Eyetalian Dishes: My Favorite Italian Specialties

When I arrived in the United States, family friends arranged a series of social encounters which, for most Italians, center around the table. I was served dishes that I had never seen before in my entire life. And now, 25 years later, porcini mushrooms, white truffles, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and world-class wines have become the rule rather than the exception in most American urban centers.

Like most fanatics, I love statistics, when they prove my point of view so conclusively. For example, 36% of American restaurant-goers who choose so-called "ethnic" food (Is pizza ethnic? Are egg rolls ethnic?) choose Italian cooking, making it their first choice above all others. But having said that, mustn't we qualify the statistic by factoring in all the secondary markets in America that continue to buy canned spaghetti and meatballs while affirming their love for Eyetalian dishes?

Forgetting canned spaghetti and all other abominations, there are some Italian dishes of a limited repertoire brought to America at that continue to be served, and that were part the turn of the century. They became a staple of ghetto restaurants opened by poor, not overly educated, extremely unsophisticated amateurs who remembered bits and pieces of what they grew up with.