The home cook advantage vs ethnic restaurants

So i escape the wonder of my recent cage
I am left to ponder
and remember

On my list of places to go was Fiesta in Stamford, a Peruvian restaurant.
In my life i am fortunate to have people who are from various countries share their food with me.
As i ate at Fiesta, fairly unimpressed, i thought about this.
The meal was not bad, but was not memorable, but the why is more important than the how.
I was immediately comparing it to  food prepared by a neighbor, for her Peruvian boyfriend and shared with me.
The home cook won hands down.
Thinking of a similar restaurant, but of Italian flavor, Rizzutos, did not have that disappointment, it was comparable to Italian home cooks i have know.  I went with some of those and they enjoyed it also.
I thought back at my disappointment of  EOS in Stamford, because i compared it to my mom's cooking (and my own)
I thought of my excitement at TAWA, because for the first time, Indian food tasted like a close friend of mine and her husband had shared with me.
I would not even talk about Mexican cuisine in Stamford - mostly, i will eat my own as will i eat my own Texas barbecue.
There are other ethnic restaurants i have been to, but have little to compare them to such as little Buddha and Kits kitchen and i often wonder if i would be disappointed if i knew a Thia home cook.