How Italian Food Conquered the World
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Not so long ago, Italian food was regarded as a poor man's gruel-little more than pizza, macaroni with sauce, and red wines in a box. Here, John Mariani shows how the Italian immigrants to America created, through perseverance and sheer necessity, an Italian-American food culture, and how it became a global obsession. The book begins with the Greek, Roman, and Middle Eastern culinary traditions before the boot-shaped peninsula was even called "Italy," then takes readers on a journey through Europe and across the ocean to America alongside the poor but hopeful Italian immigrants who slowly but surely won over the hearts and minds of Americans by way of their stomachs. Featuring evil villains such as the Atkins diet and French chefs, this is a rollicking tale of how Italian cuisine rose to its place as the most beloved fare in the world, through the lives of the people who led the charge.
With savory anecdotes from these top chefs and restaurateurs:
- Mario Batali
- Danny Meyer
- Tony Mantuano
- Michael Chiarello
- Giada de Laurentiis
- Giuseppe Cipriani
- Nigella Lawson
And the trials and triumphs of these restaurants:
- Da Silvano
- Spiaggia
- Bottega
- Union Square Cafe
- Maialino
- Rao's
- Babbo
- Il Cantinori
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mariani, author of The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink and the food and wine correspondent for Esquire magazine, makes a declarative statement in this fact-filled, entertaining history and substantiates it with hundreds of facts in this meaty history of the rise of Italian food culture around the globe. From Charles Dickens's journey through Italy in 1844 to 20th-century immigrants to America selling ice cream on the streets of New Orleans, Mariani constantly surprises the reader with little-known culinary anecdotes about Italy and its people, who have made pasta and pizza household dishes in the U.S. and beyond. Mariani's heavy emphasis on specific chefs and restaurant owners in the latter half of the book may tire your average reader, but foodies will delight as he details the rise and fall of French cuisine during the 1980s and '90s as trattorias eventually take the States by storm. Mariani includes many recipes throughout.