Offal. It makes sense given the economy. Being a deer hunter, I’ve eaten heart and liver for years, but I’m always hearing more and more buzz from foodies about organ meats.
interesting. in my experience the teas reared their head in the workplace as people would not drink the generic instant coffee anymore, preferring the cleansing and pleasing tastes of various teas. it started with tazo and now has progressed to exotic asian teas such as various japanese green teas, chinese oolong, or the indian darjeeling, etc. it anti-oxidizes!
as for kabobs, it’s really schwarma in general. in germany, schwarma (doner kabob?) has overtaken the freakin hamburger (!) as the fast food of choice and it’s going to be the next big thing. i can feel it.
Pho and bahn mi are the new go-to for hipsters. It’s not quite as adventurous as sushi was (spice aside).
I just have to chime in to say that the pig face at Girl & the Goat is the best thing I’ve eaten this year. That whole meal was amazing. I wish I could remember all the plates we had (from Puly’s list, I’m pretty sure we had the goat pate and I know we had the pork fat donuts).
I was less impressed with Purple Pig, but still had some really good stuff there.
This is interesting, because possibly the most exotic place to eat in my town is a Japanese restaurant that serves actual Japanese food. We have a ton of sushi places, like most left-coast cities, but they are all run by Koreans, or serve fusion/new wave sushi like with purple rice or something. When Kamitori opened near my workplace, I tried it and discovered it is run by a real live Japanese man! And the first time I ate there I realized how much I miss real Japanese food. The owner found out I had lived in Japan and could read the kanji signs on the wall, and wanted to serve me something special: monk fish liver paté! It was, believe it or not, to die for. And exotic. That’s what I miss about Japanese food. It is challenging, but delicious.
I can remember Tapas restaurants advertising on (local) network TV back in the mid-late 90s. I think this disqualifies it. It hasn’t been “exotic” for at least fifteen years. It can be very good, and I’m always down for the good local Spanish place, but it ain’t mysterious and exotic.
Ditto for sushi, but ten years previous.
Now, the “roach-coach” trucks - I can’t speak for anything but Mexican, but the local places and trucks are turning out some delicious and exciting things.
I am planning to go to St John’sif we ever freaking manage to get to london … I have been grossing out Americans for years trying to feed them beef, pig, duck or chicken hearts … sob and I have such a great recipe for heart 
when i went to japan in the 90s, the in-thing for office girls was cow tripe (forgot what they called it.) it’s stewed tender, mixed with noodles, vegetables and soft tofu. cheap, filling, makes you strong (so they say.)
Feast is “exotic” in Houston because of its British roots.
But that “gross” stuff has been part of regional cuisine for years. As noted above, Mexican taco places usually offer many parts of various animals; bring the diccionario! Oxtails are a soul-food standby–cooked 'til falling of the bone, “smothered” & served over rice. From Louisiana, we get various versions of boudin–usually including chicken livers & gizzards.
I’m not brave enough to cook everything myself. But I enjoy experimenting when somebody else does the work…