Aguilar, Alshatti, Avina, Burgos 1

Eric Aguilar, Mohammed Alshatti, Jonathan Avina, David Burgos

Professor Jada Augustine
English 113B
9 May 2015
Food Bonanza
Although many people think the foods offered in America automatically come and
originate from America, American food is not one cuisine it is a combination of different cultures
that have influenced the development of multi-cultural foods offered now in America. We now
see a growth of cultural cuisines around America that are offered more widely now than in the
past. As well as a rapid growth of food establishments in America from different parts of the
world. Cultures are now being explored through food and leave their mark expanding Americas
own culture in the process. As the growth continues today, we expand our understanding and
diversity amongst people by food and become culturally aware and are introduced to new places
through something simple as food.
Many people wonder about what is the origin of the American food, and they get the
wrong idea that hotdog, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, and other junk food are the only ones, but
it is false. American food is very diverse to begin with. The U.S. is a country that has a lot of
different cultures, which is the reason behind the diversity of American food and its success.
Many people from other countries migrated to the U.S. during the past years, which led to this.
People described the U.S. as The melting pot of the world. Americans are very grateful of it, I
mean imagine not having an Indian, Mexican, or Chinese food at all, eating food would be
boring, and tasteless. Bridget Hunter is a writer from the U.S. embassy, in his article American

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Cuisine Reflect Nations Diversity he said that Cuisine in different parts of the United States
developed independently. Each region was influenced by the nationality of colonists that settled
in the area and by the ingredients locally available. (Hunter, 6). In other words, food diversity
began as colonist settled in the US, and after that, other cultures joined. Sometimes more than
one culture can be combined together to form a certain dish. He said that Almost any
combination of ethnic food styles can be combined in California cooking. (Hunter, 15). This
supports the idea that American food is so open with other cultures.
Eating at a cultural restaurant is something that people brag about nowadays. Americans
like to experience something new, and try Indian, Thai, or Arabic restaurants for example. While
eating, they take pictures of the food to share it with their friends. My friends and I like to eat at
Chinese, and Japanese restaurants like P.F. Changs for instance. We struggle a lot by eating with
the chopsticks, but at the end we have fun. It is always good to have multicultural restaurants in a
place, Los Angles is a good example of one of those places that has multicultural restaurants. It
attracts tourists, and it may also make them feel good when they see that their food culture is
liked, and exists in other places. As I said, without the diversity of food, eating would be boring,
and unexciting. Everyone would rather experience eating something new, instead of eating the
same food over and over again. We all are exposed to these place every day in our lives whether
it be at malls, local restaurants, or recommendations from our peers everyone is introduced
through cultures through foods.
We are introduced to many cultures around the world through food yet are we really
getting the full experience of a different culture than our own through food? Even though food
can be different than our own custom American Food can we say just because something is
different can it be from somewhere else. Cultural foods are becoming more and more

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Americanized to fit our tastes and demands. Certain examples would be Panda Express, P.F.
Changs, taco bell, and Pollo Loco, etc. these places all sound like they come from somewhere
else but the menu offered in the food establishments might not found in the original origin. All
these foods have been changed to meet our own needs because perhaps the original versions of
them might not succeed here in America. So we think we are tasting something from another
place but in reality are we because even though the food is foreign it is changed from the
original. In the short story Custom-Made by Tara Parker-Pope mentions that In Thailand, Pizza
Hut has a tom yam-flavored pizza based on the species of the traditional Thai soup.(pg.119)
Talks about the influence that America cuisines has on other countries, but has the same effect
which is that the food is changed in order to fit the needs and demands of the locals. Therefore
are people really experiencing a new culture through altered food, perhaps not but in some way
are trying something different and are learning of new places besides their own. Even though
foods have been altered people are becoming aware of cultures because they know that the foods
are not from America but are inspired from somewhere else which in a sense is cultural
awareness.
Today, many Americans call our food American. Some people dont exactly know where
some American foods are originally from. This is why one part says that American food is
being introduced by different cultural styles such as Europeans and Natives. In Live Science
article, Kim Ann Zimmerman writes about what different types of food is being brought into our
country and where specifically where its from, Different styles of cooking and types of food
that are based on from a region. Dishes including fried chicken, collard greens, black eyed peas
and corn bread can be considered as Southern-style cooking, also known as American Comfort
food. Spanish and Mexican cooking styles are popular in Texas and the Southwest. These items

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include chili and burritos, with a huge factor of shredded cheese and beans. (Zimmerman) In
this article we can explain that the food that is believed to be American such as burgers, hot dogs,
and meat loaf, arent necessarily American, majority of the foods described are European. We see
now that different cultures from different countries have been influencing America to make new
restaurants based on different types of foods. An easier way to make these restaurants is
identifying the region and see what majority of the population enjoys the food and whether it will
bring many to try something they have never tried before. American has been the biases for new
establishments where local cuisines are brought.

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Sources
Hunter, B. (2012, February 15). American Cuisine Reflects Nations Diversity. Retrieved March
27, 2015, from
Zimmerman, Kim Ann. American Culture: Traditions and Customs of the United States
American Food. (2013): Print.
Mims T. Joan. Nollen M. Elizabeth. Mirror on America. Custom Made. 2014.print.