State of the Union

Before we go hurtling into a new decade of dining, let's reflect on the eating and drinking artillery we'll be carrying into 2010.

Here's what the aughts brought:

Farms in Sheep's Clothing Step into a dining room and you might also be on a farm. Restaurants and hotels have embraced the agrarian life, harvesting their own produce on-site. Wineries--which are already in the grape-growing business--have added other crops to their rosters, producing delicious results. And new, prefab chicken coops make it easy to turn a backyard into a full-fledged poultry farm.

Personality Change For the most part, we champion consistency, but this past year we found a series of alcoholic identity crises that we're completely behind. Both wine and whiskey took a page from the beer book, while brewers looked all over the map for inspiration--some went to their grapey brethren, while others reached across the beverage aisle for more lively models.

Sandwiched In The shape-shifting sandwich has multiplied to a point where we'd be happy eating one at every meal. The morning hours call for these waffle-starring variations. For lunch, we'll take the Korean route (though technically wraps, their convenience factor makes them sandwiches in spirit). High-end chefs have elevated the lowly lunch-box staple to dinner-worthy heights, and for dessert, we'll reach for this decadent twist on the ice cream sandwich.

Socialist Movement Forget the glossy photos and high-maintenance recipes; this year's cookbooks were geared toward the masses. Expletive-ridden, slapdash dinner parties and fuss-free pull-apart biscuits shared the shelves with celebrity chefs offering revolutionarily simple recipes. And thanks to a new hive-minded recipe project, the masses will soon have their own byline.