That being said, there are some trending foods you can expect to see crop up on menus.  And they can be just as arbitrary as the tastes of the customers they are serving.  From artisanal candies to meat spreads to scrambled eggs for dinner, from Spanish cuisine and tacos to in-your-face spicy and pucker-up-sour.  The trends are running the gamut this year and it may be difficult to pinpoint what the masses are looking for when they dine out.  The younger crowds aren’t brand-loyal, either, making each and every restaurant fair game, thus amping up the competition.  Food favorites are getting more and more far-out, too, as the kale fad is quickly evolving into a seaweed fad, as ugly root vegetables make their way in to kitchens across America—fried, mashed, or pureed kohlrabi anyone?   Moving away from the Sriracha craze, chefs are experimenting with habanero honey and ghost chili honey, sweet and spicy combinations that tantalize the taste buds.  Hummus is outpacing salsa in restaurants these days, and crazy yogurts just might be all the rage—vegetable yogurts with flavors such as squash, beet, tomato, and kimchee.  Even desserts aren’t spared the infusions of taste.  Have you tried gelato made with anchovies, gorgonzola, pistachio, and mortadella?  Get in line, because these crazy ice cream flavors are getting hyped up and are selling like hotcakes.  Did I mention hotcakes?  Gone are the days of maple syrup slathered across the top of your pancake stack.  Savory flapjacks are being sought after, with versions made from sauerkraut and ricotta or even horseradish-buckwheat with beef tongue at State Bird Provisions in San Francisco.  It seems our “restless palate syndrome” won’t let us leave well enough alone, and chefs and diners alike are constantly looking to outdo one manic flavor trend after another!

Millennials are driving the market, and the “I want what I want, when I want it” attitude may appear to be a bit tantrum-like at first glance.  But their desire to find new or unique foods and flavors, to be able to customize their meals, and to easily accommodate their seemingly odd cravings has set the restaurant world on its heels, at the ready to pounce on unique and inventive creations to drive customers to their dining room.  In a way, it’s kind of an exciting new phase of food we are entering, and I’m eager to continue my quest to find my own wacky favorite.   Fried pork-ear pasta with fish sauce vinaigrette, anyone?

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