Gen X’ers were the first U.S. generation to fully experience a country changed by immigrants from around the world. The Gen X children of immigrants bonded over their common childhood experiences in college dorms and shared their stories with their classmates, some of whom had never heard of a quinceañera, a sari, a hijab, or Chinese New Year. American cuisine, long stuck in a quagmire of hamburgers, casseroles, and Jell-O salads, came to include tacos, sushi, and dim sum even in the middle of the country. My father’s hometown of Willmar, Minnesota, once had restaurants no more adventurous
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