Just 'cuz it's New Year's, when lists are as common as iPhone inboxes packed with morning-after sexts from guys whose names draw a total blank, here it is: our convenient summary of SFoodie's countdown of 2009 alternative foodie trends in San Francisco. It was a year marked by struggling restaurants, grassroots street-food energy, and an overall hunger for realness. What's up for 2010? SFoodie won't be shy about breaking it down for ya. Oh, and Happy New Year.
No. 10: Chefs as objects of desireNo. 9: Fear of busts dogs the underground food movement
No. 8: Bars and dining rooms make a play for woody authenticity
No. 7: Twitter changes the rules
No. 6: Beer gains luster
No. 5: Restaurants slash prices
No. 4: DIY in the kitchen
No. 3: Finding meaning in public butchery
No. 2: Losing faith in our chefs
No. 1: Coming together to eat
In the United States, the new year is usually ushered in by champagne and as many hangover-inducing beverages as we can get our hands on. In other countries, however, hearty food traditions mark the start of the year. Below, some of our favorites.
Not that we're superstitious or anything, but why eff with fate? Especially when the edible buffer against bad-luck New Year's juju is as tasty as the Rancho Gordo split pea soup with house-smoked ham hock at Starbelly.
It's the kind of vivid, deeply flavored dish that's just about the perfect backdrop for contemplating the all-but-cashed old year, and for mulling over hopeful promises for the new. Or, if you'd just as soon obliterate all memory of the past 364 days, think of it as fortification for tonight's brain-cell-blasting farewell to 2009.
Starbelly 3583 16th St. (at Market), 252-7500
