Roast Beef Sushi, one of the sad culinary consequences of "Fusion" food. Taken from dumbonyc.com
Fusion. What was at first such an exciting word in the world of food has earned a decidedly bad reputation. “Fusion” used to mean daring combinations of Asian and classical elements. Now, seeing it on a menu, or even worse, the name of the very restaurant, seems to signal to the diner overly elaborate hack versions of dishes that everyone was perfectly fine with in the first place.
At its best, fusion can be a celebration of creativity and a well-traveled chef. At its very worst, it's a flashy pipe dream that disrespect the ingredients and the cultures from which it sprang in the first place.
You can eat almost anything in Vancouver. In fact, its very diversity makes it one of the best places on the planet to eat. However the restaurant business is a very fickle one. At one time, making the menu “fusion” seemed to be insurance against culinary whims. How can your menu grow flat if, at any given time, you can just combine whatever trendy ingredient is to hand, stuff it into a gyoza wrapper and call it a day?
Of course it’s gone out of style, just like every other attempt at menu immortality. Think Retro Food, Nouvelle Cuisine, Salad Bars.
