Anyone for Chinese tonight?

Mendelson, Anne.  Chow Chop Suey: Food and the Chinese American Journey.  New York: 
         Columbia UP, 2016.  ISBN; 978-0-231-15860-2

If you are like most Americans, you will have visited a Chinese restaurant at least one time in your life.  You might have hated it (I wanted a hamburger, but then I was 3 at the time), enjoyed it, or just ate there because you needed sustenance.  Chow Chop Suey attempts to tell how those restaurants came to be and why they serve the food they do.

Anne Mendelson provides a blended history in Chow Chop Suey, a history of the Chinese coming to America (or as it was called in 1800's China - Gold Mountain), their reception, and their coping which included opening food joints and laundries.  She discusses what was likely served then, where and how cooking supplies arrived, who did the cooking, and why. Later chapters delve into early recipe collections, various cookbooks through the years, how the reception of Chinese immigrants changed over time and why which also includes the changes in Chinese restaurant menus and locations. 

If you are looking for inspiring dishes, or a history of your favorite Chines takeout meal, you will need to keep looking.  However, if you want to learn about little-known American history and an important food-way in that history, do read Chow Chop Suey!