I'm starting to assemble all of the various food/restaurant soothsayers' predictions for 2010. Nation's Restaurant News reports that Fitch Ratings, a credit and debt rating firm, expects the restaurant industry’s fortunes to improve in the second half of next year, following what it calls the bottoming out of weak industry sales trends currently taking place. But it's really just modest improvement that is expected (they say unemployment will peak in 2010 while consumer spending will turn mildly positive).

Research firm Mintel predicts a back-to-basics trend in restaurants (all hail the hamburger). Mintel predicts five trends in 2010:

• A greater emphasis on simple ingredients and classic preparations

• More restaurant-grown and locally sources ingredients

• More online ordering options to facilitate takeout and more prepared grocery store entrees that compete directly with restaurants

• More health-conscious restaurant options and posting of calorie counts and nutritional data

• Greater nuance in regional ethnic (not just Chinese, but Cantonese, etc.)

Mintel also has some predictions about flavors and ingredient trends: Cardamom and sweet potatoes are in. Look for chocolate and all kinds of things flavored with the exotic pods; sweet potatoes will be prized for their myriad health benefits (high fiber, beta carotene and vitamins C and B6 content). Also, look for hibiscus, cupuacu (never even heard of it, but it's another "super fruit"), rose water and Latin herbs and spices.