocha Latte, and more.
Of the new food items, the Turkey Sage Danish is uniquely good, offering both a rich flavor and balance of savory in a place of many sweets.
Senior Shivani Menon said she looks forward to the Starbucks menus release, “It’s always so good!” Adding, “I love the Gingerbread Chai Tea.”
With a 4:30 am open time, sometimes it seems coffee is a more necessary treat for most mornings.
The Creme Brulee Latte, a personal favorite, is another great choice for the festive season. The drink contains 150-200 mg of caffeine, which makes it perfect for an early morning rush.
When asked about the drink, faculty member Krista Day stated the latte as her “absolute favorite.” Alike, Senior Class Treasurer, Sydney Diallo, described it as “delectable.”
Starbucks seems to consistently get all the buzz around their seasonal menu, but they aren’t the only ones doing it.
Dunkin Donuts has simultaneously released their seasonal menu, with new additions to their food and drinks respectively.
Dunkin uniquely utilizes their more diverse food menu to provide different aspects of holiday flavor.
A returning favorite of theirs is the Cookie Butter Cold Brew! The drink, topped with their cookie butter cold foam, may have a few hundred calories but the flavor seems to be worth it.
Dunkin Donuts is returning their Maple Bacon, a specialty version of their traditional meat option, and it seems people are excited!
Mrs. Day described her underrated favorite with the bacon, “The wakeup wraps.” Continuing, “You need the white cheddar in it!”
Rounding out the competition, McDonald’s is never missing from the scene of potential sales boosts.
For a winter specialty, McDonald’s offers a ‘holiday pie’ as a limited time dessert for patrons.
Menon weighs in on the pie, “I have never tried it nor do I plan to.”
Day though, has previously tried it. She describes, “It used to be better before McDonald’s changed their crust.”
Dunkin, McDonald’s and Starbucks aren’t the only fast food restaurants taking a crack at a boost in sales. Popeyes, Subway, Dairy Queen and more all have released seasonal items in an attempt to capitalize off of the holiday spirit.
Local restaurants have been trying their best to bring seasonal joy to families all around Urbana too.
Most notably, Urbana staple, Surf House Island Cantina has recently added multiple new festive items onto their menu.
For those 21+, Surf House has added new seasonal libations including: Holiday Sangria, Gimme S’mores Martini, and Cran Apple Margarita.
Surf house expanded their menu to include 4 new entrees too: Shubie Steak, Fresh Salmon, Shorebreak Shrimp, and the Half Chicken entree each coming with two sides.
The family owned restaurant has also added a new limited edition Warm Winter Salad featuring a choice of protein served over mixed greens, tomato, avocado, cucumber, onion, corn, white cheddar, beans, and tortilla strips with a homemade lime dressing!
Despite Diallos usual disinterest for holiday menus, she was “extremely excited” to try Surf House’s new food items.
Running a restaurant seems to be notoriously difficult for most, and almost impossible to succeed in. By providing a variety of options for customers, local restaurants like Surf House are engaging in their core audience and offering unique limited time feasts for those interested.
With the concept of a winter menu being so engaging with a restaurant’s audience, it’s important for them to get feedback from their consumers.
With so many festive classics, it seems not all food items are created equal.
A deeply unpopular classic in the seasonal food world seems to be fruitcake. Both Diallo and Mrs. Day specified if fruitcake was on the menu, they would not consider dining.
Generally, it seems winter menus have a positive impact on sales. It is a fair assessment to say that most regular customers at least appreciate the option for festive or limited time items at different food locations.
Interestingly, Day, Diallo, and Menon all mentioned that while they like fast food festive menus, restaurant ones are far less likely to draw their attention. “I usually would just go to my go-tos,” Mrs. Day said.
With an anticipated busy Christmas season ongoing, keeping your festive spirit alive is all too crucial, and there’s no better way to do that then with the foods you love!
