Latest US food craze?

[Jenise]

Interesting question. I'll be interested in seeing what answers you get, as I have absolutely no idea. I guess I don't eat out enough. I'm not even sure where to turn to gauge the success of a trend. Is it at the white tablecloth level, or do we wait until Applebee's puts a version on their menu? Since I never eat at Applebee's....

The one thing I have noticed is that Caesar salad is becoming ridiculously pervasive. Not the real deal made tableside, but romaine tossed in some creamy pre-made dressing that was, at the Blue Water Cafe on Seattle's Lake Union last week, an option you could have with your burger instead of fries. You know, the "your choice of...." thing. That struck me as new, even if not a step forward. Caesar salad's a side dish. Or at least, an imitation of caesar salad.

And then, of course, there are foams.

Randy, your question definitely has me thinking...

A few things I've noticed lately (and we've touched on in other FLDG posts) are 1) Hanger Steak which is a unique cut of sirloin (I think?) that has recently joined the restaurant circuit and 2) crispy pan seared chicken made skin side down in a scorching hot pan with a very heavy item placed on top to flatten it. I actually ate lunch at Applebees with one of my employees about a month ago and this was on the new Tyler Florence-inspired menu. (Didn't order it though...) Neither of these mentions really address your question though, because I don't think their names are obscure enough for you to need a photo to know what you are ordering...

Speaking of pictures of the food on the menu, another trend, that may also have caught on in Paris by now, is edible paper food, such as a menu flavored like the dinner special...
New York Times article

[Jenise]

Hey, I just heard that the prime minister of Japan and wife are lunching at the White House today, and they're being served cheeseburgers and onion rings. Maybe what's old is new again. Perhaps they're lucky they're not getting rattlesnake chili.

Don't know if it can be considered new, but "wraps" are everywhere.
What we in CA used to know as a burrito has morphed into a trendy new lunch item.
They're putting eveything in these babies now.

Me? I never touch 'em. If I want a burrito, I want it filled with pork cooked in lard, not some sun dried tomato, balsamic vinegar, alfalfa sprout laced perversion.

Putting, literally..anything on on pizza dough and calling it pizza.

Richard

Fun topic!

Seems like the last few years has seen a number of tapas places sprouting up, and even places that aren't typical tapas joints offer a number of "small plates".

I've notice "pepper butter" being served with the bread in a few places lately (not sure exactly what is in it, but whereas it was honey butter for a while, this seems to be taking the place).

Pho is pretty popular here in the DC area (although I think that it has been for a while, I just missed out on the early stages of the craze).

Polenta seems to be popping up on more menus these days.

As for drinks, I'm happy to say that the sour apple martini and cosmopolitans that made a huge debut a couple of years ago seem to be on the fade, and wines venues/events of all sorts are really beginning to get more publicity and attendance. I anticipate that saki will be the next big fad.

I personally wish someone would start a Georgian food craze...I've been able to find absolutely no restaurants that serve any, and I found it to be a really pleasant surprise when I had it in Russia a couple of years ago.

In NYC:

At general restaurants:

1. Tapas / small plates - they must drive higher profits
2. A soft poached (or occassionally soft fried) egg on everything - polenta, asparagas, etc. - even pizza
3. The bahn mi sandwich, anything from the $2 version in the back of the Vietnamese video store to the $10 version with house-made headcheese
4. Meat in general - barbecue, charcuterie, bacon, heritage pork, pork belly, etc.
5. Japanese fusion (especially Japanese small plates)
6. Fancy, expensive dessert-only restaurants
7. Burgers in general, but especially "sliders" (small, almost bite-sized burgers).
8. Chinese dumplings

More specific dishes that are trendy (but haven't crossed into mainstream):
1. Chinese sesame pancakes (sometimes called chive box)
2. Instead of pho, we get hand-pulled Chinese noodles in broth
3. Authentic Sichuan food (although this might have peaked)

Soup dumplings and pupusas have perhaps faded a bit, but were around.

1) Hanger Steak which is a unique cut of sirloin (I think?)

It's not sirloin. It hangs between the rib and the loin. Generally speaking, you can think of it as diaphragm, like skirt steak.

As to your other question... Tapas, or just small plates in general, are "in". Heritage breeds of animals and vegetables are "in". High prices are also always "in" in NYC....

Being a traveling salessmuck, I eat out a lot ... and not always in the best places.

Tapas and small plates have become popular over the last few years and the prices for each plate have crept in the direction of what you'd pay for a traditional entrée.

What is happening more and more now is the celebrity chef thing in the chain restaurants. Most of the more popular Food Network stove jockeys have lent their name and fame to some "upscale" dish or another. Applebee's was mentioned. There, I think Bobby Flay is doing a cheeseburger on ciabatta (another omnipresent bread du jour) with pesto and mozzarella or similar.

[Robin Garr]

Coming to this late, I'll add another vote for small plates/tapas/bocaditos, which are big here and a fairly benign trend in that they still allow plenty of chef's creativity. Along similar lines, <i>Nuevo Latino</i> and to a lesser extent fusion, upscale Vietnamese, is growing here as these ethnic categories move from hole-in-the-wall status to a serious place in the food community.

Knowing Randy's background, I'd have to say that many of the suggestions above are pretty passe.

Robin's tapas is a dining concept that peaked about 2 years ago and has leveled off.

A trend that been hot as of a year ago and still seems to be growing is Wagyu beef (aka Kobe). More and more restaurants are putting it on the menu, sometimes in more than one dish. When you are in Santa Barbara, I can take you to Square One for Kobe Beef two ways - steak and short ribs. It's a pretty tasty dish.

[Robin Garr]

Knowing Randy's background, I'd have to say that many of the suggestions above are pretty passe.

Robin's tapas is a dining concept that peaked about 2 years ago and has leveled off.

A trend that been hot as of a year ago and still seems to be growing is Wagyu beef (aka Kobe). More and more restaurants are putting it on the menu, sometimes in more than one dish. When you are in Santa Barbara, I can take you to Square One for Kobe Beef two ways - steak and short ribs. It's a pretty tasty dish.

This may vary regionally, Bernie. Tapas are still fresh here, while Wagyu beef has been around for five years or more and, if not "passé," is hardly novel.

It's absolutely wrong to call it Kobe, by the way. Kobe is from Japan, period, and is rarely if ever exported to the US. Wagyu is made in Texas by a similar process. A lot of US eateries bill Wagyu as "Kobe," but this is as wrong as using "Burgundy" or "Chablis" to label a generic domestic wine.

It's absolutely wrong to call it Kobe, by the way. Kobe is from Japan, period, and is rarely if ever exported to the US. Wagyu is made in Texas by a similar process. A lot of US eateries bill Wagyu as "Kobe," but this is as wrong as using "Burgundy" or "Chablis" to label a generic domestic wine.

True. Truth in menuing would require an operator to offer "Kobe Style" beef when using US raised Wagyu.
In practice, many, if not most consumers are ignorant of the distinction between the two, and Kobe has better name recognition than Wagyu.
I always point it out to operators when I see them using the term Kobe incorrectly, diplomatically, of course.

[Robin Garr]

I always point it out to operators when I see them using the term Kobe incorrectly, diplomatically, of course.

Wearing my other hat as a local/regional food critic, I'm in a position to point it out rather forcibly, and I <i>do</i>. Not too much on the diplomacy thing, though.

I'll weigh in with Jenise on the Ceasar Salad thing. Hell, I even saw a premade "Chicken Ceasar Salad" being offered in the cafateria at work last week. And I'm sorry, but that "made fresh daily" thing doesn't mean a whole lot at 1:00 in the morning which is what time I normally get to eat lunch.

I'll weigh in with Jenise on the Ceasar Salad thing. Hell, I even saw a premade "Chicken Ceasar Salad" being offered in the cafateria at work last week. And I'm sorry, but that "made fresh daily" thing doesn't mean a whole lot at 1:00 in the morning which is what time I normally get to eat lunch.

And in combination with John's mention of wraps, I've seen the Chicken Ceaser Salad Wrap offered at our cafeteria.


Mike

In NYC:

At general restaurants:

7. Burgers in general, but especially "sliders" (small, almost bite-sized burgers).

Lordy above!!

Not the real, authentic, White Castle-type sliders?

-Paul W.

The one thing I have noticed is that Caesar salad is becoming ridiculously pervasive. Not the real deal made tableside, but romaine tossed in some creamy pre-made dressing

I always ask if the Caesar salad is 'real'. I end up sending half of it back, usually for no anchovy. I often het an excuse "Many people don't like anchovy" To which I reply "Would you bring me a hamburger without a patty becauee many people are vegetarians? A Caesar salad is a recipe, done one basic way. If you don't make it that way, you should stop the misleading advertising by calling it something else!"

I know it is a losing battle......right along with ordering fish and chips only to find that a response "Yes, we make it here" includes them dumping prefab frozen fish fingers into hot oil.

Are there no standards any more??

The one thing I have noticed is that Caesar salad is becoming ridiculously pervasive. Not the real deal made tableside, but romaine tossed in some creamy pre-made dressing

I always ask if the Caesar salad is 'real'. I end up sending half of it back, usually for no anchovy. I often het an excuse "Many people don't like anchovy" To which I reply "Would you bring me a hamburger without a patty becauee many people are vegetarians? A Caesar salad is a recipe, done one basic way. If you don't make it that way, you should stop the misleading advertising by calling it something else!"

I know it is a losing battle......right along with ordering fish and chips only to find that a response "Yes, we make it here" includes them dumping prefab frozen fish fingers into hot oil.

Are there no standards any more??

With rare exceptions, I detest fish in any form, and that goes double for anchovies. But I agree 100% with you on Caesar salads and fish and chips. If you're going to offer those preparations, by all means do them right. That does mean you won't have me as a customer, but hey, count your blessings on that account.

-Paul W.

This may vary regionally, Bernie. Tapas are still fresh here, while Wagyu beef has been around for five years or more and, if not "passé," is hardly novel.

It's absolutely wrong to call it Kobe, by the way. Kobe is from Japan, period, and is rarely if ever exported to the US. Wagyu is made in Texas by a similar process. A lot of US eateries bill Wagyu as "Kobe," but this is as wrong as using "Burgundy" or "Chablis" to label a generic domestic wine.

Sure, and in 10 years we may start to see Tapas appear in Peoria. But since Randy is going to be in Santa Barbara, I thought I'd speak to his situation. The tapas thing came here 6-7 years ago, albeit not really authentic. The small plates thing was tried at Quantum, which closed and reopened with a new formula. The original Tapas place in SB - Alcazar - actually serves small Mexican, not Spanish, plates. In truth, a lot of LA restaurants and wine bars are jumping on the trendwagon, so the popularity is indeed growing. But it is not what I would call a craze.

In LA, wine bars are a craze, but not because of the food. It is because of the social atmosphere.

RE: Kobe beef. I guess I'm more sympathetic to the need of restaurants to be market savvy and speak to their clientele in familiar language. I am tolerant of referring to the beef by its Japanese name as long as the restaurant is forthright about the origin of the beef.

It is because Wagyu is growing exponentially (unlike tapas restaurants) that more and more people are being exposed to it when they go out to dine. Robin, even though Wagyu was introduced to US markets a few years ago, it in no way became an immediate trend. There simply was too little Wagyu to go around until US ranchers began to catch up. The growth in production is feeding a "craze". This is what Randy asked about.

Out of curiousity, if you go to a deli, do you ask if they use real Swiss cheese on their Reuben? Do you chastise them if their "Dijon" mustard is really made in America with Canadian seeds?

[Robin Garr]

Sure, and in 10 years we may start to see Tapas appear in Peoria. But since Randy is going to be in Santa Barbara, I thought I'd speak to his situation.

I figured since Randy chose the subject "Latest US food craze," it made sense to talk to him about what's happening in larger cities around the country. Santa Barbara is a beautiful little town, but hardly a center of dining innovation.

The tapas thing came here 6-7 years ago, albeit not really authentic. The small plates thing was tried at Quantum, which closed and reopened with a new formula. The original Tapas place in SB - Alcazar - actually serves small Mexican, not Spanish, plates. In truth, a lot of LA restaurants and wine bars are jumping on the trendwagon, so the popularity is indeed growing. But it is not what I would call a craze.

Depends on what you call a "craze," I guess - sounds pretty much synonymous with "trend" to me - but the proliferation of "tapas" with Latino or interntional accents is really the "craze" I was talking about. Authentic Spanish tapas in the manner of Jerez are great, I don't see the trend there.

RE: Kobe beef. I guess I'm more sympathetic to the need of restaurants to be market savvy and speak to their clientele in familiar language. I am tolerant of referring to the beef by its Japanese name as long as the restaurant is forthright about the origin of the beef.

I can buy "Kobe-style," but I'm having a hard time seeing what is forthright about calling "Wagyu" "Kobe" on the menu.

even though Wagyu was introduced to US markets a few years ago, it in no way became an immediate trend. There simply was too little Wagyu to go around until US ranchers began to catch up. The growth in production is feeding a "craze". This is what Randy asked about.

Again, it's been hot enough to call a trend or a craze in larger cities since around 2000, anyway.

Out of curiousity, if you go to a deli, do you ask if they use real Swiss cheese on their Reuben? Do you chastise them if their "Dijon" mustard is really made in America with Canadian seeds?

No, but I think that's hardly comparable. Look to California "Burgundy" for a more apt analogy.

I end up sending half of it back, usually for no anchovy.

You know, Cesar Cardini's original recipe does not contain anchovy.

[Robin Garr]

You know, Cesar Cardini's original recipe does not contain anchovy.

If I'm not mistaken, it contained Worcestershire sauce, which does contain anchovy.

You know, Cesar Cardini's original recipe does not contain anchovy.

If I'm not mistaken, it contained Worcestershire sauce, which does contain anchovy.

Exactly. But the mushing of the anchovy in the wooden bowl is a more recent addition, or tweak, to the original recipe.