Restaurants

Why You Should Stop Describing Restaurants As Authentic By Ellery Weil Oct. 14, 2025 12:20 pm EST

It's not an uncommon sight on restaurant signs, or even on the menu: an assurance that the restaurant is serving "authentic" cuisine, be it Chinese, Italian, Mexican, or any other of the multitude of cooking styles to be found in American restaurants. It sounds promising enough; after all, "authentic" is almost a synonym for "real," and nobody wants fake food. The only problem is, when it comes to cuisine, the idea of "authentic" makes no sense.

Across times, cultures, and nations, cooking styles, ingredients, and traditions inevitably change. This is especially true for American food, which is often a hodgepodge of ingredients and influences from other countries and c

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