JUST IN from Ann M. Mack, the director of trendspotting for the advertising behemoth J. Walter Thompson: food trends for 2008. Her first hunch is that kitchen power tools will be strong: high-end espresso makers, vacuum sealers, and power blenders are all being marketed to men. "There's just something manly about plugging something into the wall," says Mack, who also predicts that tequila will be the new wine. As the dollar drops and European imports get more expensive, she thinks drinkers will move toward premium tequilas. Mack's third trend pick is no surprise to anyone who eats out in Boston: more comfort food and more seasonal cooking in restaurants. "Just as hotels change their interiors, so will restaurants change their menus," she says. So just how does one become a trendspotter? "Do journalism first," Mack suggests. "Sharpen your observation and listening skills, and then go with your intuition." >> It seems odd going into January without a date set for the Spinazzola Gala, the granddaddy of Boston food benefits and for 20 years a fixture on the winter food calendar. But according to Steve DiFillippo of Davio's and Avila, the event is gone and it's not coming back. "We did it for 20 years and loved it," he says. "But we're all busier now than we were once, and we're tired. It's time to move on." Fine. But I'll miss it. It was wonderful to bring all the culinerati of Boston together in one space for an evening of schmoozing and sampling, and terrific fun to get dolled up in the dead of winter. >> Good thing we still have the Boston Wine Expo, coming up February 9 and 10 at the Seaport World Trade Center. And good thing the event's gala opening dinner benefits the Spinazzola Foundation. >> Jeff Fournier of 51 Lincoln in Newton is celebrating the restaurant's first anniversary with a burst of energy. He's now the chef/owner at Vintage in West Roxbury and the consulting chef at Townsend's in Hyde Park, and he's getting ready to open Citrio, a specialty food/catering company in Newton, with Eric Bogardus and Mark Stein. >> Also open in Newton is Pie Bakery & Café, from owner Ellen Kaplansky and executive chef Paige Retus.
