FOOD: What's next?

[Jenise]

TIME magazine suggests it might be Peruvian food. I personally have no suggestions to offer up, but I am thinking that some of you on the ground in New York or who eat out more often than I do might have some thoughts on what is, or what should be, The Next Big Thing be that a cuisine, a dish or even a food item. Been awhile, hasn't it, since the Caesar Salad hatched?

Latin America came and went in the mid nineties in NYC with Patria. Its remaining legacy is a ceviche on every appetizer menu.

It's timely you should bring the subject up because I was just thinking about this last week. Redding is never on the cutting edge of food and the latest here is Asian food places popping up all over. One restaurant did try to do a theme every month, German, Asian, Portuguese, Swedish, etc., and after several visits there, we gave up hope of having anything really authentic. It seems around here, they try to Americanize the food. Rather irksome! There are a couple of Mexican places that I hear are doing very good at keeping the food true to where they come from, but we have not tried them, yet. I am enjoying cooking from a Rick Bayless book, for now.

Don't think I'd call it a "trend" yet...but a couple of Brazilian 'all the meat you can eat' restos are doing well and the "latest" are restos with "stations", areas withing the restaurant with either different types of food, I.E. desserts, salads etc. or different ethnic choices. Too early to tell if others will jump on the bandwagon.
Of course frozen yogurt joints from Korea have made a big run here, apparently competing with each other to see how many units they can open, and I think that fad has already peaked. Also lots of bakery and dessert shops opening and variations on a theme of sports bars/saloons.

Inuit Cuisine. Large raw, cold mammals.

[Jenise]

Inuit Cuisine. Large raw, cold mammals.

Yes, there will be a surplus when the earth gets too warm. But what wine with seal?

So New York is going to be the guinea pig for Peruvian food in the US?

Karen,

That restaurant you mentioned did Swedish food, eh? Did they do lutefisk and surstromming? Probably not, since the health department didn't close them down.

-Paul W.

Oh, yeah: Chef! ... we cooked salmon last night.

Just keeping you in the know.

So New York is going to be the guinea pig for Peruvian food in the US?

I think Peruvian is already gone. We had two of them on Smith St (the big restaurant row in Downtown Brooklyn) and now we're down to one. The one that folded, Mancora, was more of a family place and I liked their food better. The one that survived, Coco Rico, has glitzier plating, occasional live music, and a sister resto in Park Slope.

If Smith St is any indicator, there is no clear trend right now: Peruvian has subsided, the French cafes bloomed but at least two have closed for renovations and never reopened, Italian is holding steady, American locavore is holding steady, slight increase in sushi shops (and misc Asian). Definite bump in cocktail culture but that isn't really food. Unclear portents.

It seems the only new places opening in Noo Yawk are pizza joints. Keste, Motorino, Veloce - anything from Sicily to Liguria by way of Naples and Rome as long as it is a DOC.

Though since it is October, the fad may be already over....

Quasi Brazillian, all you can eat joints are popular in Israel these days. Bad meat, bad service, poor wine lists. Other than that, they're fine

As to frozen yoghurt - that made its way to Israel about a decade or so ago. One place opened and he made millions Another place opened and they both made millions Twenty more places opened and they all made money. By time 390 such places had opened none made money. Not one remains today!!!!

Latest fad in Israel is back to good shwarma, that now popular served rolled into a flat lafa bread together with red and white cabbage, humous, a dab of tchina, as much hot sauce as you want and, if you wish even with chips (French fries) folded in the meat. If you're here, skip the "pargit" (young chicken) and stay with the lamb.

Best
Rogov

I agree that Peruvian has come, although perhaps not gone yet. Let's say it might have peaked in terms of trendy restaurants. May eventually mutate out to the fast food sphere, but I really don't see how that is going to work.

Echoing what Jeff G. said, there are a small handful of South American restaurants that are hot right now, but they've been so for about two-three years, and I don't see anymore groundswell in that direction. As one of the standouts, I have to once again cite Andina in Portland, by the way. I could eat that Peruana causa on a regular basis and never get tired of it.

Also think churrascarias, the Argentinean/Brazilian copies of steakhouses and 'death by meat' all you can eat stupefying buffets has run its course too. Again, not a new phenomenon, but one that peaked long ago.

I've always thought that Indian cuisine should actually be more popular than it is in this country (look at Canada, for goodness sake). Outside of the metro areas I mean. True, Indian is hitting the retail shelves in a big way, from what I see, but it's rather dismal that Indian, such a vital cuisine, is known by the pre-packaged and often tastless shelf-stable heat-n-eat variety...the balancing act, of course, is always (as with Thai) taking out enough of the heat to allow it to go mainstream but remaining enough spicy diversity to make it seem exotic.

If anybody ever decides to go for it, there are still seriously untapped depths of Mexican cuisines of incredible diversity that would amaze people. Yes, Bayless and Sandoval and a couple of others have done well, but there's even more out there you've probably never seen.

I think there could be (should be) fertile ground for being able to differentiate with and among "Chinese Food"---no such thing,of course, and the mishmash we have now does not do justice to different and amazing variations of Chinese regional cuisines. All made worse by the "I make anything and everything and call it Chinese" type joints; they end up doing nothing well, of course.

I like the recent proliferation of noodle shops. They are handy to have around as an alternative.

Karen,

That restaurant you mentioned did Swedish food, eh? Did they do lutefisk and surstromming? Probably not, since the health department didn't close them down.

-Paul W.

We did not go to Swedish night, and I really don't recall what was served the last time we did go there. That night they brought out a disgusting belly dancer who weaved and jiggled her belly around all the tables while we were still eating. It was comical at first and then we all got tired of her clanging and jiggles....we left and never went back.

I agree that Peruvian has come, although perhaps not gone yet. Let's say it might have peaked in terms of trendy restaurants. May eventually mutate out to the fast food sphere, but I really don't see how that is going to work.

It already has--pollo a la brasa.

It would be very interesting if regional Indian cuisine expanded beyond the pretty limited interpretation available most places in the States--lots of diversity there.

Judging by this Administration, I think Spam, mac and cheese and jelly sandwiches. 3 course meal at new government owned replenishment center. 5 hours of public service is all that it will cost and no need to leave tip as the IRS will not allow it, this is there solution to servers not claiming 100% of there tips.

Sorry wrong blog, What ever is next I hope it evolves around local sustainable farming, ranching and wild seafood, with a touch of Mediterranean influences. And Truth in menu printing and restaurant philosophy. I am tired of Restaurants that talk the talk but under deliver on product that they claim is on there menu. Nothing against the large food company's but when I order my eggs I can hear hens in the background, My lamb is raised and processed 18 miles away from my restaurant, not frozen and shipped from New Zealand. I can go on and on but my point is whatever is next, I hope it supports the hard working local farmers, ranchers and fishermen of this great nation.

[David M. Bueker]

Inuit Cuisine. Large raw, cold mammals.

Served on ice bergs pushed into the sea.

Take it to the Basement, Rick.

Seems like the trend is already "fat." With the resurgence of bacon, duck fat and now pork belly, it seems we are throwing cholesterol cautions to the wind. I think it's actually a campaign orchestrated by the makers of Lipitor.

[Jenise]

Don't think I'd call it a "trend" yet...but a couple of Brazilian 'all the meat you can eat' restos are doing well and the "latest" are restos with "stations", areas withing the restaurant with either different types of food, I.E. desserts, salads etc. or different ethnic choices. Too early to tell if others will jump on the bandwagon.
Of course frozen yogurt joints from Korea have made a big run here, apparently competing with each other to see how many units they can open, and I think that fad has already peaked. Also lots of bakery and dessert shops opening and variations on a theme of sports bars/saloons.

The Brazilian joints were getting a foothold when I left--I went to two in Long Beach. Not bad, but being more an omnivore than a total carnivore, I found the experience less interesting than some would. And I remember that there was a huge, huge pile of proscuitto on the cold table--I pretty much skipped all the hot meat in favor of having all the proscuitto I could eat, an experience not unlike being about nine years old and being able to have all the donuts I wanted. Not that that ever happened.

Different stations, though? Now that's interesting. Explain how this works: do you get up, move around, and in a sense serve yourself? Not quite a cafeteria, but moving toward self service?

Frozen yoghurt joints--I'd forgotten all about those. If one exists here in Bellingham I'm unaware of it.

[Jenise]

Meant to add: what I *am* seeing is a lot of barbecue, real authentic stuff, showing up in places where barbecue isn't native. Both restaurants and in-store, like a Whole Foods Market in Thousand Oaks is now smoking their own ribs and apparently there's a line out the door when they're due to come off and go up for sale.

Also: house cured meats. Restaurants and delis are doing their own.

Frozen yogurt joints: Absolutely yes! There are 3 of them in a four-block stretch near my house. Absolute waste of real estate.

Jenise, the restaurant I was referring to is called "bazaar by Jose Andres" (yep that's the full name), he being the trendy Spanish chef who has successful restos in Dc and is now out to conquer the rest of America.
There are so many reviews of this place that instead of choosing a link to post, it would be better if you'd google for them and descriptions of the interior and different stations.
Needless to say, it's very expensive.
It's at 465 S. La Cienega, Beverly Hills.

I've always thought that Indian cuisine should actually be more popular than it is in this country (look at Canada, for goodness sake). Outside of the metro areas I mean. True, Indian is hitting the retail shelves in a big way, from what I see, but it's rather dismal that Indian, such a vital cuisine, is known by the pre-packaged and often tastless shelf-stable heat-n-eat variety...the balancing act, of course, is always (as with Thai) taking out enough of the heat to allow it to go mainstream but remaining enough spicy diversity to make it seem exotic.

Agreed. I am surprised how many of the regional styles of Indian cuisine (Udupi, Punjabi, etc) are so popular in areas like South Africa, the UK and Australia - but in the US (despite a significant ethnically Indian population) it's not taken off besides a couple of areas in the Bay Area and Chicago.
I would love to see a few more top quality Indian restaurants hit the scene in some of the big cities - as they have in places like London, Sydney, Cape Town and Singapore - but don't see it happening (at least without some of the spicy/more exotic flavours being toned down a fair bit).

Salil, to your list I would add Vancouver and Toronto. Although In Toronto I have not come across, or am not aware of, any particularly outstanding Indian restaurants (though I don't doubt they are there, mind you; I've just never been lucky enough to find them), the sheer range of places is astonishing.

The other thing I can't fathom is the lack of good (or in most cases ANY) rijstaffel places. I know it tends to run uncomfortably close to what Murkans think of as "buffet food/all you can eat", and therefore never considered classy enough....but the concept of rijstaffel, and the execution of some of them in the Low Countries, would make me think they would be at least suited for the mid-range type of restaurants.