Friends of Eater Offer Headline Predictions for 2015

Q: What are your headline predictions for 2015?

Julien Perry, co-founder, One Night Only Project

• "Mayor Declares Tom Douglas Day, Seattle Realizes That's Not Already a Thing"
• "Seattle's Newest Farm-to-Table Restaurant Lets You Butcher Your Own Meal"
• "Missing Seattle Man Found Trying to Find Way Out of Giant Starbucks Roastery"

Nicole Sprinkle, food editor, Seattle Weekly

• "Restaurants Vie to Replace Paseo's Best Sandwich Designation"
• "Ethan Stowell Brings Fish & Chips to Bellevue Mall"
• "Korean Food Craze Sweeps Seattle"

Jonathan Zwickel, senior editor, City Arts

• "Seattle Continues to Come into its Own via Ethnic Cuisine"

The longstanding, underappreciated cuisine of our Asian community is finding new expressions in all kinds of wonderful new restaurants. Same with Mexican and African. Diversity of cuisines is what drives a metropolitan food paradise—and we're getting there. We love our (mostly white, male) restaurant moguls in Seattle but let's also spend our dollars on newcomers with different backgrounds and perspectives.

Allison Scheff, food & dining editor, Seattle Magazine

I see regional Chinese being something we see more of. (Jerry Traunfeld's Lionhead is a good-sounding start!) We'll be seeing more ancient grains, more English influence (continued Ottolenghi influence, but also English pastry). I'd love to see a pastry star break out. Someone who, like Dana Cree did years ago at Poppy (before she left town), really moves the pastry conversation forward. I hope we see more daring. I hope we see more restaurants open outside of the neighborhood cores, ie in the Central District, in Sodo, on Beacon Hill, in White Center, in Shoreline. Because the cheaper rent means chefs have more freedom. They can play and break out of the usual formats. Maybe this is my wish-list rather than a list of predictions?

Leslie Kelly, editor, Zagat Seattle; project manager, Tastemade Seattle

• "Food writers banned from using played-out superlatives!"

I'm putting myself on a diet, cutting out "awesome," "amazing," and "incredible." Like most diets, I'm sure to cheat because sometimes those words are just so damn fitting.

Jameson Fink, wine blogger, Wine Without Worry podcast host

I used the Upworthy Generator for help with this:

• "Before You Say You're Not A Coffee Drinker, Listen To This One Sentence From A Victrola Barista"
• "You Will Be Mortified When You See What An Iconic Capitol Hill Chef Delighted The Internet With"
• "Here Is What Happens When A Blogger Gets Real About The Biggest Problem In Fremont’s Restaurants"

Surly Gourmand, "world's greatest food writer"

• "Giada DeLaurentis will over-pronounce an Italian word."

Allecia Vermillion, food & drink editor, Seattle Met

• "Seattle Restaurants (Finally) Embrace the Tasting Menu"
• "Starbucks Launches Flagship of Upscale New Cat Café Concept in Former Chop Suey Location"

Bethany Jean Clement, food writer, The Seattle Times

• "Seattle Restaurant[s] Boycotted After Owners Remove Tip Line from Receipts. Will Sawant Join Picket Lines?"
• "Tom Douglas to Open Liechtensteinian Eatery. Stamps for Wallpaper, Very Small Plates Planned"
• "Scientists Predict Oyster Extinction in Oceans by 2030. Conservatives Deny Existence of Oysters, Oceans"

Nancy Leson, food writer, KPLU food commentator

• "Tom Douglas and Ethan Stowell stir the pot, open joint pizzeria"