One of the advantages of living in a big cosmopolitan cities is the amazing variety and availability of food. New York, Toronto, London all have designated areas where you can find Chinese, Indian, Italian, Thai — cuisines from all over the world brought over or passed down by immigrants and expatriates. But just because you have rice on your plate doesn’t mean you’re getting great Chinese food (think Panda Express), how do you know that what you’re eating is really authentic?
My friends and I recently had an excellent dinner at Tanoreen, a middle Eastern restaurant in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. For the record, I had the lamb shank, which was delicately spiced and fall off the bone tender. No one in our party was middle Eastern and while we all enjoyed our dinner, we could only judge the dinner by its tastiness. Even if we knew more about the middle Eastern style of cuisine, there are bound to be regional differences and chef creativity that expand the boundaries of the traditional.
Transplanted food changes just as people do. Recipes get tweaked because of lack of and then substitution of ingredients or more often they get toned down to suit palates that aren’t familiar with sumac, cumin or sriracha. Or inspiration strikes with the mingling of cultures and tastes.
Sesame sandwich with roast pork
For example, Vanessa’s Dumpling offers a sesame pancake sandwich that’s a cross between a panini and a banh mi. Cheap and tasty, it’s actually based on a traditional Chinese food item: sesame pancake. Sometimes made with scallion, the pancake is not normally eaten as a sandwich but I certainly have no complaints about this non-traditional use of sesame seed pancakes. [FYI: there are two locations for Vanessa's Dumpling in Manhattan, Chinatown and 14th + 3rd -- all the food is cheaper at the location in Chinatown 
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Purists may argue but there are levels of authenticity and everyone will have their own level of tolerance. Take advantage of your city and explore the tastes and cultures. As the French say: chacon à son goût.
