The mention of “authentic” cuisine is giving me PSTD from working for a Californian company. Apparently that is something very important there, whereas I don’t think most of the world gives a shit… even other parts of the US.
I certainly care. My area has a lot of foreign food, but almost everything has been adjusted for local tastes, to the point where everything kinda tastes the same. The local Thai, Indian, Chinese, and Vietnamese/Pho restaurants all seem to tone down the seasonings and add salt and sugar, to the point where I honestly can’t taste much of a difference between their menu items.
So we have a curated list of places we like. When I go to get Thai, it’s pretty spicy, and the various curries have a very different flavor profile. Same thing at the local Indian places. At Chinese places, I get really richly flavored dumplings, soups, and noodles (and no orange chicken). At Vietnamese/pho places, the pho broth stands on its own instead of needing to be drowned in sriracha and hoisin sauce, and their sides are actually worth ordering.
But these are relatively “hole in the wall” places, but when we take friends, they really enjoy it and wonder why it’s so much better than anything else in the area. And when one goes out of business or sells out, I need to go search for a replacement, which can take many attempts (took years to find a decent Thai place…).
So I think a lot of people appreciate authentic foods, it’s just that the quiet majority don’t want to venture too far outside their comfort zone, so we get crap like everyone ordering “orange chicken” at Chinese places, “masaman curry” at Thai places, and “lassi + vindaloo” at Indian places, with everything toned way down and sugared up. Those dishes are fine once in a while, but those aren’t anywhere near my favorite dishes at those respective places.
I’m not from California and I honestly hate visiting there, but I do like to venture outside my comfort zone and try very different foods. I just wish more people shared my interest so I would have better options.
I’m surprised you have so much trouble with Thai restaurants. The Thai government trains chefs and sends them around the world to operate restaurants and it has a government owned restaurant supply company to support them. They do it as a form of “cultural diplomacy”. Because of that Thai tends to be one of the most consistent and authentic types of restaurants.
Ikr? Where I grew up (near Seattle), there were tons of great Thai places, and it really didn’t matter which one I went to, it would be pretty good.
Where I’m at now (near SLC, Utah), it’s all sweetened, bland crap. It’s decently good, but it’s nothing like what I grew up with. The most popular places here are essentially franchised, and they all taste bland and sweet instead of properly spiced.
The good places are the small restaurants closer to downtown. The interior decoration is less fancy, but the food is way better.
The mention of “authentic” cuisine is giving me PSTD from working for a Californian company. Apparently that is something very important there, whereas I don’t think most of the world gives a shit… even other parts of the US.
I certainly care. My area has a lot of foreign food, but almost everything has been adjusted for local tastes, to the point where everything kinda tastes the same. The local Thai, Indian, Chinese, and Vietnamese/Pho restaurants all seem to tone down the seasonings and add salt and sugar, to the point where I honestly can’t taste much of a difference between their menu items.
So we have a curated list of places we like. When I go to get Thai, it’s pretty spicy, and the various curries have a very different flavor profile. Same thing at the local Indian places. At Chinese places, I get really richly flavored dumplings, soups, and noodles (and no orange chicken). At Vietnamese/pho places, the pho broth stands on its own instead of needing to be drowned in sriracha and hoisin sauce, and their sides are actually worth ordering.
But these are relatively “hole in the wall” places, but when we take friends, they really enjoy it and wonder why it’s so much better than anything else in the area. And when one goes out of business or sells out, I need to go search for a replacement, which can take many attempts (took years to find a decent Thai place…).
So I think a lot of people appreciate authentic foods, it’s just that the quiet majority don’t want to venture too far outside their comfort zone, so we get crap like everyone ordering “orange chicken” at Chinese places, “masaman curry” at Thai places, and “lassi + vindaloo” at Indian places, with everything toned way down and sugared up. Those dishes are fine once in a while, but those aren’t anywhere near my favorite dishes at those respective places.
I’m not from California and I honestly hate visiting there, but I do like to venture outside my comfort zone and try very different foods. I just wish more people shared my interest so I would have better options.
I’m surprised you have so much trouble with Thai restaurants. The Thai government trains chefs and sends them around the world to operate restaurants and it has a government owned restaurant supply company to support them. They do it as a form of “cultural diplomacy”. Because of that Thai tends to be one of the most consistent and authentic types of restaurants.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/paxadz/the-surprising-reason-that-there-are-so-many-thai-restaurants-in-america
Ikr? Where I grew up (near Seattle), there were tons of great Thai places, and it really didn’t matter which one I went to, it would be pretty good.
Where I’m at now (near SLC, Utah), it’s all sweetened, bland crap. It’s decently good, but it’s nothing like what I grew up with. The most popular places here are essentially franchised, and they all taste bland and sweet instead of properly spiced.
The good places are the small restaurants closer to downtown. The interior decoration is less fancy, but the food is way better.