Grand Canyon Cafe will be in film about history of Chinese food

The historic Grand Canyon Cafe in Flagstaff, Ariz., will be one of the subjects of a documentary about the rise of Chinese food in the United States, reported the Arizona Daily Sun.

A crew from WD Films, which is producing “The Search for General Tso,” will visit the Route 66 restaurant to interview senior citizens and their families.

The newspaper described the purpose of the visit:

On Friday, March 8, from 1 to 5 p.m., the film crew will host “Chop Suey Stories,” a communitywide interview event at the historic Grand Canyon Café. Did your family eat at Chinese restaurants in the 1940s and 1950s, the “golden age” of chop suey? Do you have memories of a favorite Chinese restaurant or a favorite Chinese dish in decades past?

Senior citizens and their families are invited to attend “Chop Suey Stories” and share their memories on camera.

Go here to watch a six-minute sample of “The Search for General Tso.” (Note: the video could not be embedded.)

The Grand Canyon Cafe recently marked its 70th year, and has been owned by Freddie and Tina Wong’s family for nearly the entire time.

I suspect the filmmakers liked the restaurant because it’s a prime example of immigrants who Americanized their business — in addition to Chinese food, the Grand Canyon Cafe also serves all-American dishes such as chicken-fried steak.

(Photo by sfgamchick via Flickr)

One thought on “Grand Canyon Cafe will be in film about history of Chinese food

  1. I can say my Mom and Dad never ate in any type of chinese eatery. I can only remember what I would call American foods
    such as beans and potatoes,chickenfried steaks,steaks,hamburgers and the like
    Dad and Mom were never much for trying anything different

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