We're speaking with restaurant analysts for an upcoming Monitor story on their 2011 predictions, and one analyst just confessed to us, in declining to participate, that he has no idea right now who to pick. To be sure, predicting the future isn't exactly easy, and our own prognostication skills are lacking. Yet it's his reason for declining that interest us: This is an "in-between" time in the restaurant industry right now. The best performing chains already seem to have their performance baked into their stock prices, and some even wonder whether stocks are overpriced (Chipotle, Panera, McDonald's, etc.). The rest of the publicly traded restaurant chains seem to be hampered by economic concerns as much as anything else. So analysts (and investors) must bet whether unemployment improves, which would provide a boost for most restaurants, or whether inflation will stay in check enough to keep consumers interested in spending.