Pantries Are Studying Abroad
My buddy Carl has a mullet, drinks Natty Light, thinks the earth is flat, and goes to the Olive Garden for “authentic Italian grubbin’(sic)”. But Carl also owns a bottle of gochujang. “Dude, this Korean hot sauce is straight fire!” More and more banal pantries and fridges are filling up with deep-cut staples from faraway lands. I love this trend and predict it will continue. Here’s a few more items that I predict will be in Carl’s orbit – even though he thinks orbits are fake.
Togarashi. This Japanese seaweed-laced red pepper flake mix will be on every table alongside salt and pepper. It’s a subtle spice followed by a whiff of Umami. Also, people will finally stop using the word ‘umami’ to describe everything. Okay that part isn’t true, but a boy can dream.
Amba has Iraqi-Jewish origins but is now widely used in the Middle East as a tangy fermented mango topping – either blended into a sauce or left chunky. It’s a wonderful complement to any fatty dish, balancing the slick lacquer of grease with a tart cooling fruitiness that’s a way more fun complex acid than the astringent squeeze of a lemon. Trader Joe’s recently started making their version of it, which gives me hope and means amba is entering the mainstream. Hopefully more Middle Eastern flavors can get embraced by the TJ’s brand, and we can witness social media meltdowns on the racial implications of Trader Jaffar’s.
Sumac. You don’t think sumac is going to be a household name? Print this out, put it on your fridge, and next Cinco de Mayo when you celebrate with a sumac rimmed margarita, you’ll look at this article and say “Wow, Foodstradamus was right. Also, I can’t believe I actually printed this article out. I have too much time on my hands.” Sumac is a dried, pulverized, powdered berry. I know. Hot. It’s floral and citrusy, and I can’t think of a dish that wouldn’t profit from a little dash. A burger? Sumac. Guacamole? Sumac. Pancakes? Sumac, sumac, sumac! Okay, maybe not the pancakes. Also, full disclosure, I’m a lobbyist for Big Sumac, so take everything I say with a grain of…SUMAC!
Mixologists Are Done. Bartenders Are In.
I was in New York City recently and my Uber ran out of gas in a random no-man’s-land in the Lower East Side. It was freezing, cabs didn’t go to this part of town, and every other Uber was 15 minutes away. My date and I ducked into a bar called The Dancer. The bartender, David, saw that we were distraught and chatted us up, doing bits, and making us smile before taking our order. I saw him go from person to person at this tiny bar, giving everyone exactly what they needed – and I’m not talking about the drink. He would leave people alone who didn’t want to be bothered, cheer people up who needed a little chuckle, and wax poetic on topics that people wanted to talk about. In short, he was tending to the bar as bartenders should. I pronounce the age of mixologists to be over! Enough of these smile-less lobotomized lab rats, giving all their attention to their tinctures, liquid nitrogen, and smoked wood chips while making zero connection with the patron, caring only about their overengineered cocktails. Bars will no longer be these boring liquor laboratories and people will gravitate to the warmth of the good old watering hole. In what is guaranteed to be an exciting, tumultuous, rollercoaster ride of a year, we will combat the craziness with conviviality, and have the cocktails be the backdrop, not the main attraction.
Omakase Everything!
Dietary restrictions have run amok, and it’s time for all of us to take a stand. First, they came for the dairy, and I said nothing. Then they came for the gluten, and I said nothing. Then they came for the nuts, and I said nothing. Now they’re coming for seed oils, and I’m not going to take it anymore! In the words of our Founding Fathers, “Give me canola or give me death!” While sure, some of this stuff is legit, the culture of control as a patron seems to be giving way to the ubiquitous omakase. Omakase is a Japanese word meaning “I don’t give a crap what your allergist says, you’re eating what I put in front of you.” Omakase used to be reserved for the hallowed sushi temples of the world. However as of late, the omakase is crossing cultures and giving a dose of “shut up and eat it” to everything from pizzas (Pizzeria Sei), Indian (Semma in NY), and lest we forget the vegan omakase at Eleven Madison Park (fine, technically this is a tasting menu. But if I’m paying $400 for 9 courses of veggies, I’ll call it whatever the hell I want to call it). Either way, I predict we’ll see way more Omakasefication™ in 2025. And when Nathan’s starts doing a hot dog omakase, I’ll be the first in line.
