Some Food Predictions to Chew On

It's almost Thanksgiving, which means it's time for assorted food-oriented publications to start dusting off their crystal balls for a look at what next year will hold for our stomachs. Nation's Restaurant News has stepped up to the plate with its list of Five Dining Predictions for 2010.

In a nutshell, a big research firm says that restaurants will be hewing to more "classically simple" food like burgers, fries, and shakes, diners will seek out "rustic" foods made with "locally sourced" ingredients, chain restaurants will keep trying to cut calories from their fat-pants entrees, there will be a greater emphasis on "regional ethnic" food, and we'll be ordering all of it from our iPhones. In other words, much of what will happen in chains across the country next year will look a lot like what happened in New York restaurants this year.