The Cheese-ing of America

Is there anywhere else in the world where cheese is so often put into or melted on top of their food, like we see now in America?

It started with fast food burgers. Used to be you had to ask for cheese, in which case you paid extra. Now, they automatically charge you for the cheese, and you have to ask them NOT put on the cheese. (they will charge less, by the way, but you may have to point this out).

Within the last decade, foods like risotto and shrimp n' grits have appeared on numerous menus, not limited to just high-end Italian or faux-Southern places. But just try to find either one without cheese, as if it were an essential ingredient. Hardly.

Melting cheese on shrimp, inside sandwiches, in sauces, has come to mean 'fancier' food for some people. And in the effort to make their menus into something you might not do at home, it is an extra high-caloric step that is easy for restaurants to do to impress their customers.

Unfortunately, it is making it hard for me to find dishes that I love made without the cheese.

Not that I don't like cheese, but I don't need it inside or on top of everything... if you know what I mean.