Hipster Restaurant Tips for Dapper Dining

If you love trying cutting-edge cuisine in the trendiest restaurants, make sure you bring your sense of adventures. Many popular hipster restaurants place a few hurdles into the dining experience, such as long lines, hard-to-find locations, and high prices.

What if you could have all the benefits of dining at the coolest restaurants, but with none of the drawbacks? Hipsters restaurants have quite a few things to teach us about making, serving, and enjoying fine dining.

Features Found in Hipster Restaurants Which You Should Use at Home

We can use these techniques to improve the meals you make at home. Here’s a closer look at hipster-inspired ways to take your home dining experience to a whole new level.

7 Tips and Techniques from Hipster Restaurants to Use in Your Kitchen

When hipsters search for cool new restaurants, they look for authenticity, uniqueness, and a commitment to natural ingredients.

Whether cooking a quick meal for you and a loved one or preparing a large dinner party for family and friends, here are seven great takeaways from the world-famous hipster restaurants:

Local Sourcing

hipster restaurant tips

Locally sourced food is food grown near where it’s consumed. Although there’s no official definition, it’s generally understood to mean food grown or raised within a 150-foot radius of the restaurant.

Truthfully, the specific distance doesn’t matter much; what’s important is both the chef and the diner know how and where the food was created.

According to the University of Washington, local-sourcing has the following benefits:

  • The food is fresh
  • The environmental impact of raising or growing the food is less than large-scale farming
  • It helps support the local economy
  • It has a reduced risk of contamination

If you want locally-sourced food for your table, hit up your local farmer’s markets. You’ll always find fresh, in-season fruits and vegetables.

If you’re not quite sure what to do with the goods you find, check out The Farmer’s Market Cookbook by Nina Planck and Nigel Slater.

The Farmers' Market Cookbook

the farmer's market cookbook

As informative as it is beautiful, The Farmers’ Market Cookbook is perfect for any cook who has stared helplessly at fresh produce, praying for inspiration.

Another option is to grow your food. After all, what’s closer than your backyard?

Books like The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener can help you get started.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a big backyard or plot of land. Grow veggies and herbs on your windowsill with Window Garden’s Herb Starter Kit.

The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener

the year-round vegetable gardener

Learn how to select the best varieties for each season, the art of succession planting, and how to build inexpensive structures to protect your crops from the elements. No matter where you live, you’ll soon enjoy a thriving vegetable garden year-round.

Organic

hipster restaurant tips

Hipsters – and everyone else, for that matter – want food free from pesticides and harmful chemicals. You’ll find many hipster restaurants that only serve organic food.

Fortunately, you can easily make organic meals at home, too.

However, when shopping, watch out for misleading labels. Any brand can use words like “all-natural,” “farm fresh” and “healthy.”

What you want to find is the designation of Certified Organic. It’s a specific designation awarded by the Department of Agriculture.

For food to earn the Certified Organic label, the farming practices must avoid:

  • Artificial chemicals
  • Hormones
  • Antibiotics
  • GMOs

Avoiding these potentially poisonous chemicals is enough of a reason to choose organic. Also, organic foods typically have more nutrients and taste fresher than their non-organic counterparts.

Finding organic food is usually easy.

Check the labels on what you buy for the Certified Organic label. Remember, all other claims and titles are marketing hype.

If you shop at a farmer’s market, keep in mind that not all foods sold there are necessarily organic. Fortunately, the farmer or rancher is usually available to answer your questions.

Do you have kids? Start your little one off right in life with organic baby food.

Check out the Big Book of Organic Baby Food for simple and nutritious recipes.

The Big Book of Organic Baby Food

the big book of organic baby book

Discover a giant collection of natural, organic, and irresistible baby food recipes to nourish your baby from infancy through the toddler years and beyond. From single-ingredient purees to complete meals that can be shared with the whole family, you’ll learn how you can create nutritious baby foods with ease.

Vegan

hipster restaurant tips

Not every hipster restaurant is vegan, but veganism is a big part of hipster dining. Often referred to as the strictest form of vegetarianism, vegans don’t eat or use any animal products.

None of the following are allowed:

  • Meat
  • Fish
  • Milk
  • Cheese
  • Eggs
  • Wool
  • Leather
  • Honey

As you can see, veganism is strict. However, you don’t have to follow it exactly to enjoy vegan dishes in the kitchen.

Check out the Vegan Cookbook for Beginners to get started. If you’re already comfortable in the kitchen, check out This Cheese is Nuts! for vegan cheese recipes.

If you’re interested in eliminating meat from your diet but aren’t quite ready to go vegan, vegetarianism is considered an easier option. According to research from the Harvard Medical School:

  • Between six and eight million people eat no poultry, meat, or fish
  • Over 10 million eat poultry or fish but no meat
  • Roughly two million people are vegan

The Vegetarian Cookbook for Beginners is an excellent starting point. Another beginner-friendly option is The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook from American’s Test Kitchen.

Both feature simple-to-understand, tasty dishes.

The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook

the complete vegetarian cookbook

The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook is a wide-ranging collection of boldly flavorful vegetarian recipes covering hearty vegetable mains, rice and grains, beans and soy as well as soups, appetizers, snacks, and salads.

Décor

hipster restaurant tips

Buzzfeed detailed the types of décor you’ll find in a stereotypical restaurant. Among the frequently-seen favorites are the following:

  • Red-brick walls
  • Exposed pipes
  • Vintage decorations
  • Non-traditional tables

Admittedly, some hipster décor is on the pretentious side. However, there are also some cool décor ideas you can use at home.

For instance, do you have a patio or backyard? Turn it into an outdoor bistro with this 24-foot string of vintage lights from Sokani.

Sokani Outdoor String Lights

sokani outdoor string lights

Weatherproof commercial grade confidently leave on display through summers & winter. Perfect for DIY with 24 ft. length or even longer to enlighten any event and create a festive flair

Decorate inside with hipster-inspired pop art. Hipster faves include a poster of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cansor Life is Beautiful by Banksy.

Of course, for the ultimate hipster décor, put up a Pabst Blue Ribbon poster. PBR is the hipster beer of choice due to its perceived authenticity.

The idea isn’t to transform your home into an uber-chic restaurant. Instead, adding hipster-inspired décor adds a subtle, fun ambiance for your dinner guests.

It helps create a space separate from the rest of your house.

Plating

hipster restaurant tips

Hipster restaurants are rather notorious for their insistence on tables, chairs, and silverware that are outside the mainstream.

Sometimes this stuff goes too far. Check out the hilarious examples found in the We Want Plates, a subreddit dedicated to outlandish ways to serve food.

Fortunately, there are plenty of cool ways to serve your meals that won’t frustrate the people eating them.

First, get a set of mason jars. They’re trendy but also easy to grasp.

Plus, they hold lots of liquid, which is great whether you’re serving fresh juice or homebrewed beer.

This set of mason jars from Ball has a cool, vintage look. A plainer option is this 20-pack from Kamota.

Ball Regular Mouth Mason Jars

ball regular mouth mason jars

Made in America by the Ball Mason Jar company great for candles, lotions, jams and jellies, preserves, herbs etc. Lid and airtight band included Set of 4 jars No shipping outside of the continental U.S. The line on the jar says 12oz but you can fill in to 16 oz.

For serving, County Line Kitchen has a two-quart mason jar pitcher.

Next, add some new silverware such as this vintage-inspired set of copper silverware from Artaste. They’re hand-forged with a simple, classic style.

With plates, you want something with a cool style – but make sure eating off of them is easy. This 16-piece set of stoneware from Gibson Home has a hip, modern style.

Also, Acacia has a set of round wood plates that are lightweight but durable.

Acacia Wood Dinner Plates

acacia wood dinner plates

Made of acacia wood and superior workmanship. Healthy and food safe. These plates are ideal for dinner, fruit and cake.

Finally, complete the dining experience with hipster napkins. Silly but still cool, these fabric napkins from Lunarable feature a hipster fox complete with signature thick-rimmed glasses.

Another fun option is these hipster lion napkins from Ambesonne.

Ambesonne Animal Decorative Satin Napkins

ambesonne animal decorative satin napkins set

100% satin polyester. Soft feeling & silky touch. Sturdy for indoor and outdoor events.

Beer

hipster restaurant tips

What’s cooler than cans of PBR? The beer you brew yourself.

After all, what’s more exclusive than beer you make in your own home?

Brewing beer is fairly straightforward, although you need to buy some equipment first. According to the American Homebrewers Association, you’ll need the following:

  • Fermenter
  • Airlock and Bung
  • Kettle
  • Heat Source
  • Tubing
  • Cleaner
  • Sanitizer
  • Hydrometer

If you’re new to brewing, the easiest way to get started is with a homebrewing kit. Craft a Brew’s Home Brewing Kit includes everything a beginner needs.

Brooklyn Brew Shop’s Everyday IPA Beer Making Kit is another great option for brewing newbies.

Beer Making Kit

everyday ipa beer making kit

The Everyday IPA Beer Making Kit is perfect for beginners. Brooklyn Brew Shop makes brewing beer at home simple, fun, and tasty with easy-to-follow videos and step-by-step instructions.

One of the best parts of brewing your beer is that you control the flavor and type. Make the beer you’ve always wanted to drink!

Give your beer a name and even design a custom label. Serve your one-of-a-kind beer at your next dinner party or give away bottles as gifts.

Do you want to take your brewing up a notch? You don’t have to brew beer; kits are available for brewing hard cider, mead, and more.

Hard Cider Making Kit

hard cider making kit

The Hard Cider Making Kit is perfect for beginners. Brooklyn Brew Shop makes fermenting hard cider at home simple and fun. Makes 3 batches of hard cider with easy-to-follow videos and instructions.

Coffee

hipster restaurant tips

Coffer is a hipster mainstay, and hipsters have mastered the art and science of brewing the perfect cup. They’re coffee experts with plenty of interesting coffee-making techniques you can use at home.

First, throw out that store brand of beans. You want an authentic, tasty, and hipster-approved brand such as this medium roast from Koffee Kult or this ultra-strong blend from the Black Rifle Coffee Company.

Black Rifle Coffee Rounds

black rifle coffee rounds

Black Rifle Coffee Rounds are the perfect way to conveniently get your single serve coffee fix. It has bold flavors which includes dark roast cups, light roast cups, and everything in-between. Made with top quality Brazilian and Columbian coffee beans, you can expect a fresh and bold flavor with every cup.

Next, serve your coffee in this hipster-inspired cup from Culturenik, which features a vintage illustration of an antique camera. Add these record-player coasters for even more fun.

Final Word

Hipster restaurants aren’t afraid to embrace new cuisine and ways of serving it. You can bring some of these ideas home to elevate the fun you’ll have around the kitchen table.

Use our list above to elevate your next dinner party or get-together. Treat your friends and family to a hipster-inspired dining experience they’re sure to love!

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