United States of America Food and Drink

Frequent eating out is a relative novelty for many Americans, particularly in suburban areas, and is just one of many consequences of the popularization of television shows that feature celebrity chefs and a focus on culinary history and popular culture. Americans' appetite for learning more about food and becoming familiar with diverse cuisines has grown exponentially in the past decade—along with their waistlines.

In large cities, restaurants are mostly modern and very clean, offering a vast range of cuisines, prices and facilities. Restaurants come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from fast-food, self-service and counter service, to drive-thru and table service. There are numerous options for casual and fine dining alike. 'Diners', now a fading US institution, consist of simple food served from the counter. These are often located in smaller towns, and although they have been replaced by fast food chains in many areas, can still be found along the east coast and in parts of the southern US, midwest and southwest.

Given the country's diverse cultural groups, the range of cuisines available in the US is large. In fact, many people believe the US does not have its own distinct cuisine, and that its primary attribute is its tendency to fuse various influences. Within cities especially, cultural enclaves often have entire neighbourhoods devoted to specialized global cuisines: Vietnamese in parts of New Orleans; Somali and Ethiopian on the outskirts of Minneapolis; and, of course Chinese and Italian in New York City's Chinatown and Little Italy, which are adjoining neighbourhoods in lower Manhattan.