Message: | Forgive me for popping in, I saw this on hot posts, and thought i'd add my thoughts. There are three general issues with the "authentic" question.
1) What really is authentic. The first thing that struck me about sushi/authentic, is that the Japanese are very, very experimental in their food. Iron Chef gives one example of how they like to tinker. There is a perfectly "authentic" japanese version of spagetti bolangaise. So, does authentic mean exactly as it appears in Japan, or within the same spirit?
2) Authentic often tepends on ingredients. On a recent Lotus of Siam post, someone noted that salmon was not native to Thailand. Does that make LOS less authentic? Lida Basteniovich's new book gives many examples of how italian food became italian-american food due to the types of ingredients available.
3) How good is authentic? I always remember the first time I went to a Puerto Rican resturant with a Puerto Rican friend. She raved at the food, saying it was just like home, to us, it was greasy and drab. There's the offal question, the spice question, the use of fish sauce, the order things are served, do we alway want things to be authentic?
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