One thought on “La TAVOLA – Italian-American New Yorkers Adventures of The Table”

1. Signore Daniele Bellino Zwick:
   A note to say how much I am enjoying your “La Tavola” memoir, plus “Sunday Sauce” and “La Vigilia del Sette Pesci”. Many years ago in the 70’s I attended a private boarding school in Orange County, California run by the catholic Norbertine order out of Hungary. They were refugees out of the then communist system established in Hungary at that time, followers in exile of the late Cardinal Midzenty.. The school was both a high school for young men and a novitiate for young men preparing for the priesthood. It happened that one of the novices there was of Italian extraction and an all together great guy. One weekend, while I was a boarding there his extended Italian family came for a visit. The family was most gracious and invited the residing boys to a family picnic. What a picnic! The food they brought was beyond compare! Antipasti, pasta, i secondi, insalate and dolci. It was a 4 hour meal in duration in which we talked, joked and laughed. During those years I was a shy, lonely introvert, but the matriarch of the family, a certain madama Maria Elisabetta, took notice of this and started a conversation with me. She spoke of the history of Italy as I had mentioned I was interested in Italy. She spoke of the Etruscans, Rome and the Renaissance and all the all the great Renaissance families – the Visconti, Sforza, Gonzaga and the d’Este and the d’Aragona of Naples. She talked further of her musical tastes, Puccini, Rossini and Vivaldi. To this day I have a preference for Vivaldi and Sinatra of course, along with eating pollo marsla to a Bossa Nova tune! Now that’s American! In short, thank you for invoking a wonderful memory that I have always held in my subconscious. The Italians and Italian Americans are a warm and gracious people

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   May 20, 2015 at 4:09 am