Dining Trends - The Infatuation team visited 5,000 restaurants this year across the country and in London, focusing on identifying both the best and emerging trends [2] - Super fancy pastries, like creative cinnamon rolls, are experiencing an explosion in popularity [3] - Elevated small luxuries, such as an $11 matcha topped with banana pudding, are gaining traction [5] - Pizza is a huge trend nationwide, extending beyond traditional pizza hubs like New York, Chicago, and Detroit [7] - Restaurants are expanding their hours, including opening 7 days a week and offering lunch and breakfast options, catering to the return to office and changing consumer preferences [14][15] Restaurant Business & Consumer Behavior - Chase Sapphire Reserve card members have exclusive reservations at select Open Table restaurants and receive a $300 annual credit at select Open Table restaurants [2][10][18] - Consumers may be pulling back in some areas of their lives but still want to treat themselves to small luxuries [6][18] - Restaurants are noticing that customers are drinking less, leading to a shift towards mocktails and potentially impacting orders of items like steak for two [19] Regional Highlights - San Francisco has a thriving dining scene, boasting the highest number of best new restaurants [15] - Nashville's dining scene is also experiencing significant growth [17]

Industry Trend - The American pizza industry is experiencing a surge in popularity, with top chefs elevating the quality of pizza offerings [1] - The industry is characterized by high quality and affordable prices [1]

Brand Recognition & Marketing - Rio's Pizza, a popular Chicago pizza chain, delivered pizza to Pope Leo at the Vatican [1] - The Pope recognized the Rio's Pizza logo and showed excitement upon seeing the pizza [2] - Aurelio's CEO mentioned Pope Leo has been a fan of Aurelio's pizza since the 1960s [3] Logistics & Delivery - The pizza delivery from Chicago to Rome covered over 4,000 miles [1] - The journey involved three friends and hours of travel [1]