Lovely rice pudding again!

I was recently in San Francisco, where it was interesting to see what appeared to be a very recession proof restaurant culture.



Mid-week at 7pm on Fillmore and diners were jam-packed inside the numerous eateries that the neighborhood has to offer, with even more customers waiting in long lines outside. The once tight-packed boutiques were not so busy. In fact many had actually closed down, or been turned into, yes, you guessed it, yet more restaurants.

At WGSN, we've been talking a lot about comfort, home and cocooning in this time of economic uncertainty. Could this be part of the trend? Rather then spending their money on new clothes and products, consumers are using their hard earned dollars for good times with friends, eating out, socializing; the feel-good factors.

Which brings me to another food-related trend spot: rice pudding. That stalwart of school dinners has been reconfigured as only a Frisco foodie knows how into a gourmet treat at cute store Loving Cup. The place offers numerous flavors of rice pudding, from eggnog to pistachio freshly made every day, and it's beginning to garner something of a cult following since it opened late last year. Could rice pudding be the new Pinkberry?