Why are American Chinese takeout restaurants so similar?
Most of these questions are answered in This Book. I was disappointed in it, since it didn’t focus on the actual food so much as the restaurants, but it was still interesting.
I imagine the homogeneity is because they’re serving food to people who are used to, above all, consistent experiences when eating out, and because most consumers of their product, especially in areas without a huge number of Chinese folks who also come in, expect to be able to order things like (say) Peking duck at any Chinese restaurant, even if the place is primarily Cantonese-focused, or if the chefs are from Fujian or Guangdong (where many members of China’s diaspora in the US have come from). If you’re questing after novelty, though, the best thing I’ve done in any kind of restaurant where I’m not as familiar with the cuisine is ask the server what’s really great that day, and often I’ll end up with something that’s not even on the menu at all; this is especially true at the Asian places near where I live.
I think these things are probably more regional than you realize. Where I grew up, all the Chinese restaurants served pretty much the exact same menu, but it’s a different menu from the Chinese restaurants where I live now. For instance, for some reason all the Chinese places in the MD suburbs of DC serve subs hamburgers, too. I haven’t seen this either of the other two places I lived and ate Chinese food.
