Culture: Italy´s Cuisine - Collateral Damage From The Permanent Economic Crisis?

(Drivebycuriosity) - Recently I traveled to Italy and stayed 4 weeks in Rome & Naples. I had high expectations regarding the food because I am a huge fan of Italian cuisine. I grew up in Germany where are ubiquitous pizzerias and other Italian restaurants, some are on a really high level. Beginning in the 1960s, during the German economic miracle, many Italians immigrated to Germany and established restaurants or worked there as cooks.  Many more followed in the decades after. Today you can experience a variety of Italian cuisines in Germany, even though the recipes might have been adapted to German tastes.

I expected to find similar ore even better cuisine in Rome & Naples. Especially Rome, the capital, who proudly calls herself "Roma Capitale", should represent the culinary treasures of Italy. But I got  disappointed. It was challenging to discover restaurants which met the standard I learned to love - even though we hiked a lot miles every day and explored many neighborhoods. Yes, there are plenty of restaurants around the Spanish Steps and other tourist centers. But I tried to avoid these tourist traps. Outside of the tourist centers there are not many solid restaurants. We stayed in hotels in neighborhoods like Roma Re, Piazza Bologna & EUR, all outside the tourist center. We noticed many fast food places, including McDonald`s, but there were few restaurants, trattorias & osterias which serve fine Italian food.  Most restaurants had just very simple menus and did offer a small selection.

I missed many of the Italian culinary pleasures I had enjoyed in Germany - or even in New York where I live now. I like fish, but the majority of the restaurants I found don`t offer fresh fish! Usually they have just octopus & shellfish, some offer only salted cod. The popularity of salted fish seems to have historical reasons. Before the introduction of refrigeration chains fish & meat had to be salted to be edible for months, only the very rich could afford to eat daily fresh fish. Salted cod became so the fish for the poor.

I also enjoy fried calf liver but I didn`t find any in Rome. Maybe this dish is the specialty of a different region but Rome, the capital of the Nation, should offer the cuisines of the province as well. I know better neighborhood restaurants even in New York. Below the menu of one of my favorite Italian places in Bonn followed by the menu of La Vita in Cologne and the dinner menu of Barbaresco, another favorite of mine on Manhattan`s Lexington Avenue.

And the quality of Rome`s restaurants was often mediocre. I couldn`t find any place which was comparable with the above mentioned places. The menus usually offer Spaghetti a la
Carbonara - a very rich pasta dish made with eggs and cheese - and similar pastas. In Rome my wife got the worst Pizza I have ever seen.





                                                            Exodus Of Cooks

Why is Rome`s cuisine so frugal? I think the disappointing level of Rome´s restaurants is a result of Italy`s permanent economic crisis.  Italy`s per capita income is below the European average and it dropped in the recent years (chart above). Many Romans can not afford going out. They cannot afford a meal which may cost 30€ or more. Therefore they go to fast food places, ice cream saloons & pasticcerias (serving pastries), which are ubiquitous. Ambitious chefs and restaurant owners are forced to emigrate to other countries. The exodus of cooks which started in the 1960s seems to have accelerated in the recent years. Fortunately I still find great Italian food in Germany and even in New York City.