Bar snacks have evolved from pickles and hard-boiled eggs in the pre-Prohibition days to the current image-making, eye-catching specialties. When the 21st Amendment ended Prohibition in 1933, Restaurant Hospitality’s forerunner, American Restaurant magazine, was all abuzz about beer garden settings in restaurants, menus at tourist taverns, and fried tidbits such as crispy potato chips and fried nuts for bars.

One article attributed the increased interest in restaurants to “the return of beer and the consequent greater attention paid to food and places to eat it.” Beer-friendly sandwich recipes included deviled ham with a spreadable cheese product and mayonnaise.

When you compare those ideas to chef Josh Elliott’s Chile-Mushroom Potstickers at Church Publick in New York City and chef Anthony Jacquet’s Bacon Cheddar Twists at The Whisper Restaurant and Lounge in Los Angeles, you—and your customers—will be grateful for appetizer evolution. Check out the following four recipes.
 
• Bacon Cheddar Twists
• Duck Doughnuts with Apple Honey Sauce
• Chile-Mushroom Potstickers
• Sauteed Lemon Calamari