There’s a piece up at Hotels Magazine, of all places, wherein “experts” in the hotel/restaurant industry were asked to weigh in on what they see as likely food trends for 2009. Articles like this one always seem compelling, until you read through them and realize that they don’t have much by way of substance, and are also somewhat ridiculous.
For one thing, on a national list like this one, a lot of things that might apply in the heartland just don’t hold true for cities like Philly. For example, bistros and osterias as the nouvelle vague of openings? Um, thanks for the tip guys, but we’re kind of up to our neck in those. Innards and oddparts? Places like Ansill have already got us covered. “Asian noodles in broth”? We’ve got a wealth of pho and have for years, thanks very much!
On the other hand, some of the trends predicted might not be so deserving of scorn. The list cites customization, and given that one of the things we’re excited about this week is the change in the menu at Swallow to customizable mac and cheese, this sounds sort of spot on. Also, given that much vaunted economic downturn, it is likely that comfort foods will continue to be a hit (and perhaps be even more popular than usual?).
The limb we’ve gone out on ridiculing this article seems pretty sturdy, but who knows — this could be the first step in a humiliating turn of events. If tarragon ends up being the spice of 2009, consider us properly chastened.
Experts Offer Top Food Trends For Hotels & Restaurants In 2009 [Hotels Magazine]
Ansill [MenuPages]
Ansill [Official Site]
[Photo: trend cat via Jublin/Flickr]
