by Tracey Paleo, Gia On The Move

#ThisIsHardRock

While it’s true that the menu changed earlier this year; and that Gia On The Move was recently invited to sample the new mouth-watering fare at a special press dinner; and that Hard Rock Cafes everywhere have made the upgrade; what simply hasn’t been apparent until now, is why you should actually make a point of trying it!

Regular patrons of Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood and Hard Rock Universal City will have already been privy to the incredibly and surprisingly succulent re-arrangement of appetizers to final courses which have catapulted deceptively ordinary fare to far beyond “du jour” near shock and awe status and into the stratosphere of outstanding yet down to earth comestibles.  Celebrating its unique rock n’ roll atmosphere, in bold style,  this menu is all about the taste!

Click this link for photos of more of Hard Rock’s new menu creations!

The 40 year old Hard Rock brand is now offering 30 new items in addition to the current 28 already enjoyed by dedicated diners, including salads, desserts, entrees and drinks after having compared seasonings, textures, flavor profiles, burger blends and French fry cuts, also focusing on visual appeal of each course. Everything down to the garnishes and buns has been utterly re-invented with seasonal options being added as well.

All the new items keep in line with Hard Rock’s core menu concept of scratch-based, all-American favorites that resonate with diners around the world.

Popular new menu items added are entrees like the Cowboy Rib Eye, a USDA choice 16-ounce, bone-in steak and Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwich, slow-cooked beef brisket, topped with hickory barbecue sauce on grilled sourdough bread, Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes (a favorite of everyone’s), three new salads (Grilled Chicken Chop Salad, Grilled Chicken Arugula Salad, Cobb Salad) and three of the new desserts (House-made Carrot Cake, Molten Lava Cake and Cheesecake with Oreo Cookie Pieces), Hickory Smoked BBQ Ribs, Grilled Norwegian Salmon, Hickory Smoked Chicken Wings, and the Legendary® Burger, an 8-ounce grilled-to-perfection proprietary blend patty served with cheddar cheese, smoked bacon slices, iceberg lettuce and special Hard Rock seasoning presented on a fresh brioche bun.

In addition, introduced is the Grilled Vegetable Sandwich, which combines freshly grilled vegetables, spicy Monterey Jack cheese, with a dash of Balsamic reduction on toasted sour dough bread.

There are quite a few drink highlights as well:

The Air Mexico, a sampling-sized portion of Hard Rock’s classic tasty margaritas, allows guests to choose three flavors, including Watermelon, Mango, Cucumber, Blue Curacao, Pomegranate or Wildberry.

The Red Berry Press, Hard Rock’s unique, sweet fruit cocktail made with fresh hulled and sliced strawberries, fresh raspberries, lemonade, lemon-lime soda, and Clementine Vodka, garnished with a lemon wedge served in a coffee-press style vessel that infuses fruit into the cocktail throughout the drinking process.

And 2 coup de gras finals:

A Bacon, Baccardi, Guinness Beer Twist and Shout Milk Shake  with spiced brown sugar, salted caramel and chocolate. (This one sent us “over the edge” – Died and gone to heaven. Thank you!)

The Salted Caramel Cafe, Tia Maria, Baileys, Salted Caramel Syrup, half and half, and hot coffee, topped with whipped cream and pieces of caramel corn caramel sauce.

Hard Rock is introducing several new non-alcoholic milkshakes, including the Vanilla Root Beer Shake, blended with rum, spiced brown sugar syrup, vanilla vodka, half and half, vanilla ice cream, blended with a few ounces of root beer, garnished with a dollop of whipped cream.

Photos provided by Hard Rock Cafe PR