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What You'll Be Eating in 2013: Waffle Sandwiches, Hard Cider, Freekeh and More Food Trends!

Get a taste for what's going to be on your plate, in supermarkets and on people's minds with our list of 10 food trends for 2013 (11 Photos)

Mark Mavrigian on Jan 3, 2013 at 9:14AM

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What You'll Be Eating in 2013: Waffle Sandwiches, Hard Cider, Freekeh and More Food Trends!

Bridget M. Rehner

Bread as a Menu Item

More and more often, a basket of bread on the table isn’t just a token gesture. As more restaurants focus on carefully thought out menus, bread many no longer be a freebee in 2013. New York restaurant Back Forty West offers a Parker House loaf with house-smoked butter that serves three to four people as an appetizer. And that’s a conscious decision -- as Shanna Pacifico, the restaurant’s executive chef puts it: “It’s not just a slice. It’s a snack, it’s a dish, it’s something we’ve thought about.”

At Cleveland’s Greenhouse Tavern, the menu’s bread board (pictured) includes restaurant-made challah and boules, as well as bread sourced from local bakery On the Rise, served with a changing selection of spreads made in-house that include jams, flavored fats, cheeses and yogurts, in addition to house-made spice crackers.

And, in some cases where bread may still be complimentary, there’s a push to ensure that the offerings reflect the caliber of a restaurant’s menu, like at Halcyon in Charlotte, North Carolina, where baskets come with house-made rolls and breads of a variety of types, often crafted with local flours.