Food Trends

Street food isn’t just about pretzels and hot dogs anymore.  The new trend in many large cities is for a truck  (sometimes themed) to serve up gourmet street food at various locations throughout a city. 

Not surprisingly, L.A. and New York were two of the first cities to see the rise of street vendors on wheels – many of whom update their locations via Twitter, blog posts, text messages, and/or websites.  People scurry to the locations of the popular ones in droves.  L.A. is famed for Kogi BBQ which marries Korean food with Mexican (think a burrito with Korean filling) while N.Y. has such inventive ones as the Treats Truck and the Dessert Truck which serve up gourmet desserts on the street.  (The Dessert Truck was even featured on an episode of Bobby Flay’s Throwndown on the Food Network).

My near and dear city of Boston is sadly lacking in these types of mobile street vendors for the most part, but I’m heading to Seattle later this month and I’m excited to try at least one of their well-known street vendors.  The first vendor in Seattle that I heard about was Skillet Street Food, known for serving up gourmet, bistro-style food using local ingredients.  They serve up breakfast and lunch and they seem to be famous for their bacon jam (featured in burgers and other items).   And, you’ve got to check out the site of Maximus/Minimus because they have the most unique wheels – they’ll make you squeal!  And, the food sounds good, too – mostly pork and veggie sandwiches.  The sandwiches are available with Maximus Sauce or Minimus Sauce – Maximus is spicy and Minimus is sweet and tangy.  And, finally, Marination creates unique Korean-Hawaiian inspired dishes such as Kimchi Quesadillas, spicy meat dishes and even some Spam-based meals (think I’ll skip those…but the menu’s definitely intriguing).  Serious Eats has a great list of street food carts in the U.S. and Canada that use Twitter if you’re looking for more!

I love this concept – gourmet food for the masses – affordable, quick, and at a corner near you soon!

I’ve been seeing the term ‘umami’ popping up, albeit infrequently, and I’m intrigued by a new word to describe food.  I’m still a bit perplexed about its meaning, but I think part of this is perhaps lost in translation. 

Umami is a Japanese word, and to those who understand Japanese I suspect that it very succinctly describes a taste or flavor – but I don’t think that we have one word in English that neatly corresponds.  I’ve seen umami defined a few ways.  In one vague description it was described as another taste sensation besides the standard ones we ascribe to our taste buds: sweet, bitter, salty, and sour.  The Japanese feel that we have a fifth sensation, umami.  That description hinted at the meaning of umami, but didn’t get to the core.

More recently, I was reading an issue of Saveur magazine in which they compiled “The Burger Bible,” and one article described burgers as having an umami quality.  They elaborated that this flavor can be meaty and is usually savory.  Mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese were given as other examples of umami foods.  Supposedly, umami foods both create and sastisfy food cravings. 

Umami is becoming more generally accepted as a fifth flavor sensation…yet another “fact” I learned in elementary school that has been debunked – we don’t really have four taste sensations!

I enjoy trendy cocktails like Cosmopolitans, but I do grow bored of the same old standard drinks that are seemingly on every bar menu – green apple martinis, Cosmos, and mojitos, for example.  This weekend, my best friend and I decided to find a swanky new place for drinks and we landed at the Noir Bar in the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, MA (Harvard Square).  I was thrilled to see two full pages of unique cocktails as well as an extensive wine list and several beers. 

In addition to drinks, the bar serves light fare, snacks, and sweets.  It’s a small but chic bar with a large outdoor patio.  We took advantage of the beautiful weather – a rarity this summer – and enjoyed some drinks and desserts on the outdoor patio.

I started with a Black Dahlia, a Noir Bar signature drink, which was fabulous.  It included vodka, pomegranate juice, bitters, lemon juice, and pureed blackberries.  It was served in a martini glass and the dark color makes for an exotic looking drink.  The Black Dahlia is refreshing with a hint of sweetness and just the right amount of alcohol – I’m inspired to try to make a similar drink at home.  The drink has a strong presence without tasting too sweet or too strong….so good, it could be dangerous!

Next, I ordered up a Naughty O’Pear, made with pear flavored vodka, pear puree and champagne.  It was much less sweet than the first drink, and much milder.  It was lighter and also delicious, though it was hard to beat the Black Dahlia.

For dessert, I ordered a piece of Boston Cream Pie, one of my favorites.  The Noir Bar serves up a non-traditional Boston Cream Pie, and I have to admit that my expectations were low.  I assumed (wrongly) that since the focus was on cocktails, that the desserts would probably leave something to be desired.  What I received was a dome-shaped dessert covered in chocolate.  The inside was creamy and almost cheesecake-like in consistency, but it tasted like the custard filling in traditional Boston Cream Pies, only slightly less sweet.  The dessert was served with a side of fresh mixed berries including raspberries, blackberries and blueberries which were the perfect accompaniment to the chocolate sauce and creamy filling.  Mmmm!  I’ll be making a return visit to the Noir Bar, eager to try more of their signature cocktails and twists on old favorites.

More and more people are questioning where their food comes from all the time, especially in light of the recent increase of recent food-borne illnesses from E. Coli and other bacteria.  In addition, obesity and secondary health problems are on the rise.  Given all of the media attention on food, the release of a new documentary called Food, Inc. seems incredibly timely.  The movie, produced by Robert Kenner and Eric Schlosser (of Fast Food Nation), has been in the works for about six years and includes interviews and information on food regulations.

The movie posits that profit is the highest priority of the food industry – above and beyond consumers’ health or farmers’ needs.  The movie features experts such as food author Michael Pollan and Gary Hirshbirg, founder of Stonyfield Farm, producer of organic yogurts and other foods.  After discussing the problems today, the movie is to discuss the future of food.  The movie opens in limited release on June 12 and has further showings around the country starting on June 19 – show times are available on the Food, Inc. website. 

I’m eager to see the film to learn more about the food industry and to hear the possible solutions.  Supposedly, the movie also delves into the horrors of processed foods – I agree that whole foods are better, but feel most things are fine in moderation – I’m curious to see if the film changes my mind.

It seems that everywhere I turn lately – particularly foodie magazines – there is discussion of natural alternatives to sugar.  Sugar is getting a bad rap lately, and corn syrup is getting an even worse reputation (you’ve probably seen the damage control ads telling us that corn syrup isn’t so bad).  Why are sugar and corn syrup in the spotlight?  Obesity, and particularly childhood obesity, is on the rise.  Furthermore, researchers recently found that HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) has detectable levels of mercury.  Ingesting high levels of mercury can cause toxicity which leads to a host of health problems including cognitive issues.  All of this begs the question of whether we are eating the wrong foods, or simply too much of them?  But I digress…

As a result of the above, there is a lot of hype about other natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, and, in particular, agave nectar.  Agave nectar is the hot  new thing in the world of sweeteners.  It comes from the agave plant…a few years ago, I’d only heard of the agave plant because tequila can be made from agave (or, at least, from one type of agave).  However, inside all varieties of the plant is a “honey water” that can be turned into a syrup. 

The resulting syrup has a more concentrated sweetness than sugar, yet it causes less of a “sugar spike” than regular sugar making it more tolerable to people who have problems with insulin, and preferable to anyone who is sensitive to sugars or trying to eat foods with a low glycemic index.  A low glycemic index means that the body processes the sugar more slowly, rather than causing a quick spike in blood sugar (which is followed by the “crash” you sometimes feel after eating too much sugar).  As a result, agave nectar is being touted as the next great thing.  It is a runny syrup and while it can be used in baking, you have to make adjustments to your favorite recipes.  (Gourmet magazine recommends 3/4 cup of nectar per every cup of sugar called for  – they also advise lowering the oven temp by 25 degrees and reducing other liquid ingredients like oil and water by 1/3rd).  There are also recipes available online (as well as cookbooks) that are designed specifically for the use of agave nectar.  Chefs across the country are beginning to incorporate it into cooking and baking.

Agave nectar is available through Amazon, but prices are much steeper than our old powdery stand-by!  I’m curious to see how prevalent this syrup becomes.