The many meals I eat to compile guides to the city’s 50 best restaurants, best new restaurants, and top tasting menus for $100 or less give me a lot of time to notice the tiny details that can set a restaurant apart and the little patterns that emerge at any given moment in time. Some of these trends deserve to be served up to customers on a silver platter; others leave a bad taste in my mouth. Take a nibble of this season’s trends, listed from sweet to sour.

Spoon Me

Adorable utensil rests keep tables clean at Hummingbird Sushi (maneki-neko cats) and MariPili Tapas Bar (ceramic pigs).

Wrap It Up

Vietnamese tacos are en fuego, with bún bò Hue (spicy beef soup) tacos at Soufend Cafe, bánh xèo (rice flour crepe) tacos at Ông Lắm Bistro, and the bo kho (beef stew) tacos at Kuma Kitchen & Bar. 

Occupied!

With whales calls in the restroom at Tomo and coquí frogs chirping while we pee at Lenox, the bathrooms are starting to feel a little crowded, though entertaining.

Unoccupied

There’s nothing quite like an uncomfortable barstool to ensure I don’t stick around for a second drink. These ones? I might not even stay for the first.