Rob’s Fearless Food Predictions for 2016

I believe that major changes in Austin restaurants and cuisine are ahead for 2016. So here they are unapologetically presented by your faithful scribe. As is our style some of these must be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. But here’s to a great new year in the River City.

1. Sometime soon in the New Year I predict that a restaurant somewhere in Austin will open without the chef claiming that local sourcing will be his primary issue and that he’s devoted to the farm to market uber-trend. “I frankly don’t care whether my food comes from Austin or Australia as long as it pleases my customers,” he’ll say.

Could this be the beginning of a decline in the incredibly over-hyped locavore movement? (Nothing at all against local growers but just for grins take a poll on local sourcing with chefs in Tokyo)

2. Speaking of Tokyo, I predict we will finally have an Izakaya concept in Austin that works! Kuzu, late of Musashino may be the man to do it at his new restaurant Fukomoto downtown. The key idea to a great Izakaya is not just Japanese street food but a roaring good time till the wee hours. I have had many fun nights with Kuzu at Musashino so we’ll see. I love the concept and I’m rooting for him!

3. I predict that Dai Due on Manor will change its name to I Do/Dai Due and become a wedding themed gourmet/charcuterie restaurant. Anthony Bourdain will fall in love with it and this will trigger a national demand for franchises and the original investors will walk away very happy.

4. I predict that the owners of the embarrassingly empty space at 4th and Congress which used to house McCormick and Schmick’s and then, briefly, Wille G’s which now stands in mute rebuttal to the success of downtown density will shock everyone and become an adult-style Chuck-e-Cheese. Well OK, kids can come too.

5. I predict next year’s Top Ten finalists in our 2016 Pizza Wars installment will have to slug it out, mano a mano in an all-out Roma tomato sling fest. No added weight by using mozzarella cheese will be allowed. The last pizza guy standing will be the winner. My money is on New Jersey tough-guy Dan Saccone.

6. I predict the Dog and Duck’s reopening on Webberville in East Austin will do little in the way of brand damage to the iconic pub grub joint that held sway just south of the UT campus for many years. I mean if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, etc.

While the Duck’s new digs bear little resemblance to the old joint, the all important attitude is still there as is the Bubble and Squeak, Scotch Eggs and the dart board, and of course Susan.

7. I predict that Bobby Flay, Mario Batalli, Emeril Legasse, Wolfgang Puck and Masahara Morimoto will all open Austin restaurants. After all, everyone else is.

Flay’s place will be called The Throw Down where guests will eat the results of that night’s challenge (In the event no one challenges him on a given night he will challenge himself). Legasse’s Crab joint will be called Bam. Diners will summon servers by yelling this at the top of their lungs! Puck’s place on Lake Travis will of course be called Spago Lago. Batalli’s pasta place will be called Super Mario and Morimoto’s will be named Iron Man III.

8. I predict that Ashley and Christina Cheng, the lovely and astute daughters of Ronald Cheng will hit a major home run with Spun, their Nitrogen-based ice cream. Sir Richard Branson will be so mesmerized by this that he will exclusively serve it on all his upcoming space flights.

9. The eloquent and mercurial C.K. Chin, frustrated by an almost year-long delay in the opening of Wu Chow will open an astonishing 27 new restaurants in 2016. He will also annihilate Bobby Flay at Flay’s first thrown down and for good measure will bench press Batali and Morimoto.

As I said at the beginning, to be read with a grain of salt and hopefully a smile. Happy New Year fellow foodies!

-Rob

Image credit: Trish2 @ http://bit.ly/1YHqwK4