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By Chris Macias
cmacias@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1D
Pork belly, pop-up restaurants and organic food? That's soooooo 2010.
The new year is just about here, and we're looking at which food trends are in store for 2011. Some foodstuffs never seem to go out of style, like bacon being included in everything from ice cream to chocolate. Other trends have yet to take hold in Sacramento, sometimes for bureaucratic reasons.
Gourmet food trucks hit critical mass nationally in 2010 and even spawned "The Great Food Truck Race" on the Food Network. Strict city ordinances in Sacramento about how long a food truck can stay in one location, along with limited hours of operation, have put the brakes on this trend for now. However, Mayor Kevin Johnson has voiced his support for reworking ordinances to make Sacramento food-truck friendly.
What else can we look forward to in food for 2011? We asked national and local experts for their predictions, and provided a couple of The Bee's own.
1. Breakfast pizza
We're not talking about the bachelor staple of cold leftover pizza for breakfast. Look for breakfast pizzas with egg, ham and other morning meats to become an increasingly popular item with breakfast eateries and pizza chains.
"We're finding that pizza is bridging the gap not just as a dinner meal or a breakfast meal, but an everything meal," said Sonal Dutt, executive lifestyle editor of Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine. "Some Domino's (pizza chains) have introduced a breakfast pizza, so you can eat pizza all day long."
2. Humane foods
From pastured poultry and cage-free eggs to family farmers tending their "humanely raised" cattle, making sure an animal has as pleasant a life as possible before winding up on the dinner plate is emerging as the hot topic of ethical eating.
" 'Humane' is one of those hot spots that may surpass organic foods," said Phil Lempert, a food trends expert known as the "Supermarket Guru." "People have discovered that organic doesn't necessarily mean that it's healthier or better. What we've discovered is people are being more conscious about where their food comes from and a new focus on humane."
3. iPad wine lists
You'll already find diners scrolling through the wine list on an iPad at South Gate restaurant in New York City and Bone's Restaurant in Atlanta. Meanwhile, look for the French Laundry in Yountville to roll out its own iPad wine list in early 2011. Restaurateurs will tout the environmental friendliness of iPad wine lists – the French Laundry's own wine list is 100-plus pages and has to be reprinted as inventory changes – while the "gee whiz" factor is already showing hints of a hit with customers.
The New York Times reported that Bone's wine sales were up 11 percent in the two weeks after the restaurant's wine list was presented on an iPad. Expect more restaurateurs to follow suit in 2011.
4. Cooking with locally sourced foods
The restaurant industry has been rocked by the recession, leaving more folks to opt for dining at home. With the Sacramento area surrounded by so much produce, along with the bevy of farmers markets, sourcing fresh ingredients for home cooking has never been easier.
"As we talk about the next trends of local food and comfort food, you're going to see more people doing this stuff at home," said Patrick Mulvaney, the chef and restaurateur of Mulvaney's Building & Loan. "There will be a resurgence of homemade, carefully prepared foods. People are not only going to want these good-quality products, but just as important is the idea of family and sharing and preparing these foods from scratch."
5. Milk
Got milk? Lempert predicts that more of us will start drinking milk regularly for dietary reasons.
"I'm predicting the rise of milk, not as flavored or sugar-added but plain old milk," said Lempert. "It's about really touting the whole aspect of vitamin D deficiency. People understand the solution isn't to overdose on supplements, but getting those vitamins naturally from foods."
6. Nostalgic ethnic foods
Smell those steaming bowls of pho and pozole, just like Mom used to make. While "comfort food" has become a hot buzzword of the past couple of years, this restaurant trend will pick up on the home-cooked ethnic dishes that many folks know from their childhoods.
"Most people never knew two years ago about banh mi (the Vietnamese sandwich), but these kinds of things have been out there for a while," said Dutt. "Those flavors are now trickling into everyday eating. In New York City, there's a diner that serves kimchee (Korean pickled cabbage) on top of a burger. These are things that people grew up eating and want to learn more about."
7. Food vacations
Ah, to go biking and wine tasting through Bordeaux. Or how about a good ol' road trip through Texas' barbecue belt, with stops at Kreuz Market for beef brisket and smoked sausage at Louie Mueller Barbecue? Look for travel destinations to be increasingly influenced by taste buds.
"People love the beach and skiing, but we're finding more readers want to involve food in their vacations and take cooking classes," said Dutt. "People get to live in a pampered world and just immerse themselves in it."
8. Locally sourced airport food
Sometimes all we have time to eat on a layover is a quick slice from Sbarro. But airports around the country are showing increased efforts of showcasing their regional cuisine and gourmet items.
San Francisco International Airport features Niman Ranch burgers at Burger Joint, while fennel and coriander-crusted lamb tenderloin is on the menu at One Flew South in Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.
Sacramento is also readying to ride this trend with Old Soul Co., Cafeteria 15L and a full-service restaurant from the Paragary Restaurant Group expected to open in the Sacramento International Airport's new Terminal B.
9. Goat
That's right, the petting zoo staple will likely be served at your favorite farm-to-table restaurant in 2011. But if you've ever had chivo barbacoa (barbecued goat) at Rick Bayless' Topolobampo restaurant in Chicago, you'll know that impeccably prepared goat can produce some succulent meat that doesn't taste gamey. For fans of regional Mexican cooking, birria de chivo (goat stew) is often a go-to dish during the winter.
"I'm going to go on a limb and say goat will be the meat of the year," said Mulvaney. "When I first moved here I went to Carniceria Lopez and got 3 kilograms of goat. Now, with (ranchers) like Bill Niman, there's a lot more coming out. The flavor is wonderful and people should give it a shot."
10. New soda sweeteners
Sodas using real cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup have become increasingly popular with gourmands and others with a sweet tooth. Now an emerging soda style seeks a middle ground of sweetness and calories without sacrificing flavor.
"You will see a new soda – not zero calories or moving away from high fructose corn syrup – but a blend of 30- to 50-calorie sodas with regular sugar combined with stevia (a South American herb used as a sweetener)," said Lempert. "People won't move just to cane sugar because of the obesity situation. I think that blending (sweeteners) with reduced calories is going to be the solution – and it tastes great."
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/12/29/3285227/the-hot-food-trends-for-2011.html#ixzz19WTfBXEh
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
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