I have never quite understood the importance of “authenticity”. Is it supposed to make the dish taste better than less authentic versions ? In my experience, emphatically not.
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No, it does not mean something tastes better. Authentic is an actual word in the dictionary that has an actual definition. Incroyable!!
That definition does not include better.
And, as I have pointed out on another thread, individual words do not need quotation marks.
Think of all the typing I just saved you.
Steve – Please cite the definition of “authentic” (we learned grammar in different schools) that you wish to apply and how it makes a difference, especially when applied to a dish that has been around for more than a hundred years and is of popular origin from a a multitude of sources.
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Maybe there’s a Venn Diagram for this.
Authentic/ Traditional sometimes overlaps with Delicious. Break The Rules and Allow the Dish To Evolve overlap with Delicious at times.
I think it’s funny how some people are enforcers and some people are rebels in these threads 
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Many of us come across as pedantic, (I do) , regardless of whether we’re enforcing a no Parmesan on Italian seafood dishes type of rule, or breaking a rule , like adding tomatoes to Bolognese, or pushing others to add Chili Crisp to their grilled cheese or Fettuccine Alfredo. What would Alfredo think? I think Chili Crisp would brighten up a heavy and boring authentic/ traditional/ official recipe Alfredo.
Sometimes it’s nice to get a traditional dish in a few locations to see how it’s done, sometimes it’s nice to see a restaurant take that dish and turn it upside down.
Chacun à son goût / À chacun son goût (the first phrase being the authentic way to say To Each Their Own in French-speaking Canada and maybe Louisiana, and the second being the way to say it authentically in France)
Your Mileage May Vary
There’s No Accounting For Taste
Whatever floats your boat
Whatever turns your crank
Whatever is up your alley
Whatever is your jam
And So On.
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Certainly there is room in the world for all manner of cooking. Chacun à son goût is another matter though.
Tastes have to be developed. If someone has a credible claim to authenticity, then I want to try it.
I have heard some people lament about the lack of options in their “podunk town.” Nothing but Chinese-American food, bars, and pizza.
Add an influx of people who are Chinese (as but one example) and rush to places that are authentic, pretty soon you have a clientele that can support something different. Somehow, they know the difference.
Anyway, we live in a world where people have sought that authenticity. Talking about it as if it doesn’t exist is an interesting thought experiment, sure.
The dictionary. I imagine they are all pretty close. Choose your favorite.
If you are talking about enchiladas for example, yes the dish changes, sometimes dramatically. The Salvadoran places near me serve enchiladas that are large very crispy deep fried tortillas, that usually form a stiff platter upon which toppings are added. Not at all like most Mexican enchiladas I’ve encountered.
If both fit the dictionary definition, that’s good enough for me.
I think it’s funny how some people are enforcers and some people are rebels in these threads :j
And some just go along and read and stay out of splitting hairs and out of being the ultimate arbiter.
Saves time: not looking in dictionaries, more time to spend on reading about, eating, reading about, shopping for, and preparing food.
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It’s interesting how food changes, both in its “original” home and elsewhere.
About thirty years ago, Richard Olney told me that a publisher had approached him about writing a book of recipes from Maxime’s of Paris from the 1910 or 20s. He said he told the publisher he wouldn’t do it because no one today (1991) could eat that food.
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We have a place in Toronto that serves French tacos. (I’ll check if it’s still in business)
And you can get Poutine here in Paris. 
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Poutine is taking over the world. I remember my first order, in the fall of 1989. That’s around the time poutine started to be offered outside the province of Quebec. 
I’m going to try a French Taco, Toronto-style, since I can’t visit Paris this year. https://brickncheese.ca/
Maybe I should finally go to Chez Omar this trip. Gets a hearty thumbs up for their rendition of the dish that shall not be named…
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I had an atrociously salty poutine in Montreal at a place that was packed with locals. Poutine is cheap, and eating out in Montreal in expensive.
Lol, our apartment in the 11th for our most recent stay in Paris was above La Maison de la Poutine - “Les Meillures Poutine du Monde”!
Says so right in the window…
Maison de La Poutine - Parmentier
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What tickles me most is that there’s one on avenue Parmentier.
Their website could use a bit less animation. I thought it was the early 00s again and I was back on Bud Uglly Design.
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Where can I find the most authentic inauthentic Norwegian Omelet in Paris?
Thank you.
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I’d like mine made by Norwegians, s’il vous plaît. I don’t care if Omelette Norvegienne was invented by a Frenchman.
I’d start looking for something unauthentically or authentically like omelette norvégienne or baked alaska but probably called something else at Une Glace à Paris ice-cream shop on rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie in the Marais. French-made and therefore authentically French.
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Pasta with tomato sauce is the ultimate fusion food: Noodles brought from the Far East, tomatoes from the New World.
And cassoulet: haricot beans and tomatoes both brought from the New World.
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