Cowin predicts a modified vegetarianism in a casual setting.

Topic: Food trends on the horizon.

Dana Cowin: I think there are two enormous food trends that would really entreat me that will play out in the magazine. One of them is a drive towards modified vegetarianism and I think the reason for this is, you know, our concerns about the food source and the rise of farmer’s markets and appreciation of the simplicity of food. So I am not saying that the whole country is going to turn out to be vegetarian, but its more of a vegetable-based diet which some might say in a way its more sophisticated diet. Meat as a condiment not what’s primary on the plate and certainly healthier and the other is diametrically opposed in a way and that is a fascination with really high-quality meat. We have lived through the pork moment and now from the pork moment where people are roasting baby pigs in little Chinese boxes and they are, you know, going to pig roasts and they are devotees of David Chang and Momofuku. I think we are going to see the raise of the celebrity butcher and the celebrity animal farmer, which I think it is fantastic, because I would rather know where my meat came from. So that’s purely on the food front. In restaurants we have seen such a drive towards casual and homey.

So you have a restaurant in New York City like Market Table or you have Tilth in Seattle where its local food, it’s a huge official local trend, but it’s a simplicity of a pork chop, but its a great pork chop and how great in comforting that food can be and has become. So that’s making a little slice of the restaurant world. Interestingly in New York after having no sort of extravagant openings, we have since an extravagant openings, Adore with Ducais, with Adore. I think that’s interesting because you watch the cycles of the economy in the restaurant world. So there was a lot of money when these restaurants were birthed and the idea of them is birthed and now of course the economy is slowing down and in creep the people who didn’t need three years to plan their restaurant, you know, they got a store front and they are filling it with homey furniture and then making homey food which is great for this moment.

Recorded on: 3/7/08