LI Cuture Post

Get Japanese, Thai, Indian, or Turkish Eats on Christmas Day

Posted December 21, 2009 by Ted Hesson

A plate at Izumi Japanese Asian Bistro in Bethpage.

In today’s Newsday, the Explore LI section rounds up Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Turkish and kosher deli-style restaurants that will be open for dinner on Christmas Day.
I’m really liking the idea of sushi and sake over the holidays—sounds refreshing.
One note about the Newsday article:
Why do editors still use the term “ethnic restaurants?” When I was at The Journal News (in the magazine division), an editor once asked me to do a story about “ethnic restaurants” in Port Chester, Westchester County. I kept asking, “What do you mean by ‘ethnic?’ Italian? Mexican? Ecuadoran? Every nationality and related cuisine?”
She couldn’t really say. And I think that’s the lesson.
The classification ‘ethnic’ just isn’t descriptive enough to attach to a culture piece that’s aimed at sophisticated metro-area readers.
By all appearances, it seems like the phrase “ethnic food” loosely translates to “food made by people who aren’t English-speaking Christian Americans.” In a nation of immigrants—and, on Long Island, which is part of a metropolitan area populated by immigrants—editors and journalists are doing their readers a disservice by using the blanket term “ethnic.”
I’m not saying that the term is on par with journalistic miscues like USA Today’s recent usage of “illegal student.” It’s just imprecise, and seems to imply that on the other side of the spectrum there’s some accepted standard of “normal American food.”
I remember asking the editor at The Journal News if Indian-American readers would consider chicken tikka masala “ethnic food.” I wasn’t being coy, either. I just wanted to do a good job with the reporting, and needed some direction.
In the end, we did a (somewhat) more telescopic story on Latin American restaurants in Port Chester, which cover the gamut from lunch counter joints to fine dining.
Anyhow, I guess we’re getting too close to holiday festivities for all of this pedantry. Enjoy your holiday meals—whatever the cuisine may be.
For more about the American usage of the term “ethnic,” check out Wikipedia.

Tags : christmas, indian, japanese, restaurants, thai, turkish

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