Sira-sira store: Food trends redux

I LOVE reading about food trends. It makes me full without the calories.

This week I did a cyber-travelogue, which means I went around the Internet to check out what the experts consider as top food trends. Never mind the numbers.

Bon Appetit lists The Paloma as the top food trend—in their world. The magazine noted that it is Mexico’s most-beloved cocktail, and why not? It has tequila, grapefruit-flavored soda and ice. It sure beats club soda on ice.

The same source placed beet juice at No. 2—how yucky can you get? I don’t mind beets in my potato salad. In fact, I love the pinkish color it gives to the creamy dressing, but juice? Drink? Beverage? Cocktail? I don’t know how the juice tastes, or whether I ever will give it a try, so let me know it when you get enough courage to take it.

To encourage you to try the red thing for me, let me tell you that beet juice has anti-aging effects, well, at least according to Nutrition-and-You. So, wow, that will make you look young. Go ahead, try it.

Beet juice can protect you against coronary artery disease and stroke, and can even lower cholesterol levels. Nothing is said about protecting you from the high cost of living, though.

In third place is duck egg. The guys behind the survey or trend-finding are way behind us Pinoys when it comes to eating duck eggs.

Anyway, Bon Appetit said that chefs are “moving out of the henhouse, ditching chicken eggs in favor of their larger—and tastier—siblings: duck eggs.”

Nicely put. I wish I had written that. The guys in the kitchen had the duck eggs sunny-side up served them with patatas bravas. No, they are not brave potatoes. They’re fried potatoes drizzled with dressing.

They should try plain balut, fried balut in spicy batter, sinigang nga balut and humbang balut. It sure makes the egg-patatas-bravas dish look wimpy in comparison.

Moving to another site, The Gazette said that “eat local” is a food trend. If I am to understand this, it means that people should eat what is locally grown, eat what is locally made, eat what is native to the place.

“What I’ve found, thus far, is that people want to know where their food comes from and have a connection to it,” said Nathan Lein, co-owner of Big Boy Meats at NewBo City Market.

Part of that connection was finding out what diners, restaurants and pubs were doing to contribute to this movement. One place—Charlotte’s in North Liberty, Iowa, USA—carried chicken fajita panini. Chicken, according to The Gazette, will get more makeovers in 2013. This is a nice trend although a chicken is a chicken is a chicken.

“Mini my burger” is to be expected this year. The Gazette illustrated this with a photo of mini Tikka burgers with mint chutney, and concluded that “even the venerable hamburger will get a makeover in 2013.” But I think the rest of the world should learn from the Philippines when it comes to down-sizing food.

Our local corner burger stands sell small burgers. Carinderias sell minuscule servings of stir-fried vegetables scattered around the saucer to make the portion look big.

I am not out of trends yet, but I will be out of trend if I don’t stop now. I’ve reached my quota of words this week. Burp.