What is the next pedestrian food to go "gourmet"?

[dynastar]

Or what do you wish it would be. In America we have seen:

Beer
Coffee
Pasta
Soda - albeit just starting to catch on
etc

[guilty]

WSJ agrees with me about pickles: http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/1...

[taos]

Is there anything left?

I don't know, maybe ... milk? (raw, grass fed, still warm from the cow, etc.)

maybe also dried fruit and veggies (raisins, apricots, prunes, etc.) using only the purest locally-sourced products

[meatn3]

Actually I've been hearing a bit about camels milk. Supposed to be very digestible and many returning service folk have acquired a taste for it.

I wouldn't want to be the one milking them!

[meatn3]

I think pies, particularly individual size and hand held varieties will hit very soon. Pies are very homey/comforting and mesh well with the economy induced nesting urge. Savory pies will upstage the sweet. Empanadas, pasties, etc. will all get renewed attention.

[Passadumkeg]

Kimchi! Healthy (I came upon a BBC article that it helps prevent avian virus.), full of flavor and cheap.

[Veggo]

I wish it were cheap. I pay 5 bucks for 15 oz. of King's brand. That's a lot of cabbage for cabbage!

[ipsedixit]

Expect to pay more ...

http://news.reportlinker.com/n03986012/Rising-Prices-Create-A-Kimchi-Crisis.html
http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_Vi...

All of us kimchi-heads are going to be feeling this pain ...

[Passadumkeg]

I grew my own Chinese cabbage in Maine.

[weezycom]

In a down economy, don't you imagine dishes made from lentils/dried beans are going to be the next big thing?

[CocoaNut]

Appears Quinoa is making a comeback...... from a few centuries ago.....

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedconte...

[hyacinthgirl]

I'm actually trying to get a friend who's starting a restaurant to offer gourmet cheese fries. Gourmet poutine seems to be catching on, so now let's just expand the concept....
A girl can dream.

[ipsedixit]

Gourmet poutine?

I'd just settle for generic poutine to be more popular.

[yankeefan]

Has soda really gone gourmet?

Others I have noticed:

Burgers
Nut Butters
Cereal
Ice cream

[hazelhurst]

A couple of years ago, NPR had a kitchen show that tried to point out the new "hot trends" in foods..and I suppose these could go "gourmet." One of the laughable ones was boiled peanuts. As a rule, people love them or hate them. But it would be fun to see some soi-disant "chef" try to make haute cuisine out of them.

[buttertart]

Some soi-disant (or in his case suowei) chef has, in NYC, Eddie Huang, Baohaus and Xiao Ye restaurants. It's a popular Taiwanese appetizer.

[hazelhurst]

What is he doing to make it "gourmet?"

I am told that they are quite popular all over SE Asia...at least in Laos, according to a friend's ex-wife.

[buttertart]

Serving it in his arch, edgy, hipster-geared restaurants. Not gussying it up though.

[monavano]

In DC, it's pizza. I remember my family (of 4) going out for pizza. It was a treat, but not a budget-buster for middle class Americans. We'd get a big pie, some sodas for the kids and beer for Mom and Dad and enjoy.
Now, it can be pricey here.
nb-some of the pizza joints are amazing, with really high-quality ingredients, but still, it's a paradigm shift for me.
Oh, and burgers.

[Gio]

Armadillo if RWOrange has her way.

[lavaca]

I expect to see tacos become popular at non-Mexican restaurants, especially as gourmet bar food.

Fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and offal have already caught on, or are in the process of catching on.

Restaurants and bars around here are starting to put a lot more effort into non-alcoholic cocktails and homemade soda than days past. "Virgin" drinks are no longer just for teetotalers and kids.

Donuts are the new cupcakes, by the way.

[thew]

insects

[julesrules]

Yeah, I was going to say donuts. Although I wish we had more (any?) decent donuts available from bakeries, for breakfast, ie/ not necessitating having dinner at a fancy restaurant.

http://www.torontolife.com/daily/dail...

[buttertart]

Thomas Keller (French Laundry, Per Se) has been doing a "Coffee and donuts" dessert (or supplementary dessert) for at least the past 6 years, probably longer (I had it in 2004 and 2009).

[julesrules]

Yeah we are generally a bit (quite) behind the trend here :)

[rabaja]

He was doing that dessert back in '97 too. Probably still is.

[buttertart]

I wasn't as aware of him then (since the French Laundry is from after my Bay Area days), but figured as much.

[lavaca]

Have you ever seen "donuts" (or "doughnuts") on anyone else's dessert menu? In Seattle, it seems that it's only acceptable to serve fried dough at a fancy restaurant if it's in the form of beignets or some European version like zeppole or loukoumades. Of course, the menu will often describe these items as "[other culture]'s version donuts"

What I'm seeing with donuts is high-end shops opening up in neighborhoods where donuts would previously have been dismissed as low-class. This is how the $3 cupcake movement got its start here as well.

[Tripeler]

Snowcones made with gourmet syrups.

[bbqboy]

bacon snowcones would seem to be the logical next step.

[Tripeler]

I was actually considering "deep fried snow cones" :)

[pdxgastro]

Sno cones with fancy liqueurs. Over 21only, please.

[Passadumkeg]

"Hatch" green chile cheeseburgers.

Head cheese!

Scrapple!

Other mixed offal stuff.

[monku]

Chef Chris Cosentino is doing head cheese and offal stuff at Baccalone and his website .http://www.offalgood.com/

[EWSflash]

How offal.

[Passadumkeg]

Just spliney.
Oh Cod!

[monavano]

Scrapple, say it ain't so!

[ipsedixit]

Artisan Scrapple ... been there, done that.

http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2009/0...

Excerpts from the Seriouseats Link:

_______________________________________

"Artisan scrapple may sound as improbable as artisan Spam—practically a contradiction in terms ... Egg [Restaurant]'s scrapple comes from High Hope Hogs, a small New Jersey operation raising pigs free of steroids, hormones, and antibiotics. (They also have a regular stand at the Union Square Greenmarket.) And their scrapple is about as tasty as a breakfast meat could be. Each beautifully browned slab was pleasantly gooey, with a still-creamy interior."

[buttertart]

Any ideas why the last place I saw scrapple for sale was at a Hong Kong supermarket in Flushing?

[ipsedixit]

"Any ideas why the last place I saw scrapple for sale was at a Hong Kong supermarket in Flushing?"
_________________________________

... them Chinese folks know good eatin'!

In all seriousness, I think the resourcefullness of Chinese cooks in using ALL parts of a pig (or any other animal) is way underrated.

Consider that if you want to buy pork bung, you have to go to a Chinese supermarket. Can't find them anywhere else. American markets don't even know what a "pork bung" is and look at you funny if you ask.

Mexican markets probably have them available but, alas, my Spanish is sorely lacking in describing pig offal parts.

[buttertart]

Absolutely. I've had a pork bung or two in my day, in Taipei and NY.

[ipsedixit]

Can I ask how it was prepared in NY? Was it somewhere in Flushing, or some other place in Queens?

[buttertart]

The fried stuffed Taiwanese kind (at a now-defunct Taiwanese place in Flushing, yes) and as Sichuan chang wang complete with duck blood in TPE.

[ipsedixit]

Ever make it at home? It's great in hot pots.

[buttertart]

Not yet.

[monavano]

You're right on the money about how the texture of scrapple should be.

[Passadumkeg]

But scrapple still hasn't hit the mainstream. I was raised on it an miss it, so I make my own.
Great article though.

[Veggo]

Passa, I would try your gourmet scrapple. If anyone can put lipstick on a pig, it would be you. Next step: combine your Maine roots for a baked lobster with scrapple stuffing? Gourmet, but hardly kosher!

[Passadumkeg]

Yes! Lobster scrapple, tomale, roe, alimentary canal and body meat! The whole 9 yahds!

[blynk]

From DDD awhile back......
Bette's Oceanview Diner, Berkeley, CA.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sc...

[HillJ]

grilled cheese

[monku]

Well....
in LA we have the Grilled Cheese Truck http://www.thegrilledcheesetruck.com/
and
Campanile has a "grilled cheese" night (Thursdays
)http://findlocal.latimes.com/park-la-...

[HillJ]

I'm so ready for that grilled cheese truck...but on "my coast" grilled cheese sandwich is just starting to make a big comeback and def. with a more upscale ingredient list. magazines, food tv, blogs all touting the NEW approach, combinations for grilling cheese sandwiches. So LA is ahead (big surprise) but the rest of us are catching up :)

[jfood]

Hey M. Didn't Campanile have a really "funny" thread a year or so ago about some family not getting treated like "we deserved"? Jfood remembers going to their website and had a big old smile that there was a "grilled cheese night." You guys out there are great.

[gaffk]

Gourmet grilled cheese was pretty big in my area a few years ago, but now seems to be on the decline. (But give me some slabs of white American cheese and mozz between slices of good white bread grilled in butter and I'm there since I can remember).

Hummus seems to be the big trend now, with good artisinal pitas. (I'd still rather have that grilled cheese.)

[HillJ]

see now hummus is pretty 2 years ago around my area. so interesting how food trends come & go.

[EWSflash]

we do the gourmet grilled cheese at home. Young son works for a high-end local bakery/restaurant and there's a Trader Joe's right across the street, not stellar cheeses, but better than tghe local grocery stores for the most part.

I wouldn't go out for gourmet grilled cheese, but maybe I would for gourmet mac & chgeese, a fad whose peak has passed but I never got in on it. I do love mac & cheese.

[meatn3]

I think lacto-fermented local foods will be joining the house-cured charcuterie wagon. Artisan methods + locally produced + natural probiotics and traditional foodways - whats not to love? This also meshes nicely with the growing interest in Korean food and also Eastern European food traditions.

[Divamac]

I would love to see that one. I recently noticed that the cookbook "Nourishing Traditions" has been creeping up on list of best selling cookbooks on Amazon. It's full of naturally fermented foods.

http://www.amazon.com/Nourishing-Trad...

[meatn3]

I've noticed it is selling better too. "Wild Fermentation" is rising in sales too. Ten years ago I only knew a handful of people who practiced this method as a health/diet/taste choice, rather than as a traditional method they were raised with. Now there are artisan companies making product and starting to creep into the media. I give it another 5 years to start hitting mainstream consciousness.

[mollyomormon]

I think preserved foods like pickles and jams are showing up on a lot more high end menus.

[ipsedixit]

Kimchi with terroir?

"Kimchi from the Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, AOC"?

[guilty]

Pickles get my vote. Pickled everything. On sandwiches, in omelets, in a cone. On pizza. In your drink. Sure, it may have started, but there's a long way to go.

Also: in your chocolate.

[pikawicca]

We've had mac 'n' cheese, burgers, mashed potatoes, moules frites (just about everywhere I go), fried chicken, meatloaf. I think as long as we're hurting economically, comfort food is going to be in. Cupcakes have had their day, but I wouldn't be surprised if traditional American pies and cakes make a strong showing.

[gaffk]

I think you're right on there. Cupcakes are on the downswing. But I am suddenly seeing a lot of "specialty" honeycrisp apple pies, chocolate pecan pies, sour cherry pies, etc on menus now that I think about it. Not saying that's a bad thing ;)

[tastesgoodwhatisit]

I think the comfort/snack food gourmetifying is still on the uptrend, and will merge with the gourmet locovore movement.

Think individual portion mac and cheese casserole with gorgonzola and home-made pasta, grilled cheese with locally sourced artisanal cheese and hand smoked meat on freshly baked bread, deconstructed chicken noodle soup and the like.

I'm not sure about offal. It might make the latest trendy gourmet food trend, but might not get past people's ick reaction.

[ipsedixit]

How about heirloom iceberg lettuce?

[EWSflash]

I had to LOL but every so often iceberg is so crispy, crunchy, sweet, and wonderful, that I go on a tear and buy it regularly- usually I get very disappointed with the subsequent purchases. But good iceberg is good iceberg. Heirloom? If there was, I would.

[hyacinthgirl]

There is. I've seen 3 menus with it recently.

[gaffk]

Wow, just did an internet search for heirloom iceberg lettuce--over 35,000 hits. Perhaps iceberg lettuce has already gone gourmet. (Plenty of places to order the seeds . . .tempting thought for next spring.)

[tommy]

http://www.google.com/search?client=s...

just a few pages via google.

[Divamac]

With the wedge salad popping up on every menu these days, they will have to up the ante somehow. I think you are on to something!

[ipsedixit]

I'll nominate ... fried chicken.

[monku]

$26 for a fried chicken dinner at Harold & Belle''s should be gourmet at that price.

What's better than Roscoe's fried chicken and waffles.

[ipsedixit]

Ever try the Jidori Fried Chicken at Huckleberry?

That's better than anything Rosecoe's can whip up, with or without waffles.

[monku]

I guess I"m going to have to try it.

[goodhealthgourmet]

well, it's been happening with chocolate for a while now, and we're already past the peak of the specialty salt craze.

i suspect products made with goat's milk are really going to take off. goat's milk caramels and dulce de leche (cajeta) have been getting quite a bit of buzz, and of course there's already goat's milk yogurt, goat's milk soap, Laloo's goat's milk ice cream...

[Jay F]

There seem to be lots of new burger restaurants in DC.

[monku]

Here in the LA area I think the gourmet burger thing is peaking.

Just an example of some of the offerings:
http://www.orangecoastmagazine.com/ar...

[cookiebaker]

There's been a glut of gourmet burger joints in Toronto too. I do hope the trend is peaking.

[ipsedixit]

I like burgers alot, and I mean alot.

I have nothing against gourmet burgers per se, but what I don't like is that some of these purveyors are taking it to the extreme.

If you want to use locally sourced prime cuts of beef, the more the better. But I don't need the bells and whistles that sometimes come with a gourmet burger like fancy sauces (harissa? fish sauce?) or out of this world cheeses or even novel toppings like fruit or pork cracklins.

[spinachandchocolate]

I'm getting really sick of this burger trend in DC. It has gotten out of control in Dupont.

[Fromageball]

there was an article on here recently about milk...

[monku]

What from Wagyu cattle?

[jfood]

sausage

[monku]

On the west coast we've had Jodi Maroni Gourmet Sausage since 1979.

[buttertart]

Bruce Aidells since then or before.

[jfood]

sausage has been around for a long time (remember upton sinclair) but when you start seeing on high end menus then it has gone gourmet.

btw - aidells are very good.

[buttertart]

Lived 4 blocks from his first shop in Berkeley. Even industrialized it's a nice product.

[jfood]

jfood had some JM sausage at las vegas airport a few weeks ago. he did not like it at all.

[monku]

Didn't say you were going to like it, but that's one of the so-called gourmet sausages.

[jfood]

jfood likes good food whether it is gourmet or not. the JM sausages were terrible, he threw them both out.

[monku]

I had JM a couple times when they first came on the scene and wondered what the big deal was. Otherwise I'm not a fan.
There's no law against using the word "gourmet" in your products are there?

[jfood]

not that jfood knows and probably like you the antennae go up when he sees "gourmet" anything. like the words on the pizza box, "you tried the rest now try the best" or "world famous'.

[monku]

I always wondered what makes something "world famous".....is it because some guy from a remote corner of the world has eaten it?....or is there a place called "world"?

[ipsedixit]

It's called puffing.

[jfood]

jfood has the same comment on "fast food." is it food that is quickly prepared or food that makes you want to fast. :-))

[Divamac]

I think the good ship Salumi sailed 3 or 4 years ago.

[CocoaNut]

I'm seeing bologna, thick cut, show up on up-scale, casual menus.

[monku]

Been done.
In LA we have Spring Street BBQ and they smoke a whole bologna and serve it up on a sandwich. It's just ok.

[CocoaNut]

HUH?

[monku]

According to this article soda sales in the US peaked in 2005 giving way to water, sports drinks and energy drinks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/bus...

[gordeaux]

I think it's gonna be Bar B Que.

[monku]

BBQ?
How?

[foodsnob14]

It already is
http://www.fettesaubbq.com/

http://www.fattycue.com/

[gordeaux]

We just got an upscale bbq joint where I am, and the prices are insane. Pretty sure a slab of ribs was something like 35 bux. I think the owner / chef is a grad of some fancy cooking school, and it's all white table cloth.

[JungMann]

Fatty cue might qualify as gourmet, but Fette Sau is simply one of the better barbecue joints to open in a once barbecue-starved city.

NYC is, however, seeing fried chicken increasingly dressed up for spendier crowds as well as preserved and pickled foods.

[thew]

i'd say the chicken thing peaked out in NY a year or 2 ago

[virtualguthrie]

Hmmmm....complex sauces, rubs, hours of smoking, sides, gourmet cuts of meat. Seems like lots of room for tinkering to me.