Italian American Food

MypinchofItaly said:
For God's Sake...
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Here's what's better - we have another chain Italian place, Maggiano's Italian Kitchen, and they're twice the price of OG, but their waitstaff are better, they're dressed properly, low lighting, big comfy booths...much, much better ambiance.

The food? The same. So you can go to OG, put up with the rattle and clang, the wobbly tables, the 17yo waitstaff who've had probably two hours of training, and pay $50 for dry chicken parm and a glass of wine, or go to Maggiano's, enjoy some quiet, sit in a dark booth, have a 40yo waiter who at least looks presentable...and pay $100 for dry chicken parm and a glass of wine. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
TastyReuben said:
Here's what's better - we have another chain Italian place, Maggiano's Italian Kitchen, and they're twice the price of OG, but their waitstaff are better, they're dressed properly, low lighting, big comfy booths...much, much better ambiance.

The food? The same. So you can go to OG, put up with the rattle and clang, the wobbly tables, the 17yo waitstaff who've had probably two hours of training, and pay $50 for dry chicken parm and a glass of wine, or go to Maggiano's, enjoy some quiet, sit in a dark booth, have a 40yo waiter who at least looks presentable...and pay $100 for dry chicken parm and a glass of wine. 🤷🏻‍♂️
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Maggiano's is one of my favorites just for the reasons you describe. ;-)
 
TastyReuben said:
Here's what's better - we have another chain Italian place, Maggiano's Italian Kitchen, and they're twice the price of OG, but their waitstaff are better, they're dressed properly, low lighting, big comfy booths...much, much better ambiance.

The food? The same. So you can go to OG, put up with the rattle and clang, the wobbly tables, the 17yo waitstaff who've had probably two hours of training, and pay $50 for dry chicken parm and a glass of wine, or go to Maggiano's, enjoy some quiet, sit in a dark booth, have a 40yo waiter who at least looks presentable...and pay $100 for dry chicken parm and a glass of wine. 🤷🏻‍♂️
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And it is in these moments that Burger King comes to the rescue. You wouldn't have eaten Italian anyway, thus you might as well go and enjoy a Double Whopper - not dry.
 
MypinchofItaly said:
And it is in these moments that Burger King comes to the rescue. You wouldn't have eaten Italian anyway, thus you might as well go and enjoy a Double Whopper - not dry.
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You need to have their Chicken Parm sandwich! Do they dare serve that there?


BKCP

BKCP


I'm surprised they didn't pile some spaghetti on, as chicken parm always comes with a side of spaghetti here.
 
TastyReuben said:
You need to have their Chicken Parm sandwich! Do they dare serve that there?


BKCP

BKCP


I'm surprised they didn't pile some spaghetti on, as chicken parm always comes with a side of spaghetti here.
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Sooner or later someone will have the idea...

I'm always stunned by how spaghetti are also considered as a side-dish. No, I'm no more stunned by anything :laugh:
 
MypinchofItaly said:
Sooner or later someone will have the idea...

I'm always stunned by how spaghetti are also considered as a side-dish. No, I'm no more stunned by anything :laugh:
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My family is Catholic so we don't have meat on Fridays. My mother always made veggie spaghetti with fried fish. I never had it as a main course until I met my husband. I think it works either way, but I prefer the one with meat sauce on top (versus it all being stirred together).
 
mjd said:
My family is Catholic so we don't have meat on Fridays. My mother always made veggie spaghetti with fried fish. I never had it as a main course until I met my husband. I think it works either way, but I prefer the one with meat sauce on top (versus it all being stirred together).
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My family is Catholic too, never cooking/eating meat on Fridays, but I admit that I sometimes forget it and go for meat.
I think that spaghetti served as side-dish is something that probably is considered as rice as side-dish?
I’ve never had spaghetti as side, I am not sure I could enjoy it, it’s one of those things I struggle to consider like this.
 
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MypinchofItaly said:
I’ve never had spaghetti as side, I am not sure I could enjoy it, it’s one of those things I struggle to consider like this.
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I would struggle too. To me, pasta is the dish itself and not a side. Pasta needs coating in sauce. That is why there are so many different pasta shapes - to suit different sauces. Italian English cooking is probably a bit closer to roots.
 
Morning Glory said:
I would struggle too. To me, pasta is the dish itself and not a side. Pasta needs coating in sauce. That is why there are so many different pasta shapes - to suit different sauces. Italian English cooking is probably a bit closer to roots.
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Here, spaghetti as a side does have a sauce.
 
MypinchofItaly said:
My family is Catholic too, never cooking/eating meat on Fridays, but I admit that sometimes forget it and go for meat.
I think that spaghetti served as side-dish is something that probably is considered as rice as side-dish?
I’ve never had spaghetti as side, I am not sure I could enjoy it, it’s one of those things I struggle to consider like this.
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I understand your point of view. There are so many dishes that are "American-ized" that it's sometime impossible to imagine variations especially if one is used to the "original". For instance, we never had garlic bread with spaghetti as a side dish but it's served that way in most restaurants as it is a main dish.

Here's a funny for you. My grandmother (mother's mom) made a big pot of spaghetti for several of her grandkids. I think there were about 8 cousins there that day. She added wine to the point all of us got drunk and fell asleep immediately after dinner. I'd like to think it wasn't deliberate but since becoming a mom with two Energizer Bunnies, I'm not sure. LOL
 
You have to remember "Italian food" here generally means:

Spaghetti
Sauce (red, white, or pesto)
Pizza
Lasagna
Manicotti
Stuffed shells
Other various pasta shapes (penne, rigatoni)

There, I just provided you the menu of 75% of the Italian restaurants here. :laugh:
 
TastyReuben said:
Three examples of typical chicken Parm:
Chicken Parm 1

Chicken Parm 1


Chicken Parm 2

Chicken Parm 2

Chicken Parm 3

Chicken Parm 3


And my own:

Chicken Parm, Spaghetti, Roasted Broccoli
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Now, apart from the taste that I image is ok, but a question keeps bouncing in my Italian mind: “Why?” Please think about my question as a curiosity, not criticism.

As you know we have separated courses:
Primo Piatto: Pasta or Risotto or Rice with something or Soup.
Secondo Piatto: Meat or Fish or Veggies (usually stuffed)
Contorno: Side-dish, veggies or salad

We don’t use to have an unique course, apart from Milanese Risotto (Saffron Risotto) that traditionally is served with ossobuco.
 
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MypinchofItaly said:
“Why?”
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I can't really shed any light on the history of chicken Parm in the US, but I'll add that when you get spaghetti as a side, it's usually a half-portion, or at least a smaller portion. It's not a giant main course portion (unless you order a hybrid version, with breaded chicken cut up and tossed in with the pasta and sauce - some places do that).

About courses - that's really kind of all over the place here, depends on where you're eating (and could probably be a separate subject).

At home, the only time we have a first course, it's salad. That's it. When the main course comes out, it's usually the main bit, like a pork chop, and a veg on the side. I don't usually make two sides with the main course, just one, though the standard growing up was always that a basic plate of food (the main course) consisted of a piece of meat, a starch (rice, noodles, or potatoes), and a vegetable. That was a minimum "well-rounded" meal. Dessert was rarely served immediately afterwards. We always ate around 5:30PM-6PM and had dessert around 8PM. We still do that now.

Eating in a restaurant was always a bit different. Always three courses, so usually a salad, then the main with two sides, then the dessert, all crammed into 60 minutes of eating.

That's just my experience, though. The US is a big place, and no doubt others (especially more cosmopolitan people) had/have a different experience.
 
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