What is American cuisine?
To say that one particular food or type of cuisine is relegated to one ethnic group or another is very common place in America. However, in my travels abroad and within the United States it is difficult to determine what is American cuisine. In France their used to be, and I assume their still is, a restaurant called the “Front Page”. It was/is a place where a lot of up and coming French actors would congregate. The menu had about what an American would expect to find as a representative cuisine for the U.S.. Many different kinds of hamburger, rib and chicken dishes. Most were barbecued and served with American (what we call French) fries.
I question whether or not this is truly American cuisine, and if it is will it be in the future. McDonalds (MCD) has prided itself on the idea of being able to serve the same meal anywhere in the world. A mass made sandwich for a mass audience. But, is that American food?
As an Economist and as an Urban Planner I have studied America and the way America has developed. In a minimalist sense America is the borrowing of all other cultures thrown together into one. A great example of that are our laws, which are built from a house of cards. Each law is a refinement of some previous law that was not exactly the way it was supposed to be. So, we add a little more here and there. In the process we have to change the law again to reflect either something new that we just found out or correct some problem we created because of the last change. So we borrow and we add as a policy. American's are borrows by nature and change is our inherent policy that we live by.
Yes, McDonalds is hands down the most successful American restaurant, but does it represent America? In the capitalist sense probably. It is the epitome of Taylorism, and negates many of the values of Edward Deming. It exemplifies and symbolizes the concepts of economies of scale, the foundation needed for a purely capitalist market. But, it seems that at the fringes America is changing. Yes, the computer has ushered in greater efficiency for the market place. At what cost? Will the computer really allow us to work at home, spend more time with our kids and have that all-important family meal that seems to have been amiss for some years now.
I don't know where this is leading, but it's just a thought.
Brent
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