There are not one, but two Italian-American joints in our Los Angeles neighbourhood. The first one, Casa Bianca, is a family favourite, with locals flocking, for its kitsch interiors, walls lined with signed photos of famous celebrities and some of the best American pizza I've had outside of New York.
A thin crust dusted with little crunchy granules of polenta, a sweet marinara sauce, classic American “peppa-rowney” and a stringy mozzarella cheese, which ordinarily you might bemoan for its Americanness, but in this case it just works. On a Friday night, you have to elbow your way past people outside to get the attention of the hosts, in order to snag a table. It’s worth it though for a little slice of old-school Italian.
Right across the street is our other neighbourhood gem, Columbo’s. All the Italian-American classics are on the menu, chicken Parmesan doused in marinara sauce with grilled cheese on top, pasta al fredo, that quintessential creamy American take on an imaginary pasta dish that would have most nonna’s crying themselves to sleep, and meatballs the size of a baby’s head.
Food aside, it’s all about the atmosphere in Columbo’s: crinkly jazz musicians set the mood while diners clink cocktails which come to the table complete with glace cherry and cocktail shaker. It’s like stumbling straight back into the 1950s.
Riffs on originals
Having recently travelled all over Italy cooking with Italian grandmothers for a television series, I know all too well just how passionate Italians can get when it comes to their food traditions. This is why it never fails to surprise me that these types of dishes, riffs on originals and in some cases completely new recipes, appear to have managed to become so ingrained in the culture of this American transplant of Italian food heritage. Did an Italian grandmother drop the meatball somewhere across the Atlantic, or is it simply a case of Italian restaurants catering for American tastes?
Whatever the cause, it has given rise to dishes that, despite their slightly unauthentic roots, done right are of course delicious and well-worth making. “chicken Parmesan”, or “chicken Parmejan”, if your inner American really wants to niggle over it, is serious comfort food, breaded chicken coated in a tomato sauce and then grilled with cheese – over the top and brilliant.
Over the years I’ve written plenty of meatball recipes and I’m going to put things on the line and say these are the best ones to date. Get the ingredients and try them, they are guaranteed to make your guests squeal “Mamma Mia”!
