International Food

MSNBC: Browsed a Cheesecake Factory menu lately? Maybe the Vietnamese shrimp summer rolls tempted you.
As Binh Nguyen tells it, diners at his Pho Hoa chain of Vietnamese restaurants have been ordering “summer rolls” — a rough translation of goi cuon, which are shrimp, pork and vermicelli noodles wrapped in rice paper — for the past 15 years. “We were the first one to use that name,” he says.
Call them what you like: goi cuon and many other traditional ethnic foods have become staples on menus nationwide, a sign that the American palate craves more variety than ever.
Ethnic cuisine is familiar to Americans. It used to imply a special night out at a local, often immigrant-run, mom-and-pop restaurant. Even Italian was once a cultural experience.
But now, ethnic chains permeate the landscape. Asian and Mexican cuisine, especially, have become sizzling segments in the corporate restaurant world.
Exotic tastes, familiar brands [MSNBC]