“Ina waywhatwe’redoingat Capitanois Australian-Italian
foodbasedoutofa wholedifferentregionofItalyknownas
NewYork,PhiladelphiaandNewJersey.”
WallwasmoreorlessanItaliancleanskinwhenthefirst
three-cheesepizzaemergedfromCapitano’sstone-flooredelectric
ovenwitha fat,blisteredcrustandplentyofflexinitsbroad
fermented-sourdoughbase.
“I hadneverworkedinanItalianrestaurantbeforeCapitano,”
hesays.“I’dnevermadepastabefore,nevermadepizzainany
restaurants.AllmyreferencepointswereamazingItalian-American
jointsyoufindinAmerica,especiallyNewYorkpizza,which
doesn’treallyhappenhere.”
Seealso:Capitano’svealparmigiana,themuchtalked-about
bone-inbehemothcoveredinpizzasauce,mozzarellaandbasil
leavesthatfeedstwo.Oneofthebest-knownexamplesofan
“Italiandish”inAmerica,vealparmigianais a tellingexample
ofwhathistorianEricHobsbawmdubbed“theinventionof
tradition”.WhileSicilywasthehomeofeggplantparmigiana,
thedishcameaboutwhenItalianimmigrantstotheUS,typically
fromimpoverishedtownsinthecountry’ssouth,embracedtheir
newprosperityinfoodform.
“Thecomicallylargemeatballwasanotherdirectresultofthe
easeofaffordingthefoodthey’dpreviouslyseenonlyrichpeople
eat,”explainsWall.“Itwasa bitliketheAmericandream: ‘We
canaffordmeatnow,andwe’regoingtoeatit’.”S
o whatofAussie-Italiantraditions?Havewe,likethe
Americans,sproutedofffromtheevolutionarytree
tocreateourownreadilydefinablecuisine,orarewe
stuckina netherworld,peddlinganersatzversion
ofItalianthatrequiresaninvisiblesetofinvertedcommas?
MichaelHarden,GT’s Victoriaeditorandtheauthorof
LygonStreet:StoriesandRecipesfromMelbourne’sMeltingPot, says
theculinarylandscapewouldberadicallypoorerwithoutthe
influenceofItalianimmigrantswhoassertedthemselvesboldly
intotheirnewhome,despitetheproduce-leddeprivationsthat
sawoliveoilsoldonlyinchemists(asa healthtonic)untilthe
mid-1960s.Melbourneinparticular,duetoitsconcentration
ofItalianmigrantsinCarlton,foundit waseconomicallyviable
forlocalrestaurantownerstoserveItalianfoodthatdidn’tneed
tobe“Australianised”asit waselsewhereinthecountry.
“Non-ItalianMelburnianslearnttoeatItalianfoodthatwas
closetothedishesbeingservedinhomesinItaly,albeitwith
somenecessaryimprovisationsingredient-wise,”saysHarden.
“TheotherinterestingthingaboutCarlton’sItaliancommunity
wasthattheycamefroma lotofdifferentregionsandsothe
typeofdishesbeingservedreflectedtheiroriginsinVeneto
orCalabriaorSicilyorPiedmont.Theofferwasmorediverse
thanyouwouldfindina singleregioninItalyat thetime.I’ve
spoken to people whose Italian parents or grandparents had➤Clockwisefromleft:vealparmigianaat
Melbourne’sCapitano;Fico,Hobart;bartrolley
at Di Stasio Città. PREVIOUS PAGES Bistecca.PHOTOGRAPHY GREG ELMS (CAPITANO), NICOLE IANUALE (TOMATOES) & OSKAR ROSSI (FICO).
GOURMET TRAVELLER 63