A few weeks back I mentioned my top five restaurant choices for the future of Tacoma. This week while reading one of my favorite magazines, “Food and Wine,” I decided to pull from it some interesting trends that are currently hitting the restaurant scene around the country. Some are really exciting and inventive. Others would send many Tacomans screaming for the hills. When it comes to food, there is a fine culinary line we restaurants must walk because frankly, most Tacoma folk scare easily.



One easily identifiable item that has threaded its way through many menus is the “other white meat,” pork: pork-jowl croutons, braised pork cheeks, pork belly and romesco sauce, roasted pork with clams and chorizo, and roasted curried pork shoulder (which I attempted to make last week, and it was FABULOUS!) to name a few. Did I see any chicken? Not a one to be found.



Japanese influence cuisine also kept ahead of the curve. The term Japanese “gastropub” or “gastro-izakayas” was used to describe where one would go for small dishes of Japanese small plates with multicultural twists and glasses of beer, sake or spirits. This sounds like a Japanese “tapas” bar that, by the way, I think Tacoma just may be ready for, a truly traditional tapas bar with Spanish seasonal small-plates and a Spanish-only wine list. Mussels with cava and chorizo, sign me up!



Traditional comfort foods prepared with a new twist are also seeing a surge in popularity. Bin 8945 in Los Angeles, Stripsteak in Las Vegas and the Blue Duck Tavern in Washington, D.C., are taking French fries to a whole new level by deep-frying them in duck fat. Steakstrip serves them in little ceramic cones with three different seasonings and dipping sauces. Other interesting variations include truffle-scented mac’n’cheese, peanut butter cookies with fermented curry, and cotton candy covered foie gras. I most likely would have to say “no” to that last one.



This is only the beginning for some of these “big city” trendy restaurants. Many of their menus are so audacious and unusual, they can only survive where they are located. At Coi in San Francisco, you can enjoy a pink grapefruit appetizer with ginger and pepper that comes with an olfactory side of grapefruit oil to dab on your wrist. In Phoenix, many customers barely blink and eye at the foie gras Dippin’ Dots that most likely would send a few people over the edge around here. Many restaurants are getting quite a bit of mileage out of our poor little winged friends, and they are going to be mighty pissed if foie gras becomes illegal in the United States.



I know many of you would love to see an all-dessert restaurant. One might be able to brave Tacoma, but only one, and it would have to be REALLY good. New York’s Room 4 Dessert prepares truly amazing concoctions like a parfait made with whiskey “caviar,” Coca-Cola and Cracker Jacks, and the “Voyage to India,” which is a chocolate chai parfait and coconut cream. Now I am not a dessert person, but a place like this could easily make me a convert. I once had vanilla ice cream with black truffles. It was delightful. Can someone get working on a dessert place soon?



More nationwide restaurant trends include certified-organic meats and vegetables, raw foods, house-cured charcuterie and artesinal cheeses, sweetbreads (yikes), oyster bars and pubs with upscale food. We could stand more creative culinary experiences in Tacoma, but I think we are working on it. Stadium Bistro is probably the best example of a Tacoma restaurant pushing the culinary envelope. Are we ready for more?



There’s a lot of mediocrity in many restaurants around here, but for some reason it works. We like our chicken, beef or fish swimming in something creamy while accompanied by the token starch and veggie on the side. Oh, and there better be a ton of it on the plate. Hmmm … remember earlier I mentioned the very fine line we restaurants have to walk in order not to scare the diners of Tacoma? I say let’s push ’em over the edge.



Eat out Tacoma. We need your love.



Sandee Glib has worked in the restaurant and hospitality industry for more than 12 years as a server, bartender, cook and owner. Her opinions are expressly her own and she is always right.