Culinary trends: What to expect this year

Charcuterie boards. Small batch tonic. More leafy greens. Hibiscus. ATM-like machines that dispense everything from cupcakes to hamburgers. Pop-up restaurants that can excite palates and bring life to a community’s dark spaces. Farm-to-bar. Yep, that’s bar, watering holes.

These and others are part of the culinary trends expected to hit the national consciousness this year, according to hospitality market prognosticators who annually declare what’s now in, and what’s out. The sweeping trend of the last few years—farm-to-table—is still strong, but new aspects of it will emerge in 2013 including an emphasis on kale, turnip and other greens in restaurants, a focus on pastured poultry and new uses of local produce and goods in cocktails. In Baton Rouge, the Red Stick Farmers Market and local Slow Foods chapter continue to grow, and more and more Capital City restaurants, including Juban’s, Sushi Yama, Ruffino’s, Nino’s, Beausoleil and others are routinely integrating Louisiana family farm products into their menus. Another national trend, pop-up restaurants, is being satisfied locally by Baton Rouge culinary entrepreneur Jay Ducote, who has hosted several such events with other committed chefs and food pioneers.

The national charcuterie itch is going to be satisfied in town by eateries that offer house-made sausages, including 18 Steak at L’Auberge Casino, which has an impressive 18-item charcuterie board, (arguably its best menu item). A new deli modeled after New Orleans bellwether Cochon Butcher named City Pork is expected to open in the Perkins Road Overpass district this year. And, the sweet, tangy flavor of hibiscus, set to pop in 2013, will see its way into more teas, desserts and in cocktails. Local enthusiasts of the flower can turn to Latte e Miele, which integrates it into hand-crafted gelato and to Bissap Breeze, a non-alcoholic beverage made from organic roselle hibiscus flowers, organic volcanic agave nectar, natural extracts and spices, which is concocted down the road at Edible Enterprises in Norco, La.