What’s bubbling up in the restaurant world that may be adaptable to noncommercial foodservice? Here’s a look at a cuisine that’s poised to take off, a beverage service with legs and what may just be the next wave in sushi.
Cuban cuisine
Reopening diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba in July opened up a new world of flavors and ingredients for American travelers and stateside chefs. Sure, Cuban sandwiches and rice and beans are well integrated into the American dining scene. But the surge of interest in Cuba is inspiring restaurants to delve more deeply into the island’s culinary heritage, which combines influences from the Caribbean, Spain, Africa and even China into a unique cuisine called Cuban Criollo. According to a recent TrendSpotting Report from Chicago research company Datassential, some of the dishes that characterize this cuisine are pork marinated in mojo (a citrus-based sauce), Tamal en Cazuela (a tamale casserole that some describe as Cuban polenta), Ropa Vieja (slow-roasted skirt steak with onions, peppers and garlic) and the Frita Cuba or Cuban burger, topped with signature shoestring fries.
Non-alcoholic drinks on tap
The hot restaurant trend of offering wine, beer and batch cocktails on tap is now expanding to beverages without booze. The Coral Springs, Fla., location of The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. installed a 35-foot Coffee Wall with six self-service hot coffee taps when it built out the store, which opened this spring. Dallas-based Salata, a health-focused chain, offers five iced teas and three lemonades on tap in its new Pearland, Texas, location. The variety of choices and the chance to customize beverages on tap already are wooing customers and increasing sales at these fast casuals.
Fishing for poke
More than a decade ago, sushi was the gateway to eating raw fish for many Americans, with Latin ceviche and Italian crudo soon following. Poke is now hitting the mainland. A staple of Hawaiian cuisine, poke traditionally is a mix of cubed raw ahi tuna, sea salt, soy sauce, sesame oil, seaweed and minced chili peppers. Stateside chefs are taking some liberty with tradition, adding ingredients such as onion, tomato, avocado and cucumber. Two new spots in the Los Angeles area are even offering build-your-own poke bowls. Guests choose the cubed fish (salmon, ahi, yellowtail, etc.), a base (mixed greens, rice or noodles), a sauce (ponzu, wasabi mayo, sesame) and a garnish (sesame seeds, green onions, edamame). Poke bowls are a novel way to jump on the continuing bowl-food trend and menu next-gen sushi.