# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/61 "2019-08-10T05:21:48Z")
I’ve seen some very strange meals passed off as better cuisine. A hamburger in Goa which was more like a Spam sandwich on white bread. Pork pizza with orange sauce sold at Marks and Spencer’s in 1990 England. Vietnamese soup in Mexico, served with alfalfa sprouts and croutons. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/62 "2019-08-10T05:37:24Z")
> [@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. > [@Chronos](#): > > Cheesesteaks do not work that way Morbo’s sign didn’t say cheesesteak. What he describes would have been perfectly normal in Spain, where it even gets its own name (_pepito de ternera_), although if the sandwich isn’t to be eaten immediately it’s more common to put some sort of batter on the meat. The most common meats eaten this way are pork boneless rib (_lomo de cerdo_, thus _pepito de lomo_) and second-quality beef steak (_filete de ternera_). Maybe the problem wasn’t with the sandwich being inauthentic but with the mental compass being in the wrong colored blob of the map. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/63 "2019-08-10T09:15:40Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Ahem. Barbecue chicken pizza is a THING in California It’s also a THING in some pockets of Maine. It’s surprisingly tasty: barbecue sauce in place of pizza sauce, pieces of grilled chicken, small slices of red onion, and a light topping of cheese. I think the trick may be selecting pieces of chicken that are just large enough to survive the extra cooking time on top of the 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, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/64 "2019-08-10T14:00:54Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Maybe the problem wasn’t with the sandwich being inauthentic but with the mental compass being in the wrong colored blob of the map. Yeah, I see this a lot in Yelp reviews, and it drives me a little nuts. The main one that comes to mind is some reviewer bitching about an excellent pizza restaurant as not making “real pizza” or some such nonsense because there was hardly any sauce on it, and the sauce tasted like plain tomato sauce, and that it was too light on the cheese. (And probably complaining about the flecks of char on the crust, too.) And I’m sitting here scratching my head thinking, dude, you’re at a fucking Neapolitan-style pizza restaurant. That is _exactly_ what they’re supposed to be serving. I feel like I run into this all the time–somebody complaining about an aspect of a restaurant’s food and me thinking, “you know, that _is_ actually how they make it back there, or at least one regional variation.” Lasagna in the US is another one. Most people here expect Sicilian or Southern Italian/Italian-American versions that are fairly loaded with stuff, including ricotta cheese. When they come across Northern versions (just layers of bolognese and bechamel) they tend to be confused if not outright declare “_that_ is _not_ lasagna!” ---
**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, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/65 "2019-08-10T14:11:36Z")
Oh, another odd one I remember from Budapest: when I moved there in 1998, I lived in a block of flats in a working class area in the 13th District, along the Pest side of the Danube. On the way to the subway everyday, I passed a storefront eatery that proudly advertised – partially in English, for some reason (though this is not an area you would expect tourists or English speakers) – its “authentic Chicago-style wraps.” Being a born-and-raised Chicagoan, my curiosity was piqued. What in the hell could a Chicago-style wrap be? A burrito? At the time, the only association I had with “wraps” was as a West Coast, possibly Southwest/Santa Fe kind of thing. At any rate, in 1998 (and now), wraps were not associated at all geographically with Chicago or the Midwest. After a couple of weeks, I worked up my nerve to go in and try one of these famous Chicago-style wraps. It turned out to be a large flour tortilla (or tortilla-like flatbread) stuffed with basically just meat and mashed potatoes. No crisp fresh vegetables to be found for counterpoint; nothing like the “fresh and light and vaguely healthy” association I had with the concept of wraps at the time. It was … interesting. I don’t know if it was terrible, it just wasn’t something I needed to have again, especially in the middle of a sweltry August. I do have to say, though, with all the meat and mashed potatoes, I could see why the word “Chicago-style” was associated with it. But, no. No such thing has ever existed here, or at least not existed to a level where it spawned an entire genre of foods called “Chicago-style wraps.” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/66 "2019-08-10T14:48:25Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I remember going to an _AMERICAN HAMBURGER JOINT_ in Brighton, England, called _Cagney’s_, where the decor heavily featured some 1930s Hollywood actor or other. :rolleyes: > > The food wasn’t really _bad_, but it sure wasn’t American, either. ☹ > > On the other hand, one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had was also in Brighton: a simple little pie topped with anchovies and capers, absolutely delicious. This might somehow have been due to the proprietor-and-chef being Sicilian. 😉 I remember having one of the best burgers ever in a NYPD themed restaurant in Dublin. I decided to look for it and I’m sure it’s the one mentioned in this article. They were very happy to have American high school students in their place. > **[Restaurant advertisements from the 1983 Dublin Theatre Festival Guide](https://comeheretome.com/2014/01/02/advertisements-from-the-1983-dublin-theatre-festival-guide/)** > > Advertisements from various restaurants around the city included in the guide for the 1983 Dublin Theatre Festival. Front cover showing a member of the Henan Acrobatic Troupe in their show ‘B… > [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > 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. I found the pizza and Italian food in Germany to be excellent. I don’t think I was ever in one that wasn’t run and staffed by Italians. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/67 "2019-08-10T14:53:17Z")
I have two words for you: Soviet pizza. Blech. (Actually, I guess that’s three words.) ---
**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, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/68 "2019-08-10T15:19:11Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Pizza places in Germany provide decent pizza, though they aren’t cut and you have to eat them with a knife and fork They often don’t cut your pizza in Italy, either, so that’s pretty standard and not an authenticity fail unless the joint is advertising American style pizzas. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/69 "2019-08-10T17:43:57Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > I have two words for you: Soviet pizza. Blech. (Actually, I guess that’s three words.) Riga sprats, sour cream and caviar, with a pureed beet sauce. ---
**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 10, 2019, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/70 "2019-08-10T18:36:59Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Riga sprats, sour cream and caviar, with a pureed beet sauce. don’t forget the cigarette butts! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/71 "2019-08-10T19:05:00Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > I have two words for you: Soviet pizza. Blech. (Actually, I guess that’s three words.) Makes me wonder where and when you were in the USSR. I actually had some very good pizza in Moscow in the late '80s and early '90s, and not just in expat restaurants. There was one little kiosk near the US Embassy that sold miniature luncheon pizzas fresh out of the kitchen of an adjacent institute. There was also a restaurant on the third floor of a shopping mall (or what passed for one then, anyway) near my institute that offered what were basically calzones with the sauce on the side. They came with big bulbs of marinated garlic. Absolutely delicious! The takeout pizza you can get there now is not bad either, and they have free delivery. Even the frozen pizza sold in supermarkets is acceptable, if not exactly _haute cuisine_. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/72 "2019-08-10T19:11:38Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > They often don’t cut your pizza in Italy, either, so that’s pretty standard and not an authenticity fail unless the joint is advertising American style pizzas. When I was in Venice, I saw Italians just tear pieces out of their pies and fold them over so that the toppings and sauce didn’t run off. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/73 "2019-08-10T19:15:06Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Riga sprats, sour cream and caviar, with a pureed beet sauce. I think you’re referring to what’s called “herring under a fur coat.” It’s actually quite tasty, if you can get past the “earthy” flavor of the beets (which took me a long, \*long \*time). Never seen it made with caviar though, but I imagine that would be pretty tasty too. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/74 "2019-08-12T13:52:37Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I think you’re referring to what’s called “herring under a fur coat.” It’s actually quite tasty, if you can get past the “earthy” flavor of the beets (which took me a long, \*long \*time). > > Never seen it made with caviar though, but I imagine that would be pretty tasty too. That’s actually a real dish?!? I was just trying to make a list of pizza toppings that sounded Russian and unappetizing. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/75 "2019-08-12T13:55:47Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, I see this a lot in Yelp reviews, and it drives me a little nuts. I’ve seen reviews which complain about a place whose name includes the word “Bar” or “Cafeteria” serving bar- or cafeteria-style food, or having a bar or cafeteria ambience. What the fuck were you expecting, room service at the Ritz? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/76 "2019-08-12T13:58:31Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > 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. As others have noted, Italian pizza isn’t served cut up, and the egg is an integral part of the well-known Italian Pizza '[Fiorentina’](https://www.google.com/search?q=pizza+fiorentina&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB766GB766&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi5-sPKvv3jAhUhUxUIHUifBvYQ_AUIESgB&biw=1730&bih=970&dpr=2) (the egg is cracked onto the pizza just before it goes in the oven). Nothing inauthentic in either. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/77 "2019-08-12T14:25:20Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > I had what was probably the best pasta I’ve ever had yesterday here in Osaka. Came in here to say the same; I’ve had awesome spaghetti dishes in a few places in Japan. [Yoshoku](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%8Dshoku) is a whole category of food there, dishes that were adopted from foreign cultures and tweaked to suit the Japanese palate or deal with the limited availability of certain ingredients in Japan. AFAIK restaurants that serve yoshoku dishes don’t make any pretense of them being authentic “western” dishes; yoshoku is just kind of its own thing, another branch of Japanese food. FWIW, I had tuna pizza once there. I don’t want to have it again. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/78 "2019-08-12T14:38:09Z")
The cafeteria in the office building where I used to work had a habit of making “authentic” lunch specials that, as someone upthread mentioned, appeared to have been based solely on a picture someone had seen of the food in question. The most hilariously messed up dish that I remember was the one advertised as “authentic British fish and chips” where the fish was tilapia rather than haddock or cod, was breaded rather than battered, and the “chips” were…potato chips. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/79 "2019-08-12T14:38:55Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Lasagna in the US is another one. Most people here expect Sicilian or Southern Italian/Italian-American versions that are fairly loaded with stuff, including ricotta cheese. When they come across Northern versions (just layers of bolognese and bechamel) they tend to be confused if not outright declare “_that_ is _not_ lasagna!” Huh. Apparently I prefer Northern-style lasagna. Ricotta sucks! ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348/80 "2019-08-12T18:29:05Z")
New to California, I went with my colleagues to a Japanese shopping plaza in Costa Mesa for its food court. One option was called “Italian Tomato” and it seemed most likely to have something my less-than-adventurous self would find appealing, and potentially like food I’d get at home in NY. I guess I got some kind of pasta with red sauce and it was terrible. I later asked a Japanese-American colleague about it, and she explained that it was exactly like how Italian food is prepared in Japan - which is nothing at all like what I was expecting, but what most of the patrons at this place wanted and were expecting. Not sure if that makes it Authentic, or a FAIL - it depends on perspective. But I never went back. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-authenticity-fails/838348.md?page=5)