MANY Chinese people consider American cuisine to be simplistic, unhealthy and filled with artificial ingredients. Such stereotypes are now getting shattered as fashionable, fresh, sophisticated American dining experiences spread throughout Shanghai.

According to American chef Austin Hu, the man behind Shanghai’s Madison, American diners and restaurateurs have fully embraced a movement toward local, high-quality food and artisanal products.

Fresh and artisanal

The “farm to table” concept originated in the US, and has since caught on in many parts of the world, including Shanghai.

The Culinary Institute of American (CIA), headquartered in New York, is considered a bellwether of American dining. Its Grey Stone campus in Napa Valley opened a restaurant, The Conservatory, which uses produce from its own organic farm in an attempt to shorten the distance between table and farm. This is to ensure food freshness and maintain a close connection with farmers.

Another famous example is French Laundry, a Michelin three-starred restaurant run by celebrity chef Thomas Keller in Napa Valley. This high-quality eatery is known for its fine cooking and fresh ingredients sourced from the chef’s three-acre garden in the Bay Area.

Meanwhile, in Portland, Oregon, the fair-trade movement is changing the global coffee scene. Duane Sorenson, the founder of local cafe Stumptown Coffee Roasters, visits coffee bean farms in person and pays above-market prices for quality beans. Sometimes Sorenson pays three to four times more than large institutional suppliers, who often leverage their buying power to suppress prices. Sorenson considers coffee an artisanal product like wine.

The fair-trade movement has made Portland one of the best markets in the country for small-scale food stalls, many of which are run directly by farmers and chefs.

In Shanghai, a growing number of restaurants have followed these trends by acquiring their own farms in the city’s suburbs. These include local organic institution Green and Safe, on Dongping Road. Independent cafes using high-quality beans have also caught on, including Sumerian on Shaanxi Rd N., known for sourcing rare coffee beans from Ethiopia. The popularity of Boxing Cat Brewery in Shanghai, known for its American craft beers and menu of American food favorites, further demonstrates how local diners have embraced the artisanal movement.

Here are just some of the many great places to sample artisanal American flavors right here in Shanghai.

• Napa Wine Reserve

As the name suggests, this wine shop is devoted to selling wines from California’s famed Napa Valley. Wines from more than 50 Napa wineries are sold here, with bottles ranging from 400 yuan (US$60) to 5,000 yuan. The Schramsberg Cremant 2011 is a highly-recommended sparkler. It’s made from grapes in Napa Valley and Sonoma County and was used by none other than US president Barack Obama to entertain Chinese President Xi Jinping in the White House last year. It’s a delicate off-dry wine boasting tropical and citrus aromas of guava and pineapple, enlightened by notes of honey and caramelized ginger. The palate is rich and tangy, going well with American desserts such as apple pie and custard. The 2006 Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, a high-quality red, also deserves a try. The wine perfectly expresses the terroir of Napa. It features a pure, concentrated taste with generous notes of dark fruit.

Tel: 6340-0418

Address: 383 Weihai Rd

• City Super

This premium retail shop is known for sourcing artisanal products from all over the world. It’s also one of the few places in Shanghai offering American artisanal cheese. Bella Vitano, a cow milk cheese first made in Antigo, Wisconsin over 75 years ago is recommended. The cheese is known for its nutty, fruity taste and flavored varieties. The original flavor features a subtle caramel sweetness, mixed with the taste of raspberry and espresso.

Tel: 5466-1588

Address: B1/F, IAPM Shopping Mall, 999 Huaihai Rd M.

Regional variety

While it’s getting easier to find a diverse range of authentic, high-quality American foods in Shanghai, the availability of regional specialties is also expanding.

The United States covers a vast expanse of areas, and many local areas have their own local food traditions, much like China.

Here’s a glimpse of where you can taste some local American flavors for yourself here in Shanghai.

East Coast

New England cuisine plays a key role in East Coast dining. This region constitutes the north-east of the US, where seafood and dairy products are plentiful thanks to the rich local farmland and proximity to prime fishing areas.

Some popular New England dishes include clam chowder, lobster rolls, fried clams, crab cakes, pancakes with maple syrup and bagels. Cream is widely used in dishes to add flavor and heartiness, particularly during the frigid local winters.

• Pier 39

This cozy restaurant on Jinxian Road is one of the few places in the city where you can taste authentic New England clam chowder. The chowder is classically served in a bread bowl. The soup is delightfully thick and creamy, and fresh clams give each bite a distinctive rich flavor. Also worth trying are the crispy tuna cakes, with biscuits topped with seasoned salmon coated with cream.

Address: 172 Jinxian Rd

Tel: 6258-1939

West Coast

Although West Coast cuisine also uses fresh seafood ingredients, the culinary techniques reflect the local history. California is known as a cultural melting-pot of the US. It’s historically been a destination for immigrants from Asian countries such as China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. This means the food there is known for its fusion of Eastern and Western tastes.

For example, take the California roll, a kind of inside-out Japanese sushi that uses avocado and fried seafood as ingredient; and Thai chicken pizza with peanut sauce and bean sprouts.

California is also famed for its Tex-Mex cuisine, which can be traced back to the pioneer days when Anglo settlers marched into Texas, where they encountered Mexico cuisine. Wheat flour, vegetables, beans, cumin and cheese are widely used and enlightened by chili to make tasty tacos, burritos and nachos.

• Goga

This cozy restaurant opened by American chef Brad Turley is only big enough for about 20 people. Turley has created some innovative flavors based on his experiences in San Francisco, Vietnam and China. Recommended dishes include his California roll, with silky avocado puree, crab mousse and Asian spices. The chef also creates delicious deep fried shrimp flavored with coconut, mango sauce and chili. Each bite delivers fresh and tender shrimp meat, sweet and aromatic fruity flavors and spiciness, opening up the appetite during hot summer days. The chef’s unique reinterpretation of the lobster roll also deserves a try.

Address: 1 Yueyang Rd

Tel: 6431-9700

• Hooters

This is an American restaurant specializing in down-to-earth American comfort foods like fried spring onions, roast chicken, beef burgers and potato fries. Many come to Hooters for the “ambience,” including its young, beautiful and sporty waitresses wearing white close-fitting T-shirt and orange short pants. Of course, there are plenty of TVs showing sports games. Tex-Mex flavor is the highlight on the menu. You can try their Mexican flavored French fries and classical tacos if you are a spicy lover.

Address: 1/F, 168 Lujiazui Rd W.

Tel: 5049-0199