All over the United States, we can find restaurants and cafes that serve what we Americans think is "foreign" food. We're familiar with Chinese restaurants, Italian restaurants, Japanese restaurants, Spanish restaurants, German restaurants.

Only recently, through conversations with people from China and Italy, I've learned that what I thought were Chinese and Italian foods were probably Americanized versions, prepared and seasoned to meet our American taste buds.

When I recently interviewed the Italian owner of two Italian restaurants (one a pizzeria and one a full-service restaurant), I learned two key facts:

• Spaghetti and meatballs is not a direct import from Italy. The restaurant owner told me that in Italy's far south region, there are very small meatballs served with pasta. Our American concept of the huge meatball, dripping in delicious spaghetti sauce, is just that---an American concept.
• Our American concept of "pizza" is nowhere near the Italian version. In fact the restaurant owner said that he started the pizzeria because he couldn't find a decent Italian pizza in town that suited his Italian tastes. His intimate cafe serves 60+ versions---a long way from our standard "cheese, pepperoni or sausage". 
• Once a week, this restaurant owner flies in fish from Spain or Italy that are not usually served in U.S. restaurants. One of his goals is to educate Americans on what Italian food is really like.
  
• As a side note to our discussion on Italian food, he mentioned that Italian kids wouldn't dare sit and watch TV from the couch while his family sat at the dining table. The family dinner is a group occasion in Italy, with mandatory attendance.

A few years ago, when I entertained some Chinese exchange students for Thanksgiving dinner, they explained to me that what we Americans eat in "Chinese" restaurants is nowhere close to real Chinese food as they know it. They went so far as to tell me that they could only find about two Chinese restaurants in metropolitan Miami that they would ever visit.

One thing I learned from my Chinese friends is that they don't have the "sweet tooth" for desserts that we Americans have. The pumpkin pie I had prepared for the Thanksgiving meal did not really interest them. They opted for some sliced fruit instead. Perhaps that's one reason why you don't often see Chinese who are obese.

For Americans who have traveled in foreign countries, the knowledge of how the foods there differ from our American versions is not so hard to grasp. For Americans who grew up and perhaps still live in ethnic communities in the U.S., the knowledge of what the "real" food is from their culture is not difficult to understand. But for the rest of us, we are probably woefully ignorant when it comes to foreign cuisine.

"Spanish food" is not tacos. My understanding is that tacos are more specifically Mexican, although I'm not sure how many residents of Mexico eat tacos for every meal. Hispanic coffee (which probably has differences among the various Spanish-speaking nations) is more concentrated and served in smaller cups. For Hispanics, a little goes a long way but they too are "hooked" on their coffee as many Americans are on their "cup of joe".

Maybe, to expand our education on foreign foods, we ought to find some ethnic restaurants and try entrees that are totally new to us. Another idea would be to engage the waiter (if he/she is qualified) in a question-and-answer session on the ingredients of the dishes.