Most popular Las Vegas food trends of 2016

Sushi burritos. Ramen. Matcha everything.

Las Vegas adopted all the biggest food trends of 2016 and made them bigger, better and tastier.

Here are all the top trends, treats and eateries that Las Vegas went crazy for this year:

Matcha

This year, nearly everything was dipped, drenched or drizzled with matcha. The finely ground green tea powder is a richer, smokier version of the green tea. And its bitter taste is best balanced in sweetened, Asian-inspired teas and treats. Is Sweet, 5288 Spring Mountain Rd., serves up fluffy, creamy crepe cakes topped with a rich matcha drizzle.

Ramen

Ramen was hugely popular in 2016. The noodle soup is often served with pork, boiled egg, bean sprouts and lots and lots of noodles. This summer, even Red Robin got in on the ramen trend with their ramen burger. You can get it at Monta Ramen, 5030 Spring Mountain Rd #6 or at Fukumimi Ramen, 4860 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 2.

Rolled ice cream

The creamy frozen treat garnered massive popularity on social media, largely due to how satisfying the rolling process is to watch. While the practice originated in Thailand, rolled ice cream came to Las Vegas in December. Rolled Ice Cream, 9484 W. Flamingo Rd. #165, won’t have its official grand opening until mid-January, but people still line up outside the shop for nearly two hours to get the rolled treats.

Assistant manager Miranda Dale attributes the popularity to the performance. “A lot of ice cream places in Las Vegas will customize your ice cream. But here, people like the performance. They like that they can see the hard work that goes into making and rolling the ice cream.”

Rolled Ice Cream uses a secret family recipe to make the ice cream. The cream is poured onto a frozen metal surface and customers select the flavors that they want mixed in. Then the ice cream is smoothed out and rolled into tight spirals.

Eggslut

The LA-based Eggslut opened at Cosmopolitan this summer and Las Vegas locals went crazy for the good food with the funny name. The signature dishes feature bacon, egg and cheese in warm brioche buns.

Cotton candy-topped drinks

Fluffy, tasty and oh, so pretty. These candy-topped teas saw a lot of popularity online in 2016. While the trend is mostly offered in California, Las Vegans can get it at Loftti Cafe, 7729 S. Rainbow Blvd. The cotton candy, endearingly referred to at Loftti as a “cloud,” is offered atop all their drinks as well as their frozen cotton candy, their take on shaved snow. Manager Tiffany Lee thought it would make a cute addition to the cafe’s teas and bobas. “A lot of customers like it because it’s cute, but also they can order it with something like an Americano and they don’t need to add sweetener. They just nibble on the cloud.”

While at Loftti Cafe, you can also order a raindrop cake, our prediction for a 2017 trend.

Ice cream sandwiches

Ice cream took many forms in 2016. The most popular one might have been sandwiched between two cookies. Many Las Vegans flocked to CREAM when it opened in 2015 and we can expect a lot more in the realm of all things ice cream and cookie now that Milk Bar opened on December 30.

Donut Bar’s creme brulee doughnut

When a video of the doughnut went viral on Facebook, Las Vegas’ Donut Bar had to hustle to keep up with the demand. “That video of the doughnut got 10 million views on Facebook,” said Chef Jeff. ” We used to make 30 of those a day. Now we make 200 a day and we still sell out. They’re easily our most popular doughnut.”

Sushi burritos

Two of Las Vegas’ most popular foods came together to make one weird, delicious, multi-ethnic hybrid in 2016. Sushi burritos were huge this year with sushi and poke restaurants across the valley embracing the new trend. The sushi burrito features a variety of raw fish, cooked chicken, rice, guacamole, tortillas and seaweed to create a wrap that encompasses both flavor profiles. The most popular dishes can be found at Soho SushiBurrito, 2600 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 115, Jaburritos, 6090 S. Rainbow Blvd. #2 and Tail & Fin, 9845 S. Maryland Pkwy.

Waffles

Sweet and topped with strawberries and cream or crisp and served with fried chicken. Either way, waffles stole the breakfast show in 2016. You can get a churro waffle at TIABI Coffee & Waffle or chicken and waffles at Double Helix at Town Square.

Cracker Barrel

The long-awaited Southern comfort food chain finally opened in Las Vegas this past summer. And locals treated the opening more like a Black Friday event than a restaurant opening. (Stories about its opening were the RJ’s most popular for weeks.) The hysteria may have died down, but Cracker Barrel is still one of the most popular new eateries Las Vegas saw in 2016.

Contact Janna Karel at jkarel@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jannainprogress on Twitter.