THE CURIOSITY: How fettuccine Alfredo conquered America

So who was this
Alfredo guy anyway?

by Marisa Huff

New York City is abuzz with Italians. I am not referring to the over 608,000 Italian Americans residing in New York's five boroughs, but rather to the around 445,000 estimated Italian tourists who visited the city in 2009.

Italians who visit Manhattan's Little Italy for the first time are often surprised to discover what dishes have come to symbolize Italian cuisine in the minds of many, if not most, Americans. Take fettuccine Alfredo, for example. Far more likely to appear on menus in the US than in Italy, this dish often leaves Italians wondering “who the heck is Alfredo?”

Based on a recipe for fettuccine al burro created by a Roman restaurateur by the name of Alfredo Di Lelio, the standard American version of fettuccine Alfredo - like the one in the more recent editions of Joy of Cooking, America's most popular cookbook -  calls for fresh pasta, butter, heavy cream and grated Parmesan. Today, it is not uncommon to fanciful additions like grilled chicken, garlic or peas.

According to John Mariani's The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, this dish made its way to America thanks to two famous Hollywood actors. It is believed that during Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford's 1920s visit to Rome, the couple dined at Alfredo's trattoria on Via della Scrofa nearly every night. Having fallen in love with Alfredo's creamy pasta, they decided to present their mustached host a gold-plated spoon and fork as a sign of their gratitude. The story caught the attention of international journalists and the news of fettuccine all'Alfredo quickly made its way across the Atlantic.

Alfredo's sauce was originally a combination of Parmigiano Reggiano and homemade butter with a high fat content, given to his wife after the birth of their son. To compensate for the lack of super rich butter in the US, American chefs and home cooks added heavy cream (and possibly egg yolks) to the Alfredo's butter cheese sauce. Fettuccine Alfredo's popularity grew dramatically after World War II as Americans began traveling to Europe again. By the 1950s, Alfredo had moved his trattoria to Piazza Augusto Imperatore, attracting Americans by the bus loads.

On November 21, 1961, Di Lelio was crowned “King of Fettuccine, Alfredo the Great” by the Los Angeles Times. Unbeknownst to most Italians, fettuccine Alfredo had become their national dish.