Was it only last year that fad dieters snapped up gluten-free products, cupcakes of all sizes and flavors, and just about anything with bacon? It was only a matter of time before gluten-free bacon cupcakes emerged. Seriously! http://www.perrysplate.com/2010/03/bacon-cupcakes.html. Thankfully, that age of gimmicky excess is over.
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| "Yesterday's" French Onion Soup from RACKS Downtown Eatery + Tavern |
We predict a return to artisanal dining, with environmentally conscious, ‘ecotistical’ diners frequenting restaurants that buy locally sourced produce, seafood and meats (or scouting nearby farmer’s markets to whip up meals at home). The back-to-basics return to fresh, seasonal eating is more of a lifestyle than a fad, and therefore has more staying power than, say, gluten-free bacon cupcakes. Keep your eye out for locally produced wine and beer, artisan cheeses and hyper-local restaurants boasting their own garden or butcher.
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| Carolina Pulled-Pork Sandwich from Smokehouse Grille & Wingery |
In an even more eco-friendly move (both ecologically and economically), trendier restaurants will make the move to offer wine lists and menus as iPad apps. This not only saves restaurants the big bucks they would normally spend on reprinting an entire menu every time an item is added or removed, but gives an increasingly tech-savvy customer base something to appreciate.
Pork belly may be gone with 2010, but the rest of the pig (and the cow, and the chicken, and even the goat) is here to stay – if it was raised humanely. Note how your food was treated before it ended up on their plate, whether it was cage-free, pastured or spared mutant doses of antibiotics, for an even tastier, healthier meal. Call it culinary karma.
Lastly, forget the staycation. 2011 is the year of the gourmet-cation. Discover regional Mexican cooking in the villages of Oaxaca, or learn how to make une tarte flambée in a Parisian cooking class. What’s life, after all, without a little flavor?
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| Lobster Penne Pasta with Brie Sauce from Piñon Grill |
Mmm French Onion is my favorite
ReplyDeleteI heard Pies are going to be big in 2011 too! :)
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