I will add that tastes need to be developed. If the food is changed in a way to appeal to baby tastes, then that’s all we’ll have. I’m ok with that as an option, but I want more.
I want more than the cartoon version of a French bistro. More than Indian curries of mild thick gravy drowning some boneless, skinless chicken. More than sweet Thai food. I want to taste dishes that are not on every Vietnamese menu. I want to explore regions of Bolivian food. If someone is out there making food from the Jarocha neighborhood of Veracruz, I want to know about it. If I recommend a Senegalese place and someone from there knows of a more authentic spot, yes, I want to know about it and be proven that I’m wrong.
Authentic is a word, a shortcut. Look at it as a symbol. Just as symbolism is a way of explaining something quickly that would otherwise take pages and pages of clumsy dialogue.
As a general rule, people don’t ask me for advice on where to eat authentic American food. They have upon occasion done so for certain regional specialties within the USA. Maryland steamed crabs or crabcakes is an example.
If they did ask the general question, I would point them to go to a bar and order potato skins. It is the only food I can think of that is purely American. Discuss.
Hmmm, don’t think I’ve ever ordered or had a potato skin. Lots of potatoes but not that particular dish. American food is Alice Waters inspired farm to table or perhaps the terrible dishes my mom served to us like tuna noodle casserole and meatloaf or grits in the south or clam chowder and lobster in Maine? Or maybe huge steaks with A1 sauce and baked potatoes? Seems like a very broad category.
The reason why I say potato skins is that I have never heard of any other culture removing the inside of the potato, throwing it away, and cooking and serving just the skins.
For all other American foods (of which there are plenty), I believe they are all ‘variations on a theme.’ So the credit is distributed among many.
I also think that potato skins are a great food which have not been given their due, and are in fact on the wane, despite the tremendous interest in food culture.
If people were truly interested in American food, potato skins would be a Dish of the Month. There would be cookbooks devoted to it. But no, we are only interested in American food when it’s based on some other culture. It’s a sad day for the Potato Skin.
