Yeah man i don't think you're following me at all. I'll give my bottom line up front: I'm not criticizing food culture in the US, I'm retelling the perspective about American food identity that was reflected in the docuseries. I agree that there is a wide diversity of good food in the US. That's not the discussion here.

I'm completely aware that foreign cuisine in the USA is culinarily distinct from their home countries. Legitimate Chinese restaurants don't serve general tsos chicken, and legitimate Mexican restaurants don't serve tex mex.

But they're also not identifiably "American cuisine." Your additional point doesn't seem relevant. New imported items? So like how tomatoes are ubiquitous in italian cuisine but come from the new world? I'm not sure what the messaging is here.

I understand there are regional differences. Not arguing that point either. It's also not MY point at all, i was, again, retelling the point in the episode of the documentary chef's table that i found very interesting. Besides, most regional differences are a specific dish (philly cheese steak, chicago style pizza, etc). Those aren't entire cuisines, they're a single dish. I don't think chili in and of itself defines an entire culinary experience, even though various regions of the US are extremely particular about what even constitutes chili.

Speaking of regional differences, look at india for an example. It's 1/3 the size of the US, but has multiple identifiable regional cuisines, while also having an overall "indian" cuisine. Goa in particular has a pretty distinct cuisine compared to northern India. But we're not discussing chinese food or Mexican food in india, because that's not really relevant.

Respectfully, i believe i understand your point, but you're not understanding mine. I like to think that i understand food culture better than the credit you're giving me. I am in no way suggesting that the US has no food culture. I'm trying to state that the documentary episode made has a chef who shared the perspective that there's no such thing as authentic "American" cuisine.

Hope you have a great day.