Because of the popularity of Italian dishes in America, we have seen a lot of restaurants that serve Italian food being put up at a steady rate. But when we take a bite of our spaghetti with meatballs in those American-Italian restaurants, do we necessarily equate them to good Italian food? Most of the time we think we are eating authentic Italian dishes even if the food being served to us are already Americanized versions of the original. This is because only a few of us have really tried eating Italian dishes. Most of the time we are lured to thinking that eating a Caesar’s salad in some fancy restaurant is the equivalent of a real Italian dining experience. But the robust flavors of the salad are what betray your so-called Italian dining. Italian cooking is all about balance and delicateness of flavor. And let us admit it; we have American palettes that are attuned to eating those dishes that seemingly explode in our mouths because of the intensity of flavors.

When you enter an American-Italian restaurant, the first thing you need to look at is the bread they are serving. Oftentimes, they serve white bread topped with tomato. This is quite Italian in itself, but usually, they arrive already cold. If you want the genuine Italian experience, you better go to an Italian restaurant that serves hot bread straight from the oven, like most Italians do for their families back in Italy. You get crusty bread in the outside, but soft in the inside. And nothing can beat hot, homemade bread.