#6 Weekly Assignment

Week 6 Journal Analysis

The Changing Nature of Ethnic Foods in America

by
David Lanning

The Changing Nature of Ethnic Foods in America

From 1960 to 1990, restaurant menus have change to the point of an ethnicity takeover throughout America. The diverse culture of the population brings with it the fantastic culinary tastes from around the world. During this time period, as the ethnic communities settled in the many regions across the lands, we can now open our minds to the flavors of Japan, China, Thai, Indian, Mexican, and the list goes on.

Being a baby boomer living in Columbus, Ohio growing up, I can remember when there were only a handful of Chinese restaurants. Today, you can find one on almost every corner next to a Mexican restaurant and across the street from a Thai restaurant. I personally enjoy the different flavors that our many cultures have to offer. I could eat out at a Chinese restaurant every day.

The food has been Americanized to make it more palatable for the ordinary, steak and potatoes taste of the Americans. If you were to go to New York City and order Sweet and Sour chicken in Chinatown, you would be amazed at the taste favored by the original culture community.

I now live in the rural Appalachian area of eastern Ohio in the heart of Amish country of Holmes and Coshocton counties. If you have every had the opportunity to eat at an authentic Amish restaurant, you know just how good the food is. In the city of Coshocton where the population is around 11,000, we have three Chinese, one real style Mexican, your regular fast food joints and a few traditional restaurants that serve their own variation of ethnic dishes as well as the traditional entrees. Pizza is probably the number one restaurant type in town with more than 10 but the popular culture of the ethnic foods within our area continues to grow.

Sushi was unheard of in the Midwest until the mid 1990’s. It has captured the eyes and tastes of many people who used to think of sushi as “BAIT.” As the world around us continues to become a more culturally diverse world, we will continue to see an increasing desire and offering of ethnic foods, even in our own backyards.


References

Alba, Richard. Ethnic Identity: The Transformation of White America. New Haven: Yale UP, 1990.

Barbas, Samantha. "I'll Take Chop Suey: Restaurants as Agents of Culinary and Cultural Changes." Journal of Popular Culture 36.4 (2003): 669–86.

Trosrler, L. G. (2008). Fron Spaghetti and Meatballs through Hawaiian Pizza to Sushi: The Changing Nature of Ethnicity in American Restaurants. The Journal of Popular Culture , 950-974.