A Italian-American 3rd gen buddy of mine in New Jersey has eaten at Enoteca Marie a couple of times. He took clients there who wanted to have an Italian family experience. Of course, he says the food is very good but like everyone else that grew up on it, every family has their own spin on everything, so he prefers his family’s recipes. He still has his mother and his wife is from the neighborhood, and they still do a big family Sunday dinner once a month with his kids, and his cousins and aunts. They did it every Sunday until his dad died.
when I retire we’ll be moving near the kids, and I hope to do a big family dinner every couple weeks. I have lots of colleagues in NY/NJ and most are Italians or Orthodox Jews. They keep their families together with big Sunday or shabbos dinners; food is important. I don’t like my granddaughters growing up without traditional foodways or the big family feasts. Their diet consists of chicken nuggets, pizza, and sugar.