POLL: 2014 was the year of _______

[Jenise]

My nomination: Sriracha. Jeez, it's everywhere. Saw lots of dishes at high end restaurants in Hawaii a few weeks ago featuring it but thought "well there's a lot of Asian influence in general here so that makes some sense"--until I came home to Jack in Box ads for Sriracha burgers and a Pizza Hut, I think it was, advertisement for a 'Sriracha and honey' crusted pizza. I like sriracha sauce, but euwwwwwwwwwwww. That should kill it off the high-end restaurant menus pretty fast.

So as you look around, dine around, and experience advertisements for various things, what in your mind distinguished (for bad OR good) Food Year 2014 from previous years?

The continuing rise of the Gluten Free mania/delusion, the latest incarnation of MSG-style hysteria.

The continuing rise of the Gluten Free mania/delusion, the latest incarnation of MSG-style hysteria.

Thank goodness for it; some of us (my wife) are celiac and the more GF options available out there, the better. Sadly, the downfall is that some restaurants don't take people with the allergy seriously, as they have too many diners who claim to be allergic, while happily consuming bread or dessert by the end of the meal, because they just couldn't resist.

For me, it would be the year of oysters. We have had a couple oyster bars pop up in town (the restaurant I work at included) and the options for variety are exploding. No longer must we settle for muddy Blue Points! I fell in love with West Coast oysters this year. Jenise, if I lived in your neck of the woods, I would eat nothing else! The oysters we get from WA and BC are amazing (Miyagi, Kusshi, Kumamoto, Shiyoku, etc)!

It seems like oysters are becoming more popular all over, from what I see in food magazines and online.

...some of us (my wife) are celiac and the more GF options available out there, the better.

I wasn't throwing out the baby with the (GF) bathwater. If someone has been diagnosed with celiac disease, of course they've gotta follow a restrictive diet. My (apparently subtle) point was that everyone with a tummy ache these days seems to self-diagnose as "I must have celiac!", much as anyone with a headache in the 80's pinned the blame on Chinese food (but not mushrooms or Parmesan). It's become so widespread, with so many FoodCorp offerings now catering to them and their wallets, that for me it's one of the big food stories of '14. (Tough call though between that, the great bacon shortage, the egg price shell shock, the sterile rooster population story, and McDonalds fooling those professional food critics.)

But, and I say this sincerely, I'm glad your wife has more food choices now. That disease must be hell to live with.

Finding wonderful and mostly affordable new restaurants close to home!

...some of us (my wife) are celiac and the more GF options available out there, the better.

I wasn't throwing out the baby with the (GF) bathwater. If someone has been diagnosed with celiac disease, of course they've gotta follow a restrictive diet. My (apparently subtle) point was that everyone with a tummy ache these days seems to self-diagnose as "I must have celiac!", much as anyone with a headache in the 80's pinned the blame on Chinese food (but not mushrooms or Parmesan). It's become so widespread, with so many FoodCorp offerings now catering to them and their wallets, that for me it's one of the big food stories of '14. (Tough call though between that, the great bacon shortage, the egg price shell shock, the sterile rooster population story, and McDonalds fooling those professional food critics.)

But, and I say this sincerely, I'm glad your wife has more food choices now. That disease must be hell to live with.

Yep, for better or for worse, it's one of the trends that made big headlines. Fad diets are one of my biggest pet peeves (as one in the restaurant industry that has to deal with these annoying people). At least the GF revolution, unlike Adkins, Paleo, South Beach, Whatever, has a benefit to those with legitimate allergy. It does suck to be a celiac. At least it forces us to make good food choices, as most processed food has some form of gluten in it.

Thank goodness for it; some of us (my wife) are celiac ...

Sorry to hear that your wife has celiac. That must be a challenge to try and cook around. Based upon your handle/nickname I never would have guessed you were a man, Joy. But that is one of the downsides of the internet. We often do not have the luxury of seeing each other in person to determine gender.

Based upon your handle/nickname I never would have guessed you were a man, Joy.

I'm not a man...

Ah, thanks for the clarification. My lesbian acquaintances, former colleagues and others I know would be irate if I referred to the women they were married to as their wives. Maybe that is just their more liberal big city attitude. I now see you are in Nebraska so possibly that is the custom there for married women to refer to each other as wives. I do not care either way.

[Robin Garr]

I now see you are in Nebraska so possibly that is the custom there ...

[Robin Garr]

Looking around locally, I want to say "small plates," but that's iffy, since they've been around in one form or another for at least the past 30 years or so. But it seemed like all the new places featured them this year.

Also, brussels sprouts!

[David M. Bueker]

Chia seeds. They were on nearly every salad.

[Jenise]

Ah, thanks for the clarification. My lesbian acquaintances, former colleagues and others I know would be irate if I referred to the women they were married to as their wives. Maybe that is just their more liberal big city attitude. I now see you are in Nebraska so possibly that is the custom there for married women to refer to each other as wives. I do not care either way.

Really? How odd. I know a lot of men AND women who refer with great pride to their same sex spouses as husbands or wives. And they are in New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver and San Francisco. Oh, and Omaha, as Joy is also a friend.

I suppose it really depends upon where one eats and/or lives. My answer is different than say someone in Nigeria or Japan. Regionally though I would say braised short ribs. They seem to be on just about every regular or nightly special menu of restaurants of all price ranges. Well, obviously with the exception of vegetarian restaurants.

While I love braised short ribs, my friends and I never say, "Hey let's go out to dinner on Thursday night for braised short ribs..." They are one of those things that can be made at home just as well and often even better than in restaurants for a fraction of the price. But according to a friend of mine than owns a restaurant, they are seen on just about every menu now because they are high margin items, easy to make, popular with customers and what is not sold that night can easily be repurposed in many ways the following day(s).

I agree with Robin on "small plates". Yep, they have been around for decades but within the last 2 or 3 years there has been a huge surge in restaurants either using that theme as their business model or at least devoting a significant portion of their menu to "small plates". Similarly, I get a chuckle out of the new restaurants that have emerged claiming to specialize in Spanish Tapas when some of their "Spanish Tapas" are something one would never, ever see in Spain. The faux Spanish Tapas restaurants tend to not last too long though.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. My lesbian acquaintances, former colleagues and others I know would be irate if I referred to the women they were married to as their wives. Maybe that is just their more liberal big city attitude. I now see you are in Nebraska so possibly that is the custom there for married women to refer to each other as wives. I do not care either way.

Really? How odd. I know a lot of men AND women who refer with great pride to their same sex spouses as husbands or wives. And they are in New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver and San Francisco. Oh, and Omaha, as Joy is also a friend.

I'm probably a minority of one on this, but I seldom (almost never) refer to my spouse as my wife. Terms like "my wife" or "my husband" always struck me as too possessive for my taste. She has a name and I try to use that whenever possible. People are pretty smart and can usually figure out our relationship on their own.

Terms like "my wife" or "my husband" always struck me as too possessive for my taste. She has a name and I try to use that whenever possible. People are pretty smart and can usually figure out our relationship on their own.

Like I said to Joy, I do not care either way but your comment reminds me of something that does kind of make me cringe...When a guy refers to his wife as "the wife" like she is some sort of object, possession or even trophy. I used to play golf with a guy that always did that. He would say something like, "Well, I can't play next week because the wife and I are going to Paris for a long weekend". We all knew her name so why not just say he could not play because he and Sarah were going to Paris, etc. and not refer to her as "the wife"?

[I'm probably a minority of one on this, but I seldom (almost never) refer to my spouse as my wife. Terms like "my wife" or "my husband" always struck me as too possessive for my taste. She has a name and I try to use that whenever possible. People are pretty smart and can usually figure out our relationship on their own.

What a coincidence! My wife never admits I'm her husband to other people, either.

I'm going to go with the year of craft distillates. That movement certainly started earlier and it's been going at a healthy pace in some areas for a while now, but I think the past year has brought quite an expansion in small distilleries. That's not always great. It's not easy to make good gin/whiskey/rum/etc., and starting one of these businesses is very precarious from a financial standpoint. I'm sure the next few years will see more of these places getting into business and then going out of business. The ones that make it, though, stand to shake up a system that has centuries of tradition behind it. It should be fun to watch.

[Jenise]

and starting one of these businesses is very precarious from a financial standpoint. I'm sure the next few years will see more of these places getting into business and then going out of business.

I wonder it that Washington Distillery who unfortunately named themselves 'Isis' has managed to survive.

and starting one of these businesses is very precarious from a financial standpoint. I'm sure the next few years will see more of these places getting into business and then going out of business.

I wonder it that Washington Distillery who unfortunately named themselves 'Isis' has managed to survive.

If nothing else, they need to have changed the name!

Ah, thanks for the clarification. My lesbian acquaintances, former colleagues and others I know would be irate if I referred to the women they were married to as their wives. Maybe that is just their more liberal big city attitude. I now see you are in Nebraska so possibly that is the custom there for married women to refer to each other as wives. I do not care either way.

Well, technically, in Nebraska we are not recognized as married (though legally married in Iowa), so I would not say there is any "custom" of spousal naming. I know other legally married couples who still choose to refer to each other as "spouse" or "partner". I think it is a matter of personal choice for each couple. I don't see why someone should be ashamed to use the term "wife" or "husband", as it was the absence of the right to get married for same sex couples for so long that forced them to use the term "partner" to delineate their relationship.

To project that someone is somehow not liberal or progressive because they use the pejorative term "wife", is about as prosaic as assuming someone with a female name and avatar on an internet board somehow must be a man because they refer to having a wife, rather than thinking they might be gay.

Really? How odd. I know a lot of men AND women who refer with great pride to their same sex spouses as husbands or wives. And they are in New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver and San Francisco. Oh, and Omaha, as Joy is also a friend.

Cheers, Jenise!

I'm going to go with the year of craft distillates. That movement certainly started earlier and it's been going at a healthy pace in some areas for a while now, but I think the past year has brought quite an expansion in small distilleries. That's not always great. It's not easy to make good gin/whiskey/rum/etc., and starting one of these businesses is very precarious from a financial standpoint. I'm sure the next few years will see more of these places getting into business and then going out of business. The ones that make it, though, stand to shake up a system that has centuries of tradition behind it. It should be fun to watch.

I would agree, and add to that craft breweries. We have had 4 new breweries (one is also a distillery) pop up here in Omaha in the past 14 months. Love all the awesome beer!

We also have become good friends with a great home brewer who is currently ranked #3 in Iowa and will soon be competing at nationals. Such a rough life to have to help sample his efforts!

I would agree, and add to that craft breweries. We have had 4 new breweries (one is also a distillery) pop up here in Omaha in the past 14 months. Love all the awesome beer!

We also have become good friends with a great home brewer who is currently ranked #3 in Iowa and will soon be competing at nationals. Such a rough life to have to help sample his efforts!

I considered craft breweries as well, because they've gotten to the ridiculous stage here in Sacramento. We have two within walking distance of my house, one of which is partly owned by the husband of a co-worker. That is a lot of beer to drink. I expect that 2015 may be the Year of Obesity around here.