We recently shared Fiolina in Boca’s new Restaurant Row operated by Michelin-starred chef Fabio Trabocchi. It’s quite different from local favorites we’ve shared in the past, such as Marcello’s La Sirena, Casa d’Angelo and Trattoria Romana, Lynora’s and Elisabetta’s. Many of us in SoFlo come from northern and midwestern cities rich in Italian heritage, so these Italian restaurants flourish. And…they would have been enough. But newcomers keep arriving, expanding our expectations of what an “Italian” restaurant should be. For now, Boca seems to be ground zero for new contemporary Italian.
In Italy, ingredients are locally sourced and sustainable, making a big difference in flavor. (“Farm-to-table” goes without saying in Italy, a nation less than 1/32nd of the U.S. in size.) However, the “Italian” food we all grew up on was “dumbed down” by immigrants who simplified family recipes in order to make a living. History Channel’s “The Food That Built America” (season 3/no.12 online) tells the hilarious story of how the immigrant Boiardi Brothers introduced spaghetti and tomato sauce in Cleveland in 1924 and spawned a century-old industry of “imitation” Italian cuisine. Chef Boy-ar-dee himself would likely be thrilled at the evolution. Today, ingredients are locally sourced or imported. Cooks are combining modern techniques with authentic regional recipes. Overall, Italian cuisine in America is becoming more authentic.
