An Elegy for Dallas Strip Mall Restaurants
America takes more than it gives. The Indian restaurants Rao used to go to, the ones located in overlooked strip malls on the outskirts of big Texas cities, serve as an example of this. Once a tie to her community and culture, they either became fetishized by culinary explorers or are forgotten by the younger generation who are, “opening restaurants using Texas flavors and American marketing — no sudden phulkas or honor payments,” like the Indian restaurants she grew up sneaking into. Those were the places where, “To eat was to fantasize, as if watching a movie about teens in India; we tapp…
