Five Foods We'd Like to See More Of

By Bill Citara Mon., Oct. 18 2010 at 6:00 AM

Categories: The List

Oh, Lord God, please deliver me from one more freakin' burger joint!

That's my prayer. I'm not sure God heard me.

But if I do have any pull with the man upstairs, along with another thousand or so purveyors of designer patties, we will be seeing more of these:

1. Flavorful tomatoes

Jonesing for tomatoes with real summer-ripe flavor is about as common (and futile) as wishing for world peace. But can we all just agree that if you can't find a tomato that tastes like a, you know... tomato to just leave the goddamned thing off? Cardboard is a lot cheaper, and with a little red food coloring, no one will notice the difference.

2. Octopus

Yeah, it looks weird and scary, and when overcooked, it's like a mouthful of rubber bands, but when properly prepared, it has a lovely tender-chewy texture and soaks up other flavors like a sponge. The new chef at Cielo at the Boca Resort does a smoked octopus with Turkish sausage and artichoke-bean barigoule that's simply to die for.

3. Heritage pork

You know the pig industry is in deep pigshit when its slogan is "the other white meat." Ooh, so pork has as much flavor as chicken. Can't wait to gum up of some of that mucilage. Berkshire, Red Wattle, and Duroc are all flavorful breeds. And if you ever get the chance to taste Mangalitsa pork, you will weep with sheer pleasure.

4. Savory ingredients in desserts

Let's face it: Tiramisu, crème brûlée, chocolate mousse, and all those other ubiquitous desserts are about as exciting as dry-humping your sister. Inject a little curry or cardamom in that chocolate, some saffron or kaffir lime into that custard, or basil or tarragon into that ice cream and you've got something. Sorry, sis.

5. Creative sandwiches

Gastronomically speaking, the sandwich has hardly advanced since first bitten into by John Montagu, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich. Slap a little honey mustard on your ham 'n' cheese. Woo-hoo! The practice of sandwiching something between two pieces of something should unleash unlimited creativity. Get with the program.