Chinese American restaurants were among the first restaurants to use picture menus in the US. In New York City, delivery was pioneered in the 1970s by Empire Szechuan Gourmet Franchise, which hired Taiwanese students studying at Columbia University to do the work. Chinese-American restaurants played a key role in ushering in the era of take-out and delivery food in the United States. By this time, it had become evident that Chinese restaurants no longer catered mainly to Chinese customers.
Late 20th-century tastes have been more accommodating. However, after World War II it began to be dismissed for not being "authentic", though it continued to be popular. By the 1920s, this cuisine, particularly chop suey, became popular among middle-class Americans. Restaurants (along with Chinese laundries) provided an ethnic niche for small businesses at a time when Chinese people were excluded from most jobs in the wage economy by ethnic discrimination or lack of language fluency. Īlong the way, cooks adapted southern Chinese dishes and developed a style of Chinese food not found in China, such as chop suey. As of 2015, the United States had 46,700 Chinese restaurants. Pekin Noodle Parlor, established in 1911, is the oldest operating Chinese restaurant in the country. This fueled the opening of Chinese restaurants as an immigration vehicle. The Chinese Exclusion Act allowed merchants to enter the country, and in 1915, restaurant owners became eligible for merchant visas. The trend spread steadily eastward with the growth of the American railways, particularly to New York City. Soon after, significant amounts of food were being imported from China to America's west coast. By 1850, there were five Chinese restaurants in San Francisco. These restaurants served as gathering places and cultural centers for the Chinese community. In 1852, the ratio of male to female Chinese immigrants was a 18:1. They provided a connection to home, particularly for the many bachelors who did not have the resources or knowledge to cook for themselves.
Either way, these and other such restaurants were central features in the daily lives of immigrants. Both unphotographed establishments were founded in 1849 in San Francisco. Some say it was Macau and Woosung, while others cite Canton Restaurant. The first Chinese restaurant in America is debated. Ĭhinese restaurants in the United States began during the California Gold Rush (1848–1855), which brought 20,000–30,000 immigrants across from the Canton (Guangdong) region of China. Even though the new flavors and dishes meant they were not strictly Chinese cuisine, these Chinese restaurants have been cultural ambassadors to Americans. First catering to miners and railroad workers, they established new eateries in towns where Chinese food was completely unknown, adapting local ingredients and catering to their customers' tastes. These smaller restaurants were responsible for developing American Chinese cuisine, where the food was modified to suit a more American palate. Many of these small-town restaurant owners were self-taught family cooks who improvised on different cooking methods using whatever ingredients were available. The restaurants in smaller towns (mostly owned by Chinese immigrants) served food based on what their customers requested, anything ranging from pork chop sandwiches and apple pie, to beans and eggs. īy the 19th century, the Chinese community in San Francisco operated sophisticated and sometimes luxurious restaurants patronized mainly by Chinese. Here the immigrants started their own small businesses, including restaurants and laundry services. They mostly lived together in ghettos, individually referred to as " Chinatown". As larger groups arrived, laws were put in place preventing them from owning land. Theodore Wores, 1884, Chinese Restaurant, oil on canvas, 83 x 56 cm, Crocker Art Museum, SacramentoĬhinese immigrants arrived in the United States seeking employment as miners and railroad workers.
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