His next sentence explains his point - the food you get at Cuban restaurants is nothing like the food you actually get in Cuba. Most of the food in Cuba is simple and quite bland
I wonder if the Cuban food in the U.S. is the authentic version, imported by those who were able to flee the revolution, while the food found in Cuba today is the result of fifty years of poverty.
This absolutely true and I've heard it discussed in cooking shows about Miami. Thousands of cubans fled to Florida and started mom and pop restaurants, the people who stayed had to make due with meager rations and the culinary culture died.
Impossible to get steady ingredients due to the embargo and low incomes, most restaurants I ate at there would make do with whatever they could secure for that week.
What do you mean by authentic?
I had delicious food in Cuba, which was quite a surprise after reading so much about how uninspired it is. The liberalization of the restaurant scene has quickly had an impact at the tourist-friendly private restaurants.
Good, finally a place where the foodie plague can't reach
Cuba is hell for locals but not bad for tourists. Average earnings are 5 cents an hour but of course some earn far less. Pensioners are expected to survive on 10CUC a month!!! There are constant shortages of water, toilet paper, cooking oil and personal hygiene products. Hospital conditions are disgusting. Many products cost more than they do in the first world. A chicken is about 7CUC and never has a sell by date. Suncream costs about 10CUC. A nasty chinese suitcase (the wheels drop off within a week) about 65CUC. See here for more: https://uk.pinterest.com/Incognitoxxx/cuba-the-reality/