NYC Headline Predictions for 2019

Welcome to Year in Eater 2018, Eater’s annual ritual of eulogizing the last year through input from the city’s top food writers. For the last installment, Eater editors and friends of Eater were asked: What is your prediction for headlines in 2019?

Helen Rosner, New Yorker food correspondent:
Meet the V.C.-Beloved Startup That Brings the Primal Act of Cooking With Fire Directly Into Home Kitchens
FiDi Keto-Salad-Burrito Fast-Casual Spot Only Accepts Bitcoin
Kim Kardashian West Collab with Soylent Sells Out in Nine Minutes

Matt Rodbard, editor-in-chief, Taste:
Bitter: It’s Better.
It’s Sweetgreen’s World, And We’re Just Living In It
David Chang Is Nice Now?
The Great Cauliflower Rice Shortage Continues
Everybody Loves Boba
The Return of Alain Ducasse (Sike!)

Ryan Sutton, Eater’s chief critic:
Big Time Developers Start to Realize Maybe New Yorkers Don’t Want Another Bland Place for Steak Frites or Burgers
New Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, and Central Asian Restaurants Continue to Occupy a Large Share of the City’s Best New Restaurants
Hell’s Kitchen Fights Back (Successfully) Against Influx of Chains

Monica Burton, associate restaurant editor at Eater:
Mario Batali Officially Divests from His Restaurants [hopefully, maybe?]
Rita Sodi and Jody Williams Finally, Finally Open Pisellino
Cashless Restaurants Declared Unconstitutional

Kat Kinsman, Extra Crispy Senior Food & Drinks Editor and Food & Wine Contributor:
Bad Dude Does Bad Thing, Suffers No Consequences

Robert Sietsema, Eater NY senior critic: Mario Batali Joins the Priesthood

Matt Buchanan, executive editor at Eater: I wonder how the deep irony that has moved through fashion in the last year in the wake of overwhelming despair will manifest in restaurants; the last time around it was all about high-end going super low. (I vividly recall the frozen Snickers dessert from Do or Dine.)

It also seems like consequences are setting in for restaurants that belong to Bad Men? The general condition that has come to tinge the purchases of those awash in sufficient disposable income to posture boldly with every purchase, no matter how minor — that they care deeply about where their money goes, and that it must go to ethical places, whether for mediocre Everlane t-shirts or the beef they refuse to stop eating even though if they really cared about the consequences they would stop eating it entirely rather than paying just enough money to dispose of their guilt — is maybe starting to affect where people eat, based on what’s happening in a few of these restaurants? Maybe? Or maybe they’re just afraid of being eyeballed in one of these places — we could call them “disgraced restaurants” maybe — and blown up on Twitter. Idk. If you go to one of these places to “support the staff” maybe consider leaving a 50 percent tip, then.

Priya Krishna, writer and author of forthcoming cookbook Indian-ish:
SUPER COOL INDIAN WOMAN FINALLY GIFTS NEW YORK WITH KERALA-FOCUSED SEAFOOD RESTAURANT; also ACTUALLY DELICIOUS FAST-CASUAL PURI BAR (UNLIMITED PURI, CHOOSE YOUR OWN TOPPINGS) OPENS IN FINANCIAL DISTRICT.

Alicia Kennedy, food and spirits writer: I want to be optimistic, but I assume it’ll be a lot of news about how the only ways to fix the food system are indoor hydroponic farms and lab meat — stuff that’ll make start-up dudes in hoodies a lot of money.

Chris Gayomali, senior editor at GQ:
I Found the Best Burger Place in America. And Then I Killed It. But Then It Opened Up Again. There Were Some Weird Details In Between But I’d Rather Not Get Into That.
Oh Look Another Fuku

Serena Dai, editor of Eater NY:
Mario Batali Finally Divests from Restaurants And Gets a Gazillion Dollars Out of It
Female Chef Accused of Misconduct Also Because Turns Out This Industry Is a Shitshow, No Matter What Your Gender Haha
Another Critic Declares Food in X City Is Better Than NYC (But NYC Continues to Not Care)