Photos by Caitlin Abrams (bag, sandwiches, pizza); Libby Anderson (Croissant); shutterstock.com (crystal ball)
Crystal ball with 2021 food trends
Editor’s Note: During these changing times, we hope you’ll check with these restaurants’ websites to see their current ways of serving you best. Eat local!
If ever an industry deserved a gold medal for Most Nimble (can we make that a thing?), it would be the restaurant industry. No one had to work their creative muscles more this past year. So while we normally look back for a hint of what to expect as we move forward, the road ahead is a tougher one to call this year. As we gaze into our crystal ball, or try to read the cards on the table, here’s how we think we’ll be eating out in 2021.
1. Takeout and Delivery Continue
Shopping bag
It’s how we’ve made it through the pandemic, and it’s not going away. Delivery was already on the rise before the shutdowns, but our local spots have been forced to get more sophisticated in their processes. Look for easier systems and more delivery options that cut out third parties, keeping the dollars in the restaurants’ pockets.
2. Sandwiches Are Queen
Spam and potato chip sandwich
The Mia Wallace, on the Dirty Sams menu, is a chef’s post-shift snack with smoked SPAM and potato chips on the sandwich.
We have LONG needed a better sandwich game in this town, and it took the pandemic to get us one. Ghost kitchens—like Lake City Sandwiches working out of LynLake’s Nightingale and Dirty Sams sandwiches cranking from Monello’s Hotel Ivy kitchen—and pop-ups—like Marty’s Deli, which floats around the metro—have upped the handheld game. With options like freshly made focaccia and cheffy fillings like smoked Spam and Duke’s Mayo, we are NOT going back to lame turkey and cheese.
3. Pizza for All
Detroit style pizza
Those pepperoni cups have become legend on the Detroit-style Wrecktangle pizzas.
You know what’s easy to transport as takeout and is almost universally loved in some form or another? Pizza. It has been the answer for many, and we couldn’t be happier. As Pizzeria Lola turned 10 years old, Ann Kim launched frozen pizzas. Our towns are suddenly decked with crisp-crust Detroit-style pizzas, like the creative takes at Wrecktangle in North Loop and Bricksworth Beer Co. in Burnsville. We got Argentinian pizzas from Rosalia in Linden Hills and a standard-setting NY slice from ElMar’s in Plymouth. Let’s keep the pizza cutters rolling.
4. Crispy Chicken Trounces Burgers
Fried chicken sandwich
The spicy chicken karaage sando from Zen Box has kicky slaw, house-made gochu sauce, and pickles on brioche.
Crispy fried chicken held between buns is not exactly new in town, but it’s been fully embraced this past year. Setting the stage: the luscious Big K.R.I.T from North Loop’s Soul Bowl and the Moroccan Fried Chicken from World Street Kitchen in LynLake. Then Zen Box Izakaya in the Mill City neighborhood came out with a spicy karaage sando, Nashville Coop food truck captured the Cities with its hot chicken before opening a shop on Snelling, and ghost kitchen Chicken Republic launched from the Red Cow Uptown kitchen to send that bird far and wide.
croissant cut in two
Wish List
If we put on our Sally Positive hats, here’s what we hope for in 2021:
+ Spring could be great! With the positive news about vaccines, we could be headed for an epic spring full of patio good times and hanging with friends again.
+ Support for Black-owned businesses can’t be a reaction; it has to be an intentional shift in our dining culture. We are happy to see places like The Get Down Coffee Co. and The Dripping Root gather loyal fans from far and wide.
+ Collaborations (like Bellecour Bakery and Cooks in North Loop) helped many a place get through this past year and proved to be a great way to help small businesses get a leg up. After losing so many great restaurants this year, we hope to see new growth with help from the ones who made it through.
