How Much Bolognese Do We Need?

I always enjoy Alfonso Cevola’s ruminations on all things Italian, but his recent screed about Italian restaurants in the U.S. has me scratching my head. Writing about a recently opened local restaurant he writes:

I don’t wish to pick on any one chef or restaurant in particular, but rather see this latest iteration as a pattern of digression. The food menu, along with the wine list, seems to ramble. Dare I use even a loaded comment such as this: It is my belief that Italian food has been culturally appropriated to the point that some of the items (and combinations) that I see on contemporary menus in America, veer so far outside of the deep-rooted, sui generis pantheon of la cucina Italiana so as to barely be recognizable to those of us who truly love all things Italian.

His complaint is that American chefs seem compelled to reinvent classic dishes that have withstood the test of time:

Simplicity is the essence of Italian food. But in America, doing things simply just isn’t the dominant mantra. If five ingredients are great, six are greater. Hence, Calabrian chili, ‘nduja, guanciale, truffle oil and wagyu polpette nuggets are sprinkled about liberally over classic dishes that have passed the test of time.

Ew! Just ew!

I happen to agree about truffle oil which is never a substitute for truffles. But I’m puzzled by what he thinks chefs opening new restaurants ought to be doing.

…some wonderful recipes have been perfected, to the point that Italian food is a living museum of classic dishes. Why not start there? Why the urge to re-invent something that is already perfect? Oh, that’s right. In 2024, chefs are the new deities. Forget celebrities, they are picking out the patterns for their throne-seats on Olympus.

I love classic Italian dishes. But when I go out to dinner at today’s prices I expect something I don’t normally experience or can’t make myself. Do we really need scores of new restaurants serving classic versions of Bolognese Tagliatelle, Parmigiana di melanzane, or spaghetti alla puttanesca? Even if very finely prepared using the best ingredients, I’m not going to get excited about a $150 dinner tab for something I can make at home. It’s not like the recipes are a secret or the ingredients exotic.

There are of course many wonderful restaurants that serve these dishes. But if a chef is opening a new restaurant, can she really expect to attract enough attention to stay in business by serving such standard fare without a twist to make the cooking stand out? Of course some innovations don’t work  and if people don’t like them they will disappear along with the restaurant that insists on serving them. But the only real option is to try something different and hope it connects.

The U.S. is not Italy as Alfonso points out. Except perhaps in places like New York or Chicago, there is seldom a critical mass of people deeply connected to a regional Italian cuisine that would support restaurants that emulate the regional cooking you find in Italy.

Diasporic cooking always adapts to the norms of the new home. I think we will have to put up with the occasional truffle oil abominations in order to enjoy the occasional brilliant innovation.