hastraipsedthroughtheenvelope-pushingkitchensofOscillate
Wildly,AtticaandNewYork’sMomofukuSsämBar,picking
upa grab-bagofFrenchandAsiantricksalongtheway.
ThattrippaallaRomanais reallya childoftheworld,
theresultofa triptoParisduringwhichPepperellnotedthe
abundanceofbistrosaddingIndianhintstotheirfood.It’s
gentlyspicedwithfenugreek,garammasalaandcardamom,
andrichwithcream,andPepperelldescribesit as“almostlike
butterchicken,onlywithtripeandguancialeandpecorino”.
Thetripeis theoutlier,however,fora takeonItalianthat
mostlydressesupitsnewtrackswitha traditionalface.
“Generally,at Alberto’sit looksItalian,it tastesItalian,but
there’sa lotoflittlethingswedothataren’tItalian.Withthe
octopus,forexample,weservea favabeanpuréethat’scooked
outwithloadsofkombu,justuppingtheumamiwherewecan.”
It is,heacknowledges,notthekindofthingyouraverage
Pugliantrattoriawouldserve.Butinotherwaysit’sfaithful
totheItaliandiktatofusingwhat’savailablehereandnow.
“BeingauthenticItalianis usingwhat’saroundyou.
AuthenticItalianinSydneycouldbeusinglocalricottamade
inMarrickville,tomatoesgrownintheBlueMountains.”
Andcopthis,AVPNpizzamasters:“I reckontheexporters
makeupthoserulesaboutonlyusingSanMarzanotomatoes
andalltherest,sotheyselltheirproductshere.”
Italianrestaurantshavebeena comfortingcertaintyin
Australiandininglifesincemassmigrationinthe1950sand
’60s.Ina nationwherea millionpeopleclaimItaliandescent,
ourrelationshipwithfoodfromthe 20 regionsthatmake
upTheBoothasuntilrecentlybeena fairlyuncomplicated,
nostalgia-soakedloveaffair.Buttherecomesa timeinevery
cuisine’slifewhenit hastomakeitsownwayintheworld,
subjecttothewhimsofchefswithlessregardforitsiron-clad
traditionsthanitsnative-bornsonsanddaughters.
TheshibbolethsbindingItalianfoodtothequasi-mystical
realmofthePiedmontesenonna’skitchenaredisappearing,
thankstochefslikeCapitano’sCaseyWall.Funfact:before
openinginMelbourne’sCarltonlastyear,he’dnevervisited
Italy.TheNorthCarolinanativeinsteadtippedhishatto
theItalian-Americanfoodsceneofnorth-eastUnitedStates,
especiallyhisbelovedNewYorkred-saucejoints.
“Italian-Americanfoodis completelydifferent to Italian
food, but just as delicious,” says Wall.“Generally,at Alberto’sitlooksItalian,ittastesItalian,but
there’s a lot of little things we do that aren’t Italian.”62 GOURMET TRAVELLER