Everyone loves Italian-American food
Playwright Neil Simon once stated, “There are two laws in the universe: the law of gravity, and everyone likes Italian food.” This statement will resonate with almost everyone, but it is not entirely correct. Simon was undoubtedly referring not to the food that is served in Bologna, Bergamo or Brindisi, but the food served at the homes of his Italian-American schoolmates, and his local New York City restaurants.
Though most do like “Italian food,” Simon’s statement should really be amended to “everyone likes Italian-American food.” This is the recognizable, plentiful and easily accessible cuisine served in restaurants and homes throughout the country that features the dark red of long-cooked tomato sauce seasoned with plentiful garlic and dried oregano, the white of dripping mozzarella and viscous Alfredo sauce; the light brown of fried cheese, squid, and pieces of plump, juicy fennel-laden sausage; the dark brown of hefty meatballs, and the swaths of green in the sautéed spinach or large leaves of basil. Present in dishes like pasta with clams; fried calamari; big, tall squares of lasagna; breaded chicken breasts, veal cutlets and thick slices of eggplant topped with lots of sauce, then baked to feature a cover of melted white cheese; thin pieces of veal swimming in a sauce of butter, white wine and lemon; and large grilled veal chops.
Some confirmation of that fact in Scotland
Neil Simon’s corrected truism was further reinforced in my mind, and even expanded in scope, when I was in Edinburgh, the beautiful capital of Scotland, a few summers ago. While there, quickly having my fill of Scottish food, I decided to visit one of the several Italian restaurants not far from the tourist bustle. I had just learned that this part of Great Britain was the destination of many emigrants from southern Italy in recent decades. The racecar driver Dario Franchetti, who sports a distinctively non-Scottish name, is probably the most recognizable example. (He is probably best known by most as the husband of actress Ashley Judd, who was, incidentally, born as Ashley Ciminella. She is quite a bit more attractive than her half-sister Wynona Judd, with whom she biologically only shares their mother).
The first Italian restaurant I visited there was staffed with fairly newly arrived Scot-Italians jabbering away in a distinctively southern Italian dialect. It was nearly out of Hollywood’s central casting and the image most Americans have of an Italian restaurant: the tables were covered with red-and-white checkered tablecloths; old Chianti flasks hung from the ceilings; plastic ivy adorned most of the walls along with touristy images of gondoliers, the Coliseum, and the Bay of Naples; Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Mario Lanza sang over the speakers; and the menu was nearly all Italian-American classics such as Veal Parmesan, Veal Marsala, fried calamari, and Fettuccine Alfredo. The food was very good, and satisfying, and the restaurant was boisterous and fun. A second Italian restaurant on the next night was more of the same, and enjoyable. I even heard Dean Martin warbling about my hometown, “…goin’ back to Houston, Houston…Houston...” in case I did not feel enough at home with solely the food. This is the first time I became aware that Italian-American food is well on its way to conquering the world.
This is borne to be true in trips family members have made in recent years to northern Europe; Stockholm, Copenhagen, and several other cities. They have reported that the food tasted more like that of the eateries and kitchens of Chicago and New Jersey than those remembered on trips on Italian peninsula. Maybe not exactly Italian-American, but the resemblance was surprisingly apparent. To be sure Italian restaurants in Europe, outside of Italy, are more Italian than most in the US. The Italian homeland of the owners and chefs of these restaurants is just a short and comparatively inexpensive flight away.
Isn’t it all Italian? What is Italian-American food?
What is called Italian food in the US is based on the cooking of immigrants long ago from Sicily, the vicinity of Naples, and Calabria, the province in between, and to a lesser extent, Rome, and the southern provinces of Abruzzo and Apulia. It is Southern Italian-American. Here, there is plenty of meat, which, unlike in Italy, is liable to appear at any time, in nearly any dish. Chicken in the form of chicken breast is probably the most popular, followed by veal scaloppine, and pork chops. The more upscale (or expensive) are often proud of their large veal chops, usually grilled. With the abundance of meat and cheese, and the popularity of cream sauces, the dishes can be heavy. Fat is flavor, after all. And, the portions are very ample, as Italian restaurants in America have long had a reputation for generosity in terms of portions. There is always more than enough sauce, if not, restaurants are usually quick to provide some more. Many shrimp dishes are served as most diners like them often in a cream sauce or sprinkled grated cheese. Appetizers such as fried calamari and mozzarella, and mussels steamed with white wine and garlic are ubiquitous, and popular. Desserts might not be necessary, but tiramisu has always been there in the last decade or two for those with a sweet tooth. Filling, fun, and a big part of the local restaurant landscape. Americans are not the only ones who have grown to love this type of food.
Italian food is similar, but is really something different. The often significant differences between Italian and Italian-American cuisines can be described as harmony versus abundance. In contrast to Italian cooking, Italian-American cooking uses more garlic, more sauce, especially on pastas, much more cheese, and much more meat. There is much more red meat, far less offal, and more chicken breasts. Fewer vegetables are used. The food is also “more cooked,” like the popular baked pasta dishes such as baked ziti, manicotti, and lasagna, which is far more ubiquitous here than in Italy. These hearty pasta dishes influenced other pasta dishes, and pasta is an entrée, which is almost never seen in Italy. Fewer seasonal and fresh ingredients are used here. The heavily cooked and copious sauces, along with the large amount of cheese, help to mask this fact. Overall, the food is much richer here than in Italy. Sweeter, too. Coming from the land of Coca-Cola and the popularity of soft drinks, this is not surprisingly.
So why is it that Italian-American rather than purely Italian food so popular?
Some of the reasons for the popularity of Italian-American food rather than Italian food include: the cultural allure of the US, the fact that it is easy-to-like, it is rather easy-to-prepare, and it is hearty with plenty of cheese and meat, perfect for the cold climates of Europe. For similar reasons, the Chinese food you might find in Europe is more Chinese-American and the Mexican food outside of Mexico is invariably Tex-Mex rather than regional Mexican cooking.
Like Levi’s and the Simpsons, Italian-American is also a symbol of America. A likeable zesty, and tasty symbol. The prominence of the Italian restaurant in popular American films and television shows such as The Godfather trilogy, Goodfellas, The Sopranos, and countless lesser productions concerning a notorious aspect of the Italian-American experience, plus friendlier images such as Moonstruck and Big Night have contributed to the nearly universal appeal of these places. Italian-American food is what these memorable characters noticeably take time to eat during the course of their celluloid and digital adventures.
Why would immigrants from Italy be content to cook food that is not a true reflection of their lengthy and fabulous culinary heritage? Well, like most immigrants, they have emigrated to make money, and the recognizable Italian-American food is a surer money-maker than serving the pure food of their home region, which probably contains ingredients that are cheap locally, but hard and possibly expensive to obtain across the continent or continents. Because it is eaten with relish throughout the villages near Potenza, does not mean that it will be enjoyed as readily in Cologne or Cork.
Italian-American food is easy to reproduce, easier than a great many cuisines, because many of the ingredients are canned, jarred or packaged and are easy-to-ship, are not perishable, or, otherwise, grow easily or can be produced in some fashion throughout much of the world. Dried pasta, olive oil, Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheeses, preserved tomatoes, capers, anchovies, dried oregano and Italian wines are relatively easy to store and transport to nearly anywhere. Garlic and basil and seem to grow most everywhere, at least, for basil, during the warmer months or in greenhouses. Mozzarella and ricotta are easy to make commercially (even if these rarely reach the quality it does in Italy) and are inexpensive. These ingredients are pretty much all of the key building blocks of Italian-American food. True regional Italian food is so much tied to the ingredients of the locale that it is much more difficult, not to mention, expensive to replicate.
This hearty cuisine is popular in Northern Europe, too. The colder climates are receptive to the heavier Italian dishes and more fat-laden interpretations of Italian and the Italian-American dishes. Those native cuisines are not known for lightness, after all.
In a testament to the attractiveness of their dishes, in almost every town over 10,000 souls across the globe, there seems to be both a Chinese restaurant and a pizza joint. When it gets larger, then you might see an Irish pub, too. The pizza is certainly influenced by American-style pizzas. More authentic Italian pizza, which originated in Naples, is much more difficult to replicate properly as a very hot, often-specially-designed oven, and high quality ingredients such as fresh mozzarella, large leaves of basil, fresh mushrooms and prosciutto can be tough to get outside of Italy to make an inexpensive pizza. Industrial-style mozzarella, canned pizza sauce, dried oregano and long-lasting pepperoni is much easier to use, and, not to mention, these can make very tasty pizzas, too.
Maybe not to the extent that most Chinese restaurants in the US sport menus and dish preparations that are nearly exact replicas of each other from coast to coast, Italian food across the US are fairly similar. Maybe this is due to the thought that Italians and Italian-Americans are more individualistic than the typical Chinese and Chinese-American. There is certainly more diversity in Italian cooking in Italy with the numerous regional and municipal cuisines than what is called Italian cooking in the US.
La Fine
Sporting the moniker of simply “Italian” food, as the world continues to grow smaller and closer, Italian-American food, like the rest of American culture is, though in a more subtle and stealth fashion, moving well beyond its humble roots and becoming increasingly popular beyond its borders, much to the enjoyment (and girth) and diners elsewhere.