Italian cuisine came to the United States with Italian immigrants, most of who came from the south of Italy and arrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The culture in the United States has altered traditional Italian dishes since this time, examples of which include toasted ravioli from St Louis, Missouri and muffuletta sandwiches from New Orleans.

A lot of people emigrated from Sicily and Naples and made their homes in big American cities like Boston and New York. Ones from the south of the country would use ingredients like dried pasta, olive oil, and tomato sauce. Ones from the north would prefer fresh pasta, rice, and butter. A lot of steakhouses have been influenced by Italian cuisine because they were set up by Italians.

You can get a lot of different kinds of convenience food such as canned pasta sauce, heat-and-eat spaghetti and frozen pizzas and this is part of the reason why this cuisine has the mistaken reputation for being “all pasta and pizzas” when that is not true at all.

There is no doubt that the traditional food has been influenced by the American diet and, along with Mexican and Chinese cuisine, this cuisine is one of the top three international cuisines in the United States. More than nine out of ten people have tried these cuisines and enjoy them regular and, according to a survey, the average American is more concerned about the flavor and pricing of the international food that whether it is authentic. A lot of American style pizzas and pasta dishes would be unrecognizable to an Italian. Read the rest of this entry »

Although Durango, Colorado is known as a town with many high quality restaurants, there are only a few places where you can find authentic ethnic foods. Larger cities like Denver or Albuquerque generally offer many choices and there is often an area of town where Asian, Mexican,Greek or Indian restaurants are plentiful. When you live in a small mountain town your choices are often limited and it is a joy to find something different from the usual offerings of the fast food industry and ordinary American cafes.

Himalayan Kitchen stands out one of the few places in Durango where you can experience international cuisine. Karma Tenzing Bhotia is the executive chef and owner of Himalayan Kitchen. Karma was born and raised in the Mt. Makalu region of Nepal. He traveled extensively throughout the Himalayas and spent eight years as a chef in Austria. Karma uses his expertise in Himalayan and European cooking along with fresh herbs and spices to create unique flavors in every dish he serves.

We have other notable ethnic restaurants in Durango including Sizzling Siam for Thai food, Mutu’s for Italian and Cyprus Cafe for Mediterranean. That being said, Himalayan Kitchen stands out in the area of ethnic or international cuisine because it offers something that you really can not get anywhere else, even if you live in the big city. Read the rest of this entry »

In recent years, as the backlash against processed foods and fast food restaurants has continued to take the country by storm, millions of Americans are looking for ways to eat better in a way that doesn’t sacrifice flavor. After all, one of best ways to stay fit and healthy is to eat less-and when your food doesn’t taste great, it’s always tempting to eat more of it. In general, the better the flavor, the more satisfied you feel.

But if you want to start eating better-tasting food, it’s not going to work if you don’t know how to enjoy the subtleties of fine foods. Fortunately, developing a strong palate is not difficult at all. Mainly, it’s about taking care of yourself, eating slowly, and experiencing as broad a range of foods as possible. To help you get started, here are 4 tips.

1. Don’t smoke: If you still haven’t been able to give up your smoking habit, now’s the time to cut it out. Smoking dulls your senses of taste and smell by as much as 50 percent. It makes delicious things a little less tasty, and it makes it impossible for you to pick up on all of the subtleties of flavor in your food. If you quit, give your senses a few weeks to recover, and you’ll be amazed by how much better everything tastes. Read the rest of this entry »