Dayton Eats looks at the regional food stories and restaurant news that make mouths water. Menu updates, special dinners and events, new chefs, interesting new dishes and culinary adventures. Do you know of new exciting format changes, specials, happy hours, restaurant updates or any other tasty news you think is worth a closer look at? E-mail Alexis Larsen at alexis.e.larsen@hotmail.com with the information and we will work to include it in future coverage.
As one year ends and another begins, predictions abound from researchers and experts analyzing nearly every market segment you can think of, and restaurants are no exception.
This fall the National Restaurant Association surveyed nearly 1,600 rock-star chefs and members of the American Culinary Federation on the food, cuisines, beverages and culinary trends that they believe will be hot in 2016.
Here are the top 20 food trends based on their feedback that the National Restaurant Association is saying will be the all the rage in dining movements for 2016:
1) Locally sourced meats and seafood
2) Chef-driven fast-casual concepts
3) Locally grown produce
4) Hyper-local sourcing
5) Natural ingredients/minimally processed food
6) Environmental sustainability
7) Healthful kids' meals
8) New cuts of meat
9) Sustainable seafood
10) House-made/artisan ice cream
11) Ethnic condiments/spices
12) Authentic ethnic cuisine
13) Farm/estate branded items
14) Artisan butchery
15) Ancient grains
16) Ethnic-inspired breakfast items
17) Fresh/house-made sausage
18) House-made/artisan pickles
19) Food waste reduction/management
20) Street food/food trucks
“True trends evolve over time, especially when it comes to lifestyle-based choices that extend into other areas of our everyday life. Chefs and restaurateurs are in tune with over-arching consumer trends when it comes to menu planning, but add their own twist of culinary creativity to drive those trends in new directions. No one has a better view into the window of the future of food trends than the culinary professionals who lead our industry," said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the National Restaurant Association’s research and knowledge group.
Wheat Penny Oven and Bar and Meadowlark owner and chef Elizabeth Wiley practices exactly what Riehle talks about — she pays attention to consumer trends and adds her own culinary twists to dishes. Here's where she sees 2016 heading for restaurants:
• Vegetable-driven dishes continue to be hot, and so delicious
• Chefs will continue to experiment with mixing savory, spicy or acidic ingredients into traditionally sweet dishes, like ice cream, pies, brownies and fruit dishes
• Wine, sherry and beer in cocktails
• Discovering humble cuts of meat and species of fish that have previously been ignored, and elevating them to delicious results
• The rise of fish sauce in non-Asian applications
• The popularity of '60s and '70s dishes with better techniques and higher quality ingredients than the old days (i.e. Chicken a la King, Tuna Casserole, Beef Stroganoff, Pimento Cheese)
• The return of the casserole
• The exploration of other Tex-Mex favorites beyond the taco
• The humble carrot as a center-of-the-plate item
The Specialty Food Association offers other predictions for 2016. The organization is predicting the rise of Kaniwa — a South American grain that is high in protein, fiber, iron, and calcium that boasts a slightly sweet, nutty flavor. Baobab powder, Fonio (a grain originating in Africa and virtually unknown in the U.S.) and soursop, a fruit that contains compounds that help relieve stomach distress, fever, pain, and respiratory problems are other superfoods SFA is predicting will be on the rise in 2016.
The biggest headline they are predicting in food for 2016 is Cauliflower.
"(Cauliflower) is gaining acceptance in upscale restaurants, being used in everything from pizza crusts to bold sauces, and in retail products like cauliflower vegetable mousse," they write on their website.
Many industry insiders agree with their call on cauliflower: "We're happily rediscovering this amazingly versatile veggie that can be roasted, mashed, steamed or even cut into 'steaks' and barbecued," writes Stacy Baas, brand strategist and trend-watcher for Earthbound Farm who calls it the new kale. "Cauliflower has become a go-to gluten-free staple, with cauliflower-crust pizza and cauliflower 'mac' and cheese becoming comfort food alternatives."
It's something Wiley was ahead of the curve on when she and Chef Liz Valenti unveiled a fantastic cauliflower t-bone steak ($15.95) on the Wheat Penny menu in late summer of 2013 when they opened the restaurant. The kitchen preps a thick center-cut slice of cauliflower, poaching in aromatic broth and cooking it to a deep, burnished brown on the flat top until it looks like a steak. It is garnished with a rough-chopped salsa-like sauce of olives, garlic, capers, raisins, orange segments, herbs and good olive oil. It's billed as a savory, dramatic, center-of-the-plate take on a favorite vegetable and it is that exactly.
The list could go on and on of 2016 food and dining predictions that are being floated by different industry groups — fermented and smoked flavors will be on the rise according to Phil Lempert, the Supermarket Guru; Generation Z will influence speedier high-tech service, music and visuals at restaurants as well as a growth in healthier snacks according to Technomic; Hackthemenu.com, which lists secret menu items at restaurants, will continue to gain popularity as will "Grocerants" hybrid businesses that function both as restaurants and as retail grocery stores.
It's exciting to note that most of the lists I have come across seem to share a common thread of getting back to less processed, healthier food. It's encouraging to know that many Dayton restaurants are operating ahead of the trends that are anticipated by national groups to experience growth and attention this year.
"The Dayton restaurant scene will continue to grow its skills and meet higher standards with enthusiastic cooks and passionate front of house managers. This is our year!," said Wiley.
Amy Zahora, the Miami Valley Restaurant Association's executive director agrees with it being a great year for local dining in Dayton. "We have the most talented chefs in this area. Where the midwest is generally behind on some trends, we definitely are not in the food scene. Our chefs are so creative, they are always ahead of the curve," said Zahora.
Who knows what exactly the future holds, but it's comforting to know that we are in good hands.
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