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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

When I heard that Cold Stone Creamery had introduced their own blended coffee drinks, Sweet Cream Lattes and Flavored Lattes, I was intrigued.  Cold Stone’s Lattes are avaible iced or blended and come in three sizes - Like It, Love It, and Gotta Have It (aka small, medium, and large).  I eagerly ordered up a small Raspberry Truffle Mocha Latte Light (the light is lower in fat).   The clerk seemed confused by my order and took a very long time for my drink to be made. 

When my drink was finished, I peered into the cup.  It was a pinkish-greyish color but it appeared thick and frappe-like.  I took a sip.  At first, it tasted like nothing…then, a horribly bitter after-taste.  I refrained from grimacing in the store, but when we left I scowled.  I thought that perhaps my drink hadn’t been well-blended enough, so I stirred it vigorously with the straw and tried it again.  Still, I couldn’t detect any chocolate or raspberry flavoring - it was thick and bland with a bitter aftertaste, probably from whatever coffee product was within.  I stirred it again and my husband tried it – sure that my face was an exaggeration - but he grimaced and asked if we should go try to get our money back (we didn’t).  I tried one more sip, just to remind myself that it was okay to throw away an entire coffee drink, and then tossed it.  I drink Starbuck’s Frappucino Lites often enough to know that a blended coffee drink should not taste like this.

I headed to a nearby Borders where I ordered a Cookies N’ Cream flavored JavaKula at the Seattle’s Best Cafe within the store.  Much, much better – it was sweet, with nice flavors of chocolate and coffee and lovely bits of chocolate cookie throughout.  A perfect treat for a summer afternoon – and, as a bonus, it got the taste of the Sweet Cream Latte out of my  mouth (which wasn’t sweet or latte-like at all).  I guess the moral of the story is to stick to Cold Stone for ice cream and coffee shops for blended coffee drinks.

In tough times, people don’t gravitate towards upscale gourmet desserts.  Instead of fancy pastries, people crave  comfort foods and childhood favorites – like cupcakes.  At a few dollars (or less) you can bring yourself back (gastronomically, at least) to a simpler time.

Cupcakes have been becoming increasingly trendy over the past few years, however, enterpresing bakeries are catching on to a new trend.  Across the country, bakeries are capitalizing on nostalgia by offering homemade versions of our old Hostess favorites – homemade imitations of Twinkies and Ding Dongs. 

In my area, Lulu’s Bake Shoppe in the North End (Boston) offers the Lulu Cupcake which bears a strong resemblance to the Hostess cupcake – chocolate frosting, swirls and all!  Lulu’s creative take on the cupcake includes cursive frosting on the cupcake top which spells Lulu but resembles the trademark Hostess frosting loops and swirls.  Lulu counts Oprah as a fan and has been featured in Rachael Ray’s magazine as well.  I’m looking forward to trying them so I can join their elite fan list!  (I was unable to access a website at this time, but Lulu is located at 227 Hanover Street in Boston, 617.720.2200).

For the truly thrifty who want to try making their own sweet treats at home, the cookbook Baked: New Frontiers in Baking offers recipes like Coconut Snowball Cupcakes – an ode to the pink Hostess Sno Ball (the Baked version varies slightly by using a coconut based cupcake as opposed to a chocoalte cake).  Other nostalgia-inducing recipes include Red Hot Velvet Cake, Peanut Butter Crispy Bars, Tuscaloosa Tollhouse Pie and S’more Nut Bars.  Baked also offers several sophisticated recipes for the adult sweet tooth, including Almond Green Tea Cupcakes and Lemon-Lime Bars.  Baked includes wonderful information for the novice and advanced baker alike, and features beautiful photography.

For more information on everything cupcake-related, visit the Cupcakes Take the Cake blog.

Apparently it’s a new trendy ingredient being used in both savory and sweet dishes.  Black sugar, more specifically, Okinawa black sugar, comes from cane juice and is purchased as a brick-like block that looks a bit like a dark chocolate bar.  After grating or chopping it, you can cook or bake with it.  I have yet to try it, but it is described as being deeper in flavor than brown sugar (like molasses in a solid form).  Black sugar appears to be a common ingredient in Japanese candies.  It can also be used in cakes or cookies, for roasting or in bbq sauces…my interest is piqued!

Black sugar can be purchased from Amazon.

In no particular order:

-Celeriac, or celery root.  I was confused on this one for a long time, and I’ll admit it – I thought it was actually a part of the more familiar vegetable, but it is an entirely different, though related, vegetable.  I find its taste milder and more pleasant than celery, but sweeter and more flavorful than a potato.  It’s a gnarly looking beast of a vegetable – it looks sort of like a large radish before it is peeled and cooked.  You may see it sneaking up on menus, mashed on its own or mashed with potatoes or other root vegetables like turnips.  It can also be used in soups.  I first tried it mashed sans other veggies at an upscale restaurant in western Massachusetts in early 2008, and didn’t see it again (or think about it) for months.  More recently, I’ve seen celeriac/celery root on other restaurant menus, on a recent Food Network challenge on TV, and in several recipes in a recent issue of the Food Network magazine (clearly, I keep the channel in business!)  I like celeriac and look forward to seeing it more widely avaialble in stores so I can try cooking them, although their barky exterior is a little off-putting and daunting!

-Hot drinks – and I mean this literally.  I love spice, particularly in the cuisines I expect it from like Indian or Asian cuisines.  I’m not sure how I feel about pepper and chili and jalapeno flavors in my cocktails, though – it seems counterintuitive, like using alcohol to try to put out a fire.  I haven’t tried very many of these types of drinks, though, so my verdict is still out on this one.  I can sort of see how spice might complement a margarita…I guess I’m just afraid that the alcohol will make the heat linger longer than I want.  I plan to get more daring with these types of drinks, though.

-While I’m on the topic of cocktails, adding mild teas to mixed drinks seems to be another trend – green tea, even more exotic teas like hibiscus tea.  I like tea once in awhile, but not in my cocktails…seems too virtuous, I guess, to have green tea in my cocktails.

-Molten chocolate cakes.  This one may be on its way out as I see fewer of these listed on high-end restaurant menus, and more and more on chain restaurant menus.  I like them, I can’t complain about chocolate oozing out of the middle of my cake, but it is a little predictable.  I recently tried something called Chocolate Pate at Moonstone’s in Chelmsford, MA, and I’d like to see this become a trend – mmmmm.

-Pomegranate is another trend – I’ve had pomegranate reductions on duck, pomegranate seeds sprinkled on top of food, and pomegranate flavored cocktails (these are sweet enough not to seem too healty or virtuous).  I think pomegranates will stick around as long as people keep talking about what a “super food” it is (it is believed to help prevent myriad problems from Alzheimers’ Disease to cancers).  Acai berries (also high in antioxidants) seem to be the new “super food” on the rise and are being used in some of the same types of applications.  I haven’t had a chance to try many foods/drinks with acai yet.

-Cured meats, otherwise known as salumi (that’s not a typo – I’ve recently learned that salami is a type of salumi, though).  I’ve seen these promoted as a new trend, but I’m not sure I’m buying them as a trend.  I think cured meats like prosciutto and pancetta are becoming more widely available and people love smoked meats – some of these meats are basically gourmet bacon – and smoking familiar meats like turkey certainly adds new, complex flavors.  But I think salumi is only going to increase in popularity as it finds its way to supermarkets everywhere, and I don’t see these foods going away…so I’m not sure it’s truly a trend.  My husband and I hope to visit Seattle over the next year, and I would like to visit the Salumi store, owned by Mario Batali’s dad, Armandino Batali…he’s probably most responsible for introducing Americans to the term salumi.

-Comfort foods – this is a whole entry onto itself – so, stay tuned and enjoy lots of trendy foods!