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The best part of the "great American melting pot" for me is the fusion of cuisines. Trying to knock a restaurant or food because it isn't "authentic" is complet

The best part of the "great American melting pot" for me is the fusion of cuisines. Trying to knock a restaurant or food because it isn't "authentic" is completely missing the beauty of the different combinations of flavors and styles that arise. Texans know the difference between Mexican and Tex Mex, and can enjoy both without having to act like one is superior. By the way if you've never had brisket chili I highly recommend it.

jihadjihad 9y ago
Was just talking with my wife about this yesterday when we went to an Asian fusion place for lunch. Sometimes you just want to eat gyoza, sushi, and mapo tofu in the same meal. Doesn't mean you don't appreciate that they're foods from different cultures. It's quintessentially American to gather up the best bits of multiple cultures and offer them all in one convenient package.
- pbhjpbhj 9y ago
  Aren't all modern cultures (with exception of "lost" tribes perhaps) amalgams of multiple historic influences. It's the quintessence of culture to be a composite of prior cultural aspects. It doesn't appear to be distinctly American in that it seems to be present in the other continental areas too? For example traditional British chip shop food includes battered pineapple, and curry sauce and may just as well be cooked for you by a person born in China, say.
  - flyinghamster 9y ago
    Indeed, food gets remixed worldwide. The gyros I get in Chicago are almost identical to the kebabs I found in Britain, except that the British variety has a wide variety of sauce options, including ones more commonly associated with curry, such as tikka. Tikka masala, on the other hand, was invented in the UK and has made its way back to India. Food would be boring indeed if ingredients and techniques strictly stayed in one place.
jimmaswell 9y ago
It's interesting to think what the transition point was when people just made do with whatever plants and animals were available nearby, and that was "food," to when things became "<country/culture/region/etc> food." If tortilla wraps, beans, etc. were imported to Japan 300 years ago, that would just be Japanese food, but now if a Japanese restaurant started mixing those in, it would never escape the label "Japanese/Mexican fusion" or a variation on that.
- geephroh 9y ago
  Tempura is 16th century "Japanese/Portuguese fusion" cuisine. http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170808-the-truth-about-japanese-tempura http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170808-the-truth-about-jap...
xeonoex 9y ago
This is why Houston food is so great. I actually grew up in the Rio Grande Valley (mentioned in the article), then moved to Houston after graduating from college. Most of the Mexican food in the RGV is really good, but I think Houston has it beat overall, maybe just because of the increased competition. People from the RGV will never agree though, because the RGV is the "authentic" style to them. Most of the time, "authentic" actually means "familiar". You can find great TexMex and MexMex all around Houston. Not every place is great though. There's always places that serve cheap, bland or stale food. But the best thing about Houston is the variety. There are large populations of people from all over the world. Vietnamese, Thai, Mexican, Chinese, Indian, and Mediterranean food in particular are pretty popular. Then add the traditional american food, BBQ, seafood, and the Louisiana dishes, and it's hard to find a city with more diversity in food.
- RandallBrown 9y ago
  If you haven't already, check out the Netflix series Ugly Delicious. There's a whole episode about the fusion cuisine in Houston.
  - vonlena 9y ago
    Ex-Houstonian here (born and raised, moved to California) and I gotta say this episode actually disappointed me. I know there's no possible way to fit all the different fusion and great breadth of variety available in the city, this focused pretty much only on Viet-Louisiana fusion and similarities. There is SO MUCH MORE to Houston than that. *edit- I'd like to also say that this show is great though, especially his view on the topic of authenticity and how he thinks it hurts more than it helps. :)

jihadjihad 9y ago

Was just talking with my wife about this yesterday when we went to an Asian fusion place for lunch. Sometimes you just want to eat gyoza, sushi, and mapo tofu in the same meal. Doesn't mean you don't appreciate that they're foods from different cultures. It's quintessentially American to gather up the best bits of multiple cultures and offer them all in one convenient package.

pbhjpbhj 9y ago
Aren't all modern cultures (with exception of "lost" tribes perhaps) amalgams of multiple historic influences. It's the quintessence of culture to be a composite of prior cultural aspects. It doesn't appear to be distinctly American in that it seems to be present in the other continental areas too? For example traditional British chip shop food includes battered pineapple, and curry sauce and may just as well be cooked for you by a person born in China, say.
- flyinghamster 9y ago
  Indeed, food gets remixed worldwide. The gyros I get in Chicago are almost identical to the kebabs I found in Britain, except that the British variety has a wide variety of sauce options, including ones more commonly associated with curry, such as tikka. Tikka masala, on the other hand, was invented in the UK and has made its way back to India. Food would be boring indeed if ingredients and techniques strictly stayed in one place.

jimmaswell 9y ago

It's interesting to think what the transition point was when people just made do with whatever plants and animals were available nearby, and that was "food," to when things became "<country/culture/region/etc> food." If tortilla wraps, beans, etc. were imported to Japan 300 years ago, that would just be Japanese food, but now if a Japanese restaurant started mixing those in, it would never escape the label "Japanese/Mexican fusion" or a variation on that.

geephroh 9y ago
Tempura is 16th century "Japanese/Portuguese fusion" cuisine. http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170808-the-truth-about-japanese-tempura http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170808-the-truth-about-jap...

xeonoex 9y ago

This is why Houston food is so great. I actually grew up in the Rio Grande Valley (mentioned in the article), then moved to Houston after graduating from college. Most of the Mexican food in the RGV is really good, but I think Houston has it beat overall, maybe just because of the increased competition. People from the RGV will never agree though, because the RGV is the "authentic" style to them. Most of the time, "authentic" actually means "familiar". You can find great TexMex and MexMex all around Houston. Not every place is great though. There's always places that serve cheap, bland or stale food. But the best thing about Houston is the variety. There are large populations of people from all over the world. Vietnamese, Thai, Mexican, Chinese, Indian, and Mediterranean food in particular are pretty popular. Then add the traditional american food, BBQ, seafood, and the Louisiana dishes, and it's hard to find a city with more diversity in food.

RandallBrown 9y ago
If you haven't already, check out the Netflix series Ugly Delicious. There's a whole episode about the fusion cuisine in Houston.
- vonlena 9y ago
  Ex-Houstonian here (born and raised, moved to California) and I gotta say this episode actually disappointed me. I know there's no possible way to fit all the different fusion and great breadth of variety available in the city, this focused pretty much only on Viet-Louisiana fusion and similarities. There is SO MUCH MORE to Houston than that. *edit- I'd like to also say that this show is great though, especially his view on the topic of authenticity and how he thinks it hurts more than it helps. :)