You gotta have a gimmick if you wanna have a chance

Remember that great scene in Gypsy when they sing about the need to have a gimmick in order to succeed? (well maybe just my mother in law and my wife and I do but that's not the point!) After last night, I have realized that gimmicks are everything right now in the restaurant world.

Last night, Karyn and I went out with our friends Esteban and Siobhan to IndeBleu. A downtown DC establishment that is a fusion of Indian and French. This restaurant, which is in the booming neighborhood around the Verizon Center and Chinatown markets itself as "an exotic menu that combines traditional French ingredients with the boldness of Indian spice". Anyway, we had a great time and the food was great but it made me think - fusion is the new fad in restaurants, especially in downtown DC. In February, Karyn and I went some other friends to Zengo which was fusion Japanese and Latin and I have to say it was pretty good as well. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good Five Guys burger or a grilled cheese from the IHOP - but I am totally drawn into these fusion restaurants.

And its not just the gimmick of fusion cuisine - its a gimmick of a theme in most examples. Even in our neighborhood of Silver Spring, there is a new bar called Piratz Tavern where everything is themed around pirates. (as the guy who cuts my hair says "Seriously, a pirate themed restaurant is good for your vacation at the beach, but on Georgia Ave?") I guess I am kind of interested in checking this out as well.

The first real fusion I can remember is when I was visited my friend Kyza in Minneapolis and she took a bunch of us out to Chino Latino on Hennepin Avenue. I was so intrigued and of course I was asking everyone "Should we ask for General Tso's Enchiladas or Moo Shi Arroz Con Pollo"? I remember that the food, dubbed as from the tropic zones, was incredible!

So here are some of my ideas for new fusion or themed restaurants:

• Queen Victoria's Colonial Grill
  Searching for that meal that tantalizes you with Indian bread, Caribbean conch fritters , a good Australian beer and Hong Kong Dim Sum? Then wait no further - come and taste all of the foods of Britain's Commenwealth at the height of Queen Victoria's reign. But we won't serve actual British food because it stinks!
  
• Cafe Regime Change
  Does the thought of biting into a juicy pineapple from Hawaii make your mouth water with excitement? How about some chicken dishes from every Central American country? A lamb kabob from Iraq or Afghanistan? Then by all means and come sample our new fusion cuisine that blends all of the countries where America has overthrown some sort of government in the last 100 years!
  
• Pangaea - The Restaurant with everything!
  Have you ever been to a restaurant and you just can't decide what to get? Well stop by Pangaea and celebrate the cuisine of the most famous prehistoric continental mass of land? Maybe even throughout the meal you can get up and bring your food to other tables to signify breaks in continental shelves? Then you can even re-enact collisions of continents around dessert?
  
• Chez Hub Closure
  Thinking of fried ravioli from St. Louis? How about a Primanti Brothers sandwich from Pittsburgh? Local fare from San Jose, CA? Stop by Chez Hub Closure where you celebrate the reorganization of domestic U.S. airlines and their choices to close hub operations due to competitive threats and poor local market demand. Your meal even comes with 2 gate leases for you to do with what you please. Future possible additions: Memphis Pit BBQ and Slavic foods from Cleveland...

So there it is - just a couple of ideas - feel free to share yours as well. Maybe we can all start a restaurant and then have a sort of boulevard of fusion/topical themed places to cash in on!