Soon Everything Will Taste Like Mezcal
March 11, 2013
Photo: Bartholomew Cooke for LA Times Magainze
And while we've always had smoky flavors in barbecue, it seems the food folks are amping up this flavor trend as well.
The trendiest cooking technique for restaurants these days seems to be open fire cooking, found at places like Ox in Portland and the forthcoming TBD by the folks from AQ in San Francisco. Everything cooked in those places has a touch of smoke to it.
I keep noticing it in other products as well. Just in the past week I stumbled across smoked maple syrup and smoked chocolate chips.
Smoke is a flavor I enjoy so I'm all for this trend, at least for now. But at this rate, smoke could beat out sriracha as to become the cupcake of 2013.
Cooking things with fire is older than time itself. Its no trend. If anything this signals a step toward refined crafts returning to their rustic roots.
Posted by: Christian Clark | March 11, 2013 at 01:20 PM
If a bunch of restaurants all open up doing the same unique cooking technique, that makes a trend no matter how old the technology behind it is.
True it's also wound up in the modern craft and vintage technology trends also ongoing. A trend vortex!
Posted by: Camper English | March 11, 2013 at 01:23 PM