"Authentic" food - explain it to me.

[gumpzilla]

I was paging through the recently bumped dim sum thread and saw various comments about white man's dim sum and whatnot. This reminded me of something I've sort of wondered about for a long time. It seems that at least a relatively large subset of the people who consider themselves seriously interested in food really prize "authenticity" in their food. I've never been able to tell if this is because it is supposed to actually taste better, if it is supposed to be some kind of a cultural statement, or if it is just food snob cachet. I'm guessing it's a healthy balance of the above.

So, all of you who consider the authenticity of your food to be highly important, please expound. Specific examples of authentic vs. non-authentic cuisine and why the former is superior would be much appreciated.

[guids]

I dont know what authentic food means, but as an example, here in st. louis, you come to what is known as "the hill" for italian food, well, its not really, italian food is much different than most normal joints in the states serve.

[gumpzilla]

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well, its not really, italian food is much different than most normal joints in the states serve.

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This is part of the phenomenon I'm talking about. With almost every major cuisine, you frequently hear about its Americanization, and how what you get in restaurants is quite different from the real thing. If what I'm trying to do is specifically eat the real thing, then that could be bad. If what I'm trying to do is eat food I like, then it's not clear it should matter.

[guids]

If I say, Im going out to get some Italian food, what I should have said, is Im going to go out and get some Italian-american food, there is a diff, but the semantics just got lost becuase its a pain in the ass I guess. I dont think there is a negative tone though imo, when I say that you dont get "real" Italian food at most places, because even though it isnt what youd find in Italy, its still can be good.

[loose passive]

Authentic



VS.



Americanized

[Alobar]

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If what I'm trying to do is specifically eat the real thing, then that could be bad. If what I'm trying to do is eat food I like, then it's not clear it should matter.

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I dont think anyone says non authentic food isnt good, its just not as good as the "aythentic" food is.

If I order enchilads in New York City, im still going to like them, because I like the way meat and tortillas and cheese and sauce tastes. However I wont like them anywhere close to as much as Enchilads made in Mexico because they are going to be made better. People call this more "authentic".

but yeah, lots of people are just snobs and use "authentic" to be elitist. Like I would make fun of anyone who calimed NYC enchiladas are good, because I live in the southwest and been to mexico and Ive had "real" enchiladas and I want to feel special, so I mock them for daring to say they like some food. People suck tho

[gumpzilla]

Taco Bell is a pretty bad example of what I'm going for here, I think. Fast food is automatically going to be of lesser quality, so it's not a good comparison. I'm talking about what you might find at the higher end.

[The DaveR]

Authentic is a slippery slope in most contexts.

[Duke]

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Authentic is a slippery slope in most contexts.

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Seconded, and both from the "douchebaggery" angle, as well as food that is too authentic really sucking.

[szw]

When I read your OP I think of Chinese fast food with sweet and sour chicken balls compared to authentic Chinese food. But then you said fast food isn't what you are talking about, do you have any specific examples?