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Loading... How Italian Food Conquered the Worldby John F. Mariani
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I might have given this 2 and a half stars if it did not tick me off so much. Basically, this is not a book but a catalog of restaurants, wines, chefs (all Italian of course) that came together to raise the standard of Italian cooking in the United States and if it were not for the tantalizing tidbit here (when FedEx started shipping Europe to US in the 80's suddenly we could get fresh, good Italian staples)and there (Giada DeLaurentis posed in pool of tomato sauce {!?})and some recognition of the restaurants and chefs listed, I would have tossed it across the kitchen. ( ) I found this book fascinating. Maybe it is because I have a deep love of Italian food and over the past few years have read extensively on the Italian cuisine, the Italian-American cuisine and the various cuisines of the Mediterranean but I was amazed at the depth of information contained in this book. While at times I found myself scanning the pages because of the level of detail, I still continued on with it because of the numerous anecdotal and historical information about various dishes and how the food items worked its way into the global food scene. One chapter is devoted to the history of wine-making and how the Italian wine industry developed and the persons who made it happen. This book will be enjoyed by anyone who has an interest in Food History and Italian food in particular. The first half of the book garnered the three stars, with a nice history of the development of Italian cooking into world class cuisine. The latter part of the book devolves into an endless listing of famous Italian restaurants, and their chefs, that have come and gone, mostly in New York, Los Angeles and Italy. Unless you have experienced any of the restaurants, the writing fails to connect, and the discussions become dry and downright boring. no reviews | add a review
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 throughEurope 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 No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)641.5945Technology Home and family management Food And Drink Cooking, cookbooks Cooking characteristic of specific geographic environments, ethnic cooking Europe ItalyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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