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Beginning in the 1890's, the decade which marked the great immigration of southeastern Europeans to the United States, the descendants of Italian provincials kept sacred their ancestors' recipes. In recent years, the growing awareness of provincial Italian cuisines due to travel, the ease in importation of authentic Italian ingredients, and heightened interest in high carbohydrate/low fat foods that are nutritionally sound and economically affordable have attracted the non-Italian public to provincial Italian cuisine.
Beginning in the 1890's, the decade which marked the great immigration of southeastern Europeans to the United States, the descendants of Italian provincials kept sacred their ancestors' recipes. In recent years, the growing awareness of provincial Italian cuisines due to travel, the ease in importation of authentic Italian ingredients, and heightened interest in high carbohydrate/low fat foods that are nutritionally sound and economically affordable have attracted the non-Italian public to provincial Italian cuisine.
−
Outside the home, ''la cucina casalingua, ''the homestyle cooking of the provincial kitchens, was seasoned in ''osterie, ''inns which were nothing more than modest boarding houses, and ''trattorie, ''restaurants that opened in the numerous Little
Italy's
that marked the immigration trail of Italian provincials across the United States.
+
Outside the home, ''la cucina casalingua, ''the homestyle cooking of the provincial kitchens, was seasoned in ''osterie, ''inns which were nothing more than modest boarding houses, and ''trattorie, ''restaurants that opened in the numerous Little
Italys
that marked the immigration trail of Italian provincials across the United States.
In San Francisco, a city born in the excitement of the Gold Rush of 1849, and a city noted for its gourmet restaurants, the Italian provincial restaurants served their clientele provincial dishes in a congenial atmosphere that reflected the tenet universal among all Italians that food and the pleasure of eating meals shared with relatives or friends remain essential to maintaining kinship ties. For Italians, the quality and quantity of food eaten by a family has always symbolized the economic earning power of the menfolk and the family's social position guarded by the women. Equating food with family life was the formula recreated in San Francisco's ''osterie'' and ''trattorie''(4), where patrons felt the reverence Italians demonstrated towards their cuisines.
In San Francisco, a city born in the excitement of the Gold Rush of 1849, and a city noted for its gourmet restaurants, the Italian provincial restaurants served their clientele provincial dishes in a congenial atmosphere that reflected the tenet universal among all Italians that food and the pleasure of eating meals shared with relatives or friends remain essential to maintaining kinship ties. For Italians, the quality and quantity of food eaten by a family has always symbolized the economic earning power of the menfolk and the family's social position guarded by the women. Equating food with family life was the formula recreated in San Francisco's ''osterie'' and ''trattorie''(4), where patrons felt the reverence Italians demonstrated towards their cuisines.
−
Pioneers themselves, San Francisco's first Italian restauranteurs introduced the city to the ''cucine ''of northern Italy. Although the city's Italian community was small from the 1850's through the 1880's, it was the largest in the United States, and characteristic of the pattern in Italian immigration, it was dominated by provincials from northern Italy until the
1890's
.
+
Pioneers themselves, San Francisco's first Italian restauranteurs introduced the city to the ''cucine ''of northern Italy. Although the city's Italian community was small from the 1850's through the 1880's, it was the largest in the United States, and characteristic of the pattern in Italian immigration, it was dominated by provincials from northern Italy until the
1890s
.
−
San Francisco's Italian colony was comprised basically of four provincial groups from Genoa in Liguria, Lucca in Tuscany, Cosenza in Calabria, and Palermo in Sicily,(6) as well as a significant number of provincials from Piedmonte, an area of Italy well known for producing discriminating cooks.(7) Catering to the specific appetites of this varied patronage, there was a blend of hearty foods which aimed to satisfy all the provincial palates. ''Ravioli and cioppino ''for the Genoese; beans, ''fagioli''
, the
love of the
Florentine along
with ''rigatoni ''and
'' ''
grilled meats or a veal rag'u, for the Tuscan palate; ''saltimbocca ''for the Romans; ''rise e bisi, ''rice and peas, served with ''scampi ''for the Venetians; ''bollito misto ''for the Piedmontese; and ''zabaglione''(8)
''''
from
Sicily--these
delicacies not only pleased the various provincial tastes, but in a far corner of the American West, Italian proprietors laid the groundwork for a restaurant industry which contributed to San Francisco's recognition as a gourmet city.
+
San Francisco's Italian colony was comprised basically of four provincial groups from Genoa in Liguria, Lucca in Tuscany, Cosenza in Calabria, and Palermo in Sicily,(6) as well as a significant number of provincials from Piedmonte, an area of Italy well known for producing discriminating cooks.(7) Catering to the specific appetites of this varied patronage, there was a blend of hearty foods which aimed to satisfy all the provincial palates. ''Ravioli and cioppino' 'for the Genoese; beans, ''fagioli''
—the
love of the
Florentine—along
with ''rigatoni'' and grilled meats or a veal
''
rag'u
''
, for the Tuscan palate; ''saltimbocca'' for the Romans; ''rise e bisi,'' rice and peas, served with ''scampi'' for the Venetians; ''bollito misto'' for the Piedmontese; and ''zabaglione''(8) from
Sicily—these
delicacies not only pleased the various provincial tastes, but in a far corner of the American West, Italian proprietors laid the groundwork for a restaurant industry which contributed to San Francisco's recognition as a gourmet city.
At the same time, these restauranteurs set the stage for social interaction with a society represented by the cosmopolitan tastes of a transient frontier community that hailed from around the world. It was a clientele that possessed what San Francisco writer Helen Throop Purdy described as "gold and silver in plenty and [who] were prodigal in spending it . . ." (9) Notable among these pioneers were seven provincial Italian restauranteurs: Frank Bazzurro, Giuseppe Campi, Stefano Sanguinetti, Frank Luchetti, Guiseppe Coppa, and Angelo Del Monte. Each paved the way for successive generations of Italian restauranteurs who continued promulgating the Italian heritage through the medium of food.
At the same time, these restauranteurs set the stage for social interaction with a society represented by the cosmopolitan tastes of a transient frontier community that hailed from around the world. It was a clientele that possessed what San Francisco writer Helen Throop Purdy described as "gold and silver in plenty and [who] were prodigal in spending it . . ." (9) Notable among these pioneers were seven provincial Italian restauranteurs: Frank Bazzurro, Giuseppe Campi, Stefano Sanguinetti, Frank Luchetti, Guiseppe Coppa, and Angelo Del Monte. Each paved the way for successive generations of Italian restauranteurs who continued promulgating the Italian heritage through the medium of food.
−
Genoese ''Frank Bazzurro ''came to San Francisco in 1852, where he purchased for fifty dollars the schooner "Tam O'Shanter," one of hundreds of ships abandoned in San Francisco Bay, and opened his restaurant. Utilizing crabs, which were plentiful and then one of the cheapest foods in the city, Bazzurro introduced San Franciscans to the Genoese delicacy, ''cioppina
- the
''Italian version of bouillabaise.(10)
+
Genoese ''Frank Bazzurro ''came to San Francisco in 1852, where he purchased for fifty dollars the schooner "Tam O'Shanter," one of hundreds of ships abandoned in San Francisco Bay, and opened his restaurant. Utilizing crabs, which were plentiful and then one of the cheapest foods in the city, Bazzurro introduced San Franciscans to the Genoese delicacy, ''cioppina''
- the
Italian version of
''
bouillabaise
''
.(10)
Bazzurro moved his restaurant from this waterfront location twice, once because the area was reclaimed by the city and the land filled in, and the second time because of the destruction caused by the 1906 earthquake and fire.(11) Bazzurro relied upon bountiful resources from the bay and the city's outlying truck farms to prepare his provincial specialties.
Bazzurro moved his restaurant from this waterfront location twice, once because the area was reclaimed by the city and the land filled in, and the second time because of the destruction caused by the 1906 earthquake and fire.(11) Bazzurro relied upon bountiful resources from the bay and the city's outlying truck farms to prepare his provincial specialties.
−
San Francisco Bay then provided as much fish and shellfish
--
most of which was caught by Genoese and Sicilian fishermen
--
as was found in the Mediterranean Sea. Dungeness crabs, oysters, clams, squid
--
which became ''calamari ''in the saute pans of Italian cooks
--
were in abundance, in addition to cod for ''baccala, ''salmon, and striped bass perfect for fish meatballs. From the fertile soil of the city's truck farms and the ranches along the Peninsula where the Tuscan and Genoese farmers settled grew the vegetables essential to the provincial Italian diet such as artichokes, broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, lava beans, Swiss chard, cardone, and the aromatic herbs garlic, anise, sage, fennel, oregano, and sweet basil.(12)
+
San Francisco Bay then provided as much fish and shellfish
—
most of which was caught by Genoese and Sicilian fishermen
—
as was found in the Mediterranean Sea. Dungeness crabs, oysters, clams, squid
—
which became ''calamari'' in the saute pans of Italian cooks
—
were in abundance, in addition to cod for ''baccala,'' salmon, and striped bass perfect for fish meatballs. From the fertile soil of the city's truck farms and the ranches along the Peninsula where the Tuscan and Genoese farmers settled grew the vegetables essential to the provincial Italian diet such as artichokes, broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, lava beans, Swiss chard, cardone, and the aromatic herbs garlic, anise, sage, fennel, oregano, and sweet basil.(12)
−
In Italy, meals were limited to two meals a day and the menus were simple. A middle-class dinner might begin or end with fruit, or open with a salad and close with cheese. The main dish, if it were not pasta, might be a ''fegatelli ''(a thin pancake stuffed with chopped liver), or pigeon, or perhaps nothing except bean or squash soup poured over slices of bread
-
not a cheap dish, since bread was expensive to make. The wealthy would eat more expensive dishes as trout, thrushes, pheasant, or a stew.(13) In San Francisco, however, where appetites were hearty and markets plentifully stocked with fish, fowl, game, fruits, and vegetables, five- and seven-course meals became standard fare. This abundance, coupled with an economic tide of prosperity brought on by heavy speculation in silver mining, was reflected in the city's newest culinary craze
--
free hot lunches, served from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. for the price of one drink per customer. Frenzied stockbrokers and their covetous investors downed a cornucopia of food along with their favorite libations. This ''bon vivant ''fad spread throughout the city's social classes from the five cent beer saloons, where modest dishes such as bologna chips, dried beef, sausages, and assorted cheeses accompanied beverages, to the swanky "two bit" saloons patronized by stockbrokers which offered such delicacies as turtle soup, Dungeness crabs, oysters on the half shell, salmon, crackling suckling pigs, or roasted meats.(14)
+
In Italy, meals were limited to two meals a day and the menus were simple. A middle-class dinner might begin or end with fruit, or open with a salad and close with cheese. The main dish, if it were not pasta, might be a ''fegatelli ''(a thin pancake stuffed with chopped liver), or pigeon, or perhaps nothing except bean or squash soup poured over slices of bread
—
not a cheap dish, since bread was expensive to make. The wealthy would eat more expensive dishes as trout, thrushes, pheasant, or a stew.(13) In San Francisco, however, where appetites were hearty and markets plentifully stocked with fish, fowl, game, fruits, and vegetables, five- and seven-course meals became standard fare. This abundance, coupled with an economic tide of prosperity brought on by heavy speculation in silver mining, was reflected in the city's newest culinary craze
—
free hot lunches, served from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. for the price of one drink per customer. Frenzied stockbrokers and their covetous investors downed a cornucopia of food along with their favorite libations. This ''bon vivant ''fad spread throughout the city's social classes from the five cent beer saloons, where modest dishes such as bologna chips, dried beef, sausages, and assorted cheeses accompanied beverages, to the swanky "two bit" saloons patronized by stockbrokers which offered such delicacies as turtle soup, Dungeness crabs, oysters on the half shell, salmon, crackling suckling pigs, or roasted meats.(14)
−
The city's Italian restaurants followed suit in catering to the gargantuan appetites of their own clientele. An average lunch cost twenty-five cents
--
"two bits" -- and followed the classic Italian menu, beginning with either soup, spaghetti, ravioli or macaroni; followed by a choice of entrees
--
tripe with sausage and beans, meatballs, stuffed zucchini, kidney stew, and veal saute or scallopini accompanied by vegetables. Dinner, a seven-course affair, cost fifty cents and included a green salad
--
served at the beginning of the meal to please the American palate instead of the end of the meal in the Italian style
--
and a platter of antipasto
--
salami, olives, celery stalks, raw carrots, and green peppers. Ribsteak and chicken were two specialties on the regular menu that raised the dinner tab. Meals ended with fruit, dessert of either pastries, ''zabaglione ''or fried cream, and a demitasse.(15) Of course, wine
--
red or white
--
was included in the price of the meal.
+
The city's Italian restaurants followed suit in catering to the gargantuan appetites of their own clientele. An average lunch cost twenty-five cents
—
"two bits" -- and followed the classic Italian menu, beginning with either soup, spaghetti, ravioli or macaroni; followed by a choice of entrees
—
tripe with sausage and beans, meatballs, stuffed zucchini, kidney stew, and veal saute or scallopini accompanied by vegetables. Dinner, a seven-course affair, cost fifty cents and included a green salad
—
served at the beginning of the meal to please the American palate instead of the end of the meal in the Italian style
—
and a platter of antipasto
—
salami, olives, celery stalks, raw carrots, and green peppers. Ribsteak and chicken were two specialties on the regular menu that raised the dinner tab. Meals ended with fruit, dessert of either pastries, ''zabaglione ''or fried cream, and a demitasse.(15) Of course, wine
—
red or white
—
was included in the price of the meal.
−
As the city spread out from the waterfront towards Montgomery Street, which became the financial and commercial district, and along Broadway bordering
"
Little Italy,
"
Italian restaurants opened their doors. Offering menus that were inexpensive, in a word cheap, their informal home cooking, la ''cucina casalingua, ''captured the gastronomical hearts of San Franciscans.
+
As the city spread out from the waterfront towards Montgomery Street, which became the financial and commercial district, and along Broadway bordering Little Italy, Italian restaurants opened their doors. Offering menus that were inexpensive, in a word cheap, their informal home cooking, la ''cucina casalingua, ''captured the gastronomical hearts of San Franciscans.
Liberally patronized by both working people and gourmets was ''Campi's ''Italian and Swiss restaurant, first on Merchant and Sansome Streets and then on Clay Street. The restaurant, which first opened in about 1859, bordered the city's pungent fish and fowl markets.(16) Managed by Natale Giamboni after Giuseppe Campi's death, Giamboni was noted as the "King of Hosts," charming the ladies and remembering the likes and dislikes of his clientele. Italian-born financier Andrea Sbarboro recalled in his 1911 memoirs the early restaurant days of the 1870's when all the Italian businessmen of Washington and Sansome''' '''Streets lunched at Campi's. "At the time, I had for ten years been a steady patron and, for thirty years more, I have continued to eat at this restaurant."(17)
Liberally patronized by both working people and gourmets was ''Campi's ''Italian and Swiss restaurant, first on Merchant and Sansome Streets and then on Clay Street. The restaurant, which first opened in about 1859, bordered the city's pungent fish and fowl markets.(16) Managed by Natale Giamboni after Giuseppe Campi's death, Giamboni was noted as the "King of Hosts," charming the ladies and remembering the likes and dislikes of his clientele. Italian-born financier Andrea Sbarboro recalled in his 1911 memoirs the early restaurant days of the 1870's when all the Italian businessmen of Washington and Sansome''' '''Streets lunched at Campi's. "At the time, I had for ten years been a steady patron and, for thirty years more, I have continued to eat at this restaurant."(17)