Michael Berner

Living in NYC, as with most other major cities in the US, we’re seeing a resurgence of American food culture.  But this isn’t your hot dogs and American pie but rather an artisanal take on old classics. Great American chefs like April Bloomfield (Spotted Pig, The Breslin), Paul Kahan (Publican) and Dan Barber (Blue Hill at Stone Barns) are creating mouthwatering dishes that are uniquely American, but not in the typical sense of the word.

And therein lies the problem.  For years we’ve grown up categorizing our foods by region of origin.  Saying “I’m getting Italian” meant pizza and pasta, Mexican meant tacos and burritos, Chinese meant something that vaguely resembled what you would get in China, but it was specifically that genre (these are oversimplifications but you get the idea).  However, saying “I’m getting American” meant diner food: burgers, fries, shakes, really anything with “fried” before it.  Which was fine for what was, but not for what is happening now.

Which leads me to the fact that there is no term to clearly describe the food you get at the Spotted Pig in New York or Publican in Chicago.  Yelp opts for “New American” while NYMag goes for “Traditional American”; both just seem like lame attempts to redefine a genre. “Artisanal American” is another but doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. “Farm-to-Table American” is too specific.

Depending on how you look at it, we’ve pigeon-holed ourselves into a food categorization that is in sharp contrast to the culinary renaissance that is currently taking place. I find myself over explaining American food when going to Blue Ribbon, but getting American food at T.G.I. Fridays no further clarifiers.

So what’s it going to be?  Can we finally decide on a term that adequately describes this cuisine?

Special thanks to @allenpenn and Dave Curtis for the Chi references