The food kiosks around the National Mall have mostly been tourist pitstops for hot dogs, jumbo pretzels, and funnel cakes. But a new concessions operator for the National Park Service is planning to give them a big upgrade. Between now and Memorial Day, they’ll transform the Mall’s eight kiosks into different cafe concepts—some themed around nearby museums and monuments—and add 25 food carts. ExplorUS, which began its 10-year concessions contract on Friday, focuses specifically on public land contracts and provides food and beverage for more than 150 venues nationwide. “We do everything from a little coffee cart to a white linen tablecloth, full-service restaurant serving lobster,” says VP of Food Beverage Laura Comer, who spearheaded the new National Mall menus. The former fine-dining chef’s resume has spanned from running a prix-fixe restaurant at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts (Kansas City’s symphony, ballet, and opera house) to cooking for the Kansas City Royals. The one food option around the Mall that won’t change: Bar Americano, the pizza-and-wine kiosk from the team behind Sonny’s Pizza in Park View. It will continue its subcontract, now with ExplorUS, in front of the National and Space Museum. “We loved what they were doing. As somebody who lives in the Washington area, I know how successful they were and so we wanted to continue that relationship,” says Justin Unger, ExplorUS Senior VP of Strategy. If anything, he says they’ve tried to individualize each kiosk in the same spirit as Bar Americano.   The kiosk nearest the Natural History Museum, named Nature’s Table, will offer some healthier options such as ancient grain and acai bowls, and—for those who didn’t get their fill in the insect exhibits—toasted cricket snacks. The kiosk near the Jefferson Memorial will feature mac-and-cheese bowls, nodding to the staple honed by Thomas Jefferson’s enslaved chef James Hemings. Melting Pot, next to the Museum of American History, will serve Mediterranean, Korean, Mexican, and American variations of walking tacos (basically bags of chips with various toppings). And a bistro-inspired kiosk near the Constitution Gardens will sell picnic-ready charcuterie and mezze boxes. World’s Fair, next to the carousel, serves items that were made popular or introduced at the World’s Fair, from the 1800s on: cotton candy, apple hand-pies, fluffernutters, and more. Belgian waffles were also popular at the World’s Fair, so the expect a popcorn-chicken-and-waffle cone. Waffles will also make an appearance at the northern Lincoln Memorial retail kiosk. Comer took inspiration from Korean cheese waffles, which are shaped like Korean coins, and had a custom waffle iron made for mozzarella-stuffed “Lincoin” waffles. “This is kind of stadium-ish for us,” Comer says. “It’s multi-unit being able to run several different food concepts. And I don’t think people realize even in stadiums how much scratch [cooking] we do.” All the new venues will still carry staples like fries, hot dogs, pretzels, turkey wraps, and Uncrustables. They will also sell cherry blossom ice cream custom-made with actual sakura flowers by an “artisanal, all-natural” company in Florida, Comer says. The ice cream, which has a bit of actual cherry and white-chocolate flakes, will be sold year-round. Beer and wine will be sold at all the kiosks as well. Comer says they’ll use a lot of local products, including Falls Church-based Jake’s Gourmet Popcorn and DC coffee roaster Small Planes. All the kiosks will have full espresso drink menus. There will also be two custom bike carts specifically selling coffee and pastries. Other carts will focus on frozen lemonade, Italian ice, churros, pretzels, walking tacos, and ice cream. The kiosks will be a lot more high-tech with touchscreens, QR codes at outdoor tables, and mobile ordering, so you can skip the lines and order your food while you’re still inside the museums. They’ll also track customer reviews to see what does and doesn’t work. “We don’t want to stay stagnant. Sometimes that can happen in this business. You get comfortable. And I think that’s definitely not our MO,” Comer says. “At a minimum, if not more, we review our menus at least once a year and refresh. We want to always keep it exciting.”The post The National Mall Is Revamping Its Food Kiosks and Adding 25 Food Carts first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less