Editors from The New York Times evaluated 121 menus from across the U.S. to identify the food and aesthetic trends shaping dining culture.
The following dishes and ingredients consistently popped up across menus:
• Caesar Salad
• Caviar
• Yuzu
• Fried Chicken
• Nostalgic Desserts
• Panna Cotta
The Caesar Salad has also grown outside of the traditional American dining ecosystem, now being found in myriad styles including Mexican, Thai, and Cuban. Some have miso or fish sauce in the dressing and incorporate specialty ingredients like fennel pollen, according to the report.
These stylings align with some of the trends that members of the Specialty Food Association’s Trendspotter Panel identified both at the Winter Fancy Food Show, which took place earlier this week, and in their 2024 trend predictions. At the show, elevated everyday foods were spotted among specialty brands, which carry over into the use of unique ingredients like the fennel pollen that helps elevate the traditional staple salad.
Yuzu was also an ingredient used in a variety of specialty foods at the Winter Fancy Food Show. "Everyone loves lemon and citrus," said Clara Park, chef, teacher, consultant, writer, and member of SFA’s Trendspotter Panel. "Specialty brands are making it new again with the Japanese citrus yuzu."
Global flavor exploration was highlighted as a key movement, adding a wider variety of flavors from different cultural traditions into a dish.
“People are understanding that cuisines are not monolithic,” said Stan Sagner, founder, We Work for Food, in the Trendspotter report. These inspire choices like swapping miso or fish sauce for the traditional anchovies found in Caesar dressing.
Physical menus are back after the pandemic largely substituted them for online menus accessed via QR codes. The New York Times also found that the visual aspects of menus have changed: smaller fonts, informal aesthetics, and bolder and brighter colors have been consistently identified.
“There is a lot more openness to be unique in their brand and not look like what everyone else is doing,” said Lisa Peteet, a founder of the design agency Atlas Branding in Asheville, N.C., who creates restaurant menus. Full Story (Subscription Required)
Related: Nuanced Heat, Elevated Flavors Among Trends Spotted at Show; Seen at the Winter Show, Day 3