Better yet, at least one of them is Italian as Italian eateries are a long time favorite of NYC, a place who is literally in love with Italian specialties like porchetta, traditional snacks like piadina or simply a crispy slice of pizza margherita... but where does this passion come from? Experts tried to find an answer at an incredibly interesting panel by the title “Why (and exactly how) New York Simply loves Italian,” held at NYU's Fales Library.

 

Panelists were Chris Cannon, Manhattan restaurateur, owner of Alto & L'Impero, William Grimes, author and former New York Times restaurant critic, Elena Kostioukovitch, author of Why Italians Love to Talk About Food, and Fabio Parasecoli, NYU Food Studies faculty and author of Food Future in Italy.

 

The talk covered plenty of favorite Italian topics, from Marinetti and futurism and their fight against pastasciutta (they lamented that the dried pasta of the sort we all eat was 40 percent less nutritious than meat, fish, and vegetables) to the opening of the first Italian restaurants in the city that, according to historic papers studied by William Grimes, first appeared in the late 1800s and, differently from common belief, they were owned by northern Italians who served entire meals for only 30 cents, to the trends of new Italian eateries. Chris Cannon's prediction is that after the ongoing Roman trend it will be the moment for Emilia Romagna, the gastronomic heartland of Italy, and its flavorful cuisine (in this passionate area homemade pasta, prosciutto and parmigiano are produced without equal).

 

One hour is not enough to talk about a culture where food is regarded as one of life's most precious gifts but we can say that many different topics all came to one conclusion: no matter what, Italian food is varied and unique and there is always something that will catch your palate's attention... no matter where you live.