New Restaurant Trends 2012...Excited?

I read an article recently called Top 10 Restaurant Trends for 2012

In it the author states

... the predictions are from Baum+Whiteman, international food and restaurant consultants in New York. They say the coming year will be all about “into the wild” as chefs go foraging for new ingredients and customers abandon comfort food for intense mix-and-match global flavors.

It's interesting to say the least. There are a few things I'm going to hit on in this blog...

1. Whole world on a plate. Look for a multi-ethnic, multi-sensory dining experience where flavors clash on purpose. Now it’s all about multi culti. A zucchini pizza dabbed with hummus and topped with crunchy wasabi peas is from nowhere geographically because it’s from everywhere. Cooking is at a crossroads where everything collides.

This could be really neat. I've seen it done on a lot of cooking shows. It's called Fusion Cuisine. I've been known to do it in my kitchen; occasionally on purpose! You might take Mexican flavors and serve them with an Italian flair (Stuffed shells but with jack cheese and ground beef instead of ricotta). It's a great way to change up your menu!! Instead of having the same dish you can deconstruct it and present it a different way without sacrificing your favorite flavors.

4. Innards and odd parts. Tongue, gizzards and pigs ears are moving up from ethnic neighborhoods and onto menus of upscale restaurants.  In the year ahead, look for more “wobbly cuts,” such as tripe, chicken livers that are crunch-fried and beef heart (but not brains, yet), because customers are increasingly adventurous.

My husband will be more excited about that than I am...he goes for the "offal" parts. I've tried to eat them (my style of eating says they're good for you) but I just can't do it! I even tried doing half kidney and half ground beef in a spaghetti sauce. I tasted every single bite of kidney in the dish! It will be interested to see fancy places serving what was once lower class cuts!

6. Instead of bread. Look for sandwiches piled on things other than bread:  arepas, flattened tostones, bao, waffles, rice cakes.

I'm glad to see that the new "low carb" option is going to be something other than lettuce!! Sometimes I want a bit of the bread without a whole slice.

Buzzwords for 2012

Fresh sardines. Uni. Yuzu. Tamarind. Kalbi. Bao. Bibambap. Bulgogi. Huacatay. Bone Marrow. Ox tail. Duck. Flowers. Hibiscus. Arepas. Coconut oil. Goat meat. Shiso. Green papaya. Seaweed.  Ultra-long dry aging of meat.  Lamb ribs and belly. Hand-made ricotta and burrata. Micro-distilleries. Exotic bitters on the bar.

Coconut oil!! Yay! I hope that the bad rap it's been given starts to go away. I've seen nothing but good things from coconut oil. Seriously! It's good for you inside and out.

There are plenty more to read about in the actual article: Here


Which trend are you most excited about in the coming year? Is there one you're dreading? Tell us about it in the comments!!