Punchfork is a new website that follows recipes “trends”. This is based on recipes that are mentioned in social media such as Twitter and Facebook. It’s a fun new way to discover recipes.

Zagat produced a nice article summarizing the hottest dining trends so far this year:

Pop-ups

Here today, gone tomorrow seems to be the MO that fueled the massive popularity behind pop-ups in the last six months. From NYC’s What Happens When to DC’s upcoming America Eats Tavern (from chef José Andrés) the idea of a temporary or concept-shifting restaurant is all the rage in 2011. Also, “perma pop-up” concepts were big as well, including Joseph Mahon’s Burger Parlor in the LA area and NYC’s LTO, which rotates chefs every three months. Pop-ups were also a means for out-of-town chefs to workshop new concepts in new cities. NYC’s JBF LTD in Chelsea Market showcased the talents of chefs like Laurent Gras and Michelle Bernstein, and LA chef Ludo Lefebvre announced plans for an upcoming LudoBites pop-up in NYC.

Beer, Beer and More Beer

While it’s still early to call it, 2011 could most likely be dubbed “the year of the beer garden.” In the last six months, LA gained Steingarten, Berlin Currywurst, BRU Haus and plans for a second Wurstkuche. Meanwhile in NY, Spritzenhaus, Hospoda, BeerParc and Eataly’s Birreria were among a rash of beer-centric eateries to open in 2011 thus far. DC saw the opening of a new biergarten called Standard, and plans for Bavarian Beer Garden are in the works. In Philly, Stephen Starr’s Frankford Hall debuted in May. Beer-centric cuisine also came to the forefront as we’ve seen an increase of German, Austrian and Czech restaurant openings nationwide. Beer + food = so hot right now.

Interlopers/Chain Expansions

Restaurants, bakeries and more notably fast-casual chains have been spreading the love in 2011, jumping coasts and cities at an astonishing rate. In-N-Out Burger made the move to Texas, NY’s Papaya King opened in LA and Sprinkles Cupcakes and Smashburger came to NYC. Shake Shack announced plans to open in Philadelphia and recently opened a location in DC as did NY-based Luke’s Lobster. Everywhere you look, the power-move for chain owners and restaurateurs seems to be national expansion.

Food Trucks Going Brick-and-Mortar

While plenty of food trucks begin as spin-offs of popular eateries, in early 2011 we saw just the opposite – as many popular food trucks opened brick-and-mortar locations. In LA, ice cream sandwich truck Coolhaus announced plans for a permanent location, and in NY Big Gay Ice Cream Truck and Mexicue did the same. In DC, Sâuçá opened its first brick-and-mortar location just two weeks ago, and in March, Honest Tom’s Tacos in Philly announced plans for a permanent home.

Izakayas

Izakayas – charming sake-centric Japanese small-plates eateries – were a major trend in NYC a few years back and have recently exploded in other cities nationwide. In Chicago, space-aged Lure debuted in Chinatown in March, followed by Schaumburg’s Tokio Pub in May. San Francisco gained Hecho, Nojo and Chotto. Meanwhile, LA gained both M Izakaya and Aburiya Toranoko. And, combining TWO of our top trends into one, the Royal Sushi and Izakaya pop-up made waves in Philly when it opened in February. Impressive.

This is a great article on what to put in your cupboards to eat healthier.

(this post is also titled, why I must justify purchasing this knife)

Butchering your own meat from a primal cut is not new. In fact it’s done in small towns with local butchers for quite some time. Toronto chef Ryan Donovan has started having demostrations of how to do it and this hopefully starts a trend. Already you can buy whole loins of beef from Costco to make your own steaks, this just allows even more freedom.

Squeemish? All meat has to come from animals…

I’ve been a big fan of my local Craftburger since they opened their Yonge/Bloor location. Service is good and friendly, regular burgers are good, but their gourmet burger selections, including the lamb burger, are excellent.

The Toronto Star gave them 2nd highest rating next to some other new burger joints. We can now avoid Burger King with these places close by.

Burger Bar on Augusta got some even reviews lately both at the Star and on BlogTO. Hopefully they get thier operations running smoother soon.

This article didn’t mention Bamburger – I hope she goes to review it soon.

I love T&T Supermarkets, the Chinese/Asian grocer that started appearing in the GTA just a few years ago. Their latest store on Cherry St. is a weekly stop for me. Filled with all sorts of asian specialty goods and fantastic prices I think it has been a huge success here as it has been in their home market in Vancouver.

This success was noticed and today Loblaws announced they are buying T&T for $225 million dollars. This gives me mixed feelings. As an investor of Loblaws, I think this can only be good for the company. Expanding into ethnic markets is a sure avenue for growth and buying a chain is definitely the best strategy rather than building their own brand.

However, one of the joys of T&T was that it wasn’t Loblaws. They were the first in the city to introduce those new rolley baskets, they have great fresh food and a sit-down area to eat the prepared foods. They have products offered from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds – most recently I noticed their Korean food offerings being expanded.

Let’s hope Loblaws doesn’t tinker with the formula – and try to increase profitability by sacrificing the uniqueness of this market. If the aisles prominently display President’s Choice Soy Sauce front-and-center on the shelves, it will be time to shop somewhere else.