# Restaurant Authenticity FAILS **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 8, 2019, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348 "2019-08-08T14:37:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/41 "2019-08-09T18:07:41Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I was in a seafood restaurant once. The catch of the day was veal. Baby manatee? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/42 "2019-08-09T18:18:09Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > That sounds more like a ‘The Onion’ piece, than a ‘The Onion’ piece. > > Holy hell. The proud ignorance of some. made me think of this one. > **[Area Grandmother Tries Indian Food](https://www.theonion.com/area-grandmother-tries-indian-food-1819569894)** > > BLOOMINGTON, MN—Characterizing the experience as "different," local grandmother Eileen Rutherford, 78, ate Indian food for the first time Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/43 "2019-08-09T18:18:10Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > have you seen what they do to pizza in Japan? Pizza places in Germany provide decent pizza, though they aren’t cut and you have to eat them with a knife and fork, but the thing that surprised me was finding a baked egg on top. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/44 "2019-08-09T18:24:27Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > No, but after living in Micronesia and Indonesia no pizza topping would surprise me. Corn, shrimp and barbecue sauce are among the least odd non-traditional toppings I’ve encountered. Bananas and wontons may be the weirdest. Ahem. Barbecue chicken pizza is a THING in California ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/45 "2019-08-09T18:24:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Cheesesteaks do not work that way! > > But seriously, I’ve only ever found one place outside of the Delaware valley that makes a reasonable approximation of a Philadelphia cheesesteak (a sandwich shop in Bozeman, MT, just off of campus). Which is also the one place I’ve found outside of the Delaware valley that doesn’t call their steak sandwich a “Philly steak”. I asked the folks there about it once, and they said “Oh, no, we don’t make a Philly style steak. We don’t put lettuce and tomatoes and mayo on it.”. Yes, exactly. The actual Philadelphia cheesesteak is really, really simple, and yet everyone still manages to get it wrong. well, it was a _steak sandwich,_ not a cheesesteak. I’ve had ones like **Morbo** described, though made with a strip steak and not flank (I think a slab of flank might be too tough?) there’s a place called the “Country Pub” in Gregory, MI. Middle of nowhere, a few miles west of Hell, kind of place that looks like it gets rowdy when the bikers show up. Their steak sandwich is awesome. slice of NY strip cooked how you want it on a toasted soft roll with mozz and grilled onions. It’s a knife-and-fork sandwich, but it’s really good. OTOH if it’s called a “cheesesteak” or “steak & cheese sub” then I’d expect thinly sliced beef. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/46 "2019-08-09T18:35:33Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Baby manatee? :eek: 😃 We have chicken of the sea. Apparently Steller’s Sea Cow was so tasty sailors ate them to extinction. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/47 "2019-08-09T18:42:00Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Nope. My egg roll was a wonton wrapper surrounding a link sausage. Nothing else. Now that you mention this, I remember getting a “sausage” egg roll like that once, although I can’t recall where in the world it was served–US, UK, somewhere in Europe? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/48 "2019-08-09T18:47:52Z")
> [@Hi\_Medlo](#): > > We were at a resort in Jamaica one year when they had a Super Bowl party, featuring hot dogs and hamburgers. The hot dogs were some sort of sausages, but not what Americans would call hot dogs, and the hamburgers were quite different, too. that reminds me of the first time I was in Japan. our “chaperone” was an expat from Europe who was sick to death of Japanese food, and took showing us around as an opportunity to go to Western restaurants. I guess he was oblivious enough to (incorrectly) assume we’d want to stick to “American” food. One place we were dragged to was this “American style” diner in Iwaki. it was decorated in an ersatz '50s style, and their “steak” dinner tasted for all the world like a Swanson’s salisbury steak TV dinner sans gravy. the next day one of us finally got fed up and said “Ingmar, we didn’t come to Japan to eat _sandwiches._ Get lost!” ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/49 "2019-08-09T18:55:07Z")
I had “bibimbap” in a New England private high school cafeteria that comprised brown rice, scrambled egg bites, and frozen veggie mix tossed lightly with soy sauce. The chef was otherwise excellent. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/50 "2019-08-09T18:56:01Z")
Around 1980, in Westfield, Mass., I had a pizza topped with Kraft slices. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/51 "2019-08-09T18:56:58Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Actually, I became a fan of corn pizza. But canned tuna? Not so much. You have to get it done right… best pizza I think I’ve ever had was a tuna and onion pizza at a little bar sort of place off the Via del Corso in Rome. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/52 "2019-08-09T18:59:58Z")
> [@bump](#): > > You have to get it done right… best pizza I think I’ve ever had was a tuna and onion pizza at a little bar sort of place off the Via del Corso in Rome. tuna on a seafood pizza would be ok, I think, but not canned tuna. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/53 "2019-08-09T19:09:55Z")
Tuna and eggs on pizza in Germany too. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/54 "2019-08-09T20:01:50Z")
🙂 > [@Ruken](#): > > Tuna and eggs on pizza in Germany too. All this talk of misplaced eggs reminds me of a meal on the [Curry Mile](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry_Mile) in Manchester (UK), many years ago. I had a tandoori mixed grill, and that arrived with a fried egg on top. If it was fusion cuisine, it was a fusion of curry and full English breakfast. Thing is, there’s not a lot that’s Indian about a tandoori mixed grill to begin with\*, so I guess you would test the authenticity against the British dish. I still think it fails, but I’m not quite sure why. j - - That’ll set _someone_ off, I’ll be bound.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/55 "2019-08-09T20:09:56Z")
A German restaurant in the US had currywurst on it’s menu. I had images of hitting a shnellimbiss in Bavaria after a beer or two. What I got was essentially US grocery store brand bratwurst with a line of ketchup on top. There was some nominal curry powder sprinkled on top. It was almost impossible to taste though. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/56 "2019-08-09T20:29:49Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > tuna on a seafood pizza would be ok, I think, but not canned tuna. While it wasn’t standard US chunk light tuna (that would be unappetizing), I’m pretty sure this was some kind of expensive canned tuna - maybe ventresca. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/57 "2019-08-09T21:07:47Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > That sounds more like a ‘The Onion’ piece, than a ‘The Onion’ piece. > > Holy hell. The proud ignorance of some. Thing about my Uncle is that he is (well, was) well-traveled. He’s gone to Singapore, Thailand, China, all over SE Asia and Oceana and Japan… he _knew_ (I assume) what local cuisine was like. His reaction was bizarre… until you know him personally and what an asshole he was. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/58 "2019-08-09T21:42:59Z")
Fiorentina pizzas have egg on them. I’ve also had capricciosa pizzas with egg. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/59 "2019-08-10T04:27:11Z")
> [@bump](#): > > While it wasn’t standard US chunk light tuna (that would be unappetizing), I’m pretty sure this was some kind of expensive canned tuna - maybe ventresca. Yeah, pizza al tonno e cipolla. I’ve only seen it with (olive-oil) canned tuna. It’s perfectly fine. There’s really nothing you can’t put on a pizza. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/60 "2019-08-10T04:49:40Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > I was visiting Akumal, Mexico several years ago and noticed a “steak sandwich” on the menu, so curiosity got the best of me and I ordered it. It was a large single piece of flank steak, served between two pieces of white bread. Well, they were technically correct. “Steak sandwich” is such a vague term that you never know what you’ll get, and there’s many acceptable versions. The version sold under that name at the Brat House in Kenosha, for instance, [isn’t really that much different](http://gwiv.com/BratStop20.jpg). Go a bit farther north to Sheboygan, and you get something that is more like a hamburger (might be some kind of pounded cube steak type of thing, but when I’ve eaten it, I really couldn’t tell the difference between it and a hamburger.) In Chicago, if you’re in an Italian neighborhood, it’ll probably be breaded and served with cheese and red sauce. At a hot dog stand, it’ll be a thin slice of ribeye or similar served on a hoagie-type roll with your usual hamburger toppings. It’s all over the map. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348.md?page=4)