American cuisine has evolved drastically for the past 20 years in the United States. Millennials are so focused on “healthy” dietary that “restaurants and similar retail food establishments that are part of a chain of 20 or more locations are required to have calorie labeling on their menus” according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s). But most importantly, our eating habits has changed over the course of 20 years. Convenience food has become more popular. Fast casual food has become another convenience in people’s everyday life. Moreover, fusion cuisine has never become so popular until 20 years ago. Furthermore, vegan or vegetarian options are a must on the menu now. The evolution of the American cuisine has made America…show more content… According to Natasha Geiling, author of Smithsonian articles, defines fusion cuisine as “the blending of culinary worlds to create new, hybrid dishes.” Fusion cuisine really made a statement when chef Wolfgang Puck purposefully combine flavors from different cultures in the 1980s. People had said he laid the foundation of fusion cuisines. During the 1980s, Chef Puck’s exposure to the multi-cultured population in Southern California inspired him to fuse the Asian flavors with his French and California-based cuisine in the fine dining setting and opened Chinois on Main in Santa Monica. This restaurant has brought “diners a fresh and imaginative Asian-fusion menu that laid the groundwork for fusion cooking in America,” stated by Chef Puck. Since then, a lot of other restaurants started to fuse different flavors from different part of the world. For example, Tex-Mex, Korean-Mexican, and Italian-Mexican are different fusion cuisines in America. Today, fusion cuisine is becoming more mainstream. For instance, concepts like Korean Tacos, Ramen Burger, and Sushi burgers are extremely popular. Moreover, a new type of fusion cuisine has gained popularity – mash ups. Mash-up dishes are merely two distinct food concepts combined to create one dish. One of the most well-known mash-up is the Cronut, a cross between a donut and a croissant, which…show more content… We can now have a fine-dining experience in an affordable price by waiting for the Restaurant Week that occurs every winter and summer. Something that seems to be only for the wealthiest 20 years ago, lower or middle class can now experience it. This does broaden the horizon of young generation because they get to discover how fine dining is very different than the casual restaurants. In the earlier years, there were only a handful of restaurants that participated in the event. However, as it gains its popularity, almost all of the NYC restaurants participate in the event today. It is an opportunity for people who has financial restraints but still wants to experience fine-dining to expand their perspective on the differences between casual and fine dining. The lunch prix fixe is $29 and the dinner prix fixe is $42 as of February 2018.
The evolution of American cuisine from the last 20 years has been extraordinary. Millennials are more focused on the different trends of the food. The rise of vegetarians and vegans has opened up more opportunities for chefs and restaurateurs. For instance, by Chloe is one of the most fastest growing vegan restaurants in America. The evolution has inspired chefs from all around the world to create more diverse, trendy, and delicious