Trending, Or Not


Trends come and go; at least that’s the trend. Fashion, music, art, and literature all ebb and flow with whatever is currently the ‘in’ thing. Food is no different. I’ve been steadily looking for the next food trend with little success. Currently, farm to fork, local, deconstructed dishes, and reinvented Southern food are the hot tickets in these parts, but to me this is not all that ‘trendy’. I’ve lived most of my life in the South and have been eating out of backyard gardens, Farmers’ Markets, and roadside stands since I can remember. It’s just the way it’s done down here. I’ve eaten more variations of shrimp and grits that I could ever begin to count. It’s nothing new.

I flip through the pages (yes, actual paper magazines.) of Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and others every month looking for the next big thing. I do see a bunch of cool things like a syrup used to make tonic water, smoked salts, unique vinegars, and the like. That kind of stuff almost seems like a novelty now. They’re still pretty cool, but they close to over saturation. Granted, I’m actively looking for the new and not easily “wowed”. There are also a bunch of websites that I frequent in search of new trends. One of my new favorites is The Daily Meal. Good recipes and tips, plus they let me repost my blogs.

In addition to products, I’m seeking something exciting for the home cook. Restaurants are a bit different. They can get really funky with processes and ingredients not readily available to the home cook. Who has a sous vide machine in their house? Plus, I’m not really digging the current offal trend and oddball animals on menus. Don’t get me wrong, I love sweetbreads, liver, hearts, etc., but again it’s not new. The biggest reason we go out is just the change in atmosphere. I mean we have a stocked bar, great bottles of wine, at the house and I can cook well enough to rival a few places. We sometimes need a change of scene. With that being the case, I still want someone to wow me!

We’re heading to Savannah, GA for a long weekend and I plan on taking lots of notes on cool things I see. That means we will NOT be going to Paula Deen’s place unless it’s for a drink. Just because I will be a tourist doesn’t mean I want to be surrounded by them. Mostly I look at menus for ideas and at the back bar to see what’s selling. I can tell a great deal about a restaurant by what liquors they sell. A poorly stocked bar means a poorly stocked kitchen.

Hopefully I will have some great stuff to share from our trip. For now, I must head back into work mode, this wine isn’t gonna sell itself.

Ciao down,
Penn

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