I don't know what the rest of the list is but I would like to see a trend to using less salt. I find many dishes less pleasant because of the excess salt.

I'm with you on that one. EL

Simplicity/back to basics

Oh man, again. I'll agree we all needed a break from ostentatious foods with foam, but I'm getting awfuly tired of this new fascination with austerity. I'm in the mood for some conspicious consumption.

I thought purslane was a vegetable?

Now, there's a trend I'd like to see. Unusual veggies.

As someone who had to eat a very strict version of a gluten free diet for a few years, I am glad to see more awareness. Basically, the more expensive the restaurant, the less likely it was that I could find anything on the menu I could eat and that the kitchen would be willing to leave ingredients out (I wasn't eating really high end, and I'm talking requests like "Can I please have a hamburger and fries, but no bun?"). But, diners and small, family owned ethnic places were more than happy to accommodate me, and even, sometimes, to make suggestions.

One dish a waitress and I came up with is now on the menu of just about all the Lebanese places in Detroit.

Looks like last year's list and possibly the year before (using my feeble memory).

Just for spite I might just have a box of traditional American food for brunch: Kraft macaroni and cheese. Not local, possibly not even from Earth. Mmmm, I can taste the corporate flavor.

One dish a waitress and I came up with is now on the menu of just about all the Lebanese places in Detroit.

Explicate, please.

Meat shwarma on top of fatoosh. Just a simple salad, really, but it is everywhere in Detroit now.

I wanted salad, but needed some protein. I don't remember which of us came up with the idea, but it was very tasty.

I would like to see the trend of half servings extended. It drives me nuts to get a whole enormous serving of something even though I can take the rest home. I just want less and forget the take-home!

I hope 5 gets alot of attention. Our office went to Ocean Pride for Christmas lunch and their beer menu had nothing local except Yuengling. With all the great beer brewed and bottled within a hundred miles of here I just don't understand why more local stuff isn't available in mainstream restaurants.

Yuengling isn't local. Unless you live in Pottsville, PA.

I agree with the comment about using less salt in prepared dishes. I can add salt if more is wanted; I can't take it out if too much is used. That surprised me on Top Chef when Bryan Voltaggio was criticized for having "bland" food because he didn't use enough salt. I'll take a chef who knows how to go light on the salt any day of the week.

EEL,
I really hope that restauranteurs notice that one, too. Frankly, I find it inexcusable when I go to a restaurant and it has no craft beers avaialable. Heineken is not a craft beer. Guinness is pushing it. No sommelier would dream of having a wine list consisting of only Chardonnay; why doesn't the beer list get the same attention to variety?

Say it ain't so. Creme Brulee is at the bottom of the list. NOOOOOOO. This is the one worthy desert (calories/fat/flavor) that I never hesitated to partake at Ruth's Chris and will continue to do so as long as it is on the menu. You can keep your triple chocolate volcano with sea salt (although I dooo like me some choclate)

Like chocolate mousse, creme brulee doesn't have to be trendy. It's always appropriate.

Bucharest Exodus

I'm with Marge on the salt issue- a good chef can make a great tasting dish and make it healthier, too. Not just with less salt, though, but also less saturated fat and sugar.
I predict #15 will get far more prominent than expected this coming year. In fact, I plan to have something to do with that. ;)

Chris McNeil, founder
FitMenu Restaurant Nutrition and Healthy Dining
http://www.fitmenu.net

215. Locally grown ravioli.

216. Locally sourced photographs of meats and seafood on the menu.

217. Bite-size/mini lobsters.

218. Locally produced wine and beer coasters.

219. Live eel martinis.

220. Nutritionally balanced children’s chocolate fudge.

221. Half-portions/smaller portions for people with staples.

222. Farm/estate-branded waiters and waitresses.

223. Gluten-free/food allergy conscious glass booths with trap doors leading to the basement

224. Sustainable seafood shells that can be re-filled, re-heated, and re-served.

225. Superfruits with tiny capes and tights.

226. Organic produce grown in the shapes of Mandelbrot fractals.

227. Culinary cocktails using mixers like Worcestershire sauce and nuoc mam.

228. Micro-distilled/artisan liquor for midget artists.

230. Simplicity/back to basics including hand puppets for all wait staff.

231. Regional ethnic cuisine served in authentic cocoanut husks.

232. Non-traditional fish that don't appreciate being called "flaky."

233. Newly fabricated cuts of meat like Spam mignon and bologna crown roast.

234. Fruit/vegetable children’s side items pureed and molded into animal shapes.

Theatre meet (my dinner theater manager name)

Superfruits with tiny capes and tights.

Point to Cleatus.

Is Cleatus really OMG in another guise?

Laurier feel: Cleatus's drama queen name.

I'm not now, nor have I ever been, OMG.

was Footwork (my Vaudeville name)

"226. Organic produce grown in the shapes of Mandelbrot fractals."

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/27/55563889_bbcd76ef27.jpg

Romanescu already exists

Oops.
Forgot #229:
Sparkly, licorice-flavored marzipan after-dinner palate-cleansing lozenges that can double as navel jewelry.

Altman harshly (my 1970s movie critic name)