A Collection of Thoughts As the End of the Year Approaches

My Year

Awesome chicken from Sapore

I started eating hamburgers again this year. And pizza. And chicken, pancakes and falafel. I had given up hope of finding decent renditions of those items so long ago that I forgot I even liked some of them. Rediscovering them was just like that Claritin commercial. I can see clearly now. I’m glad I found a decent place for falafel and a couple places that make an acceptable piece of chicken.

I started this blog. The archives for this blog contain posts that date back as far as four years ago. At least. But I was originally motivated by a curiosity in blogging technology, never by the feeling that I had something to say.

New Around Cleveland

These are pictures from every set of Cleveland food that I’ve created over the past year. Some sets were created for old favorites for some organizational purpose I certainly forgot long ago. Other restaurants aren’t represented because for whatever reason, I neglected to create a new set for its pictures. All in all, this is a pretty good first approximation of all the new things that I found in Cleveland over approximately the last year. My descriptions on flickr are purposefully terse or cryptic. I added to these descriptions for this slide show so that they include my opinions of (soe of) the restaurants and not just the particular dish in the picture. You can see these comments by enlarging the slide show (click the icon with four arrows pointing to the corners of a rectangle).

Resolutions

Texas Monthly published their list of the 50 best BBQ joints in Texas and a trip to Texas instantly shot to the top of my travel short list.

I’ve also never been to Los Angeles or Vancouver. I’ve read that the Asian food on the East Coast and in Canada is a level above that which can be found in big East Coast cities. Supposedly, big East Coast cities have fine Thai restaurants but Los Angeles is full of Thai specialists – small restaurants that take a particular Thai dish and perfect it.

Around the country

Time Magazine published a review of what they saw in 2008. These are the things that I found most interesting:

7. Goat

8. The backlash against local foods

Really? I’ve been waiting for it. I eat local foods for my own reasons but two of the apparently most common reasons for locavorism just don’t make sense to me. One, that it’s sustainable. Second, that it’s good for the local economy.

I’ve been waiting for goat, too. I’ve had it a couple times at special events and it’s available in some Caribbean restaurants but that’s not really a trend.

(Throughout this post, my comments are flush left and quoted material is indented.)

Looking ahead

Epicurious’ ten predictions for 2009.

1.    “Value” is the new “Sustainable”

Luxe and L’Albatros immediately occurred to me. Also, I’ve been hearing a lot about happy hours at high end restaurants.

2.    The Compost Pile is the new Flower Garden

The Greenhouse Tavern was the first thing that I thought of. Lucky’s also grows a lot of their own products. The folks who left Lure to open their “ultra high end” restaurant in Geneva will be growing much of their own food, too.

3.    Peruvian is the new Thai

Yes, please.

Lomo saltado: very tasty. Juicy strips of beef, seasoned well. The fries were the best part of the dish, maybe because they soaked up all the greasy flavor :) (photo and caption by dongkwan)

4.    Noodle Bars are the new Sushi Joints

Yes. Seriously, who do I have to kill?

These lists are something of a reality check for those of us who get a little carried away touting the wonders of the local food scene. While Epicurious is telling use all to get ready for Peruvian food and noodles bars, I’m still waiting for my goat.

8.   Portland (Maine) is the new Portland (Oregon)

I’m still working on Portland (Oregon).

How did the prognosticators fare last year?

Epicurious’s 2008 Food Predictions, Revisited – Eat me daily

2. Niche dining: Very specific focus food outlets such as ceviche bars, chocolate lounges, and kebab counters.

In all fairness, Epicurious seems to be predicing “Food Trends in New York and San Francisco” more so than “Food Trends in the United States.”

5. Head to tail dining: Yes, innards are on the menu.

All the same, I’d like to see more of this.

10. Small is big: The small plate phenom continues.

Lolita and Muse have moved away from their small plates, right? Wonder Bar isn’t doing small plates or even serious food at all, right? Bodega opened. Light Bistro is still doing small plates.