I was in New York City for a couple of days a few weeks ago and got the sense that the city has gone “nuts” over all things cuisine.  Yes, to be a foodie is to be cool and hip these days.

A foodie, defined in the World English Dictionary online is “A person having an enthusiastic interest in the preparation and consumption of good food.”

So, where did I get this idea that New Yorkers have gone foodie?

First, of all, the Barneys windows.  Barneys is an ultra trendy, hip and cool fashion store on Madison Avenue,  known for proclaiming what’s hot and new in their windows. When I covered Fashion for the Grand Rapids Press I always used to try to get to the store (then on 17^th Street in the area called Chelsea) to see what window dresser Simon Doonan had created. He was always the “go to” guy for trends.

He was recently quoted in the Wall Street Journal weekend edition as saying, “We looked around for what was bubbling up in the culture this year and we realized that everyone’s obsessed with these icons of food culture.  Our customers want to eat at  that  new Batali place (Eataly) as much as they want the new Celine bag.”

As a fashion reporter I needed to be in the know.  Well, I don’t write fashion any more, but I love following the trends.  So, of course,  I trotted up Madison to check on his current window extravaganzas.

A ha. Foodie Heaven. He filled the windows with rock star chefs like Wolfgang Puck, Ina Garten, Anthony Bourdain and, of course, Martha Stewart. The huge wreath just inside the door was festooned with brillo pads and jello molds, if you didn’t get the point.

And then there’s Eataly. I won’t say much here because I’ve already done a post on this fabulous foodie emporium of all things Italian.  Click and you can read about it. All I can say is that at first we had Dean and De Luca and E.A.T. to drool over, then Chelsea Market, and now, ta da, Eataly. The new Mecca for Foodies.

Even the museums are getting into the act.  The Museum of Art and Design (worth going to on your next trip to the Big Apple) exhibited a small but creative collection of table top design, but  more amazing  to me was that the Museum of Modern Art did a show on kitchens.

It was a funny juxtaposition to the Abstract Expressionists currently on display,  but clearly the curators at MOMA think kitchens are art……or maybe they are enamored with what is produced in them. I don’t know.   I enjoyed the show and came away happy that I have the kitchen I enjoy at home.

Other food oriented posts on DesignDestinations include:

Barcelona Wonderful spot to Eat

San Francisco The Fancy Food Show

Rue Cler: Where foodies go in Paris

Gregans Castle Hotel: Ireland.  Amazing meals in the Burren

Eataly: Where to go in NYC to eat Italian

Alinea: Amazing restaurant in Chicago

Chelsea Market in NYC

North Pond, Chicago. Hidden secret.

Hidden Kitchen.  Paris.  Truly a Secret.