From the Antipasto to the Zabaglione by Mike Riccetti
If you’ve ever wanted to know more about the Italian restaurant scene in America, Mike Riccetti has got 80 pages of deliciousness for you in From the Antipasto to the Zabaglione ($5.99 on Kindle).
Riccetti squeezes an astounding amount of information into this booklet, which is part of a larger book project, Eating Italian in America – The Story of the Country’s Favorite Food, from Red Sauce to White Truffles; it traces the evolution of the Italian restaurant in America from its origins in New York, New Orleans, and San Francisco to its “Northern Italian” phase and into, yes, the Olive Garden, Maggiano’s, and co. But don’t worry; there’s very little focus on the chains other to mention their existence, necessary to any discussion of Italian restaurants in America.
The discussions of “authentic” Italian food as well as the dubious roles of steak, Ceasar salad, and ravioli are particularly appealing to someone like me who grew up in an Italian-American household that stuck closely to Calabrian and Neapolitan food traditions and who now lives in southern Italy. Riccetti has taken great care to cover not only historical facts but also the sociological factors involved along the way, which makes for a complete meal, if you will, in his coverage of this topic.
Thoroughly researched and well-written, this booklet is a must for anyone who wants to learn more about how we got from here to there, so to speak, in the evolution of Italian-American cuisine and restaurants.
I give it four espresso cups out of five:
And look forward to Riccetti’s full-length book.
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2 Beans of Wisdom to “From the Antipasto to the Zabaglione by Mike Riccetti”
Recipes
It nice to see a good book on the history of Italian restaurants. Thanks for the review.
michelle Reply:
December 30th, 2011 at 9:09 am
Thanks for reading, John!