NYC Restaurant Innovators Sponsored By Heineken: Mario Carbone, Rich Torrisi, And Jeff Zalaznick, Michelin Meets Mulberry Street

[Menu behind the bar at Torrisi] What are the key differences between true Italian food from Italy and Italian American food? Rich: “That’s a long answer.” Mario: “I mean it’s fusion cuisine and just like anything else it happens naturally over a period of time. There was a migration of southern Italians because they were poor and under digress in Italy. They took their style of food to the states and other places. They migrated here, and were unable to get some ingredients. Some ingredients they were, some they weren’t, and they had to create something new. Then as generations spawned from them, second and third and fourth generations, the dishes began to morph and change and sometimes bastardize into other things. And you’re left with this kind of red sauce, which is a southern Italian based product type, cuisine.” Rich: “They are whole entirely different things. Italy is super regional. Every region is it’s own country.” Mario: “And they don’t mix at all.”