I think you’re right. I’ve known people who have gone to places like Italy and said the food was just “ok”, and others who only ate McDonald’s because they weren’t willing to branch out.
Meanwhile I’m the sort of person who goes by a restaurant while on vacation, peeks in, notices that it’s full of locals, and thinks that I’ve found the right place for lunch, even if I don’t have any idea what they serve.
I tend to struggle not to be disdainful of the people who want 99% famiilarity. You can find that at home without even going anywhere. Travel’s for finding that 90% unfamiliar and wild, weird, and wonderful stuff you’d never find at home.
The last cruise I went on stopped at Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo and we could easily take a taxi or bus to any part of those cities. Are you trying to say those entire cities are “contaminated”?
Agree completely. In the right part of the world, a food cart selling mystery meat is the local’s humdrum fast food. But not humdrum to me. Same applies to the street carts in exotic New York City, home to ~8M Americans.
“New to me” is most of what I’m asking of travel. Others will have different tastes, either more or less adventurous. Plus / minus allowances for age & mobility issues.