Everybody loves Italian food. Yet the idea of a single Italian cuisine took time to coalesce, if it ever really has. Even after Italy’s unification in 1861, the country remained divided in the kitchen, with each of its twenty distinctive regions clinging to their own deeply-rooted culinary traditions. The first Italian cookbook, published in Florence in 1891, included only a couple of recipes for tomato sauce, a staple in the southern provinces.1 By the early 20th century, Italian restaurants were emerging more broadly in the United States, introducing a hybrid style that became known as Italian-American cuisine. While the classic dishes of this style remain popular, Italian food in America evolved in a myriad of ways, eventually challenging French cuisine at the top tier. Over fifty menus highlight some of the people and places behind this remarkable ascent.
