Old World

A few blocks away from my apartment, at Grand & Rush, is the Italian restaurant Buca di Beppo. I pass it all the time, but I never noticed before that underneath where it proclaims the name of the restaurant, it reads, "Immigrant Italian Dining." To me, there's nothing wrong with saying that, but it just made me wonder the motivations behind labeling it "immigrant dining" as opposed to the alternatives, and what that meant (if anything).

When I think about recipes from the "old country", the first words that would come to mind for me would be "authentic" or "traditional." Either of those two words would probably work just fine in the same situation. It just makes me wonder why they didn't use them - too cliche?

Or maybe they're proud of their status as immigrants to America, and want to proclaim it to the world, showing where they immigrated from and that they're proud of their status. If that's the case, that's pretty cool by me. :) It might turn off the anti-immigration nativists in this country from eating there, but that's their loss. (Note: I have never tried the food at Buca di Beppo, and I think it's a chain. (Which doesn't mean it's bad, but take it for what it's worth.) It's probably good, but my saying it's their loss means their own loss of options for their own closed-mindedness.)

It seems even more interesting to me what we would think of this if we applied it to other cuisines, because for some reason, I think immigrant Italian status is treated very differently in this country than other immigrant groups. There even seems to be a quasi-reverential sentiment among some about certain groups of Italian immigrants. (I am not saying all Italian Americans are mafioso. I grew up in an Italian and Jewish community; I know better than that. But the fact of the matter is that the media portrays the traditional Italian community in one way, and like it or not, many people actively support and idolize that stereotype. And we're talking about perception here.) Italy itself is also romanticized (probably, justly) by many, and there is a great fascination with Italian culture among a lot of Americans, unlike that which exists for say, Poland or Croatia, or even Denmark.

What would someone's reaction be if they came across a restaurant saying something like "Immigrant Malaysian Dining" or "Immigrant Ethiopian Dining" or "Immigrant Peruvian dining"? I think it's sad, but my gauge of the American population is that a lot of them would think that the person making the sign just had no grasp on the English language when making it, and didn't know the right word to use. Gross generalization, yes, but I'd wager that there's quite a few people who would think that.

Anyway, pondering aside, I've looked up the Buca di Beppo website, and linked it above. In the 'about us' section, they explain their history and their mission:

"What's immigrant Southern Italian cooking? It's the hearty specialties of Campania, Apulia, Sicily and the rest of Southern Italy - dishes like Spaghetti Marinara, Chicken Cacciatore, Linguini Frutti di Mare, and Neapolitan Pizzas - re-rooted and flourishing in America. It's "la cucina povera" ("The kitchen of the poor") clear of starvation's shadow. It's the marriage of Italy's oldest cuisines and the bounty of America, rich in tradition yet alive with innovation. In fact, at Buca di Beppo, the immigration continues to this day. Our culinary team returns to southern Italy regularly to search out new dishes to bring back to our guests."

Sounds good to me. A melding of the traditional "old world" and the American "new world" ... looks like they picked the right word. Maybe I ought to give this place a try. :)