The greatest restaurant innovations in 2015

Achieving greatness takes innovation, creativity, and the ability to do what others have not. As a result, things can sometimes get a little weird.

Restaurant Business magazine recently revealed its annual roundup of the 50 greatest ideas in the restaurant business in 2015. From ordering pizza via text to selling cocktails by the bottle, the restaurant industry had a great year for innovation.

However, a few of these great ideas venture a step beyond the rest when it comes to thinking outside the box. Here are the six strangest and most brilliant ideas that blossomed in the restaurant business in 2015.

Paper cones filled with spaghetti

@mattbruck on Instagram

Spaghetti Incident is trying to make pasta more portable. The Manhattan-based restaurant is inspired by the Italian custom of putting pasta to-go in paper cones, adapting the traditional cones into a sturdy, no-spill container customers can grab on the go.

Caffeinated ice cubes

Atlanta ice cream and coffee parlor Queen of Cream allows customers to sneak another shot of cold brew in their drinks with flavored iced cubes. For $1 extra, guests can swap out traditional ice with a frozen cube of cold brew coffee, packing even more caffeine in the morning cup of joe

Personalized matchboxes

Jax Cafe

Bill Kozlak, owner of Minneapolis restaurant Jax Cafe, spends $50,000 to $60,000 per year printing personalized matchbooks on-site for customers. Kozlak tells Restaurant Business that the cost is justified, as customers keep coming back to the cafe for special occasions, in part because of the memorable matches.

Sriracha on tap

Ketchup and mustard pumps are ubiquitous at American fast-food joints. However, Chicago-based Protein Bar is flipping the script by filling the self-serve pumps with Sriracha and Cholula Hot Sauce to meet the needs of spice-loving customers.

Cheese grater lights

Borough

This kitchen staple doesn't usually play much of a role in restaurant decor. However, at Minneapolis-based Borough, cheese graters go beyond their food prep purposes to add a quirky, original element to the restaurant's style.

Beer and blankets

Kaiser Tiger

Chicago bar hoppers understand the struggles of socializing in a city known for its unpredictable, chilly weather. Kaiser Tiger tries to keep beer garden season going all year round by offering a basket of fleece blankets by the door to its outdoor patio, which features live music and bocce ball courts - which can be transformed into curling sheets in the winter