L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano E ating genuine, authentic Italian food can be a strug- gle when you are not in Italy. Italian cuisine is one of the most popular cuisines in the world, but also, alas, one of the most imitated. Mind, the quality o f f o o d a n d i n g r e d i e n t s i n r e s t a u r a n t s , a s w e l l a s t h e respect of the country's culinary tradition, is an issue also in Italy: we, too, have bad restau- rants! It comes as no surprise, then, that guaranteeing the authentici- ty of recipes and cooking meth- ods, along with the freshness and quality of ingredients has become paramount for all those associations, in Italy and in the US, protecting the fame and his- tory of the "made in Italy." R e c e n t l y , t h e I A C C , t h e I t a l y - A m e r i c a C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e , h a s a w a r d e d 2 5 restaurants in New York City with their Marchio Ospitalità I t a l i a n a ( I t a l i a n H o s p i t a l i t y Seal), in association with Italy's own Unioncamere – Camere di Commercio d'Italia (the Italian association for Chambers of Commerce), ISNART – Istituto Nazionale Ricerche Turistiche (Italy's National Institute for T o u r i s m R e s e a r c h ) a n d N E C S t o u R , t h e N e t w o r k o f E u r o p e a n R e g i o n s f o r a Sustainable and Competitive Tourism. All restaurants awarded have met specific criteria, including the quality of their ingredients a n d t h e i r f a i t h f u l n e s s t o t h e Italian culinary tradition, mak- ing of them the best place to get real Italian food. For those among you not liv- ing in the Big Apple, fear not: IACC has awarded more than 3 0 0 r e s t a u r a n t s w i t h t h e Marchio Ospitalità Italiana all over the US, making it relatively easy for most to try, at least once, authentic Italian cuisine without leaving the country. The criteria to obtain the Marchio Ospitalità Italiana As mentioned, both the quali- ty of ingredients and the authen- ticity of recipes and cooking methods are among the essential criteria to obtain the Marchio Ospitalità Italiana. However, they are not the only ones: only restaurants delivering also excel- lence, choice and following a system of values that can be fully shared by customers are considered for admission. In other words, the seal wants to be synonym of quality, tradition, authenticity and a full commit- ment to make each and every customer's experience outstand- FRANCESCA BEZZONE The Best Italian Food in the US ingly unique. Where to go The selection is large: more than 300 Italian restaurants in the US have proved to be good e n o u g h f o r t h e I t a l i a n Hospitality Seal. In case you are curious to know whether any of them is near enough to pay it a visit next weekend, you should check out the official Ospitalità Italiana website (www.10q.it), where a handy search widget will help you locate restaurants in your area. If, on the other hand, you want to get an idea of what to e x p e c t in I ta lia n H o s p ita lity approved eateries, before com- mitting to a dinner there, you can take a look at this very short – yet representative – overview. The West Coast On the West Coast, you could choose the traditional Sardinian cuis ine of L a Ciccia, in S an Francisco. Italian owned, La C i c c i a ( w w w . l a c i c c i a . c o m ) offers a variety of dishes, mostly based on fresh fish and seafood, as typical of Sardinia. Their w i n e l i s t i s a l s o i m p r e s s i v e , counting more than 180 vari- eties, all rigorously Italian. In Los Angeles, try out Canaletto (www.ilfornaio.com) one of the restaurants directed by executive chef Maurizio Mazzon under the brand name Il Fornaio, with branches in other parts of the US. Canaletto focuses on the Northeastern cuisine of Veneto and even produces its own olive oil. The East Coast I f y o u l i v e i n o r a r o u n d B o s t o n , t r y T r a t t o r i a G r a n G u s t o ( w w w . g r a n g u s t o c a m - bridge.com) in Cambridge. The mantra here is "fresh and season- al," with the menu changing each season. 80% of the prod- u c t s a n d p r o d u c e u s e d i n Trattoria Gran Gusto comes from Italy, from the olive oil to the buffalo mozzarella and the truffles. In New York city, Sistina ( w w w . s i s t i n a . c o m ) h a s b e e n offering excellent Italian food for more than 30 years. Located in M anhattan, the res taurant offers a glorious variety of dish- es from all over Italy, with an extensive selection of seafood starters. The South Head to Miami to sample the o f f e r s a t R i s t o r a n t e F r a t e l l i Milano (www.ristorantefratel- limilano.com): at lunch enjoy, along with traditional Italian piz- zas, pastas and meat dishes, also grilled sandwiches and lighter options. Dinner is a more serious affair, with the addition of risot- tos and more elaborated meat d i s h e s . I n A t l a n t a h e a d t o Baraonda (www.baraondaat- l a n t a . c o m ) a w i n e b a r a n d restaurant offering hand made pastas and a beautiful selection o f l o c a l i n g r e d i e n t s c o o k e d Italian style. The Mid-West and Centre In Chicago, La Spiaggia (www.spiaggiarestaurant.com) is a high end Italian restaurant known also for the quality of its wine list. The Tuscan sun shines on Valter's Osteria (www.valter- sosteria. com) in Salt Lake City, which proposes classic Tuscan dishes like pasta e fagioli, earthy soups and fantastic roasted beef with porcini. Eating out is real pleasure: in the end, there is nothing quite as pleasant as sitting at the table knowing there will not be any washing up to do later. Jokes apart, knowing that what you get in your plate is made with top notch ingredients, and the way it i s s u p p o s e d t o b y t r a d i t i o n makes it all the more enjoyable, especially for all those Italian food lovers who, for lack of time or any other reason, do not have the opportunity to travel across the ocean and try Italian food in its own home. LIFESTYLE FASHION FOOD ARTS ADVICE Knowing that what you get in your plate is made with top notch ingredients, and the way it is supposed to by tradition makes Italian food more enjoyable

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