New York City's Next Food Trends: Corn Dogs & Whoopie Pies

Food trends aren't always born in New York City, but quite a few are born here in my hometown. Sometimes this is a good thing, like bagels. And sometimes this is less than good, like gourmet cupcakes. (Okay, okay, I really love cupcakes, but I'm just tired of the cupcake hype!)

So what will New York unleash on the rest of the country next? New York's definitely in the grips of a gourmet sandwich trend -- one of my favorite spots for a Vietnamese sandwich, Baoguette is pictured here). But that's already spread to other cities, so I say it doesn't count. No, I'll put my money on gourmet whoopie pies -- the blog Restaurant Girl recently picked out the city's best. (N.B., Magnolia Bakery, as guilty for the cupcake craze as any single entity, is selling a "whoopie cookie", a brown sugar cookie sandwich with maple cream cheese filling.) And after that? Grub Street, New York magazine's food blog, has officially deemed corn dogs a trend. If you're visiting New York, get your corn dog at The Shake Shack. Just check the webcam on the site to make sure the line isn't insane before you set out.