Archive for the ‘Culinary Trends’ Category
The Top Ten Culinary Trends of 2009
December 16, 2009
With the many culinary breakthroughs that bubbled to the surface of the national restaurant scene in recent months, 2009 is fated to be remembered as a year of culinary renaissance. Perhaps the recession was the muse that sparked everyone’s renewed thinking about food, serving portions, costs, and restaurant business models. It’s the year that gourmet kitchens turned mobile, restaurants discovered the benefits of local meats and produce, and Americans explored “the fifth taste.” Above all, it was the year in which America’s renewed interest in well-crafted, high quality meals reached its defining moment. There’s never been a better time to eat in America. Below are ten reasons why.
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Returning to Our Culinary Roots
December 11, 2009
It used to be that modern eating was all about speed–the faster the process of preparation and consumption, the better it was. The ideal–as often portrayed in pop culture’s depiction of the future à-la-Jetsons–was a meal in pill form–conveniently small, requiring a single swallow for complete consumption. A pill is also a man-made artifact, presumably formulated in a laboratory, with the help of advanced pharmaceutical technology and far-removed from nature.
We were on track to make eating and food preparation super-efficient. The fast-food chains and processed food manufacturers that emerged mid-century championed this goal and grew exponentially in the decades that followed. Cooking was fast. Eating was fast. Restaurants became drive-ins and drive-throughs. Baking became a two-step process (Just add water!). And speed overshadowed nutrition as the priority in our eating habits as we grew ever more excited, delighted, and amazed with our seemingly advanced technology and lifestyles.
Fast forward a half century later, and we find the trend toward fast, compact meals has not only lost steam, it’s reaching a turning point. And this observation is certainly a paradox when all the touchpoints in our lives are becoming more compact and real-time: communications technology, communication habits, computer processing speed, information retrieval, analysis, and decision-making.
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Posted in Culinary Trends, Eating Trends, Health, Lifestyle, Restaurants, Slow Food | No Comments »
The Obamas’ Healthy Living Revolution
December 9, 2009
Nowhere do U.S. food and dining trends seem more apparent under one roof than they do in America’s most iconic house: the White House. The general public had already viewed the Obamas as ushers of a new era even before they gained the status of first family. From a culinary perspective, they have certainly already began to fulfill these expectations.
The central symbol that best epitomizes their food philosophy would be First Lady Michelle Obama’s kitchen garden. This pesticide-free garden garnered the attention of the media months back, as it was an early addition to the White House – one of the first Obama touches. Considering the White House offers 24-hour room service, the garden is a deliberate statement: the Obamas believe in fresh produce, farm-to-home practices, and want to be in control of the ingredients that are served in their home. They are self-proclaimed health enthusiasts, and the country has taken notice. As a matter of fact, soon after the kitchen garden was planted, publishers noticed a spike in book sales related to vegetable gardening.
The Obamas have also proven themselves to be the first truly tech chic family in the White House. In many ways, they are shaping society’s definition of what it means to be tech chic – informed, discerning, and savvy. Remember the hurdles it took for the President to gain access to an uber-secure BlackBerry?
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Posted in Culinary Trends, Health, Lifestyle, Tech Chic | 2 Comments »
Tech Chic Holiday Wish List: Luxury Edition
December 4, 2009
The smartphones in our U.S. and Europe wish lists might be fashionable, but the following luxury phones are the tech chic ideal: technologically advanced while still emphasizing good style and good living.
Phones designed by esteemed fashion houses and upscale brands may be perceived as gimmicky, but the following devices attempt to perfect both form and function. Added touches include branded software elements - like themes and videos - and luxurious packaging – from sleek boxes to leather sleeves. Those with an eye for detail will find much to enjoy.
These phones aren’t just meant to be used – they’re meant to be worshiped.
Ulysse Nardin Chairman
Retail: $13,000 - $50,000
The venerated Ulysse Nardin has been making watches in Switzerland since the 19th century. With their Chairman smartphone, they approach the technology with the same care and attention to detail as they do with their watches.
The Chairman’s technology alone would be enough to make it the most impressive device on our list – there’s a 3.2-inch touch screen, 8-megapixel camera, 32 GBs of internal memory, high definition video, and built-in YouTube and Facebook. Did we mention it also has a self-winding rotor mechanism? That’s right, like an automatic watch, the Chairman uses a rotor to supply back-up kinetic energy. It’s a sophisticated combination of classic and cutting edge.
Tie it all together with the Android OS, top it off with a fingerprint scanner, and encase it in precious metals and you’ve got enough here to make James Bond giddy. Of course, Bond would probably need to trade in his Aston Martin to afford the Chairman – models start at $13,000 and will cost up to $50,000 with all the bells and whistles. With prices like that, you’ll want to get yourself one sturdy screen-protector. For those interested, the Chairman is presently up for pre-order on the phone’s Web site.
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Posted in Branding, Culinary Trends, Design-inspired, Dining DNA, Fashion, Phones, Tech Chic | 3 Comments »
Foreseeing the Future of Restaurant Guides: An Interview with Alain Gayot
December 3, 2009
UBI UBI is excited to welcome another highly respected, well-established lifestyle reviewer to our flourishing database: GAYOT.com. The family-owned restaurant, hotel, shopping, and tourism guidebook series has been published in France and the U.S. for nearly five decades. As one of the first to adopt Internet distribution, they continue to shape the future of culinary guides by partnering with UBI UBI, itself an innovator in smartphone-accessed, portable dining reviews on the mobile Web.
You’ll find that GAYOT.com reviews are clear, detailed, witty, and invaluable. Quickly absorbed one-sentence summaries provide an overview of each spot, while the toque (chef’s hat) rating system provides an instant snapshot of the restaurant’s quality. In the helpful Quick Bites section, you’ll find only in-and-out, to-go venues. We think GAYOT.com provides another smart, honest perspective to help you use your hard-earned money wisely while getting the dining-out experience that best satisfies your cravings. The addition of Gayot reviews also means more expert opinions, more restaurant coverage, more updates, and smarter dining decisions for the Ubi Ubi community.
Alain Gayot, the Editor-In-Chief at GAYOT.com, recently stopped by the UBI UBI office, and we seized the opportunity to learn more about his restaurant guide philosophy and his opinions on current restaurant trends. Below is a sampling of questions from our interview, in which we discussed what kind of traveler GAYOT.com appeals to, how the company made the transition from print to Web, and what justifies a negative restaurant review.
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Posted in Culinary Trends, Dining Reviews, Lifestyle, Restaurants, Trends, Wine | Comments Off
Paving the Way to Guilt-Free Dining: An Interview with Clean Plates Author Jared Koch
November 4, 2009
New York City can a tough place in many ways, but not in terms of finding healthy food.
In an attempt to prove that delicious taste and varied flavors can be synonymous with good nutrition, Clean Plates puts reviews of Manhattan’s best healthy dining options, plus advice on improving your diet, all in one handy guide. With a nutritionist perspective and a democratic acceptance of diverse preferences and philosophies – yes, the guide does save room for meat, as long as it’s sustainably raised – the 125 restaurants in the compilation have all tastes covered.
Jared Koch, the nutritionist mastermind behind the guide, is a proponent of bioindividuality: a food-forward approach to healthy eating that disperses the single-mindedness of one-size-fits-all diets. Now, like technology, eating is all about customization, and we find that perfectly tech chic. To find out more about New York’s healthy dining scene, we invited Jared to sit down for an interview. Read below to learn his take on personalized diets, how vegan isn’t always healthy, and the healthiest way to incorporate indulgences into your eating choices.
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Posted in Culinary Trends, Dining Reviews, Eating Trends, Health, Ingredients, New York, Restaurants | No Comments »
Singapore’s Stature Rising as the Mecca of Fusion
October 29, 2009
It’s not surprising that six of the world’s most renowned chefs would eventually find their way to Singapore. Mario Batali, Daniel Boulud, Wolfgang Puck, Santi Santamaria, Guy Savoy, and Tetsuya Wakuda will all be bringing their own restaurants to the lavish Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore. With them, they bring their famed cooking brands and could further illuminate the Singaporean culinary renaissance that has been brewing under the radar.
Singaporean dining is shaped by duality. On the one hand, the country has a knack for attracting internationally known chefs from other countries. On the other, the deeply rooted hawker dining scene is one that’s built on local tradition. One might think the arrival of celebrity chefs could overshadow the less glamorous, yet more widespread, traditional, local cuisine (plastic furniture and fluorescent lighting often provide the extent of the décor at hawker dining spots), but Singapore is a nation that seems at ease with the intermingling of cultures. For every headline that mentions a celebrity chef in Singapore, another puts the spotlight on a locally-run restaurant.
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Posted in Culinary Trends, Discover, Innovation, Singapore | No Comments »
Romancing Her Taste Buds
October 13, 2009
Admit it, men: few things are more sensual than stirring a steaming vat of ruby red tomato sauce. The swirling trails left in the wake of your wooden spoon, the bubbles that quiver and swell on the surface until they burst, the hearty aroma that snakes its way up to your eager nostrils. It’s true romance. In that moment, you are one with your tomato sauce.
Deep down, you are all gastrosexuals.
Well, maybe we’re being a bit theatrical. Though many men still prefer the art of ordering takeout, an increasing number are trying their hands at the culinary arts. In a study by food company PurAsia, 53% of men reported that they cook with separate ingredients every day and the amount of time men are spending in the kitchen has increased fivefold since 1961 (and that’s not just due to the rise of the microwave). While we applaud these men for their elevated tastes, we should also note that a popular reason for this cultural trend remains the desire to seduce a partner. Read More »
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Head Cheese, Please: How Americans Are Broadening Their Palates
September 15, 2009
American diners are growing ever more adventurous: that, or the recession-driven “waste not, want not” mentality is expanding comfort zones and broadening the inventory of animal parts we’re willing to eat, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Whether it’s the head, feet, organs, or tail – what’s collectively called the “offal” – of an animal, more upscale restaurants are now including them on their menus.
For chefs, the use of offal is a way of embracing a more creative, completist approach to the use of animal meat and parts. Yet, it’s an approach that also requires some strategy: restaurant guests may be more experimental these days, but that does not mean that they have completely renounced their reservations regarding offal. For the sake of sensitive palates, chefs tend to offer dishes like head cheese in smaller portioned appetizers, or they pair them with more traditional meat dishes, like steak.
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Beyond Cookie-Cutter: Artisanal Cookies Draw Inspiration from Architecture
August 31, 2009
It’s typical for food to be linked to a certain region or city, but Elsylee Galetes Artesanals (that’s Fine Artisanal Cookies) takes us a step further by drawing its inspiration from architecture. The Miami-based company, started by 31-year-old Puerto Rican native Elsylee Colon, bases each cookie collection on a specific architectural movement and the cities most associated with it. The Art Deco cookie collection, for example, includes cookies such as the Miami (a colorful sugar cookie), the San Miguel (a sweet and tart lemon cookie) and the Key Largo (infused with the flavors of key lime, roasted pistachios and cranberries). Other collections include Baroque, Neoclassical and Beaux-Arts with each cookie named after a different city from around the world.
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Posted in Culinary Trends, Design-inspired, Miami | No Comments »
