000830 USA Restaurants Serving Up More Ethnic Fare

Chicago, IL - The American palate is becoming more accustomed to exotic cuisines, so foreign fare such as Tandoori chicken and moussaka are increasingly popping up on restaurant menus as the nation's immigrant population grows, new research shows.

In fact, ethnic food is becoming so popular in America that about three- quarters of the country's diners say they are familiar with once-lesser-known cuisines such as Indian, Greek, Caribbean, Thai, Vietnamese, and Spanish foods, according to a survey scheduled to be released Wednesday by the Washington, D.C.-based National Restaurant Association, a trade group.

“We have become a nation of immigrants and we're seeing that reflected in cuisines,” Steven Anderson, the association's president and chief executive, said.

“Restaurant growth in general has been incredible overall in the last several years and as people dine out more, they're looking for more diversity in menus,” he said.

According to the survey, 74% of diners said they have tried at least once Mandarin, Hunan and Szechwan variations of Chinese food; 58% said they tried Greek food; 55% Cajun/Creole; 53% Japanese food; 33% Indian food; and 28% Spanish food.

Categories that saw the most significant growth from a 1994 survey include Japanese, Thai, Caribbean and Middle Eastern, the association said.

As ethnic food grows in popularity, casual-dining restaurant chains and stand-alone independents are competing to capitalise on the trend, Anderson said.

He said restaurants are increasingly serving up so-called “fusion foods” such as pizza burritos which combine food from different ethnicities.

For instance, California Pizza Kitchen Inc. (NasdaqNM:CPKI - news) offers Tandoori Chicken pizza and Thai Chicken spring rolls on its menus while Starbucks Corp. (NasdaqNM:SBUX - news) sells Chai Latte, the coffee chain's version of sweet, milky Indian tea.

“We're seeing a blending of cuisines,” Anderson said. “I'm talking about American steakhouses serving vegetables that might be more Asian such as pea pods or water chestnuts.”

The restaurant association's 2000 Ethnic Cuisines II survey -- which polled a statistical sample of 1,230 restaurant-goers in May 1999 -- also showed that Italian, Mexican and Cantonese Chinese food are now considered mainstream American food.

The survey said more than nine out of 10 consumers said they are familiar with those three cuisines and about half reported eating them frequently, the survey said.

So, it is of little surprise that even the all-American fast-food giant McDonald's Corp. recently acquired Columbus, Ohio-based Donatos Pizza and purchased a minority stake in Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill.

The research also shows that the Italian, Mexican and Cantonese cuisines have been assimilated to such an extent that customers no longer care whether they are authentic.

The restaurant association also said diners most familiar with ethnic food are young urban professionals and those least likely to be interested in it are so-called social diners who are not as picky about the restaurant choice and convenience diners who prefer economy when eating out, the survey said.

The number of individuals who have tried Scandinavian, French, Soul Food, and German food has declined since 1994, the survey also said.

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