Italian food is something of an American staple these days, and it tends to be one of the "big three" options for going out to dinner. Italian food is delicious, wholesome and it’s easy to see why so many Americans love it. Want to know more about the history of Italian food in America? Read on to find out more.When did Italian food come to America?Italian food as we know it today came to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the wave of Italian immigrants that poured into the country during those periods, bringing their love of cooking with them. Foods like pasta and tomato sauce from Sicily, and risotto and polenta from northern Italy, began to gain popularity in the US, especially in the major eastern cities like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. Italian chefs also discovered that the US had something Italy did not: a ready and inexpensive supply of high-quality meat. Many of the most popular Italian meat dishes, from spaghetti and meatballs on up, were developed during the early days of Italian food in America.Why did Italian food become so popular?The reason the popularity of Italian food spread so widely and quickly in the US was that many enterprising Italian families opened restaurants. The family-operated restaurant was (and still is) common in Europe, and for many years it was common in the US as well, allowing ItalianFrankfort,IL Restaurantwith unique recipes to spring up all over the country. Italian cookbooks and ingredients became commonplace as well, allowing families to cook their own Italian meals in the home.Finally, the advent of chain restaurants cemented the popularity of Italian food in the present day. While family restaurants still exist, the convenience and consistency of getting Italian food at an Olive Garden or a Pasta House, or gettingpizza delivery in Frankfort, IL, is what keeps Italian food so popular and ubiquitous in the US today.    ...read more