For many younger Americans, tacos and dumplings top pizza and linguine

Jacob Noble doesn’t have many friends who eat in Italian restaurants. “They go for Mexican or Chinese,” said Noble, 24, a guitar teacher in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Italian cuisine is “for eating sitting down,” he added. “Mexican and Chinese have more dishes that fit better with young people’s grab-and-go culture. The only portable Italian is pizza.” Besides, he said, “Mexican lends itself to be shared. Nachos are communal. And way more affordable.” Part of an intergenerational food revolution, Noble represents how Americans under 45 choose to eat these days. Millennials (ages 27 to 42) and th...