Shoes: Latest Trends in Food

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Fine Dining at Merriman's on the Big Island

My Morning Routine: Kelly Slater, Pro Surfer

Indulgent Ahi Salad at Da Poke Shack in Kona

Andrew McCarthy's Banana Bread Quest

Bon Appetit
- In the Magazine

In the Magazine

Photographs by Danny Kim
Web feature by Erik Sälgström Peterson

January 2013

The BA 25: What to Eat, Drink and Cook in 2013

Blondies are the new brownies. Chickens, beware. And 23 other things you need to know about the food world in 2013. Pick one from the grid below or simply scroll down to start from the top

#1 Grapefruit's New
Main Squeeze
It turns out that The Paloma, not the Margarita, is Mexico's most beloved cocktail, and it's making inroads north of the border. Basic versions contain nothing more than tequila, grapefruit-flavored soda (Jarritos is the brand of choice, but yes, Fresca will work), and ice. But we prefer ours with tequila's smoky cousin, mezcal, fresh grapefruit juice, and a splash of club soda. Think of it as the country's bracing answer to rum and Coke—and a refreshing antidote to all things gray this winter.
—Andrew Knowlton
(click for recipe)

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#2 Beet Juice, You Gotta Problem with That?
A confession: I'm a juicer. It all started when a friend got me a juice-cleanse kit as a joke and, well, I liked how it made me feel. At first I was embarrassed. After all, what's a professional eater (and drinker!) doing living on beet juice and cashew milk? The short answer: Too much is sometimes too much. So cleanses will be a crucial part of my regimen this year—not to lose weight, but to recalibrate both physically and mentally. Try one of the fancy plans for a few days, or just juice at home. Even if you don't love it, I guarantee it will make your next cheese- burger the greatest you've ever had. —A.K.
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#3 The Alterna-Egg
Chefs are moving out of the henhouse, ditching chicken eggs in favor of their larger—and tastier—siblings: duck eggs. Find them sunny-side up with patatas bravas at Superba Snack Bar in Venice, California, or cooked and served in a jar at West Bridge, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where chef Matthew Gaudet moves 1,000 of the pale orbs each month. "There's an ultimate richness to the duck egg that's just so much better," says Gaudet. They're also available at farmers' markets, some Whole Foods Market stores, or duckeggs.com (seriously). Don't waste their depth of flavor on a harsh scramble. Try baking one in a ramekin over sautéed spinach until the whites are set to see what the pros are quacking about. —Meryl Rothstein
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#4 Two Ways to Snap Way Better Food Pics
LOW-END: The iPhone 5 (32GB, $299), loaded with our favorite photo app, Snapseed ($5, iTunes). The app offers advanced features like brightness, sharpening, and color-correction controls to turn that motley plate of nachos into a work of art(-ish).

HIGH-END: Canon 5D MK III ($3,500) with Canon EF 35mm F/1.4L Lens ($1,500): the serious blogger's choice. This DSLR provides high-ISO performance that, when matched with this wide-angle lens, lets you shoot in the darkest of restaurants. —Matt Duckor
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#5 Kitchen Collaborations

What do you get when you combine the talents of Eric Ripert, Anthony Bourdain, and Christopher Curtin, owner of Éclat Chocolate? The Good & Evil chocolate bar ($18, eclatcocolate.com), the smartest food collaboration so far this year. Look for more of these culinary mashups as brewers join forces with restaurants (Brooklyn Brewery and NYC ramen spot Ippudo), and musicians get with coffee roasters (James Murphy and Blue Bottle Coffee). As for the chocolate bar? Being conflicted has never tasted so good. —A.K.

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#6 Watch Your Back, Steakhouse
Chick-fil-A made headlines last year, but it's the poultry, not the politics, that we've been noticing lately. The humble chicken has evolved from the lazy menu order to the sole reason for a restaurant's existence. Now that better-raised, better-tasting birds are more available, big-deal backers like Jean-Georges Vongerichten (Simply Chicken) are opening concepts. While the steak-loving crowd may never flock to the chicken house, when it comes to everyday dining—this bird rules the roost. —A.K.

Six New Spots Where the Bird's the Word
Pecking Order, Chicago: Filipino-style grilled, fried, and roast chicken
Bantam & Biddy, Atlanta: Rotisserie chicken
Fresa's, Austin, TX: Charcoal-grilled chicken
Simply Chicken, NYC: Chicken hot dog
Chicken Scratch, Dallas, TX: Fried and rotisserie chicken
Wing Wings, San Francisco: Choose from eight different sauces, from Orange Miso to Angry Korean.
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#7 Burma: Go Eat There Now

"The best dish I ever had—the very best—was at a roadside stand in Pyin U Lwin in central Burma [a.k.a. Myanmar]: a steaming bowl of thick-cut noodles, dried fish, pungent heat, and sour notes, with just the right balance of sugar. It was a simple dish. The complexity came from the same family making this same soup, day in and day out, for generations." —Naomi Pomeroy, Chef-Owner, Beast, Portland, OR
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#8 Food On Film

We're living in the golden era of the food documentary. Inspired by 2011's Jiro Dreams of Sushi, a little movie about a master chef and his Tokyo restaurant that did gangbuster business at the box office, filmmakers are tackling the subject like never before. The first film on our 2013 must-see list: Women with Cows. It's been described as "Grey Gardens with cows" (pictured) and follows two older Swedish women with particular ideas about raising their dairy herd. The less amusing but powerful A Place at the Table looks at the failings of the American food system, while Spinning Plates tells the story of three very different restaurants— including Grant Achatz's Next— and their struggle to survive. Roll 'em!—Sam Dean
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#9 The Next
D.I.Y. Staple: Yogurt
First Greek was the darling of the active culture-obsessed crowd, then the Icelandic version stormed the dairy case. Yogurt's next move? A home invasion. Homemade yogurt is creamier and less tangy than the store-bought stuff. Plus, despite all those counter-hogging devices you've seen, it requires no special equipment to make—just a little patience. With your own jar in the fridge, we predict it'll work its way into your salad dressings, chicken marinades, or rich stews. Get our recipe for the easiest homemade version ever right here.
—Alison Roman ↑ back to top
Sesame seed bun (slightly sweet) Berkshire pork butt (fried chicken cutlets show up, too) Oaxacan cheese (shredded for texture) Papalo (the cilantro-like herb is crucial) Avocado (adds buttery richness) Chipotle purée (if you want heat you got it)

#10 The Cemita: Spanish for Big Mac
This sandwich, from the Mexican state of Puebla, joins the banh mi, cubano, and panino as part of our lunchtime canon. —A.K.

Here's where to get our favorites:
⋅Nido, Oakland, CA
⋅Cemitas Puebla, Chicago
⋅Cemita, Brooklyn
⋅Cascabel Taqueria, NYC (pictured)
⋅El Chucho, Washington, D.C.

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#11 The Book We're Super
Eggs-cited to Cook from
We never tire of eggs. So when we got our hands on a preview of Rose Carrarini's How to Boil an Egg ($23, amazon.com), a book devoted to the way her eponymous Rose Bakery makes the incredible, edible you-know-whats, we really started clucking. It begins with the basics—boiling, scrambling, frying, baking—and moves on to egg-fueled baked goods (tarts! scones! mousses!). Carrarini, an Englishwoman who opened the first Rose Bakery in Paris in 2002, now has branches in London, Tokyo, Seoul, and Tel Aviv. We'd follow her around the world for more recipes like these. —Julia Bainbridge

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#12 Hang Time with Chefs

Not long ago, the great chefs—Thomas Keller, David Chang—kept to themselves. But thanks to a new crop of culinary events, any fan with ticket money can mingle with and even question such culinary rock stars. Some of our favorite cheffy hangs include the Southern Foodways Alliance symposium, which tackled barbecue in 2012; Mesamérica in Mexico City; and Copenhagen's MAD Symposium, curated by Noma's René Redzepi. Get your tickets now. Oh, and we'll see you there!—M.D.
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#13 Sriracha's Competition
The Korean chile paste gochujang is catching fire outside of Koreatowns. Think bold miso meets that stuff in the rooster bottle. Dab it on egg sandwiches or sliders, toss with chicken wings, or try it in the bibimbap (click for recipe) from the January 2013 issue. —Joanna Sciarrino
Sunchang Gochujang, $14 for 500g, amazon.com
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#14 What Your Bartender Is Drinking
"It's weird, it's black and bitter, it's minty and strange, and, quite frankly, it tastes like burning. The Italian digestivo Fernet-Branca is the after-work shot of choice among those who make drinks. We also apply it to our cocktails to lend an astringency or roundness." —Jeffrey Morgenthaler Bar Manager, Clyde Common, Portland, OR
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#15 Fresh Horseradish

Pale, knotty, and not especially sexy, horseradish is all of a sudden everywhere on menus, adding a peppery hit to ceviches, as a garnish for short ribs, or as a topping for smoked salmon tartines. It's part of the mustard family—like wasabi, which shares its nose-tingling bite. And if you've only ever had the stuff from the jar, now's the time to branch out. Buy a root the size of a large carrot, peel, and use a Microplane grater to turn it into fluffy shavings, then employ it in any or all of the ideas above. —Carla Lalli Music
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#16 The New
Daily Grind
Milling your own flour may seem like something out of an episode of Frontier House, but freshly ground whole grains are packed with the vitamins, fiber, and flavor that the industrial stuff lacks. "When you freshly grind peppercorns, they're going to have much more flavor than pre-ground black pepper. It's the same with flour," says chef Jared Van Camp, of Nellcôte in Chicago, who mills wheat, corn, and rye for the restaurant. Our favorite home mill is the Wolfgang Jr. ($500, amazon.com)—it's quiet, has adjustable grind settings, and looks fantastic on the counter. —Danielle Walsh
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#17 Eddie Huang: Stay On His Good Side In 2013

The chef/blogger/video series host added "firestarter" to his résumé in 2012 when he picked a public fight with chef Marcus Samuelsson. The f-bomb-dropping, bao-popularizing Huang adds one more title— author—when his memoir, Fresh Off the Boat, hits this month.

Everyone calls you "the next Anthony Bourdain." That okay?
It's an honor. Tony's commitment to telling the truth and his unwillingness to play the game changed food in America. My career couldn't have happened if he hadn't come first. He made companies comfortable betting on a hip-hop Chinese kid.

Now you and Bourdain are pals. So who else inspires you?
I've always wanted to meet Charles Barkley, Cam'ron, and [former New York Times restaurant critic] Sam Sifton. He's the man.

The U.S. seems obsessed with Asian food. Where's it all end?
It would be amazing if I could go to Buffalo Wild Wings, watch a football game, and eat some Buffalo-style chicken feet. See, I'm fractured. I'm ethnically Chinese. My parents were born in Taiwan, I was born in the U.S. How do you reconcile that?

Sounds very American, actually...
Yeah, I tell myself, There's nothing to reconcile. You are who you are, and if it goes over people's heads, that's their problem. I make sense to myself.
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#18 Tea Party People

We're gonna call it: Tea is the new coffee, complete with equipment, techniques, and tons of varieties to nerd out over. Need an introduction? Jeannie Liu, of Miro Tea in Seattle, gave us brewing tips on three of the most popular types. —Charlotte Druckman

White
Delicate and the least processed of them all, the whites' natural, leafy flavor comes closest to what a pure tea leaf tastes like.

Water temp: 170°
Steeping time: 3-4 minutes

Green
Brewing these vegetal, grassy teas with water that's too hot can lead to a harsh bitterness.

Water temp: 140° (Japanese)
170° (Chinese)
Steeping time: 1-2 minutes

Black
The most caffeinated on the spectrum, the best ones have a combination of spice, dark chocolate, or honey notes.

Water temp: Boiling
Steeping time: 2-3 minutes
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#19 A Reason To Disable Your Smoke Detector

You don't need a fire pit and a cord of wood to hop aboard the smoked-everything trend. Outfit your kitchen with a Camerons Stovetop Smoker ($44, mysecretpantry.com) and get fired up.
—C.L.M.

⋅Smoke your own salt and spices to use in rubs.
⋅Infuse vanilla beans with wood-fired flavor.
⋅Smoke your own almonds, or any other nuts you like.
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#20 The King of Crustaceans

Sorry, Maine lobsters, Carolina blue crabs, and Georgia shrimp, but Dungeness crab rules the crustacean kingdom. I realized this at Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco as I pulled the sweet, briny flesh from my crab—then ordered another. Chefs across America have caught on, tossing it with pasta, piling it on grilled toast, even smoking it. Why not order some right now?
Cooked crabs, $20 each
southbeachfishmarket.com.
—A.K.
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#21 The Next Course: Bread

The hottest thing since sliced bread is, well, bread. Bread that's so good that it gets its own course, like the sourdough fried in pork fat and served with house-made butter at Matthew Lightner's Atera in New York. Bread courses have popped up at Houston's Oxheart, Blanca in Brooklyn, and Maaemo in Oslo (above). So get used to the term "bread program." And get used to ridiculously good bread. —J.B.
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#22 Indie Food Mags To Read
(When You're Not Reading BA, Of Course)

Kinfolk | Gather Journal | Fool | Lucky Peach | Diner Journal
—Christine Muhlke
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#23 Blond(ie) is the New Brown(ie)

For dessert snobs, blondies have always been a pale imitation of their darker inspiration. But now the fairer-hued bar is coming into its own. In New York, Stellina sells a Dirty Blondie with peanut butter and toffee (pictured). And in San Francisco, Black Jet Baking Co. adds brown butter and Maldon sea salt to set a new standard for what the classic un-brownie should be. —C.D.
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#24 Sodastream Booze*
We asked science whiz and drinksmith David Arnold of NYC's Booker & Dax to show us how he adds fizz to one of our favorite cocktails—the Negroni—using that kitchen must-have, the SodaStream. —M.D.

⋅First, he attaches seven inches of 3/16-inch plastic tubing to the plastic tip where the CO2 comes out of the SodaStream. The tubing is needed to reach the low level of liquid in the bottle.
⋅Then Arnold adds 1 oz. each of sweet vermouth, gin, and Campari to the SodaStream bottle, plus 3 oz. water, and mixes. He places the mixture in the freezer for 30 minutes or until very, very cold.
⋅Finally, he carbonates the liquid while physically shaking the machine (the agitation helps the alcohol absorb CO2). When the liquid stops bubbling, he releases the latch and lets the Soda- Stream vent. He repeats the process three times. This yields one fizzy drink.

*Just to be clear, SodaStream does NOT recommend this technique.
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#25 Restaurants To Watch

Here are five spots opening in the new year that I've got my eye on. —A.K.

The Ordinary, Charleston, SC
Chef Mike Lata explores "merroir" at this seafood-focused spot in a converted bank.

Animal/Ludo Bites Project, Los Angeles
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, the boys behind Animal restaurant, team up with the king of the pop-up, Ludovic Lefebvre.

Alder, NYC
After years at the forefront of avant-garde cooking, chef's chef Wylie Dufresne goes casual at this East Village spot.

Qui, Austin, TX
Chef Paul Qui's much anticipated spot includes a family-style dining room, tasting menu space, and chef counter.

Grace, Chicago
An ambitious fine dining space from up-and-coming talent Curtis Duffy. Expect tasting menus, custom-made everything, and Michelin three-star service.
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