Sandwiches Number One in Top Restaurant Chains <b></b>

Palm Beach, Florida--Sandwiches are the number one newmenu item at the nation's top 200 restaurant chains, accordingto Food Beat Inc., which tracks chains with revenues of $70 millionor more. Specialty breads such as peso focaccia, wheat berry,Grecian or grilled honey dill are helping to drive sandwich sales,along with signature spreads such as chipotle mayonnaise and creamycucumber.

Food and restaurant experts agree the sandwich is popularbecause of its convenience and portability that can be packed withingredients for a one-dish meal. "Sandwich consumption is up28 percent over last year, both at home and in restaurants,"said Elisabeth Sloan, president of Sloan Trends & Solutions inEscondido, California. "Americans ate an average of 4.1sandwiches per week last year."

North Palm Beach-based restaurant consultant Richard Lackey,said interesting and varied kinds of breads for subs and sandwicheshave been popularized by rapidly growing "fast casual"chains such as Atlanta Bread and Panera Bread, Subway andQuizno's. The fast-food restaurants are hopping on the trend,too. Burger King recently launched three new chicken baguettesandwiches pushing their low-fat content. -The Palm BeachPost