The Hottest Thing on Menus Across America? Next-Level Peppercorns

Ari Weinzweig is a peppercorn obsessive. Last year his cult-favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Zingerman’s Roadhouse, used about 1,500 pounds—three-quarters of a ton—of the Tellicherry variety for his wildly popular black pepper fries as well as other menu staples. Such was the demand that it even began selling 2-ounce jars of the peppercorns, which are also available for $9.50 through the Zingerman’s website. He even named his black-and-white corgi Pepper.

The spice, historically the culinary world’s most versatile and in-demand character actor, is currently taking a star turn. Some chefs now name-check varietals on their menus, and Lior Lev Sercarz, owner of La Boîte, one of the industry’s preeminent spice suppliers, regards the interest as an extension of the obsession for ingredients such as salt and coffee. It doesn’t hurt that piperine, an alkaloid found in black pepper, has been credited not only with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties but also with increasing serotonin levels, conferring a sense of well-being.