Introducing The Santorum Salad, A Chinese Food Burger, And Michael White's Square Pizzas

A new year seems to call for new trends and dishes, and 2012 is off to a decent start.

On the West Coast, SoCal chain Slater's 50/50 (known for a beef-and-bacon patty) just announced their January burger of the month, and, get this, it's an Orange Chicken Burger. According to Foodbeast, the burger consists of "orange chicken topped with sweet coleslaw, roasted red peppers, grilled pineapple, green onions, and Sriracha mayo." We knew burgers were still going to trend in 2012.

In Iowa, Boone Pizza Ranch just named its signature chicken-and-mayo salad the "Santorum Salad," since Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said he liked it. Of course, there is now a Twitter feed for the Santorum Salad.

And in New York City, chef Michael White gave Twitterers a preview of his pizza-making skills for his East Village pizzeria, Nicoletta. He tweeted a photo (right) of a rectangular pizza topped with thick cut pepproni, onions, and mushrooms. It's tasty-looking enough to get us excited for 2012.

The Daily Byte is a regular column dedicated to covering interesting food news and trends across the country. Click here for previous columns.