Forking around with fusion

Though I firmly stand against colonialism, it's undeniable that it has produced some incredible fusion cuisine. My absolute favorite fusion comes from the Indochine era, when the French colonized Vietnam.  You've tasted the spoils of this fusion. Banh mi is a common sandwich these days, featuring the charbroiled meats, fresh herbs, and pickled vegetables of Vietnamese cuisine. But they are encapsulated within a French baguette, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, and smeared with creamy pate. It's undeniably sublime. Where would we be today if Marco Polo hadn't traveled the Silk Road to Asia, where he brought...