2007 Restaurant Trends Even More Boring Than Last YearWe just had a look at the National Restaurant Association’s top-ten food trends for 2007, and our immediate response? Thank God it’s almost 2008. The list, drawn from a broad national chef survey, is as follows:
1. Bite-size desserts
2. Locally grown produce
3. Organic produce
4. Small plates/tapas/mezze
5. Specialty sandwiches
6. Craft/artisan/microbrew beer
7. Sustainable seafood
8. Grass-fed items
9. Energy drink cocktails
10. Salts (e.g. sea, smoked, colored, kosher)
Are you still awake? Has a business that spawned Asian fusion, celebrity chefs, big-box restaurants, cooks covered in meringue body-stockings, nude sushi, boutique meat, and secret supper clubs really come to this? A list where salt is the most interesting thing?