Our Founding Foodies

by Carolyn Wyman

From The Saloon to the cheesesteak, Radicchio to Termini Bros. Bakery: Why is there so much Italian food in Philly?

Philadelphia Italian Market Cookbook author Celeste Morello says it's because staples of Italian cuisine such as tomatoes, basil and garlic have been here since colonial times, and before they were anywhere else in America.

That's the big reveal in her latest food book, Philadelphia's Italian Foods: A History of Over 200 Years With Recipes From the City's Best Italian Cooks ($24.95, paperback), inspired by Philly's recent Ben Franklin tercentenary celebration — or rather, Morello's disappointment with it.

"I knew about Ben Franklin's love of Italian foods and I was surprised there were no events about it," she says. "I wondered how he found out about them and when they came to the U.S."

Morello, a historian who leads walking tours of the Italian Market, found the answer at Bartram's Gardens in Southwest Philly. America's first botanist, John Bartram, and his son William, imported Italian herbs like basil, parsley and garlic, and fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, eggplant and spinach into the country for their seeds. And globetrotting gourmets Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson brought macaroni and Parmesan cheese over from Europe long before the arrival of Italians who knew how to cook with them.

"Some of the recipes from the early 19th century" — the English and German-style baked tomato and macaroni pudding, for instance — "were really disgusting," admits Morello. "I didn't include many."

Even after Italian immigrants began settling in South Philly in the mid-1800s, most true Italian cooking took place in private homes rather than restaurants due to discrimination and the immigrants' desire to assimilate, writes Morello. Still, the Italian influence came through in signature local fast foods like hoagies and cheesesteaks. "You've got to wonder if they would have been as popular without the great Italian bread and spices," she muses.

Pat's Steaks is among dozens of restaurants with recipes in the book, although it's for an asparagus pasta dish owner Frank Olivieri cooks at home rather than his place's signature cheesesteak. (This holds true of the book's recipes in general, since Morello says she didn't feel comfortable asking chefs to give away trade secrets.)

Morello says authentic Italian food first became chic in the 1970s and '80s at The Saloon, DiLullo's and Monte Carlo and continues today at BYOs like Melograno, L'Angolo and Radicchio (all in the book). Despite what Morello knows about the cuisine (or perhaps because of it), she continues to be amazed at how "people will pay $25 for what is essentially peasant food — sometimes even without any meat!"

(cwyman@citypaper.net)

Celeste Morello and a number of recipe contributors will sign copies of her new book Fri., Nov. 17, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Center Court, Reading Terminal Market, 12th and Filbert sts., 215-923-3170.