I would actually disagree. A typical characteristic about "food in the place it's famously from" is that the _median_ level of quality is quite high, and partic

I would actually disagree. A typical characteristic about "food in the place it's famously from" is that the _median_ level of quality is quite high, and particularly in the case of anything involving bread - that it's fresh. The case of pizza in NYC is the same. There are certainly places selling shit pizza and shit croissants to tourists, but even in a fairly popular tourist hotspot it will likely be very freshly made and of surprisingly good quality. Even the bottom of the barrel (a $1.50 pizza near Times Square or Paris train-station chain boulangerie) is above the best thing you can get in countless countries around the world. Don't get me wrong, I'll happily go in search of The Best of whatever, but if just pick a place at random, it probably will be surprisingly good. Legally, to even call yourself a boulangerie in France you must bake your goods on site, make the dough from scratch, ferment yourself, shape everything yourself... that alone guarantees a certain floor of quality: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000032227163 https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI0000... There are in fact quite strict laws about boulangeries in France... since a law in 1790 they are not even allowed to pick their own vacation days!