Researchers who follow trends say more people in the U.S . are interested in “bold ” food tastes than ever before .
追踪潮流的研究人员说，美国人对“重口味”食物的兴趣比以往任何时候都更浓厚。
That means an increasing number of Americans enjoy foods from Mexico and Asia while Italian foods like pizza and pasta are not as popular .
这意味着越来越多的美国人喜欢墨西哥菜和亚洲菜，而比萨和意大利面等意大利菜就没那么受欢迎了。
Pizza and pasta are still the most popular foods among Americans of all ages .
比萨和意大利面仍是各年龄段美国人最喜爱的食物。
But they have dropped in the opinions of younger people .
但在年轻人心目中，它们的地位下降了。
Mike Kostyo is an analyst at Datassential , a research company in Chicago , Illinois .
迈克·科斯蒂奥是伊利诺伊州芝加哥市一家研究公司Datassential的分析师。
He works to identify new things that are becoming popular .
他的工作是发现正在流行起来的新事物。
People who want to go into the restaurant business are his customers .
他的客户是想进入餐饮业的人。
In the past , he said , it was easy to suggest that customers open a restaurant that served Italian food .
他说，过去建议客户开一家意大利餐厅是件很容易的事。
But now , he said , the choice might not be so easy .
但他说，现在这个选择可能就没那么简单了。
As a new generation of Americans starts spending money at restaurants , they are choosing Mexican and Asian foods .
随着新一代美国人开始在餐馆消费，他们选择的是墨西哥菜和亚洲菜。
Those who are even younger , in Gen Z , like Mexican food the most .
更年轻的Z世代最喜欢墨西哥菜。
Those in Gen Z are younger than 23 .
Z世代指的是23岁以下的人。
That means if you visit the U.S ., you may start seeing more places to buy foods like tacos than pizza or lasagna .
这意味着，如果你去美国，可能会开始看到卖墨西哥卷饼之类食物的地方比卖比萨或千层面的地方更多。
I think in the future , it's going to be a taco operation .”
我想将来会是一家卖墨西哥卷饼的店。”
Kostyo noted that among all Americans , Italian food still holds the top spot .
科斯蒂奥指出，就全体美国人而言，意大利菜仍然排在首位。
The Baby Boomer generation still likes Italian food .
婴儿潮一代仍然喜欢意大利菜。
Baby Boomers are between 57 and 75 years old .
婴儿潮一代的年龄在57岁到75岁之间。
But Mexican food and Asian food , such as ramen noodles from Japan , are rising fast .
但墨西哥菜和亚洲菜，比如日本拉面，正在迅速走红。
He said many young Americans are influenced by what they see on social media services such as Instagram .
他说，许多美国年轻人受到他们在Instagram等社交媒体上所见内容的影响。
People often take photos of their food and share them with friends .
人们常常给自己的食物拍照，并分享给朋友。
The researchers note that more Americans like the taste of foods from Asia and Latin America than ever before .
研究人员指出，喜欢亚洲和拉丁美洲食物口味的美国人比以往任何时候都多。
That is because the number of people in the U.S . from Asia and Latin America is larger than in the past .
这是因为在美国的亚洲和拉丁美洲裔人口比过去更多了。
The 2020 Census showed the Latino population grew by 23 percent in only 10 years .
2020年人口普查显示，拉丁裔人口在短短10年内增长了百分之二十三。
Asians make up over 6 percent of the U.S . population .
亚裔占美国人口的百分之六以上。
Kostyo said many Americans have neighbors or friends from Asia or Latin America .
科斯蒂奥说，许多美国人都有来自亚洲或拉丁美洲的邻居或朋友。
So , they might be introduced to these new foods more often .
因此，他们可能更常接触到这些新食物。
The change from Italian food to Mexican food , Kostyo noted , came much faster than he expected .
科斯蒂奥指出，从意大利菜到墨西哥菜的转变比他预想的快得多。
“This is the first time we have ever seen…this change happen in a generation ,” he said .
“这是我们第一次看到……这种变化在一代人之内发生，”他说。
Kostyo noted that American tastes are changing .
科斯蒂奥指出，美国人的口味正在改变。
In the past , many Americans were not comfortable with spicy foods .
过去，很多美国人吃不惯辣的食物。
“Every year , their capacity for bold flavors increases , so I think that's also driving some of these changes , as well .”
“他们对重口味的接受度每年都在提高，所以我认为这也在推动其中一些变化。”
Asian food – from places like China , Japan and Thailand – is known for bold flavors .
来自中国、日本和泰国等地的亚洲菜以浓烈的风味著称。
And a recent report from the Pew Research Center shows Asian food trends .
皮尤研究中心最近的一份报告也显示了亚洲菜的流行趋势。
Sono Shah helped write the Pew report .
索诺·沙阿参与撰写了皮尤的这份报告。
It said that 71 percent of Asian restaurants in the U.S . serve foods from either China , Japan or Thailand .
报告说，美国百分之七十一的亚洲餐馆供应的是中国菜、日本菜或泰国菜。
People from those countries make up only 33 percent of the U.S . Asian population .
来自这些国家的人只占美国亚裔人口的百分之三十三。
“Chinese restaurants were the most popular , so they're found in every state ,” Shah said .
“中餐馆最受欢迎，所以每个州都有，”沙阿说。
He added that every state has at least one Japanese or Thai restaurant .
他还说，每个州至少都有一家日本餐馆或泰国餐馆。
Chinese food , he said , has been in the U.S . for a long time .
他说，中餐在美国已经有很长的历史了。
Japanese restaurants have increased because of the popularity of sushi , an uncooked fish dish .
日本餐馆增多是因为寿司（一种生鱼料理）很受欢迎。
But there are many more Thai restaurants compared to the number of Thai people in the U.S .
但与在美国的泰国人数量相比，泰国餐馆的数量要多得多。
Shah said many people first experience a culture through its food .
沙阿说，许多人最初是通过食物来接触一种文化的。
So , if people like Thai food , they might gain a favorable opinion of Thailand .
所以，如果人们喜欢泰国菜，他们可能会对泰国产生好感。
So about 45 percent of all Asian restaurants are in California , New York , Texas , New Jersey and Washington .
因此，大约百分之四十五的亚洲餐馆位于加利福尼亚、纽约、得克萨斯、新泽西和华盛顿州。
One final finding about the food interests of Americans ?
关于美国人饮食偏好的最后一项发现是什么？
They may fall back on what they see as traditional or “comfort ” foods in difficult times .
在困难时期，他们可能会回归自己心目中的传统食物或“慰藉食物”。
And I'm Jill Robbins
我是吉尔·罗宾斯。