what the hell is fennel pollen, anyway?

some thoughts: have you ever noticed that food has at least as many trends as clothes do? what's with that? i have long been an avid restaurant-goer and reader of bon appetit, and over the years, these food trends have become more and more apparent. it was southwestern cooking, then cajun-spiced meats, then tiramisu, then rosemary, then ginger, then pan-asian cuisine and truffle oil. i've seen an awful lot of morel mushrooms lately--the hippie's after me to start cooking them at home, but at $34 a pound (in season!), they kind of scare me. and recently, there are an awful lot of menu items around featuring fennel pollen, whatever THAT is. and doesn't it seem like girly martinis, and alcohol in general has become much more pervasive since sex and the city made the cosmopolitan so popular? i predict that the french practice of serving an ice cold eau de vie as a digestif will soon make it's way into american restaurant culture as well. at least i hope so!!!

it's funny--i recently re-read connie willis's amusing novel about fad research, bellwether (very good little book if you haven't read it, by the way), in which there is a lengthy discussion on bread pudding, and you know--that one was a real trend, too, if somewhat short lived. i have been wondering lately what's the driving force behind this stuff. i think that in the last 15 years, so many MORE foods have become available, and we have had such an influx of Asian and Hispanic people--some experimentation in these arenas was inevitable. it almost seems like today, people go for food-as-shock-value. of course, maybe the guy who ate the first artichoke was doing the same thing! i used to have a boss who always ordered the weirdest thing on the menu, no matter what it was--weird spices or stange and bitter greens, organ meats (sweetbreads--ewww!!!), exotic animals or tongue of anything--the more outlandish, the better! we used to take bets on what he would order--i always won. i am also reminded of my old friend chris, whose goal as a waiter was always to get wealthy people to order expensive peasant food. we are funny creatures when it comes to the kitchen. we have come a long way from charring meat on sticks to come right back to charring meat on sticks.^* it makes for a more creative cooking experience, so i am definitely not complaining. but it sure does make you think...

* for meat on sticks, check out the popular restaurant chain fogo de chão or go visit lulu in san francisco--where incidentally a customer my boss and i were taking out once said to me, "you look like the kind of girl who likes a big slab of meat!" but i digress...