Related article by Cecil on Angus beef.
Actually, I’d say it’s Wagyu and Kobe (which usually is “American Kobe” or Wagyu) is more filtering down into the mainstream. Angus has been mainstream for quite awhile. (Black Angus is one of the most popular breeds of beef cattle in the US.) Several pubs around here advertise their “Wagyu” or “Kobe” (which is really “Kobe-style”) burgers. The available of dry-aging also seems to be on the upswing.
I could buy tofu or soy milk, but the teas? I’ve never heard of anyone feeling proud/smug/adventurous because they or their kids like tea, or kabobs for that matter.
It isn’t in the ‘brand new exotic!’ category, but in the ‘this has been here all along?!’ category: Vietnamese subs (Bánh mì).
Yeeeeah… About that. I visited New York a while back, and – having heard the hype and all – headed down to what I had heard was a “legendary” bánh mi place somewhere on the Lower East Side. I really, really, really wanted to be impressed, but was, in the end, quite disappointed. I’m sure there are better places for it, though, so who knows.
Oh, yeah, banh mis rock. If you get them with subpar bread, they suck, but a fresh French-style baguette made with rice and white. Holy crap. The success or failure of that sandwich depends on that bread (which, really, is true of most types of sandwich. Mediocre bread, mediocre sandwich.)
Vietnamese in general, but yes, especially bahn mi and pho.
“White” should be “wheat” there. Oops.
Sweet Jesus, this sounds amazing!
A: “Hey, so… This was nice, right? You had fun…?”
B: “Yeah. Guess I did…! nervous giggle”
A: “So… Yeah, I was thinking… clears throat Would you like to have dinner with me sometime? This weekend, maybe…?”
B: “Sure, why not! You seem like a nice guy and all… What are we having?”
A: “Face.”
B: “…”
Yeah, I love the fact that the don’t try to gussy it up by calling it something like visage du cochon or something like that. 
There are also taquerias around specializing in tacos de cabeza (“head tacos”) where you can get your choice of cheek meat (cachete), tongue (lengua), brains (sesos), snout (trompa), ear (oreja) and even occasionally eyeballs (ojos) folded in a warm corn tortilla. Some of those items are fairly standard at your average taqueria, too (like tongue and brain).
The food truck wave has crested in LA. For a while you could be sure than any truck that looked “foodie” would be serving something amazing, but the imitators caught on and now there are a lot of mediocre trucks on the street. Nom Nom (banh mi), Kogi (korean fusion), India Jones (curries and frankies) are still excellent, but there’s a lot of crap out there too.
I wish the next big thing would be Japanese curry. But it doesn’t show any sign of spreading.
There are a couple Korean BBQ joints in Indy that are getting quite a bit more business, and I see a kimchi revolution coming. In fact, someone posted a picture of a kimchi hotdog on facebook recently, and now I’ve been craving doing brats with kimchi instead of kraut since I saw it.
I just looked that up :eek:
I don’t know how long it’s been around, but the Kimchi Burrito is a big seller at several places in San Francisco.
I agree. Indian was mainstream for me 35 years ago. Sushi only came into my awareness twenty years ago and I only got into it personally 5 years ago.
My vote is for raw/living. It’s getting pretty big in urban and bohemian areas.
haggis? blood pudding? ok, oxtail!
Oxtails have actually gotten pretty damned expensive around here–they’re more expensive than chuck, short ribs, and briskets. Sure, they’re not quite steak prices, but they’re among the pricier of stewing or braising meat, so somebody is eating them. Never quite understood why oxtails are considered an “off cut.” It’s just bone and meat, just like short ribs or any other bony part of the cow. (And both those cuts are tasty.)
because you stew them to the consistency of mucilage and that will result in a really hearty stew. no other part of the cow produces the same effect. and don’t make the mistake of adding ox tripe or intestines or cow cheek. just the tail.
My gf made oxtail soup recently. It was heavenly, but took days to do (soaking, braising, etc).
I am eagerly awaiting the nationwide debut of the McLudefisk.
Japanese food? One of my friends recommended Japanese Sushi, however, I haven’t tried to eat it.