New Top Food Trends #2: The New Restaurant
Dining establishments aren't sure what they are supposed to be anymore. They will experiment to find the right measure of style that will please the emotional palates of the most customers. We've seen this happening before as ala carte menus gave way to Dim Sum gave way to Tapas. Now we're starting to see vintage wines available from Jetson-like vending machines, dozens of beers are on tap at micro-brewpubs, gourmet food trucks prowl the streets, and even automats are beginning to dot the landscape. Or maybe you're sitting at a communal table sampling bits of International Fusion cuisine from the plates of total strangers. Welcome to the new restaurant.
Determined Market
Restaurants are scrambling to redefine themselves. To decide, in fact, what it actually means to go out to eat. The economy may have been the catalyst, but the consumer will be the converter, determining which concept stays and which goes. After all, the market is the determining factor. There's no telling what new restaurant styles will emerge or which will remain, but there's no doubt we'll see more and more new ways of selling quality food to diners. And it will all be delivered with new catch words and nomenclature that would sound foreign to us today.
Try, Try, Again
A market correction was due anyway, thanks to an over-saturated market, and this has hit chains and upscale restaurants below the money-belt. As such, we'll start to see some remarkable creativity, such as dual-purpose restaurant spaces, like a diner by day and a trattoria at night, both sharing the rent and advertising expenses. Hey, it's economical and symbiotic too.
It's also predicted that a new excitement will be incorporated into family dining, only in this case our “family” may not be family at all, but rather a group of friends or associates. The company we keep will eclipse the food we eat. The trend is toward restauranteurs trying new things. Some will stay and some will go, but it's all part of the search for the new restaurant.
Food Truck Phenomenon
(These top ten food trends for 2010 was determined from research by Culture Waves, International Food Futurists, and The Food Network.)
PHOTO CREDIT: Gourmet Food Trucks, ricardodiaz11, flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardodiaz/4299160955/sizes/z/in/photostream/
Comments
Hi Ms. Sutliff. A trattoria is an informal, casual restaurant serving simple Italian dishes. I remember once going to a famous Italian joint in NY's little Italy where we sat at communal tables. At first I was skeptical, but ended up having the time of my life, every ones singing Italian songs, drinking homemade wine from nondescript bottles and great food. Thank you for commenting.
ACSutliff 21 months ago
Hi there,
What is a trattoria? I simply must know! I have heard of buffets with long tables and communal seating, so you end up sitting right next to someone you don't know. I have eaten at such a place while in Disney World at the Beer Garten. Yummy!