Posted by Hannah Howard, June 17, 2008 at 9:30 AM
Clockwise from top left: wine, coffee, ramen, and green tea spas at spa theme park Hakone Kowakien Yunessun in Japan.
If you've ever fantasized of loafing in a pool of wine, visit Hakone, Japan and your dream can become reality. Food-themed spas are just one of the trends listed in Adage.com's feature on Japan's latest could-be trends, from ramen-noodle baths to self-cleaning toilets (Madonna is a fan).
Hakone Kowakien Yunessun, a spa theme park in Hakone with a menu of "amusement baths," is your spot for that wine bath. Not feeling wine? Perhaps you would prefer a soak in green-tea, coffee, or sake.
I'd go for a ramen-noodle bath, myself, which is shaped and outfitted like a ramen bowl. Chopsticks and noodle decorations hang over the hot tub; the pepper-flavored water is flecked with skin-healthy collagen and garlic extracts; and, best of all, "a man dressed as a chef dispenses noodle-shaped bath additives" and soy sauce into the water.
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Posted by Erin Zimmer, March 28, 2008 at 6:30 PM
Looking into a crystal ball, Good magazine forecasts which foods will be the next sweeping trends in a post-sushi era. With more restaurants serving exclusively sweets, New York's first dessert bar ChikaLicious might have to watch out. Bibimbap is another trend to watch for, but L.A. Weekly's Jonathan Gold already called that Korean pile of bean sprouts, egg, and meat an emerging all-star back in 2004. Itsy-bitsy fish like sardines and anchovies are also getting bigger, which should make both obesity-haters and the sustainable fishermen happy. And forget pomegranate (so 2007)—mangosteen is all the semi-exotic fruit rage, which means it'll probably start popping up in products galore. This XanGo juice, already a hit with Oprah, is just the beginning of a mangosteen-crazed world.
Posted by Ed Levine, December 27, 2007 at 6:06 PM
Warning: This post is filled with food punditry.
Everybody fancies himself a food pundit these days. And why not? We all like to eat, and we all like to think and talk about food. And there's plenty to talk about. Food is all over the news everywhere you look. The only thing we need is a cable network that would put us on the air to do all of the above. So until that day comes, you and I can do our food punditing and prognosticating right here, starting now.
Trends I'm in Favor Of
Small (Plates) Really Are Beautiful
Small plates mean we get to more carefully calibrate how much and what we eat. This is most assuredly a good thing. Plus, if we are hungry, we get to try a lot more dishes with small plates. Another really good thing. Note to chefs and restaurateurs: Just don't rip us off with your small plate pricing. A plate of pimientos de padron flash-fried and lightly coated in sea salt shouldn't cost $18.
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Posted by Ed Levine, April 10, 2007 at 2:15 PM
I had an old issue of Food & Wine on my desk, and, leafing through it, I came upon a story about wine shops serving cheese and tapas. As a confirmed nondrinker and serious cheese lover, I applaud this trend.
Here are the shops they wrote about:
Smith & Vine
Address: 268 Smith Street, Brooklyn NY 11231
Phone: 718-243-2864
Stinky Brooklyn
Address: 261 Smith Street, Brooklyn NY 11231
Phone: 718-522-7425
Silverlake Wine
Address: 2395 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90039
Phone: 323-662-9024
Cesar
Address: 4039 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland CA 94611
Phone: 510-985-1200
Portalis
Address: 5205 Ballard Avenue, Seattle WA 98107
Phone: 206-783-2007
We've got both coasts covered. Any Serious Eaters know of any others?
Photograph from iStockphoto.com
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 5, 2007 at 10:05 AM
The ubiquity of the warm chocolate cake: "What started as a refreshing choice at a handful of restaurants is now becoming a de facto dessert at almost every restaurant - eclipsing the likes of such stalwarts as creme brulee and (gasp!) apple pie. (...) Mind you, I am not saying I don’t enjoy this cake a lot, I’m just saying that it is no longer a pleasant surprise and I think its time for chefs in the city to start thinking about how they could raise the bar on what has become the safe choice on a dessert menu."
Posted by Ed Levine, December 21, 2006 at 8:47 AM
The rise of mac and cheese: a good trend. From Google Trends.
Oh, yes. It’s that time of year, when serious eaters everywhere assess the foodscape to determine what we’re going to see more of on our plates next year and how we feel about it. While there are a few things all of us at Serious Eats are excited about, like salted caramel ice cream, gnudi, and heritage pork, there are a few things we are scared of. Very scared.
First the good— trends we would like to see blow up into a continuing presence in our mouths.
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