The Golden Age of American Dining Is Over
The same factors that created 12 years of glory for the culinary scene have also led to its downfall
In his new book Burn the Ice, Kevin Alexander surveys the last 12 years of culinary revolution across America, from the explosion and appropriation of local cuisines like Prince’s Hot Chicken in Nashville to the iconoclastic influence of Portland’s Le Pigeon. What follows is an adapted introduction from Alexander’s testament to the industry’s latest boom–and bust.
The United States of America is no stranger to revolution. For the better part of 400 years, it’s stubbornly refused to stand still. Perhaps more than any other nation in history, it’s constantly in a state of reinvention, and nowhere is this truer than when it comes to what, where, and how we eat. But for the last 12 years, the change has accelerated, reaching previously unseen speeds, and it has been incredible, a — perhaps the — golden age of American dining. And it may already be over.
But God, was it glorious: chefs bringing extinct crops back from the dead; bartenders finding ancient cocktail tomes in haunted attics and recreating the recipes found within; tiny farms and distilleries and breweries blossoming from Montgomery to Montpelier; food trucks run by French-trained chefs creating…
