In a post-holiday food coma, which had included six days straight of pickled herring, you would think that I would be turned off by the mere idea of food. Never. As I sat on my couch with a minimalist breakfast of tea and oatmeal this weekend, my ears perked up at a story on NPR called “Cupcakes Are Dead. Long Live the Pie!” Thank God. I hate cupcakes.

Hate might be a strong word, but there’s something about the cupcake trend of recent years that makes me cringe. An overly sugary and processed item that can practically be eaten in one bite? A birthday dessert that often is made straight out of a box but that’s been glorified with fancy ingredients like espresso and vanilla bean? No, thank you.

Call me pretentious, but there are plenty of other baked goods I would go for first. Which is why I am happy to hear that cupcakes are out and pies are in.

Finally, a throwback to a baked good that’s got a history behind it. Seriously, we’re talking recipes back to the 1500s. Nowadays they’ve gotten so popular that restaurants are offering pie happy hours. Well, at least in Texas, but given America’s sweet tooth don’t be surprised if we see more of them in the near future.

What else can we expect in the new year? Kale, pop-up restaurants, and upscale junk food; all things we love to cover here on Foodie Underground. I’ll also wager that we’ll continue to see an influx of smaller, artisan operations in every industry from pork to port, as well as more niche restaurants. Think chocolate-centric cafes. And, as always, there will be those of us continuing to devote our lives to DIY cuisine – be it kombucha or sweet potato fries.

All good trends that are pushing our culinary boundaries, with or without cupcakes.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground. Each week, Anna will be taking a look at something new and different that’s taking place in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to culinary avant garde.

Image: clevercupcakes

The post Foodie Underground: Cupcakes Are So Last Year appeared first on EcoSalon.

No doubt you’ve noticed the hot trend of Pop Up retail establishments.

The wave began as a way for scrappy, undercapitalized entrepreneurs to try out a new business idea without getting locked into a long-term lease. Good ideas almost always originate at the grassroots and work their way into mainstream culture through co-option so it’s not surprising that national retailers are hopping on board.

A lot of these early would-be business owners were victims of the economy. With fewer opportunities in the industries that smart, cultural creatives flock to, like computer programming, advertising, and graphic design, droves of clever people begin turning their passions into small businesses. These businesses are dynamic, fun, and provide customers with something new and different. Through their very originality and quirkiness, they bring something of value to the neighborhoods they adopt, the cities in which they are located, and to the culture at large.

For example, how can you not love the restaurant-inside-a-restaurant known as Mission Chinese Food? Located on one of the skankiest blocks of Mission Street in San Francisco, Mission Chinese Food improves the neighborhood by drawing people in to eat its amazing, authentic, affordable Chinese food, and it also gives away 75 cents per entrée sold to The San Francisco Food Bank.

Of course, the major retailers are riding the wave of the trend too. Lured by the economy-related explosion of empty commercial space and cheap rent, many national brands are opening Pop Ups of their own. As much as the kiddies love their craptastic plastic toys, a Pop Up Toys R Us is hardly as exciting or as a sexy as an unexpected restaurant or boutique tucked away in an out-of-the-way neighborhood.

Do we really need more chain retail outlets? And as TriplePundit asks in this piece, how green are these stores if they use and discard temporary signage and fixtures? Even less green if the stores are located in far-flung dying malls, which just encourage people to drive around and buy more crap.

On the other hand, a better corporate-driven use of the Pop Up concept is for businesses that ramp up for a specific purpose and then shut down, as this Business Week article notes.

Here’s a rundown of some good, bad, and ugly Pop Up concepts that have come to our attention. Tell us your discoveries in the comments below.

At the Pop Up General Store, located in a refurbished streetcar depot in Oakland, CA, you can buy handmade artisanal foods from Chez Panisse cooks. It’s pricey, but the people who can afford it are getting some top-notch goodies from real pros, who are in turn, hopefully, making a living through their talents.

Chef Ludo Lefebvre’s, roving restaurant, Ludo’s Bites has taken LA by storm in its various locations. Ludo’s a total pro and if anyone can get me a reservation, I’d be eternally grateful.

The Pop Up concept is always open for interpretation. In this slight twist, two cafés in Manhattan are sponsoring a Pop Up outdoor café for Park(ing) day.

The Detox Market pops up in Venice, CA, and provides access to a variety of super eco health and beauty products, some of which are not that easy to find elsewhere.

New Orleans has MVB (Most Valuable Burger), which operates Sunday nights out of a diner that is closed in the evenings.

One of the first dining-related Pop Ups, Outstanding in a Field has been connecting eaters, farmers, food artisans, and chefs in locations all over the U.S for the past decade. They’re even branching out to other locations around the world.

Burlington Coat Factory is opening up Pop Ups around the country this winter. While it isn’t as exciting as some of the food-related Pop Ups above, one can argue that it makes sense for a company that sells a seasonal product to utilize their resources more efficiently through using Pop Ups. Think about those Halloween Superstores that have been around for years.

Ford is trying to sell its Fiesta model to hip, urban consumers through a Pop Up Store in Portland, OR. I wonder how that’s going.

The Limited returns to New York City after being absent for 10 years via a Pop Up store. It makes sense from a corporate point of view if you want to test a new market.

It will be interesting to see how the Pop Up trend evolves alongside economic developments. Because I don’t believe our economy will ever be the same (due both to the facts of capitalism and the constraints of our environment) I think ways of doing business have changed permanently. What new methods to sell goods and services will smart, creative people invent next?

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Image: Djjewelz

The post Hop on Pop-Ups appeared first on EcoSalon.

For foodies, the last year has seen an enormous rise in the street food trend, bringing quick, authentic and diverse food to the masses. For fashionistas, it’s been pop-up shops, taking advantage of unused retail space and allowing for unique shopping experiences that can focus on more local and sustainable themes. Now combine the two. What do you get? Pop-up restaurants.

A pop up restaurant makes sense in the day and age where economic stability isn’t always a given. And it has the allure of not being an established locale, something that suits cutting-edge urban foodies just fine. Think I’m kidding? There’s a whole blog devoted to documenting the effort of opening up a restaurant for limited cash and keeping it mobile. And with helpful guerrilla tools like Twitter and food blogs, getting the word out about mobile culinary experiences isn’t all too difficult.

Cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and London – with their food crazed populations that are always up for something new – are quick to embrace the trend. In San Francisco, it’s being taking even further, with the upcoming Street Fixe, a sit-down street-food prix fixe with table service. Part of the beauty of street food is that it’s not served in traditional dining environment, but every once in awhile don’t you just wish you could enjoy your tacos in a little more peace and quiet? Street Fixe will provide for just that, and by putting several vendors in one space, eliminate the need for underground research on where the latest and greatest food cart of the week is.

Earlier this year, New York tried a similar thing, hosting The Hunger, which focused on their deemed theme of “Urban Cuisine Burgeois.” Or there’s the Ghetto Gourmet, a wandering supper club of sorts which provides a whole community of people looking to host and attend pop up type eating events. Dining out-of-the-box so to say.

Mobile and able to transition quickly, the idea of pop up restaurants might conjure up images of poorly cooked meals that lack creativity. On the contrary, part of the allure of these places is their gastronomic ingenuity. Street Fixe has a five course menu that includes Sabudana Vada Tapioca Fritter, complete with hot and sweet apricot sauce. Mission Street Food makes diversity a central part of its menu, bringing in a new guest chef every week, giving up and coming chefs the chance to make a name for themselves with the cool crowd.

Pop up restaurants aren’t just hitting the urban, out-and-about scene, in a down economy they’re also becoming a trend for eating at home, allowing amateur chefs try their hand at whipping together a meal and bringing together a small crowd. There are even How to guides out there for those that are willing to take on the endeavor, meaning that your pop up dining experience could be just around the corner.

Do you have a favorite pop up restaurant in your town? Tell us about it! Either in the comments below, or by using #FoodieUnderground on Twitter.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground. Each week, Anna will be taking a look at something new and different that’s taking place in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to culinary avant garde.

Image: Mark & Andrea Busse

The post Foodie Underground: Pop Up Cuisine appeared first on EcoSalon.