Even though it rarely works out for us, we love to see heavy doses of snark in other people’s blog posts. Also, screw trendspotting.
That’s why last week’s Diner’s Journal post making fun of Epicurious’$2 2009 dining trend predictions (about which we nearly wet our pants with civic glee) was such a treat:
We here at Diner’s Journal are pretty sure that Peruvian food was predicted by many as a big trend for 2008. It strikes us as recycling. But maybe that’s virtuous: some prophesy equivalent of leaving a small carbon footprint.
Whether in jest or in earnest, though, one of the predominant themes over the past year, and predictions for the next, is Peruvian cebiche. And over the weekend, two big, garlicky, citrus-soaked chunks of related news surfaced:
First, Michael Bauer took a crack at the still-shiny La Mar Cebicheria, which made a huge splash at the Embarcadero in September. He gave it a tepid two stars, mostly for “uneven” performance of the main dishes, but did support the cebiche bar wholeheartedly.
Also this past weekend, Peruvians created the world’s largest cebiche, in Lima, weighing in at nearly seven tons of fish, onions, lime juice, and other stuff. Coldmud has a link to a BBC video on the feat. One thing about this dish is that it doesn’t keep, so they had to serve it all at once. But we’re left to guess exactly how many people this particular serving fed (7 tons x 2,000 lbs=14,000 lbs. If each person eats about a quarter to half a pound, that’s something like 21,000 people. Dang).
So yeah, Bruni’s right. Cebiche is very 2008. But that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the stuff in 2009, be it from a plate at La Mar, or a trough in Lima.
What’s For Dinner Next Year? [NYT Diner’s Journal]
Epicurious Predicts Top 10 Food Trends for 2009 [Epi Log]
At La Mar on the pier, it’s all about ceviche [SF Chronicle]
Peru breaks fish-dish record [BBC]
La Mar Cebicheria [MenuPages]
La Mar Cebicheria [Official Site]
[Photo: Via alfredob/flickr]
