What is European food, really?
Long ago, we had no clue, you see
It started with Italy at our shores
Pizzas and pastas knocking on our doors
Pizza Hut once had our hearts,
And Prego sauce the only Italian in our shopping carts
Then came the trattorias from Calabria
Paving the way for handmade lasagna
But it wasn’t till we had a taste of truffle butter tagliatelle
That we were truly tranced by the charm of Italy
The French came armed with croissants and baguettes
Those we took with a dollop of butter and great delight, yet
We were much harder to convince
When it came to escargots and tartare, the raw mince
Along came a woman named Julia Child
Who made boeuf bourguignon for which we went wild
A hundred foot journey later, we knew
No longer would a plate of snails make us go ‘ew’.
What about the binding spell of Spanish eats?
We certainly ran into luck with cured meats
But was ham all we would taste,
Of the cuisine that Michelin stars embrace
Thank heavens for the drink we call sangria
And the saffron-scented seafood paella
Otherwise we’d be left behind
On this wonderful region of food and wine
What is European food, really?
Long ago, we had no clue, you see
Then came a revolution of restaurants built
And to a whole new world, our palates revealed.
*Inspired by Calvin Trillin’s Have We Run Out Of Provinces Yet
