A few years ago, this chef was involved in a year-long study of consumer focus groups attempting to quantify their eating habits and predict the direction of their ever-changing tastes. One of the biggest complaints these consumers had regarding chain restaurants was: "They all have the same appetizers: chicken fingers, cheese sticks, wings and fried veggies of some sort, like poppers or onion rings. There's no variety...and, they're all fried. Can't we have some more interesting options?" This was heard repeatedly, no matter what city was visited. While many chains remain mired in appetizer mediocrity, independent restaurant chefs have been busy embracing global flavors and cooking techniques. Never before have American menus showcased so many paquetitos, or "little packages," of inspired Asian, Latin, Mediterranean and African creations, often reinterpreted and combined with classical cooking techniques.
Tasty Street Foods
The influence of global street food has been major and brought much of the world's cuisines to the U.S. in an affordable and entertaining way. It is the "food of the people" from many different urban cultures around the globe. Most street food is fast and eaten with the fingers. There is something about the immediacy of it, something comforting about taking the food directly from the chef's hand. Outside the U.S., street 'hawkers" tend to be "one-chop shops;" that is, they only make one thing, and they excel at it; their survival depends on it. Although mobile by nature, the business often has been located in the same place for decades. The recipe and, more importantly, the technique are passed down through multiple generations.