Recently I opened an old but very dependable reference book on food customs from around the world and read about “Oriental” cuisine and the food of “Indochina.” These are names I learned growing up, but today they are passé, inaccurate. Borders have changed, language has changed, and when it comes to cuisine, specificity has become vital.
We might have asked friends to join us at a barbecue joint, a pizza place, or a farm-to-table restaurant, but these days we might suggest, not merely “Japanese food,” but a robata (skewers over charcoal) spot, a hibachi (flat top grill) restaurant, a ramen (noodle) bar or a formal kaiseki (seasonal multi-course) dinner. These segmented styles of Japanese food easily fit into America’s micro-categorized dining scene. Think how far our taste buds have come over the years!
Need lemongrass, Chinese long beans, baby bok choy or chive flowers for a recipe? Just go to The Boys. The Asian pantry aisle at Publix widens continuously over time. Steakhouses serve sushi, healthy “bowl” meals are ramen derivatives, spicy Korean fried chicken (dubbed “KFC”) appears on high-end menus, and Vietnamese pho (pronounced ‘fuh’) shops serving hearty meat broth with noodles and vegetables are springing up everywhere. A few of our neighborhood’s newest Asian eateries are raising the bar for us all. Stay tuned!
