So often I hear "Oh that isn't authentic XXXian food." Or, "That was really authentic YYYian food."

Sometimes I wonder if I care, as long as the food is good. If the area has one or a few exemplars of "Authentic XXXian food" I might recall that when I was in XXXia, that there was plenty of ok food, but nothing was great, even though I liked the style of food.

Yes, there are times I want an "authentic empanada from Chile" or "authentic British boiled fat pie" (well, not really the 2d one) but sometimes it seems people are more obsessed with the authentic than with the best food. If a place makes XXXian style food that isn't quite authentic, but is excellent, I'll pass on the authentic.

Discuss (or not)

Exactly. The best example that comes to mind is tacos. I adore two soft corn tortillas topped with real carne asada cooked over charcoal, with onion, salsa and cilantro, but I also like Jimboys, Jack in the box, or Taco Bell tacos - for what they are.

This is so Bay Area and I admit that I am often guilty of this myself, particularly when it comes to sushi.

Guilty as charged.

Don't get me started on "authentic" Cajun food, which doesn't exist in the SF Bay Area, or "authentic" Thai food, which probably does, which you can passably get if you ask them to make it authentic-ly spicy.

It's a pet peeve of mine that foreign cuisines invariably are modified to suit local tastes. I understand it from a business perspective (greater acceptance = greater revenue), but it still irks me to call it "authentic." Perhaps "fusion" is a better moniker.

I desire to "expand" my taste buds just as much as I want to expand my mind. There are many foods that I enjoy today that I didn't enjoy before (sushi, anyone?) because I dared to do this.

I'd rather expand my tastes and learn to appreciate new foods than modify all "foreign" foods to suit my tastes (or should I say the limited range of tastes I had 15 years ago).

this discussion of "authentic" food and the bay area reminds me that just last week, i had the best sourdough bread ever ... in maryland.

Authenticity gets points in my book; so does excellence.
Pretense at either, however, is frowned upon.

I suspect you mean an authentic Scotch pie.

I've never had any memorable sourdough bread here (or any good bread at all). SF doesn't deserve this reputation. PDX does.

Really???

We have better bread on this side of the bridge The bread is authentic. It is not soup, it is not steak, it is bread.

Can I expand the discussion a little and say that I believe that it is possible to get a good meal at a chain restaurant. No, it probably won't be "authentic XXXian", but I can still like it and admit it. Flyertalk is home to more snobs than the New England college prep school I attended in the 60's.

BTW, my dinner last night came from a grocery store salad bar and I would say it was authentic grocery store salad bar salad. I liked it and I'm not ashamed to say it. I suspect some of the ingredients originated outside the US, but none were labeled as authentic XXXian canned peaches or bacon bits.

Did you really put peaches and bacon in the same salad?

No. (Unless, of course, you think the Olive Garden's Pasta Barfatini Supreme with a glass of Peeno Gree-Joe is better than authentic, blah blah blah.) However, it sounds like a lovely topic for another thread.

I only discriminate if the lack of authenticity stems from a missing key feature in the food. For example, I've been looking for properly spicy Thai food ever since I came to DC. All the restaurants I've found so far have weakened their dishes for diners here. I've even asked for "Thai hot" to no avail. I have wait until I get back to HNL to get properly spicy Thai dishes.

This thread reminds me of that George Carlin routine. "What does 'New York-style pizza' mean? Not from New York!" Although crabbing is right in that you can get some really good sourdough in Maryland.

I find it difficult to get "authentically" spicy food even in Thailand. I think most people see me and automatically assume they need to tone down the spice. Asking for the food "spicy like Thai people like it" often fixes that, but not always.