I think you are generally correct but there are also some exceptions. You can get authentic "international" food if you know where to go.
The most authentic and best tasting Vietnamese restaurant in my area is also incidentally the least successful one because they don't know how to cater effectively American tastes.
There is a menu for the Americans and a secret one for Vietnamese people. The Vietnamese one has the really authentic stuff (coagulated pork blood, pork and chicken with bones, REALLY spicy dishes) etc.
The other two Vietnamese restaurants in town do a lot more business (nice decor, lighting, menu, everything is somewhat Americanized etc.) but they get lazy and put the wrong kind of broths in different soups because only Vietnamese people will notice.
Anyway, the best way I've found to get "authentic" food in the US is to try to find an urban center with a LOT of one kind of ethnic population and then just go wherever they go.
The most authentic and best tasting Vietnamese restaurant in my area is also incidentally the least successful one because they don't know how to cater effectively American tastes.
There is a menu for the Americans and a secret one for Vietnamese people. The Vietnamese one has the really authentic stuff (coagulated pork blood, pork and chicken with bones, REALLY spicy dishes) etc.
The other two Vietnamese restaurants in town do a lot more business (nice decor, lighting, menu, everything is somewhat Americanized etc.) but they get lazy and put the wrong kind of broths in different soups because only Vietnamese people will notice.
Anyway, the best way I've found to get "authentic" food in the US is to try to find an urban center with a LOT of one kind of ethnic population and then just go wherever they go.