Epicurious.com, the premier website for all things food – in accordance with Gourmet, Bon Appetit and the CondeNast network, have released their predictions for Trends in Food in 2009.

A sampling of their predictions include:

Peruvian is the new Thai
You thought Peruvian cuisine was all about seviche, maybe? Guess again: Peru boasts culinary influences from Spanish, Basque, African, Cantonese, Japanese, Italian, French, and British immigrants. Pisco Sour, anyone?

Noodle Bars are the new Sushi Joints
With some seafood being suspect or overfished and raw fish prices high, noodles make complete sense. If there’s no ramen, udon, or soba shop in your neck of the woods,
there probably will be soon.

Value is the new Sustainable
These days, the economy dictates our cooking and shopping decisions. Bargains are in, no matter where they come from.

Ginger is the new Mint
Move over, mojitos. Ginger beers and ginger cocktails (like the Ginger Rogers, Gin-Mule, and Ginger Smash) are bubbling up at places like the Violet Hour in Chicago, the Clock Bar in San Francisco, and Matsugen in New York.

Smoking is the new Frying
You know how everything tastes better fried? Well, almost everything tastes better smoked, too, and that includes cocktails. Bartenders (Eben Freeman at Tailor in New York, for example) are smoking their bourbons, and chefs, recognizing the national craze for BBQ flavor, are smoking more than just salmon and ribs: nuts, salts, even smoked steelhead roe (at Chicago’s Alinea). Who says smoking’s bad for you?

Check out their full listing at : http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2008/12/epicurious-pred.html.