Real American Food

     "Whether you see the national diet as a melting pot or a smorgasbord, as something to be celebrated for its cultural diversity or fretted over for its worrisome homogenization, the fact is that ours is a cuisine that has always been happy to hyphenate with the rest of the world."  So say Jane and Michael Stern in their introduction of The Lexicon of Real American Food.  They contend that American food, like the population that eats it, is wildly diverse.

     I would whole hearted agree, especially after my recent trip out to Minnesota over the Labor Day holiday.  Out there "on the edge of the Prairie" certain cultures predominate.  But they are by no means the only fare on the plate.  Yes, you can get lutefisk and lefse and  hotdish at a Lutheran church supper.  But you can also enjoy a juicy Lucy or Banh Mi there as well.

     For the next several days I will be reporting on my findings as I conducted culinary research in the upper Midwest.  I researched a local restaurant, a fabulous farmers' market and the famous Minnesota State Fair for food that represents the region.