10 Delicious Food Trends To Look Out For This Year

Trends can be a mixed bag. Remember that time when everyone thought the cabbage soup diet wasa good idea? Thankfully, 2016 is looking brighter with the help of chili-oil laced ramen, bangin'bagels and revamps of iconic restaurants. Here's what we'll be eating and talking about this year.

1. Japanese Imports

Photo: Good Mami via Flickr

Japan-based restaurants are crossing the Pacific Ocean in record numbers, opening outposts ofpopular ramen-yas and high-end sushi counters around the U.S. Look out for bowls of piping-hotramen from noodle masters like the fastidious folks behind the chili oil-laced ramen at Ichiran, not tomention Ramen Tatsunoya (in New York and L.A., respectively). Meanwhile, udon-focused spotTsurutontan will take over the much-bereaved original Union Square Cafe location, and acclaimedsushi counter Ginza Onodera will open an outpost in L.A. and another in New York City before theyear is out.

2. Get Thee to L.A.

Photo: Todd Jones via Flickr

Great food in Los Angeles is nothing new, but the city is starting to edge out New York in the battlefor the most exciting dining scene in the U.S. With French Laundry alum Timothy Hollingsworthopening Otium at the tail end of 2015, plus upcoming projects like a veg-forward Middle Easternrestaurant from the Madcapra and Animal teams, a still-unnamed project from Michael Voltaggio,and something up legendary restaurateur Bill Chait's sleeve, not to mention a takeaway concept thatmight finally cut down on those pesky lines at Jessica Koslow's Sqirl, L.A. is where we want to eat.

3. Mexico City Wins

Photo: Courtesy of Fonda Las Margaritas

Chefs and food writers have been Instagramming tacos, street fruit, meals at Pujol, classic Mexicansweets and mole-smothered meats nonstop lately, so plan on reading a whole lot about D.F.'s killerfood scene or hop on a plane and check it out for yourself. (Oh, and airmailed tacos to the TT office?You shouldn't have!)

4. Poke Nation

Photo: Lizzie Munro/Tasting Table

A recent Hawaiian-inspired dining heat wave (Mud Hen Water, Liholiho Yacht Club, Noreetuh) hasbrought one of the state's signature dishes into the fore. Poke (it rhymes with OK) at its most classiclevel is hunks of fresh fish tossed in soy sauce, limu seaweed and scallions, but look out for versionsmade with coconut and lime, macadamia nuts and pickled jalapeos, and even beets all over LosAngeles, Honolulu and New York.

5. Bubby's Kvelling

Photo: CookNSolo Restaurants

Thanks to the mega success of Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbooks and Michael Solomonov's flagshiprestaurant, Zahav, in Philly, Israeli ingredients and dishes are showing up on menus around thecountry. Look out for the Madcapra project (see number two on this list) and the long-awaited spotfrom Bestia's Ori Menashe in L.A.; an outpost of Solomonov's hummus spot, Dizengoff, in New YorkCity; and just-opened hummus spot Little Sesame in the basement of D.C.'s popular DGS deli; amongothers.

6. Bagels, Baby

Photo: Evan Sung

Revamped bagels--like the ones that helped make Sadelle's in New York City one of the biggestrestaurant openings of 2015--aren't going anywhere. Keep your eyes peeled for more rolling intobakeries around New York (and for the sake of all Californians, hopefully Cali) soon.

7. Cheffy Casual

Photo: Dave Katz/Tasting Table

Love it or hate it, the chef fast-casual restaurant trend isn't going anywhere. Carla Hall's hot friedchicken spot will land in Brooklyn any day now, vegan hit By Chloe already has two more locations inthe works in Manhattan, St. Louis chef Gerard Craft will launch Porano Pasta this month and,perhaps most excitingly, Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson's LocoL is finally becoming a reality in L.A.and the Bay Area. (Warning: Not all cheffy casual spots are created equal.)

8. Tipping the Scales

Photo: Dave Dugdale via Flickr

Take a look at your restaurant bill. You might be seeing lines like "hospitality included" or "notipping, please" on more of them in the coming year. New York restaurant king Danny Meyer shookup the restaurant world in October when he announced that he would phase out tipping at all of hisrestaurants this year. The move will allow Meyer and other restaurant owners who have signed on tostart easing the pay inequity that has long existed between front and back of the house. (Thedecision is also tied to the rise in the minimum wage in San Francisco, Seattle and New York.)Meyer's move will certainly have a ripple effect.

9. Classic Redux

Photo: Jazz Guy via Flickr

Three iconic restaurants (of different walks of life) are getting makeovers this year. Danny Meyer'sUnion Square Cafe is moving around the corner after a rent hike, Grant Achatz has taken Alinea onthe road as the restaurant's space and menu get a revamp 10 years in, and the Torrisi boys have thenothing-short-of-epic task of taking over The Four Seasons ahead of themselves this year.

10. Breakfast, Ya'll

Photo: Marcus Nielsson

Look, we hate mornings as much as anyone, but getting out of bed is an inevitability that's madeslightly more bearable by rock-solid breakfasts coming from chefs like High Street's Eli Kulp,Sadelle's Melissa Weller and Milktooth's Jonathan Brooks. Expect more morning buns, cheffy takeson chilaquiles and breakfast bowls at restaurants this year. (Now, if someone could just hook us upwith this stuff in bed, we'd seriously owe you one.)

More articles from Tasting Table:

The Guac Burger NYC Is Obsessed With

Check Out the Hottest New Restaurants Around the U.S.

Parisians Hate Doggie Bags More Than Food Waste

Also on HuffPost:

Reuben Breakfast Sandwich

Reuben Breakfast Sandwich

Gimme Some Oven

image

Blue Cheese Biscuit Breakfast Sandwich

Diane, A Broad

image

Mushroom Breakfast Torta

Macheesmo

image

Sharp Cheddar and Mustardy Greens Breakfast Sandwich

Food52

image

Sausage, Egg & Cheese Sandwich with Maple Butter

Two Peas And Their Pod

image

Poached Egg & Bacon Sandwich

Food52

image

Sweet Potato Breakfast Sandwich

How Sweet It Is

image

Toast with Squash, Prosciutto and an Egg

Food52

image

Toasted Breakfast Bagel Sandwich

Verses From My Kitchen

image

Apple Butter Breakfast Sandwich

Macheesmo

image

Rosemary Beer Biscuits With Stout Sausage Gravy

The Beeroness

image

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

Just Putzing Around The Kitchen

image

Vegan Breakfast Sandwich

Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes

image

The Sausage And Egg Biscuit

Macheesmo

image

Croissant Sandwich

Macheesmo

image

Big Veg Bagel Sandwich

Macheesmo

image

Truffle Parmesan Biscuits With Pesto

A Spicy Perspective

image

Croque Monsieur Ham And Cheese Sandwich

Simply Recipes

image

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tasting-table/the-menu-for-2016_b_9100432.html