Outdoor dining in the cooler months will help drive this trend. “While we can expect the Hot Toddy, Hot Buttered Rum and Irish Coffee to proliferate, we expect to see many new creative additions to the cocktail cannon incorporating hot tea, mulled wine, and cider as well as other drinks designed to be served warm.”

Pictured is the Cremosa de Cocoa at Sobre Mesa in Oakland, Calif., hot chocolate with spiced rum, red wine, sweet potato liqueur, chocolate, toasted marshmallow, ginger and coconut crema

Cuisine of 2021: Chinese-American

This quintessential takeout cuisine has arguably fallen out of favor as consumers seek more “authentic” food, but as af&co founder Andrew Freeman said, Chinese-American food was created by Chinese people in America. He pointed out that P.F. Chang’s is developing an off-premise-only concept, and he predicted that Chinese-American classics would be reworked, possibly to contain less sugar and oil.

He said Chinese-American food is well known and popular with the public at large, but it’s not something most Americans tend to make themselves, making it ripe for resurgence on restaurant menus.

Pictured: P.F. Chang’s new lobster dumplings

Other cuisines are gaining popularity, too, af& co said. “Some of these are rising particularly in specific regions of the country, and we expect them to take some years before they expand … others have more national traction and we expect to see them take hold and continue to grow.”

They said more restaurants are specializing in regional Indian food, “presenting a bounty of flavors and dishes from all over the country.”

Pictured: Biryani from Biryani Bol, a virtual concept in New York City specializing in the version of the rice dish from Lucknow in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

“These flavors are taking hold often in unexpected ways and forms,” af&co said.

They have a charismatic spokesman in Kwame Onwuachi, who featured his personal heritage that included Jamaica, Trinidad, New Orleans and Nigeria at Kith/Kin in Washington, D.C., before departing this summer.

Pictured: Monkfish Egusi Stew at Kith/Kin

“Laksa may be the gateway dish and we are predicting (and hoping!) to see it proliferate in coming years, bringing with it a wealth of other dishes and flavors to get excited about,” af&co said of the aromatic noodle soup that’s a signature dish of Peranakan cuisine — the cuisine of the people of Chinese ancestry on the Malay Peninsula and in Singapore.

Pictured: Laksa at Dabao in Singapore.

Specifically, af&co is speaking of the cuisine of Ahkenazic Jews — those who emigrated from Eastern Europe. “Bagels, Babka and Jewish style delis are popping up everywhere, as both restaurants and popups, creating great fanfare and devoted fans,” they said.

Af&co also cited Jewish deli food as a trend for 2018.

Pictured: A bagel with lox at Wexler’s Deli in Los Angeles

Restaurants looking for new sources of revenue, and to get their food to their customers where those customers wanted it to be, shifted to meals that required some assembly.

Guests, a growing number of whom started getting groceries delivered during the pandemic, saw this as a natural extension of those new habits, af&co said.

“We expect this trend to continue as consumers become accustomed to using restaurants in this way and as restaurants continue to need additional revenue sources to offset lower capacities in dining rooms,” they said.

Pictured: Bucatini kit from Spiaggia in Chicago

These restaurants without storefronts are “the new food truck,” according to af&co, “allowing restaurateurs, both independent and chain operators, to test the waters and see how a concept resonates in a particular community,” they said.

They also allow restaurateurs to expand their audience by operating multiple concepts under one roof.

Pictured: Chicken wings from Jolene’s Wings & Beer, a virtual brand created by Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar

Buffets, salad bars and other self-service features aren’t likely to be coming back any time soon, af&co said: Pandemic-weary customers are jittery about using them.

Besides, “[n]ew technologies are providing a way to allow for customization while keeping food safe, behind barriers and under temperature control, all while minimizing physical contact,” they said.

An example, pictured here, is Sally, a Chowbotics product being tested in grocery stores to provide customizable meals from salad bars and other food bars via app, allowing for contactless service.

Energy drinks have been the rage for years, but with all the stress of 2020, what people need now is beverages that mellow them out.

“We’re all going to be really hyped up for a while,” Freeman said.

Beverage companies have responded. Af&co points to the launch of Driftwell sleep aid drink by PepsiCo, Recess sparkling water with hemp extract and adaptogens, and  Kin Euphorics, with adaptogens and nootropics that “elevate the spirit and relax the body.”

That’s not to mention cannabidiol, or CBD, the cannabis derivative noted for its calming qualities that was on all the trend lists of 2019.

Pictured: Kin Euphorics’ Dream Light Nightcap, meant as a sleep aid.

Liquor laws that have been loosened during the pandemic has allowed restaurants and bars in many jurisdictions to offer takeout and delivery for the first time. Operators have responded with new, sometimes branded products.

For example, af&co points to Dante in New York City, which offers bottles of Negronis and Martinis, and The Stillery in Richfield, Wis., which sells kits containing miniature bourbon bottles and house-made mixers and seltzer so guests can make their own cocktails at home.

The marketing firm also predicted that bars and beverage companies would be bottling and boxing large format cocktails, such as Margaritas by the gallon.

Pictured: Canned cocktails from Smugglers Cove in San Francisco