Italian

A half-century ago in America, “Italian restaurant” meant a red-checked tablecloth, a bottle of chianti, and a menu of spaghetti with meatballs and a piece of garlic bread on the side. While many Roadfooders maintain a fondness for such vintage Italian-American kitsch, Italian food is no longer a cliché. America’s contemporary Italian restaurants now reflect the vast bounty of the Italian regional table.