12 National Food Trends We'll See in Phoenix in 2013

By Nikki Buchanan Tue., Jan. 1 2013 at 10:00 AM

Categories: Buchanan

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5. Barrel-aging, fat-washing and carbonating/bottling cocktails Barrel-aging -- where bartenders fill casks with pre-mixed drinks and let the flavors develop over several weeks -- has been trending for at least three years now, probably longer in the big cocktail hubs. But it's hardly old news. People are simply finding different things to barrel-age and in different conditions (like ocean-aging bourbon, for example). And then, of course, there's fat-washing: infusing a spirit with something fatty, such as meat, butter or oil to add flavor and interesting mouth feel. But the newest bartending trick and the one that requires the coolest toys is carbonating entire cocktails, then bottling them. Richie Moe and his crew at Citizen Public House play with all of these techniques, and they're only going to become more popular in 2013, so we can expect to see them wherever our best bartenders work.

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6. Bread Who doesn't love bread? Oh sure, the gluten-free enthusiasts pooh-pooh it (another ongoing and growing trend, to be sure), but most of us offer up give-us-this-day prayers, well, daily. And this year, they're being answered. Not only are more restaurants baking their own artisan loaves, some are even offering bread courses. We haven't seen that one here yet but we can hope. Nevertheless, Phoenix doesn't lack for yummy house-baked bread (think Italian Restaurant, St. Francis, Quiessence and Binkley's, just to name a few). Some restaurants even buy their flour from recently re-opened Hayden Flour Mill. I'm guessing we'll also see more ethnic breads and more artisan bakeries as well.