Why the obsession with 'authentic' ethnic food? What does that even mean? (hamburger, fast food)
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If it doesn't somewhat taste like "home", then why are half or more of the patrons there of either the ethnicity that the restaurant supposedly serves the food of or one with a similar cuisine?
I have always noticed this as well, especially in Mexican, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Sushi places.
The same ethnic groups I NEVER see eating at American style restaurants, or indeed, at other ethnicities restaurants.
Because "authentic" ethnic restaurants taste different and memorable. And the non-authentic ethnic restaurants taste the same and forgettable in any city nationwide.
There are so many good ethnic restaurants around here (and I mean the real deal, not the Americanized version) that I can get good, "authentic" ethnic food at reasonable prices any day of the week. And I visit them pretty often.
But I'm not a food snob about it. Sometimes you just want Chinese buffet food or a crunchy taco from Dairy Queen. And that's OK too!
If you had ever tried a taco from an old fashioned taqueria, you probably wouldn't have that opinion at all. del taco, taco bell, and ortega are to Mexican food what Kraft Mac & Cheese is to American Soul Food.
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Anyway - I enjoy different styles of ethnic foods. I -like- Kraft Mac & Cheese. But I also like baked mac & cheese with smoked gouda, and I like the southern-style that usually gets served as a side with shredded barbeque pork and collard greens. I like taqueria tacos, with cilantro and onion over chunks of marinated skirt-steak, tucked into two small, stacked, hand-spread soft-shell tortillas. I also like crispy-shell tacos with seasoned chopped roast beef, cheddar cheese, lettuce, and pico de gallo. Once in a rare blue moon if I'm at the mall, I might even like a taco bell original taco made with ground beefy-like meat product, cheddar, and lettuce in a stale shell with "hot" sauce.
Nothing quite like those Mexican "street tacos!" OLE!
Sooner or later, nearly every conversation about popularly priced ethnic food restaurants in the United States turns into ugly allegations that the food isn't 'Authentic', either in its ingredients, it's way of cooking, or its flavor. Most hard hit are Mexican, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese styled restaurants.
My question is, does it really matter? Do you really feel that you should be able to buy an 'Authentic Mexican' taco cart style taco for 99 cents at Taco Bell, or 'Authentic Italian' home cooked style meals for Olive Garden prices, or 'Authentic Japanese' hand-rolled quality sushi for the pre-packaged CostCo sushi price?
On top of that, what makes the recipe 'authentic'? Every year, billions of tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos, etc. are made by millions of Mexicans, none of which are exactly the same. They can vary wildly according to the available ingredients and the preferences of this making and eating them. Everywhere from bland to POW! spicy. The same applies to most ethnic food.
So, unless you are actually immersing yourself in a specific culture, do you care about the authenticity of the food, or do you care more about having an enjoyable meal at a good price?
Who cares when you cannot even get a decent hot dog in 90% of the Country, and they are supposedly as American as apple pie. Or decent soul food in the Midwest. And what is with all of this California this and that? As a native born and raised Californian I look at theses foods and wonder what makes them Californian. Avocado? Sun dried tomatoes? Okay, whatever. And if a California Torilla were truly Californian it would be twice the size and half the price without all of that effin lettuce, tomato, and other filler. You'd start with a tortilla the size of manhole cover, fill it with enough beans and/or beef to fill a kitchen sink, add a fistful of diced onion and cheese, wrap, sell for $5. That's a California tortilla!
And speaking of California, pescados are kind of the unofficial State food. But you never see that on any "California" menu.
Glad the OP brought this up, because I was thinking the same thing recently.
In fact I find it downright annoying when people put down places like Taco Bell or Panda Express, saying, b-b-but, that's not real ____ food.
Who gives a flying toss!
I don't eat at Taco Bell because it's 'authentic' Mexican food. Nor Panda Express for any semblance to 'real' Chinese food. And so on and so forth. I eat at those places because I like the taste of the food itself and the way it's cooked and seasoned. On its own merits.
If I wanted 'authentic' ethnic meals, then by golly I'd go to a place that served it.
Nothing quite like those Mexican "street tacos!" OLE!
We used to drive to the boarder walk across and buy bunches and bring them back.
My favorite were the fish tacos from the carts in the Ensenada fish market.
You are from Texas right? although I was at Ft. Hood for 2 years when I was in the Army I don´t remember many Mexican places.
Is the food is much different than in San Diego Mainland vs Baja influence?
Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
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I've read that you can find authentic Chinese, Korean, and of course regional Mexican restaurants in the appropriate ethnic enclaves ...... authentic from the view of actual recent tourists and immigrants from those countries ...... more so than other American cities. I dunno, that's just what I've heard. And of course, being California, it has an endless supply of ethnic fusion foods and just plain authentic weird stuff.
Since seeing that Anthony Bourdain special on Mexico, I've wanted to do Oaxaca.
Maybe one of these days I'll up and waddle my way down to LA, go on a gastronomic tour. I dunno about Mexico, I'd be a prime target there.
Whatever the ethnicity, when the people of that culture flock to that restaurant, go there. Even in Japan, my favorite places were little hole-in-the-wall dives. The real food of the people!
I call it soul food and my big white grandma used to cook up some great soul food. Stick to your ribs, fried chicken, greens, sweet potatoes, etc.
Here's a hint. Have you ever gone into a grocery store and there's a steam table in the deli dept? If there's a grandma-looking lady back there, look like she's raised a bunch of kids? That food is probably really really good.
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