5 ms·
Seriously, though. California, and the Bay Area specifically, is one of the best places in the US to find authentic Chinese food. OP's spouse is just a snob. Su
by zhemao 9y ago
Seriously, though. California, and the Bay Area specifically, is one of the best places in the US to find authentic Chinese food. OP's spouse is just a snob. Sure, a lot of restaurants feel the need to put some "standard" dishes like General Tso's Chicken on the menu, just in case. You don't have to order those. Outside of tourist traps like SF Chinatown, Chinese restaurants mainly serve Chinese food to a predominantly Chinese clientele.
- peferron 9y agoSichuan cuisine in the Bay Area is atrocious compared to the real deal. Maybe Cantonese or Hunan fare better but unfortunately I don't like these cuisines nearly as much. BTW, I'm neither American nor Chinese, so I don't have any national pride involved either way. I just happen to have spent multiple years in both countries.
- jeblair 9y agoChina Lounge in Pleasanton is every bit as good as a restaurant in Chengdu (which is where the chef previously cooked).
- peferron 9y agoThanks, I'll try it out.
- seanmcdirmid 9y agoThere is plenty of reasonable sichuan food in the Bay Area, especially outside of San Francisco (e.g. Little sichuan in San Mateo).
- awl130 9y agouhhh, I disagree with your assessment of him/her as a snob. I go to San Gabriel Valley every weekend for dinner and lunch, and I've never seen any of those things on the menu anywhere. Chinese food in SF is abysmal. I'm not a snob, I'm not even Chinese.
- zhemao 9y agoYeah, SF is crap and overpriced, but the surrounding cities have pretty good food. Like every other metropolitan area, you have to get out of the city center to the suburbs where Chinese immigrants actually live.
- inopinatus 9y agoActually she did turn to me after I had been complaining about my cultural equivalent (that is, the quality of American coffee) in the car yesterday and say "darling we are both terrible snobs". So I think you are right. We're picky, we have selective high expectations, and we're not afraid to grumble when those expectations aren't met. What's the difference between a snob and a connoisseur? You should taste the terrible coffee I make myself.