Lent is upon us, and that means seafood specials at restaurants across the country, both for Catholics who refrain from eating meat on Fridays during the six-week period, and for those for whom it has become a seasonal lifestyle for other reasons.

Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, noticed some relatively unusual fish, such as Alaska cod and flounder, rather than the more typical pollock gracing menus, particularly at quick-service restaurants. Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, pointed out that the rather debauched holiday of St. Patrick’s Day always falls during Lent, which is intended to be a time of abstinence. The contrast means that green menu items and corned beef share menu space with seafood at this time of year.

Bret noted that there are other, smaller, less formal holidays at this time of year, too. Mar. 10 is Mario Day, important to a certain subset of young video gamers. It’s followed by Pi Day on Mar. 14, celebrating the universal constant that starts with 3.14. Restaurants reinterpret it as Pie Day, and offer a variety of specials around pizza and dessert. Pat observed that BJ’s is offering specials in its skillet cookies, called Pizookies. 

Mar. 16 is Steve Austin Day, which holds some importance for professional wrestling fans. This year it’s also part of St. Practice Day, which some people celebrate on the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day (which is on a Monday this year), ostensibly to build up their alcohol tolerance for the annual celebration of Irish culture. 

Then there’s April Fool’s Day on April 1, International Cannabis Day on April 20, Earth Day on April 22, and Star Wars day on May the 4th. Pat pointed out that March 9 was National Meatball Day, and Bret expressed his disdain for that and other food holidays, but he acknowledged that they can be a great and relatively easy way to bring in more customers. 

In other F&B trends, Pat observed the rollout of several new sandwiches this week, including Potbelly’s Barnyard, and Bret noted new sauces from Buffalo Wild Wings and Hardee’s. Of particular interest, he said, was the fact that Hardee’s called out Duke’s mayonnaise specifically as an ingredient in its new Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce, and Bojangles also mentioned that it is serving its annual Lenten fish special, the Bojangler, made with Duke’s tartar sauce. 

The guest on this week’s podcast is Einat Admony, the chef and owner of Balaboosta restaurant in New York City and the recently opened Moondog, a listening bar that serves Admony’s version of Mexican food, among other things. The Israeli chef and restaurateur shared insights into how Middle Eastern and Mexican cuisines are related, and also discussed the unique nature of Israeli cuisine.