street food, galway

As with everything else in life, food has its fashions and trends, ups and downs, ins and outs. Have you been wondering what's replacing cupcakes? Is your sushi lunch passé?

2012 continued to see a return to frugal foods and cheaper cuts. Molecular cooking is on the wane while Scandinavian-style foraging and the 'Nordic pantry' is still going strong. Argentinian alfajores were all set to replace macarons. Pie-pops, miniature pies on sticks are the successor of the cake-pop. Fin-to-Tail eating is the new nose to tail and blessed are the cheesemakers, the new mixologists.

Scotch eggs got a revival and revamp. Complicated pizza toppings were cast aside, chicken thighs are the new breast and lamb is the new pork. There was talk of 24-hour baguette dispensers, ceviche, edible dirt and pork scratchings. Homemade dairy is hot on the food blogs right now - everyone is making their own ricottas and goats cheese, and what do you mean you don't make your own butter and yogurt? Shame on you, madam.

Food trucks are replacing gourmet delis and specialty stores, tweeting their locations as they go. Street food is one of the big trends for a few years now and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. It's nothing new in Galway of course. The street has been our dining room for as long as we have had an open air market.

There's a great variety of food available, madras curry, delicious sweet and savory crepes, Japanese sushi and more. The best are specialists – they do a few dishes, and they do them very well. If I had to pick a favorite it would be Boychik Donuts, made to order right in front of you. These are the freshest donuts you'll ever taste - fluffy, hot and tossed in sugar and cinnamon, eaten straight from your hand, these donuts may well be the new cupcake.