In Blue Highways, William Least Heat-moon road trips off the beaten track and rates cafes based on how many calenders they have on the walls. The more they have the more of a home cooked family restaurant it is likely to be.
Other cultural authenticity is restaurants gotta have this too. In the Twin Cities these are my observations:
If it’s in another language or at least the English translations for the items have spelling and grammar mistakes you’re in the right place.
Mexican - if they DON’T put out a basket of chips and salsa when you sit down.
Vietnamese pho - if they only accept cash.
Chinese - it’s all not authentic here, but if they don’t have the zodiac placemats at least the food isnt just recooked Asian Foods fare.
Indian - your finger tips must be stained yellow for a few days afterwards.
What else should I look out for where you live?
If you’re eating Catfish in South Arkansas if the restaurant name is ‘The Fish Net’ move down the road til you find the ‘The Fish Nest’, becoz, well… I don’t know why. Just coz. Trust me. I know my Catfish.
If the BBQ joint doesn’t smell like wood fire, move on.
In Blue Highways, William Least Heat-moon road trips off the beaten track and rates cafes based on how many calenders they have on the walls. The more they have the more of a home cooked family restaurant it is likely to be.
Other cultural authenticity is restaurants gotta have this too. In the Twin Cities these are my observations:
If it’s in another language or at least the English translations for the items have spelling and grammar mistakes you’re in the right place.
Mexican - if they DON’T put out a basket of chips and salsa when you sit down.
Vietnamese pho - if they only accept cash.
Chinese - it’s all not authentic here, but if they don’t have the zodiac placemats at least the food isnt just recooked Asian Foods fare.
[QUOTE]
Only problem I see here is, no matter who’s cooking, “authentic” has never been and will never be a synonym for “good.”
There’s a Taiwanese restaurant in our 'hood; no place mats, no pagodas, no Buddhas. Just clean tables and minimal decoration. The food is superb and authentic.
Indian: I’d say that a steam table is reason enough to leave.
Thai/Laotian: if you can see a native granny wielding a wok in the kitchen, you’re golden.
BBQ - Do they have plates? Skip it. Another clue is to count the number of religious calendars/posters/flyers on the wall. The more Jebus, the better the 'cue.
General ethnic - Is there a table in the back covered with homework? That’s where the waitress(daughter) stays busy when there are no customers. Family-owned, good food almost guaranteed.
At least in the Southeast, where pork is the primary BBQ meat, take a look at the restaurant’s sign / logo:
If there is no pig on the sign at all, the BBQ will be average, at best
If there is a pig on the sign, the BBQ will be good, at a minimum
If the pig on the sign is wearing a chef’s hat, holding a fork, or otherwise cooking BBQ, the food will be outstanding. “It’s so good, I’m cooking and eating myself!!”
When I lived in Colorado we used to rate the authenticity of Mexican restaurants by whether they had tripe on the menu. The same with Puerto Rican/Dominican restaurants in New York and mondongo.
I’ll do better than that. I went to a place in Omaha (fricken OMAHA!) that gave me a couple of free cannoli when I recognized the image of Mario Lanza framed near my table.
My clue is if there are people of that ethnicity, as customers, give it a try. If there are no Japanese in a Japanese resturant, it’s likely not that good. Or that ethnic.
And if the cooks are not of that ethnicity. If it’s a Japanese restaurant and the chef’s are Korean or Chinese, then just leave. At best it will be mediocre.
If the Chinese restaurant does not have a Chinese language menu, then just leave.
A Chinese restaurant that is “hot and noisy” (热闹) with a line is a good sign.
Burger places that make a good ol’ old fashion milkshake out of ice cream. Bonus if they pour it in a glass and accompanied with the metal milkshake mixer cup at least a 1/4 full.
Tapas restaurants: they include offerings based on the local cuisine. This may or may not be accompanied by a Spanish cook, but in any case it will mean a cook who understands what tapas are rather than one who bought a recipes book. Conversely, if the signs treat “tapas” as a singular or “tapa” as a plural, run for your life!
Spanish restaurants: cooks calling each other nasty things in multiple Spanish accents when the main room is empty (well, it was before my group entered).
Any road restaurant: a lot of trucks. Truckers may not be their own ethnicity but they know where the good feed is.
That’s kind of unfair to places without that specific immigrant population, isn’t it?
Here in Tel Aviv, for example, we have more sushi restaurants per capita than any city outside of Japan, despite having a Japanese population of something like 3. Are any of these restaurants “authentic”? I have no way of knowing, but I do know that some of them are delicious.
