Just when you thought it was safe...
Yes, still working away at the National Restaurant Association's Top 194. (The fact that there are 194 continues to bug me. Couldn't they have come up with six more?)
At this point, it seems to me, the list is starting to get somewhat meaningless. OK, some of you are probably arguing we're past that point.
To recap, 1,282 chefs were asked to rate every item, cuisine or technique as "hot," "passe" or "perennial favorite." Not sure whether you could do both hot and perennial favorite, but something like braising would surely fall in both categories.
Anyway, the numbers after the next ten reflect those categories in that order, so that 57 percent of the chefs think "alternative meats" like ostrich are hot, 35 percent that they are passe, and 7 percent that they are perennial favorites. The best way at this point to see the discussion about the 20 above these is to click on the What's Hot category on the right of the blog's main page.
Here are Nos. 21 through 30: ...
21 Latin American Cuisine 59% 21% 20%
22 Braised 59% 14% 27%
23 Ciabatta 59% 24% 17%
24 Flavored/enhanced water 59% 35% 6%
25 Mediterranean Cuisine 58% 14% 28%
26 Espresso/specialty coffees 58% 12% 30%
27 Free-range items 58% 31% 11%
28 Alternative red meats/game
animals (e.g., buffalo, ostrich,
venison, emu) 57% 35% 7%
29 Micro-vegetables (e.g., greens,
zucchini, cucumber) 57% 31% 13%
30 Aged meats (e.g., prosciutto) 57% 15% 28%
(Rodger Bosch/AFP/Getty Images)
Comments
I'm still baffled by the fact that bite-size desserts are the "hottest". However, this may benefit the Thai as these desserts can be eaten in one bite instead of having to struggle with a spatula, or worse, a pair of kitchen tongs to eat it. Where did crabcakes and pizza fall on the list? Even better...how about gastropubs?
Now that I'm back in this gloomy weather I needed a good laugh. Thank you. I'm going to have to do a whole entry on gastropubs.
Posted by: SGI | December 12, 2007 6:51 AM
In a similar aspect, Smedly's is the first (only?) gastrocafe in the Baltimore region.
Posted by: Bob | December 12, 2007 7:35 AM
Um, I'm obviously clueless. What's a "gastrocafe"? Sounds more like intestinal distress than a place to eat.
Posted by: Dottie | December 13, 2007 8:58 AM