The top 10 food trends for 2012

• SpicyTec
• It will be good to be an eater in 2012.

Chefs will get more famous, the noodle house will reign supreme, and the wheels will come off the food-truck craze. Fat City is taking a step back from reporting on the latest openings and from hanging with area chefs to predict, with the following list, what will happen in 2012. Here are 10 things we’re confident are on the way in — or out — for Kansas City diners.

1. We’ll go from Groupon to Youpon. Online deals are here to stay, but they’re about to get more personal. Diners get to know local chefs through Twitter and Facebook, and those same means of social media are going to become the most prominent deal sources. Chef Celina Tio has long posted notice of last-minute table openings on Twitter, and young chefs are too plugged in to their smartphones not to follow her lead. Alongside all the Groupon-like offers that clutter inboxes today will be more personalized marketing efforts from the restaurateurs who understand our habits.