To be honest I have little problem with being a tourist when going anywhere. The fact is I am a tourist, so why fight it? If I want to see a place like the locals do, I’ll move there. If the “authentic experience” mean escaping a slum alive, then I’ll just enjoy the manufactured experience. I don’t care what Anthony Bourdain said.
I mean just google "best places to eat in __________" so you're not dining at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company and that's good enough for me. There's cities like Cincinnati where the only thing to do is eat a giant plate of spaghetti with chili on top.