There is no such thing as 'authentic' food. Ignore the purists | Mai Tran
Working at a Vietnamese restaurant, I’ve noticed that our fiercest critics are other Vietnamese Americans. But food can, and should, change
With food politics, it is tempting to want to categorize dishes as your own, especially as a second- or third-generation Asian American. Growing up in southern California, 20 minutes from Orange county’s famous Little Saigon district, I was raised on phở restaurants with linoleum floors, Formica tables and servers who openly chided my weak accent. You can’t get more Vietnamese than that, and I took pride in it.
Later, as a college student in New York, I
