Rant: Forget Useless Predictions

It's now 2023 and you'll hear plenty of predictions for this New Year, but not from me.

As I've said before, predictions for the New Year are basically useless. At the end of the year, nearly all of those predictions will have failed to come to fruition and even those that did are probably due more to luck than any actual ability to predict the future. You would have just as much success by reading tea leaves or the entrails of goats. I know that if I devised my own predictions, they too would probably fail. 

We all hope that 2023 will usher in positive changes to the local food & drink industry. Instead of offering any predictions, I'm going to provide a list of ten of my desires, those trends, issues and items which I would love to see step forward and take precedence in 2023, though I'm not predicting they will actually come to fruition. Some of these items I've been wanting for many years to happen and they still haven't become a trend. I think we would all benefit if any of these desires were fulfilled.

We possess the ability to make these desires come true. They pose valuable opportunities for entrepreneurs and others to step up and make their mark. They are matters we can demand and promote, matters we can hound restaurant owners, legislators and others to pursue. We can make our future become a reality.

1) More French Toast Sandwiches
The Monte Cristo sandwich, ham, turkey and cheese on French Toast, is popular but why haven't there been more sandwiches on French Toast? This past year, at the Iron Town Diner in Saugus, I've had several other sandwiches on French Toast, including a cheeseburger, chicken cutlet and pastrami & cheese. They were all delicious, and enhanced by the eggy French Toast. Those sandwiches weren't on their regular menu, so I simply requested them and the restaurant nicely complied. More restaurants should add these French Toast sandwiches to their menu, and I suspect they would be very popular. 

2) More Savory Pancakes

This fall, I enjoyed a savory pancake, with ham and cheese, at a Vermont diner, and it was very tasty. So why don't more places offer savory pancakes rather than the sweet concoctions that are so common? Rather than have a pancake covered in powdered sugar and whipped cream, I'd much rather have one stuffed with small cubes of ham and melted cheese. Such a savory pancake could come in many different forms and its unique nature might interest many restaurant patrons. 

3) More Bread Pudding  
Bread pudding is relatively easy to make and can be inexpensive as it can be made with day old bread. Plus, it is a diverse dish that can be made in a wide variety of flavors, with different sauces, and accompaniments. I've had some superb bread puddings at local restaurants, and would like to see more restaurants offering it on their dessert menus. However, I also think there is a great opportunity for an enterprising baker to open a Bread Pudding Bakery. They exist in other parts of the country so why not in the Boston area? Skip opening another damn cupcake bakery, think outside the box, and opt for a bread pudding bakery instead. I've been pushing for this for numerous years and it still hasn't caught on. Why not?

4) Less Powdered Sugar
Stop using so much powdered sugar, covering pancakes and French toast, adding even more sweetness to sweet desserts. It doesn't make those dishes look more appealing to have a plain white powder on them. In fact, it acts to hide the natural look of the desserts, concealing their true nature. And adding it to sweet desserts is unnecessary as they are already sweet enough. It's overkill. Yet chef after chef still uses it and that needs to stop, especially its use on pancakes and French toast. Find other ways to make your food look better. Find a better way to make your desserts sweeter if that is what you really want to do..   

5) More Breakfast Pizza
A breakfast pizza, such as with potatoes, bacon, cheese and a fried egg, can be absolutely delicious. It isn't a difficult dish to create yet you won't find it available on many menus. Think of all the pizza joints you know and then consider which ones make a breakfast pizza. You might know one or two, at best. So why isn't it more popular and available? It is puzzling to me and it seems such a no-brainer. People love pizza so why wouldn't they also love a breakfast pizza? This too seems to be a missed opportunity for many so I hope more restaurants decide to add these to their menu.

6) More Duck Wings

Chicken wings get all the attention and you can find them in many different restaurants, often as an appetizer. There are even restaurants that specialize in chicken wings. Part of the reason for their ubiquity is likely that they are usually inexpensive. However, duck wings can be so much tastier than chicken wings, yet it is very difficult to find restaurants which offer them. Let's see more restaurant start offering duck wings on their menu, showing their taste and versatility. 

7) More Filipino Restaurants & Dishes 

This is another matter I've been ranting about for several years. There is a dearth of Filipino cuisine both locally as well throughout the U.S., though a few regions seem to be opening several new Filipino restaurants. With only a few Filipino restaurants in the Boston area, there is a huge opportunity here for more Filipino spots. Or if even not an entire restaurant, maybe we could see more Filipino inspired dishes on other menus. This is also applicable to a number of other cuisines of which Boston doesn't have enough representation, like Peruvian, Croatian and Georgian.

8) More Sake At Non-Asian Restaurants
In the Boston area, Sake is largely confined to Asian restaurants and there is no reason why that should be the case. Sake pairs well with all sorts of cuisines, from Italian to French, Barbecue to Burgers. I've previously written about The Science of Sake & Food Pairings, explaining reasons why it pairs so well with varied cuisines. For Sake to become more popular and mainstream, we need more restaurants to carry and promote Sake. Tasting Counter is one of the courageous outliers, a non-Asian restaurant with multiple Sakes on their menu. Sake is not just for Sushi!

9) More Love For Niche Wines
So many excellent wines get largely ignored by the general public, and even by a significant number of wine lovers. I want to see more people willing to expand their palates and explore these niche wines, from Sherry to Georgian wines, from Crémant d'Alsace to Croatian wines, from Port to Greek wines. Why do you restrict your drinking when you could be sampling all of the world's wine bounty? We need more restaurants adding these niche wines to their lists, and then promoting them to their customers. We need more wine bloggers to write about these wines, persuading their readers to check out these niche wines. You'll find so many interesting and delicious wines if you break out of your usual drinking patterns and try something new.

10) More Food Pairings With Bubbly

Sparkling wine actually pairs well with numerous food dishes yet most people drink it only as a celebratory wine or as an aperitif. More people should try pairing sparkling wine with a variety of dishes, to learn how well it can pair with their dinner. We also need restaurants and wine sommeliers to start making recommendations for sparkling wine for various menu items. Whenever I've sought a wine pairing recommendation from a sommelier, only rarely have they suggested a Sparkling wine. Sparkling wine even pairs well with simple foods, like potato chips! Why not set up a Sparkling Wine tasting with various flavored potato chips. 

What food & drink trends would you like to see in 2023?