Why Casual Dining Is Here to Stay

I spent last weekend in St. Helena, Calif., at the Culinary Institute of America’s 14^th annual Worlds of Flavors conference, certainly one of the best food conferences of the year. The theme for the conference this year was “World Casual: The Future of American Menus,” and prior to the conference, more than a few attendees voiced their concerns that the presentations would repeat what we saw at the street food conference a few...